Friday, January 13, 2012

Writers Weekend 2012

21ST ANNUAL

WRITER’S WEEKEND AT THE BEACH

. . . a gathering of writers, photojournalists
and poets

March 2 - 4, 2012

Ocean Park, Washington
Registration
______$199.00 (Full registration before February 17, 2012)
• Includes entire workshop
• Two-nights in the main lodge
• All meals, including Friday evening snack, three meals Saturday, and Sunday Brunch)
• A $50.00 non-refundable deposit is required with registration.
______$209.00 (Full registration after Feb 17, 2012)
______$149.00 (Full registration, but no lodging)
______$112.00 (Food and lodging only)
______$109.00 (Saturday only, includes lunch and dinner)
______$165.00 (Full registration—student)
______$10.00 per day - day use only
______$20.00 weekend RV hook-up
* Register by February 17 to receive the discount *
SPACE IS LIMITED. REGISTER EARLY!
• Lodging assignments are made in order received.
• Please indicate if you have specific roommate requests or special needs.
• Make check payable to: John Pelkey
Mail form to: A Writer's Weekend at the Beach,

John Pelkey
PO Box 617
Allyn WA 98524
Name__________________________________
Address________________________________
City/State/Zip ___________________________
Phone_____________ Email _______________
roommate preference (two to a room)
______________________________________
genre _________________________________
amount towards scholarship fund ___________

For more information or to be added to our mailing list contact:
Bob Hansen
360-262-0l60
bhansen6@juno.com

Tracie Heskett
bobtracie@hotmail.com

Link to Writers Weekend at the Beach Page on John’s Facebook site.
http://www.facebook.com/jcpelkey?ref=profile#!/pages/Writers-Weekend-at-the-Beach/171665466255915


21ST ANNUAL

WRITER’S WEEKEND AT THE BEACH


March 2 - 4, 2012
Schedule


Friday
3:00-7:00 –Arrive, check in (no meal provided -- * but John says pizza, first come, first served
7:00 – First activities including, but not limited to:
--Getting to know you
--Introducing classes
--intro to the weekend’s contests
8:00 Writing from Near and Far
Pat & Birdie discuss writing around the world and writing from your own backyard
9:00 –Snacks, catch up with old friends or make new ones, sleep
Saturday
8:00 – Devotions
8:30 - Breakfast
9:30-10:30 –Class #1 Writing for Chicken Soup Jan Bono
Or—Class #2 Fan Fiction – Borrowing a Platform Sharon Johnson
10:45-11:45 –Class #3 Help, Hope and Healing for Your Ailing Manuscript Pat Rushford
Or—Class #4 Poetry - Words for Any Genre Gail Denham
11:45-12:30 – Free time
12:30 – Lunch
1:30-2:30 –Class #5 Writing Lite – Hitting the Funny Bone Jane West
Or—Class #6 Writing Activities Tracie Heskett
2:45-3:45—Flash Fiction Gail Denham
Workshop and contest
4:00-5:15 –Panel discussion—“The Industry—Today and Tomorrow”
And or—enjoy the ocean experience
And or—camera time
5:30 – dinner
6:30 –? The Evening Special Event
--Writing’s Nitty Gritty
--Contest awards—come capture the coveted
-- Dramatic readings—your literary offerings to an adoring audience
--Musical talent on display
--Photo contest winners
--Skits
Sunday
8:00-10:00 –Critique groups by genre—come one, come all
10:00 –Brunch
Beyond brunch—Return to normal life—how boring

Your Teachers

Bob Hansen, your conference director, is a novel writer and humorist. His first published book, Why Can’t Women Understand Men, We’re So Simple, sold more copies than any other book in all of history (by that title). His first novel, The Bully’s Doom—A Whisperer’s Tale is a children’s fantasy.

Jan Bono wrote an award-winning newspaper column for over 10 years and has self-published a book of classroom anecdotes from her years of public school teaching. More recently, Jan has written several plays and two poetry chapbooks. She has also placed numerous stories with the “Chicken Soup for the Soul” series and national magazines. Jan enjoys teaching and coaching adults in writing, editing, and critiquing.

Gail Denham has sold articles and photos to magazines, book publishers, calendar companies, and newspapers for over 20 years. Credits include Guideposts, Northwest Living, Horse Illustrated, and many more. In the last 25 years, over 300 of Denham’s stories have appeared in at least 85 different markets. Gail also has worked as a manuscript editor, and was Editorial consultant and contributor to Zoomer & Co., a “Bookazine” publication.

Birdie Etchison has written a variety of books, including juvenile, nonfiction and fiction. She has been included in several anthologies and also writes articles and short stories. Recently she sold her first romance to Woman's World and an article to Grit magazine, both publications she'd tried to sell to for years. Besides teaching at various conferences, she worked as an instructor for Writer’s Digest Schools for over 22 years.

Tracie Heskett develops and writes curriculum for educational publishers. The author of several teacher resource books on Writing, Reading, Technology, Environmental Education, math, and English language learners, Tracie’s books have also been published internationally. Tracie has had poetry and articles published in Christian magazines. She taught multi-grades in public and Christian schools and presented workshops for teacher in-service sessions and at writing conferences.

Sharon Johnson (writing as Shannon Winslow) has completed three novels to date: two Austen-esque historicals and one contemporary mainstream. Her first, The Darcys of Pemberley (a sequel to Pride and Prejudice), was released August of 2011. The second novel, soon to follow, won third place in the PNWA writing contest last year. Sharon is a member of the Pacific Northwest Writers Association and co-founder of a local critique group.

Pat Rushford Pat has written numerous articles and authored over 40 books for children, teens, and adults. In addition, she conducts writer's workshops across the country. Most recently, Pat taught writing workshops on board a 110 day cruise around the world! Pat now has two of the Angel Delaney books out in ereader format.

Jane West writer, teacher, mentor, is the author of books, novellas, short stories, newspaper articles, poems and devotionals. She teaches a writing class of diverse genres, and has been called the "Queen of Handouts."

Join us at…

The Ocean Park Methodist Retreat Center & Camp…
85 wooded acres on the sand dunes along the Pacific shoreline on Long Beach Peninsula in Southwest Washington. The comfortable facilities include recreation halls, dining (the food is great!), and an inspiring view of the surf. (Emergency phone is 360-665-4367).

Directions to the Ocean Park Methodist Retreat Center:
Select your favorite route to the Long Beach Peninsula on Washington’s south coast. From Long Beach take Hwy 103 north to Ocean Park. In Ocean Park go straight (north) about a mile from the stop light. Approximate travel time from Seattle, 3-4 hours, and from Vancouver, WA, 2 ½ to 3 hours.

What to Bring: writing materials, a camera, binoculars, sleeping bag or bedding, pillow, towels, soap, comfortable clothes—warm and casual—jacket, hat or scarf, and a flashlight for night walks—and of course, questions, concerns, material to share at the reading Saturday evening, writing ideas and material to be critiqued during the Sunday morning critique session. Smoking permitted outside only. No alcohol or other drugs please.

The Retreat Center opens at 3 p.m. on Friday. You are welcome to come early to stroll the beach, enjoy the woods, read by the fire, play, write, or just relax and work out the week’s tensions.

A resource center and book table will be available during the retreat. If you have published works and would like them displayed and/or sold, please let us know when you register.

For more information call:
Bob Hansen
360-262-0l60
bhansen6@juno.com


Remember – it’s always nice at the beach!

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Opposition

I wonder... would life's interruptions count as opposition? I honestly don't believe my connection with God has been interrupted - I've been learning some things during this break from posting. In the interest of consistency, I'll pick up where we left off reading through Philippians with parenting in mind.

Philippians 3:3-6

Paul defines the opposition as those who put confidence in outward religious practices. He contrasts this attitude with those who worship God, those who place their identity and significance in Christ. He compares physical circumcision, or an outward sign of being set apart for God, with spiritual circumcision. We are set apart by Who and how we worship, as we focus on Christ and give Him the glory.

Circumcision in the Old Testament times reminded the people of God's promises to them, including the hope of the Messiah who would bring complete forgiveness from sins. Further, they were a people set apart for God's purposes, to share the good news about God's promise with other nations. Spiritually, circumcision referred to cutting away the old sinful nature. As followers of Christ, we take part in this spiritual circumcision. We cut rebellion out of our hearts, confess our sins, and turn back to God in sincere repentance.

As we teach our children, we make mistakes. We cut away our efforts to parent in our strength alone. We turn to God for HIs help to have the wisdom and patience to meet our children's needs. We look to Him for the right words to say to our children in specific situations. On our own we cannot do this; our confidence is solely in Christ.

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Protection against opposition

Philippians 3:1-2

Paul summarizes what he wrote in chapter two, saying finally, rejoice. In chapter four he says it again, rejoice. As we work to serve God in His purposes and build connections with fellow believers, we will have joy.

Paul says he doesn't mind writing them the same things again. His encouragement, teaching, reminders, and admonitions serve as protection against false teaching and those who oppose Christ. In chapter four Paul specifically discusses guarding our minds against these things. First, though, he describes the opposition. The false teachers we face today focus on man, not things of God. Even in the church we may find a list of customs and rules people say we must follow to worship God.

If we are aware of the opposition (of various kinds) our children will face, we'll find the patience necessary to teach or speak the same things over and over again. Our concern for our children's welfare motivates us to review lessons often to strengthen their learning. We never stop encouraging our children to make wise choices.

Monday, September 19, 2011

Networking

Philippians 2:25-30

Paul encourages and builds quite a network of believers through his correspondence. He wants to send Timothy to Philippi and he wants to see his friends himself. Paul says he will send Epaphroditus to the Philippians because they heard and were concerned about his welfare.

We can support this same fellowship and sense of camaraderie among parents in our community. As I raised my children, they participated in community soccer, scouts, church youth groups, and events at our neighborhood elementary school. We became acquainted with several families and discovered they engaged in some of the same activities we did. We developed working relationships and enjoyed the shared endeavor of parenting.

If you are the only Christian in your neighborhood, seek to develop relationships with fellow parents at a local church or other community organization. You may also find other Christian parents within a local elementary school with whom you can share encouragement in the faith. God's Word encourages us to build a network to share His love.

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Fellow workers

Philippians 2:19-24

This passage reminds me of verse four, chapter one in which Paul thanks God whenever he remembers his fellow workers. He hopes to send one of his close friends to Philippi. He values Timothy's concern for others. Paul mentions again the human tendency for selfish behavior, with people looking out only for their own interests. Timothy's life is an example of the servant's attitude illustrated by Christ, as described in chapter two.

Together Paul and Timothy have a commitment to God's work and a concern for fellow believers and their spiritual well-being. They invested time, energy, and resources into people's lives for God's glory.

Consider other believers you know and how they have helped you by example. Encourage othrs by sharing the good news about how you see God at work. Through Timothy's example, Paul reminds us to maintain an attitude of service as we go about the work God has for us.