Gatherings

We are re-evaluating this writer's group and whether or not it meets the need of women writers. Until then, all gatherings are on hold. Stay tuned for updates! Thank you for your patience. Your feedback would be helpful in making this decision.

Grace & peace,

~ deAnn Roe
director of creative arts
717-755-0089 x126

Friday, September 26, 2008

Thursday Evening Recap...Reflections on fear...

What an awesome evening, thank you to ladies in attendance!
We started with a brief free write prompt of "What did you have for lunch?" It was fun to see how one simple direct question can take us all off in so many different directions...
The theme for the evening was reflecting on fear and how we let it stop us from creating.
I read some passages from the book "Creative Call" by Janice Elsheimer. "One reason artists become blocked is by using inertia to avoid feeling like losers. This behavior is all about self protection.... I'm afraid that if I finish the book or the poem or the musical composition, I'll have to put it out there where others will judge it."
Another quote by Franky Schaeffer from "Addicted to Mediocrity: 20th Century Christians and the Arts" is "Remember that as a creative person, the important thing to do is to create. Who sees what you make, where it goes and what it does is a secondary consideration: the first is to exercise the talent God has given you."
We then took some time to process these quotes and look at how these fears affect us personally. What are you afraid of? Is it failure? Judgement? Rejection? What happens to you when you are not creating? Do you start to feel tense? Angry? Sad? Frustrated?
To read some of the writing responses check out these blogs:
http://carol-fromheretothere.blogspot.com/ and http://atravellersinsights.blogspot.com/

We ended the evening with some thoughts on what it would look like to live without fear and live fully into God's desires for us as artists. We closed listening to the song by Casting Crowns entitled "Who Am I?" and hopefully, prayerfully, and fearlessly walked out in to the night ready to create in honor of the greatest Creator of all...

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Today's Writer's Gathering

Our gathering this evening will be led by the amazing Carol Shafer. I've had something come up suddenly and asked her to fill in, she graciously said "yes!" on the very short notice I gave her. (Thanks Carol, you are the best!).

The topic that I was going to cover, Part 2 of the 4 part series, "Freeing Your Voice," will not be on the agenda tonight. I'll pick that up in October. I talked with Carol this evening and she's planning a fabulous evening of reflection and writing, you will not want to miss it!

I pray you all continue to trust your voice and will allow it to speak. Enjoy the gathering!
grace & peace, deAnn

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Literary Agent

I saw this blog site and thought I'd pass it on as it has lots of neat links regarding how to be published, do you need an agent, how to prepare a manuscript, etc. Nathan Bransford is a Literary Agent himself. Check out his blog, it's full of information.



Grace & peace ~ deAnn

Monday, September 22, 2008

Freeing Your Voice

Our next gathering will be Thursday, 9/25 at 7pm. We'll be on part two of our four part series of Discovering Your Voice. This week we'll be talking about "Freeing Your Voice" and, of course, there will be many opportunities to free your voice through writing. So bring your notepad and favorite writing utensil!


Grace & Peace ~ deAnn