There is nothing quite as physically and emotionally draining as writers’ conferences. At the same time, there is nothing quite as exhilarating. In my next few blogs I will be sharing some of the events of this year’s Colorado Christian Writers Conference.

Ten minute speeches. In just ten minutes how much can you tell someone about your book? While judging Original Oratory for the National Christian Forensics and Communications Association I got some great examples of a person can present a lot of material in a short period of time. In less than a month I will be at the Colorado Christian Writers Conference participating in fifteen minute meetings with publishers and agents. These students demonstrated how much information can be presented in few minutes. If any of the young speakers had said they had a non-fiction book, I would have purchased it.

Go expectant, but with no expectations. That was part of the advice given today at the Words for the Journey meeting as we prepared for upcoming writers conferences. I remember a time I didn’t take that advice when I attended the Colorado Christian Writers Conference.

Can you speak as well as write? In today’s market, we have to be prepared to market our books and part of that means we need to have speaking skills. I spent two days listening to young speakers. We can take a cue from these excellent speakers. Below are my thoughts regarding the speeches application to fiction writing.

Author Megan DiMaria is one of the new examiners at Examiners.com. She has excellent help all writers, but new writers can find a wealth of information by checking out her site. I just finished reading her article on #Queryday. I think you will find it interesting and educational.

Last night I stayed up late watching The Ten Commandments for the gazillionth time. For those who are not old movie buffs, this is a 1956 re-enactment of the deliverance of the Jewish people from slavery in Egypt based on the book of Exodus staring Charlton Heston. It is regularly shown on the Saturday before Resurrection Sunday. Every year I find something new. This year I was reminded how even the littlest action can add meaning to the story. When Moses comes down from Mount Sinai, Aaron has been reluctantly participating in the worship of a golden calf.

This is a copy of the blog I recently wrote for Mile High Scribes - a soon to be chapter of American Christian Fiction Writers.

There are a limited number of plots for stories. I can’t remember if it is seven or nine plots, but the bottom line is that’s it – no more. So we know anytime we write a story the plot will be the same as someone else’s. Clichés all have an element of truth. That is why they are created. But, are our stories based on clichés of dozens of other authors?

Well, haven’t done so well on goal of weekly update for this blog, so I’m starting over again. I’m not even sure what I planned for the next entry when I wrote the last one, so I’m starting new. Writing is my passion – especially helping youth develop as writers. This week I was asked to head up a teen track for the Castle Rock Writers Conference. I said yes and am going forward with the plans. However, there is a glitch. There is a probability a gay and lesbian group will become one of the sponsors through a donation to the library.

It’s Thursday, January 29th and I just started working on my New Year resolutions, one of which is keeping this blog up-to-date with an entry each week. My goal for the year is to keep this blog up without missing a Thursday entry for the rest of the year. Last Tuesday I was challenged to think about why I write by speaker and author Kimberly Woodhouse. You can check her out at kimberleywoodhouse.com. It’s worth your time to check out how she brings JOY to her readers. Her challenge was to write to make your reader’s life better.

To all writers who like to laugh,

Check out www.robbieiobst.blogspot.com. Robbie is a writer who believes in laughter and finds ways to share her humor with friends. I hope you enjoy listening to her.

Chris