Post Conference Perspective

8 Alley Cats in this picture, 10 in spirit.

Where do I even begin to post about the American Christian Fiction Writers conference (ACFW) in Dallas I returned from about a week ago?

To be honest, I don't think I've even begun to process all that I've learned.

The session about dialogue with Rene Gutteridge where I madly took notes as God showed me areas I needed to apply to strengthen my own writing skills.

A late Friday night chatting with my beloved Alley Cat friends, this was definitely a HUGE highlight of the conference for me.

An amazing critique session with Deb Raney. Getting tips on upping my conflict from one of my favorite suspense writers, Ronie Kendig. Meeting favorite authors. Giving a hug to those who have made a difference in my life.

But if there is ONE truth I took home and will carry with me from the conference it is the power of prayer in action.

It may sound cliche but the best thing you can do to help other writers is to keep them in prayer. There is a writer I know who sets aside one day per week for prayer and fasting about writing related things. I love that idea!

Michelle Lim...what an encourager!

The most transformational experiences I had at conference were times in prayer. Time alone in my room before an appointment that went differently than I had anticipated. Time praying with others about writing concerns and so much more. These were times I will always remember because it is so powerful when believers can connect over a shared love of writing. But even more than that because we shared a love for Jesus. That was what held us together.

Then there was the moment one dear lady caught me in the hall and recognized I needed prayer before I even recognized it myself. The Holy Spirit was at work as she prayed not only for my writing life, but the Spirit had showed her the struggle with guilt I had in being a writer and a mom. It was something she had no way of knowing, but she prayed powerfully for me and shared her experience. Something she had prayed only came to light for me later in the conference, at the time I was puzzled but I thank the Lord for the God who knows all and how he leads others to intercede for us.

God met me in my need, in my brokeness and that's where He wants to meet us daily.

I notice as my prayer life goes, so my writing goes. I think sometimes conferences can be mountain top experiences and I know for me I was spending a lot of time praying while away because I was so anxious about the conference. Since coming home, I've needed God to work on my heart in the area of prayer.

With Cheryl Wyatt, beautiful servant hearted lady I was so blessed to meet.

Today I was listening to a Focus on the Family broadcast with Ferni Nichols. She founded an organization called Moms in Prayer International dedicated to interceding for our children and for their schools. I am learning more about them as I am helping to lead a Moms in Prayer group for homeschool moms in my area.

It struck me today how we talk about books as being "our babies." I thought about how the mission of Moms in Prayer and its step approach to prayer might benefit writers.

We start out each meeting with praise focused on a specific attribute of God. Now, I have spiritual themes to my stories, but today I began thinking about specific attributes of God. I really want my stories to show who God is.

Examples would be:

God is merciful.
God is holy.
God is righteous.

How did this apply to my writing?

I believe God is Truth is the central attribute of my story. My main character from my first novel is escaping from a world of lies and looking for the truth that can only be found in Christ.

How about your main character? What does your novel show about who God is?

If you have a prayer request, writing-related or not, please feel free to post it here today or send it through email. My passion is to pray for others and I pray that God would increase my passion and yours for prayer.








Julia enjoys writing women's fiction whenever she can find a chair free of smushed peanut butter sandwiches and lego blocks. She is a wife and homeschooling mama of two littles. She also is a reviewer for Library Journal, Title Trakk and Christian Library Journal.