Schedule
Friday, January 17
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6:00 - 7:00 pm
Check-In
Lodge Lobby
6:30 - 7:30 pm
Welcome Reception & Happy Hour
Fellowship Lounge
7:30 - 8:15 pm
Introductions & Intention Setting
Shayne Moore, Director
Great Lakes Room
8:30 - 9:00 pm
Vespers & Worship
Catherine McNiel & Riley Vandermaas
Lake Superior Chapel
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Saturday, January 18
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7:30 - 8:10 am
​Prayer & Pilates
Amy Hamilton
Huron Room
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8:15 - 8:45 am
Breakfast
Dining Room
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9:00 - 9:30 am
Devotions & Worship
Catherine McNiel & Riley Vandermaas
Great Lakes Room
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9:45 - 10:30 am
Plenary Session
Dawn Anderson
The Aspiration Behind Our Writing
Great Lakes Room
10:30 - 10:45 am
​Break
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10;45 - 11:30 am
Workshop Sessions
Peggy Sue Wells
Michigan East Room
Plotting Pivotal Plots and Shaping Sensational Settings
Increase suspense and interest in your story through plots and subplots. Weave your unique spin on the nine original plots, enhanced through the point of view that best serves your tale. Sensational settings come in four forms from nearly invisible to an active main character. Enhance your story with time, place, and mood so three-dimensional that the setting is essential to the tale.
Linda Taylor
Michigan West Room
Writing Real
Flannery O’Connor wrote, “Anybody who has survived his childhood has enough information to last him the rest of his days.” And, by extension, plenty to write about! In this interactive writing session, we’ll learn some techniques for mining our lives for material to write about and discuss how to tell those bits of our story in the most compelling ways possible. This session helps people find the theme in any piece of work and give it meaning.
Kelli Worrall
Ontario Room
Noon
Lunch
Dining Hall
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1:00 - 1:45 pm
Plenary Session
Dawn Anderson
The Audience for Our Writing
Great Lakes Room
1:45 - 2:00 pm
​Break
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2:00 - 2:45 pm
Workshop Sessions
Peggy Sue Wells
Michigan East Room
Well Said: Drafting Dynamic Dialog
Great dialog is quoted for generations. Here are the do’s and don’ts of effective dialog including styles of speech, clue words, transitions, what to do with profanity, and what words should never appear in your dialog. Fill your story with conversations that are clever, concise, and crucial.
Linda Taylor
Michigan West Room
Get Those Articles Out the Door!
Let’s talk about writing articles and their accompanying query letters, organizing your submission process, following submission guidelines, and getting published. After this session, you’ll be ready to take those articles currently sitting in neat little folders on your computer and get them out the door and into publication. Learn how to find and meet publication guidelines, submit, and keep track of submissions.
Kelli Worrall
Ontario Room
3:00 - 3:45 pm
Writing Prompt Workshop
Tracy
Great Lakes Room
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4:00 - 5:00 pm
Pickle Ball and Free Time
Jackie Freeman
Gym
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5:30 - 6:30 pm
Dinner
Dining Room
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7:00 - 7:30 pm
Vespers & Worship
Catherine McNiel & Riley Vandermaas
Lake Superior Chapel
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8:00 pm
Cookies & Hot Cocoa
Fellowship Lounge
Read Aloud Sharing of original works by Maranatha Writers
Sunday, January 19
7:30 - 8:10 am
​Prayer & Pilates
Amy Hamilton
Huron Room
8:15 - 8:45 am
Breakfast
Dining Room
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9:00 - 9:45 am
Worship Service
Catherine McNiel & Riley Vandermaas
Great Lakes Room
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10:00 - 10:45 am
Plenary Session
Dawn Anderson
The Authority of Our Writing
Great Lakes Room ​
11:00 - 11: 45 am
Group Photo & Hike to Beach
Great Lakes Room
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​Noon
Lunch
Dining Room
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1:00 - 1:45 pm
Special Session
Shawna Beyer, Moody Radio Grand Rapids
Great Lakes Room
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1:45 - 2:00 pm
Break
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2:00 - 2:45 pm
Workshop Sessions
Peggy Sue Wells
Michigan East Room
Avoid These Five Rs for a Successful Writing Career
Recognize, shift out of, and avoid the five Rs of rejection, resentment, resistance, revenge, and repeat for successful personal and professional relationships.
Linda Taylor
Michigan West Room
Enhance the Power of Your Devotionals
The devotional market is evergreen so is a great opportunity for many writers. In this session, we’ll talk about the three Cs of writing powerful devotionals, finding ideas for devotionals, characteristics of good devotional writing, and different formats you can try out in your own work. Craft powerful devotionals that carefully handle Scripture.
Kelli Worrall
Ontario Room
3:00 - 3:45 pm
Writing Prompt Workshops
Tracy
Great Lakes Room
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4:00 - 5:00 pm
Pickle Ball and/or Free Time
Jackie Freeman
Gym
​​
5:30 - 6:30 pm
Dinner
Dining Room
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7:00 - 7:30 pm
Vespers & Worship
Catherine McNiel & Riley Vandermaas
Lake Superior Chapel
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8:00 pm
Cookies & Hot Cocoa
Fellowship Lounge
Read Aloud Share of original works by Maranatha Writers
Monday, January 20
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7:30 - 8:10 am
​Prayer & Pilates
Amy Hamilton
Huron Room
8:15 - 8:45 am
Breakfast
Dining Room
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9:00 - 9:30 am
Devotions & Worship
Catherine McNiel & Riley Vandermass
Lake Superior Chapel
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9:45 - 10:30 pm
Final Session
Shayne Moore, Director
Great Lakes Room
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11:00 - Noon
Check Out
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Silent Writing Day
(Optional Add-On, with overnight)
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Noon
Pick up Picnic Lunch
Dining Room
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Afternoon
Silent Writing Time
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5:30 pm
Group Dinner
In Grand Haven
Meet Lodge Lobby
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Evening
Silent Writing Time
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Tuesday
8:00 am
Check Out
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