40th
Annual Christian Writer’s Conference Recap
The Mount Hermon Christian Writer’s Conference is about
increasing our knowledge, improving our writing skills, making new friends and exposing
our best work to critique so it can one day be read by others. I came away
realizing it was a “You had to be there!” experience. However, here are the
highlights from my perspective.
First, Mount Hermon is
truly a slice of heaven. To drink in the beauty of the location, raise our
hands in song and prayer to the Lord with all walks of denomination and have
the common call of writing for His glory is sheer joy.
Second, the talent available to learn our craft is
staggering. I had the privilege of sitting at the feet of Mona Hodgson who has written multitudes
of children’s books and articles. I learned more about the details of writing
for children, including the nuance of manuscript submission for the genre, in nine
hours than many months of self-education. I am armed with all I need to write
and submit the next best-selling children’s book.
Lastly, the conference provided every opportunity to have my
work critiqued. I submitted two manuscripts and had each one critiqued by two
different faculty members. I was very encouraged to hear I write well, provide
engaging dialogue and grab the reader’s attention. I also submitted my picture
book manuscript for editorial review by Nick Harrison at Harvest House Publishers.
Although it was not a fit for their house, he liked the story and referred me
to other publishers where the fit was better. I also pitched two article ideas
to Jesse Florea of Clubhouse and Clubhouse Jr. for Focus on the Family and he
liked them.
I feel blessed by the whole experience. God had prepared me
with a teachable spirit. I am grateful for that. It was very exciting to have
such talented authors show such sincere interest in my work. Now I am ready to get
back to work.
Chris Pedersen lives with her husband and a chocolate lab named Brandy in
the beautiful Sierra foothills in California. With two grown children
and three grandchildren, she has turned years of writing mostly
technical material into writing for children. You can learn more about Chris by visiting her blog: Paws and Ponder.
