Critique

Founded in 1997, Word Weavers International is dedicated to providing a forum for Christian writers to critique one another's work in a face-to-face format, whether in a traditional chapter or in Word Weavers' unique online "pages," so as to improve craft. Writers of all levels are welcome.

Events

Each October, Word Weavers International holds an annual event, Florida Christian Writers Conference, for writers at every level. FCWC is held at Lake Yale Baptist Conference Center, which is nestled in the splendor and majesty of a large cluster of live oaks and a wide sparkling lake to bring not only writing instruction but spiritual refreshing. Word Weavers provides scholarships to members and nonmembers alike.

Community

By holding monthly meetings, providing constant contact through news blasts and our newsletter, and by use of social media means, Word Weavers offers its writers a sense of community. Word Weavers is highly recognized within our industry, its members respected for their professionalism and work.

The mission of Word Weavers International is to help members find their unique voice, strive for the exceptional and not settle for the mundane, and to raise the quality of our members’ writing to a publishable level. We endeavor to fulfill our mission and vision by:

 

 Actively praying for one another’s successes

 Holding regularly-scheduled critique sessions

 Offering annual conferences for in-depth learning and networking

 Providing scholarship funds to conferences to our members

 Sharing information about writing opportunities, conferences, and contests through our newsletter, The Loom

 Offering smaller, genre-specific critique groups in addition to the general critique sessions when possible

 Helping connect members with editors, agents, and other publishing professionals

 Providing guest speakers at meetings, retreats, and workshops

The Sandwich Critique Method

 

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Why I Wrote: A Future And A Hope

3/20/2023 1:10:00 AM BY Caroline Powers

 “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord…

Jeremiah 29:11 is a popular verse for a reason. Who hasn’t clung to its promise in a time of disappointment or uncertainty? I surely have.

We all need hope.

I can’t say I started my book, A Future and a Hope, with a fully formed idea of imparting hope, but I knew from the start that I wanted to write about loss because it governed my life for so long. My circumstances aren’t particularly tragic, but a theme runs through them, and its roots go back a generation. Physical and emotional distance compounded by being uprooted yields fruit. In my case, fear and insecurity.

Voila! This describes my main character, Larkyn. I gave her a more dramatic loss for interest’s sake along with a background of rejection. Like me, she had to find freedom, but her injuries and her path would be very different.

Writing comes naturally to me, so the idea of writing a book wasn’t a stretch. Writing fiction, though? That was quite a stretch. I am a prolific journal-er. I process my questions and pain through writing to Jesus. The process functions like prayer, but greatly slowed down by writing it out. I often pour out my complaints like David in the Psalms. I ask questions. Answers come to my mind. I try to figure things out. I cry and I release them.  

While this process gives me familiarity with emotions and truth, none of it prepared me with the skills needed to transform an abundance of words into a novel. Once I learned what a scene is supposed to do, I found creating them with description and dialogue came easily. Unfortunately, capturing Larkyn’s healing journey in a plot that followed story structure remained elusive.

It took five rewrites of the entire novel to come up with a goal that worked with her passive, defeated condition. She had no goal. She couldn’t imagine having a goal. I entered contests and got critiques. I studied techniques for plotting. Finally, the story began with a very thin goal of buying an engagement present for her best friend. While on the way, I added a daring (for me) beat in which Larkyn fantasizes taking her life.

This is interrupted, of course, and we see immediately that she doesn’t really want to die. Life continues to intervene, and goals are thrust upon her. She meets the man who will eventually become her romantic partner according to the rules for romance novels.

To answer the question these blogs are about, my question becomes, “Why This Book,” when it seems like nonfiction would have been easier.

The answer has to do with emotion and how stories impact our hearts. I wanted to apply what I learned on my own journey by creating a picture of healing relationships in action. I wanted to show friendship and the growth of love between Larkyn and her partner-to-be, Gabe.  Most of all, I wanted to include the Gospel and show how faith in God can heal our hearts.

In the seven-year-long process of bringing my book to its launch in January 2023, things have happened in the world. Fear has multiplied and hope for the future is threatened. Many readers tell me it reads like a movie playing. They don’t want to put it down, and they don’t want it to end. I am grateful for such feedback.

It seems like I wrote A Future and a Hope for “such a time as this.”

_______________

Since she could hold a pencil, Caroline Powers (Word Weavers Winston Salem/Page 3) loved to write, but it wasn’t until later in life that she got serious about writing a book. With years of emotional healing behind her, a calling to share what she’d learned about freedom emerged. The power of stories in her own life ignited her passion to tackle a novel.

The result of her efforts, A Future and a Hope, was released in January of 2023 and won the silver award for Romance in the ACFW 2022 Genesis contest.

A native of Denver, Colorado, Caroline moved many times in the course of her early life. She now lives in a downsized empty nest with her husband Dan in the Piedmont Triad of North Carolina where she is working on a sequel, In All Things. Caroline and Dan visit family in Albuquerque/Placitas, New Mexico, and Houston, Texas frequently. She loves sopapillas, chili rellenos, Texas brisket, and dark chocolate in any form. Caroline is a member of Word Weavers of Winston-Salem and Page 3 online, American Christian Fiction Writers, and the Christian Author Network.

Quirky Fun Fact: Caroline loves games almost as much as chocolate. Whether it’s Monopoly with her eight-year-old grandsons, Settlers of Cataan with a friend, Trekking the World with her husband, or Poker with her siblings, she’s always up for a game.

 

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