CWG Member News: September 2023

I recently accompanied my daughters to a fleece-to-shawl competition in which they participated. If you don’t live in an agricultural area, you may not be familiar with sheep-to-shawl, fleece-to-shawl, or its Angora cousin, Angorapalooza. They are each timed team competitions in which members work to create a finished product (scarf or shawl) starting with either fleece or an animal itself. The scarf pictured above was created by the winning youth team, which created a forest-themed shawl.

For this competition, each team included a carder/flicker, two spinners, a plyer, and a weaver. Your hands likely stay cleaner as you write a novel (or other project), but there are plenty of similarities in these creative endeavors.

The person(s) carding and flicking is preparing the wool for use, combing it out and removing any impurities. This is your preparation, where you take your raw material and shape it into something useable. It’s akin to your remote preparation for writing – developing ideas, scenes, and themes before you even touch fingertips to the keyboard or pen to paper.

The spinner then takes that wool and transforms it into yarn, a useable product. It takes patience as the spinner feeds wool into the wheel and practice at creating yarn that is uniform. As a novelist, you are figuratively spinning a yarn. You’re creating something from nothing, building a tale—your first draft.

The spun yarn next goes to the plyer, who strengthens the yarn. It becomes thicker and more robust for use in the final product. In writing, this is your revision stage, where you shore up plot holes and correct inconsistencies.

The yarn now moves to the weaver, who, according to the design, creates a beautiful end product to be enjoyed by the wearer. The design complete, the ends are woven in. This is when your novel is given its final polish. The themes and threads are woven seamlessly, giving you a beautifully designed and created story readers can relish.

God’s creativity is mirrored all around us. We are so blessed.

Please read on for Guild activities and opportunities!

Carolyn Astfalk
President

Last call for the CWG October Retreat!

The Catholic Writers Guild’s Retreat for Catholic Writers has returned and is scheduled for October 9-13, 2023, at St. Francis Retreat Center in DeWitt, Michigan.

The retreat offers ample time away from life’s distractions to focus on writing, whether it’s developing a proposal, polishing a manuscript, banging out a first draft, or meeting an editorial deadline. Time is provided for critiques by fellow Catholic writers.

Deacon Greg Kandra, best known for his popular blog “The Deacon’s Bench,” will deliver daily reflections. Deacon Kandra is an author, speaker, blogger, and award-winning journalist, who was ordained a deacon in the Diocese of Brooklyn in 2007.

Cost, including room and all meals, is $875. The retreat center is conveniently located five minutes north of Lansing, Michigan, an easy drive from the airport, and a shuttle is provided.

How can the Guild help promote your book?

For many years, Guild member Michael Fraley has organized and orchestrated our monthly book blast, meant for members to share another Guild member’s book far and wide in a concentrated promotion effort. Thanks to Michael for his long and faithful dedication to this endeavor!

Due to a lack of member response (both by authors seeking promotion and fellow members promoting) in recent months, this promotional opportunity has been discontinued.

The Guild is currently seeking new ideas for helping to promote fellow members’ work.

Please send your ideas to Catholic Writers Guild Vice President Barb Szyszkiewicz at vicepresident@catholicwritersguild.com.

Guild Member-Hosted Retreat in Sunny Florida!

Sorry, gentlemen. This one is for ladies only.

Longtime Guild member Karina Fabian is hosting a writing retreat open to ladies of the Catholic Writers Guild.

When: January 5-9, 2024.

Where: The Fountains, Orlando, Florida.

How much: $300 includes accommodations, food, and transportation to Mass at the Basilica of Our Lady, Queen of the Universe.

Limited to the first six paid registrations.

Questions? Email Karian Fabian at karina@fabianspace.com.

Downloadable Guild Flyer Coming Soon!

Congratulations to Guild member Sarah Anne Carter, who earned herself a free year’s membership by successfully designing a Guild promotional flyer that our members can download and print for display or distribution when they are attending promotional events.

Look for the flyer linked in next month’s newsletter and on our Guild website.

Thank you, Sarah!

Online Conference Volunteers Needed

Volunteers are needed to moderate presentations and pitch sessions. The conference is February 23-25 and pitch sessions February 28-29 and March 1.

You must commit to three sessions during the conference to qualify for free admission. Use this webform to volunteer.

Live Conference Coordinator Needed for 2024

Guild member Amy Cattapan has done a fabulous job with our live conferences for several years, but Amy is ready to step aside. Therefore, we’re seeking a new chairperson for 2024.

As the Catholic Marketing Network is not holding a 2024 event, we will be back with the Association of Catholic Publishers (ACP) again next year. By all accounts, last year’s event in collaboration with ACP went wonderfully, and we’re grateful to have been invited back!

While the Chicago-area event is in late May, planning begins now, and we’re seeking a new coordinator. The coordinator will:

Work with the CWG Board and the Catholic Writers Conference Live Committee to organize and run the annual live conference. The Chair will also need to communicate with the contact person at ACP.
The Chair also needs to work with the CWG Treasurer to make sure speakers are paid.

There is a stipend for this volunteer position, and Amy has prepared an entire folder of files to assist and guide the new chairperson. Please prayerfully consider whether God is calling you to serve the Guild in this way. To volunteer, email president@CatholicWritersGuild.com.

Legend Haven: 10.14.2023

Our friends at Legend Fiction, a creative community for Catholic & Orthodox fiction authors who love fantasy, scifi & more, are hosting Legend Haven on October 14, 2023.

The online convention for writers and readers of fantasy and sci-fi returns for its second year! Register for FREE and secure your spot in the ultimate celebration of faith-inspired storytelling.

Prepare to be dazzled by what awaits you at LegendHaven 2023:

Live Meetups: Immerse yourself in the enchanting world of faith-inspired fiction as you chat with your favorite authors and fellow avid readers during exhilarating live speed meetings!

Hangouts: Dive into a world of free workshops, led by seasoned mentors, where you’ll hone your writing skills and uncover secrets to crafting captivating tales that will leave readers spellbound!

Expo Booths: Explore our virtual expo, teeming with authors, writing services, and bookworms like yourself. Engage in thrilling conversations about your favorite stories and discover new and exciting worlds of fiction!

This year’s theme is “Worlds without End,” a captivating tribute to the infinite possibilities that await within the realms of imagination. Bring your faith, your fandom, and your most extraordinary costume as you prepare for a convention like no other!

Claim your free ticket.

The CWG Blog Needs You!

If you possess writing skills, editing skills—or both, please consider writing and/or editing for the CWG Blog.

We offer:

Flexible schedule
A venue to improve and/or exhibit your talents and abilities in the area of Catholic writing
Admission into an association of like-minded, and talented individuals

Benefits:

An opportunity to share your faith
The satisfaction of knowing you have offered your God-given talents for the common good

To volunteer, email blog@catholicwritersguild.com

Thank you to Guild member Nancy Bechel for this beautiful image incorporating our prayer!

You should be able to right-click on the image and save to your computer or save to your device, keeping it handy on your desktop or wallpaper so that you can make a habit of praying before writing. Look for a downloadable high-res copy on our website soon.

Heartbeat

Whether you’re a new member or you missed the email invitation in your inbox, we’d like invite you to join the Catholic Writers Guild Heartbeat community!

More than 280 of our members have joined, and it has become a lively place for our members to discuss, chat, critique, plan meet-ups, and more!

If you are an active member (meaning your dues are paid up) and have not received or have lost your invitation, reply to this email, and I’ll be sure you receive an invitation. (If you’re not a member, you can still access our Sunday night chats and the public portion of our community.)

If you missed Guild member Kate Frantz’s (Thy Olive Tree) free Heartbeat talk in January, “Self-Publishing a Good, True, and Beautiful Book – The Three Non-Negotiables,” it’s now available here.
July’s free Heartbeat talk by Guild member Maureen Platt is now available here.

Deadline approaching!

God, Your Writing, and You

Guild member Karina Fabian is compiling a book of inspirational stories (nonfiction) around writing as Catholics. The idea is to make it a gift to the Guild to give all members and to sell on Amazon (with proceeds to the Guild). These are short stories about how God has affected your writing in a concrete way, stories about saint writers, success stories, etc. This is NOT a devotional or a lessons-style book.

IMPORTANT: To contribute, please read and follow the guidelines.

Due date: October 1, 2023.

No compensation. Each contributor gets a one-sentence bio with a link per story.

Seal of Approval

Application dates for 2024:

Monday, January 15
Monday, April 15
Monday, July 15
Monday, September 16

During the 24-hour application window, you can access the Seal of Approval application form. Reminder: If your book has received an Imprimatur, it is ineligible for the Seal of Approval but receives all benefits associated with the Seal. More information on the Seal of Approval process.

Reminder: Books designated with an Imprimatur or nihil obstat are not eligible for the Seal of Approval but automatically enjoy all the benefits of that designation.

To become a volunteer evaluator, email the SOA committee at SOA@catholicwritersguild.com. Training is provided.