Workshops

MSCWC is proud to announce the 2024 lineup of workshops.

Artificial Intelligence: It’s a Natural for Writers

with Patricia Bradley and Kathy Cretsinger

Intrigued by the idea of using artificial intelligence but a little intimidated? Two successful fiction authors will share how they use AI tools to improve their writing, and also to brainstorm and spark creativity.

A Devotional Writer’s Toolbox

with Katara Patton

Look inside to see what is needed to write inspiring and captivating devotions in 250 words or less. This workshop will explore the tools and tactics regular devotional writers use to keep ideas flowing and short-form writing crisp and engaging.

Grow Your Author Platform with Newsletters!

with Bethany Jett

This workshop empowers authors to build and serve your audience through email marketing. Learn how to craft captivating newsletters, grow your email list strategically, and turn subscribers into fans who buy your books.

By the end of this workshop, you will have:

  • A clear understanding of the benefits of using newsletters for authors;
  • The knowledge and skills to create impactful newsletter content;
  • Proven strategies for building and growing your subscriber list;
  • The tools and techniques to design visually appealing and engaging newsletters; and 
  • The ability to track your newsletter performance and optimize your results.

Productive in the Pit: Mining Treasures from our Trials

with Lettie Whisman

This workshop will assure writers they can find exceptional opportunities to use their suffering to impact lives. We will discover God‘s presence in our personal pits, as well as Biblical and historical examples of those whose writing legacies were born from their pain. Discussion will be directed toward, but not limited to, the use of personal experience and the need for practical application in writing through trials.

Tips and Tricks to Writing a Bestselling Novel

with Julie Gwinn

In this session, writers will learn key characteristics shared by all bestselling novels including conflict, mood, beats, and how to avoid traps like purple prose, saggy middle, and weasel words.

Tropes in Fiction: Tips & Techniques to Transform Your Fiction

with Johnnie Alexander

The elements of a captivating story include engaging characters, a compelling plot and tropes that tap into readers’ expectations. These familiar narrative devices act as shortcuts that you can use to add depth to your fiction. In this workshop, we’ll discuss common tropes in popular genres and explore ways to recognize and re-imagine clichéd tropes. A deeper understanding of this powerful tool can help you gain confidence in writing stories that resonate with readers. As a bonus, we’ll also talk about how to use tropes in your marketing plan.

What’s the Difference?

with Jean Matthew Hall

What makes writing juvenile literature different from writing for adults? Don’t you just dumb-it-down a little? In this workshop Jean covers seven differences to consider when writing for children and youth. Plus, she gives you some practical tips of DOs and DON’Ts to help make your manuscripts sellable.

Writing a Meditation for The Upper Room

with Andrew Breeden

In this workshop led by an acquisitions editor for The Upper Room, participants will learn about making the connection between their lives and what God is doing in the world. They will look at a published meditation and discuss it, and then participants will have the opportunity to write their own meditation and submit it for possible publication in a future issue of The Upper Room,an international publication with a readership of more than four million people worldwide. Andrew Breeden said, “It is a special joy to us to publish writers for the first time, and we are always looking to welcome new names into our community.”

You Are God’s Masterpiece: Encouragement for Aspiring Writers

with Loretta Eidson

Not sure you’re called to write? Are you searching for answers or wondering why you feel drawn to attend a writer’s conference? Uncertain if you want to write fiction or nonfiction, young adult, or children’s books, etc.? Loretta will share insight into those gnawing questions, offer resources, and help you feel more confident in your choices. She will draw from the well of twelve years’ experience to help you find confidence in your writing dreams. She will focus on these key
areas:

  • How do you know God called you to write? For we are God’s handiwork (His Masterpiece), created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do (Ephesians 2:10 NIV).
  • Traps that hold you back
  • Where do you start
  • Roadblocks and how to overcome them
  • Dos and don’ts for aspiring writers
  • Are contests worth the trouble?
  • Do I really need an agent?
  • Rejections and how to handle them