Northwest Christian Writers Association

Monthly Meetings

We meet on the first Monday of each month, September through June, from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM. The September and January meetings are held on the second Monday because of the holidays. Our meetings are hybrid in-person and remote. Emails with meeting details and links to join are sent to all contacts prior to each meeting.

To request an online meeting link, contact our secretary.

We meet at Eastside Foursquare Church, 14520 100th Ave. NE, Bothell, WA 98041 and on Zoom. Join the online meeting early! We start informal socializing at 6:45 PM. It is a great time to meet people.

Opportunities to Present

Each month there is an opportunity for a NCWA member to give a five-minute devotion at our meeting. It is a wonderful opportunity to gain some speaking experience and encourage our members from the Word of God.

Are you a member of NCWA? Do you have a word of encouragement from God’s word? Has God lavished His care upon you, and you wish to raise your voice in thanksgiving? If so, please consider signing up to give one of our monthly devotions.

Use your creativity with words and stories to encourage us. Five minutes is a short amount of time, but still long enough to share a powerful message. Here are a few tips:

Choose a single verse or short passage.
Identify one or two points you want to make.
Keep it simple. Five minutes is not enough time for complexity or topics and stories that require long explanations or set up.
Practicing and timing your devotion will help you refine your message and stay within the time limit.

If you wish to participate, please contact our Devotion Coordinator. We look forward to what you share.

Bonus tip: Consider writing up your devotion and submitting it to our newsletter.

Our members have learned things along the way in their writing journeys. The ten minute Writer’s Coach segment of our meeting provides an opportunity for a member to teach a skill or share a tool for the writing craft.

Are you a seasoned writer who is a member of NCWA with experience and knowledge in a skill area or tool of the writing craft? You might consider volunteering to do one of our 10-minute Writer’s Coach segments. It provides presentation/teaching experience for you and our members benefit from the things you learned on your writing journey.

Here are a few tips:

Choose a single concept, skill or tool.
Plan & Rehearse – If you know you tend to run over shorten the time you allow yourself when practicing. Prepare a one sentence summary you can use if you realize you need to cut it short.
Suggestions to help focus the presentation
- Pick something that helped you refine and improve your writing.
- Introduce us to a tool, software, or event and tell us how it helped you.
- Include an exercise to practice or understand the skill.

Remember the purpose is help equip those listening.

If you wish to participate, please contact our Writers Coach Coordinator.

Bonus tip: Consider writing up your writing coach tips and submitting it to our newsletter.

Opportunities to Share Milestones

If you are a writer who has begun submitting work to publishers, congratulations! Please share your writing-related milestones during the CELEBRATIONS AND REDIRECTIONS portion of our monthly meetings. By the way, we rename rejection letters redirection letters, because we trust that God has an even better plan for your work.

Do you have any publishing news to share with us at a monthly meeting?

What kind of news qualifies?

Getting a book published (self or traditionally).
Publishing an article in a magazine or online publication.
Winning or becoming a finalist in a contest.
Receiving a rejection letter—Hey, it means you’re submitting and in the game.

How does it work?

Double check—this is for members only.
You can sign up by sending an email to our Vice President no later than the day before the meeting or sign up in person at the meeting.
If you are present during the meeting our Vice President will call on you to come forward to share your news. If you are remote, you will unmute your microphone when called on and share.
Because of our time constraints, it is especially important that you limit your sharing to 30 SECONDS. You might want to practice to get a feel for how long you have.
If you share remotely, you will mute your microphone when finished.

We want to hear your news! By sharing your news, we can give glory to God with you and are encouraged in our own journeys.

Are you a published writer who is a member of NCWA? We would love to hear some highlights from your publishing journey. Sharing your story in this five-minute format at our monthly meetings encourages those who are still working towards their publishing dreams.

Sharing highlights from our writing journeys at NCWA is all about recognizing God’s faithfulness to us and encouraging others to keep moving forward on their writing journeys. It is your story and your five minutes. Be creative in how you get it across within the time given.

Here are a few tips:

Strip it down. There is not enough time for long explanations or set up. Well-chosen essentials communicate powerfully.
Plan and rehearse. If you know you tend to run over shorten the time you allow yourself when practicing. Prepare a one sentence summary you can use if you realize you need to cut it short.
Focus your presentation. Here are some suggestions that might help.

In a simple statement answer the question “Why do you write?"
What was one thing that helped you persevere when discouraged?
What was the most significant turning point?
State the success, what was published.

Remember the purpose is to be an encouraging example to those listening.

If you wish to participate, please contact our Author Support Coordinator. We look forward to hearing about your journey.

Bonus tip: Consider writing up your Writers High Five and submitting it to our newsletter.

Members of NCWA can participate in a book launch at a monthly meeting for their newly published books. Book launches include:

Five minutes to describe the book during the meeting.
Opportunity to sell the book at the in-person meeting.
Announcement about the book on NCWA’s Facebook page.
A free book giveaway.

Do you have a newly published book? We want to celebrate with you and help you promote your book to our members.

Qualifications for a book launch:

NCWA member for six months.
Book content agrees with NCWA’s Statement of Faith.
If selling the book at the in-person meeting, the author must be registered as a business with the Department of State Licensing.

Responsibilities:

NCWA provides a table for display purposes.
Author provides everything for the display and sale of their books.
Author is responsible for paying their own sales tax.
Author provides bio, book blurb, photograph, and book cover graphic to the Author Support Coordinators for use on Facebook and in NCWA emails.
Provide a free book for the book giveaway.

If you wish to participate, please contact our Author Support Coordinator.

Upcoming Speakers

May 5 - Cobbling Together an Income as a Writer

Julie McDonald Zander worked as an award-winning newspaper reporter and editor for twenty years before launching her personal history business, Chapters of Life, in 1999. Since then, she has published more than seventy-five individual, company, community, and organizational histories, including histories of Centralia College, Bucoda, Chehalis, the Hemphill-O’Neill Company, and the Lewis County Courthouse. She also does freelance editing for clients and, since May 2007, has written a column once a week for The Chronicle in Centralia, Washington. She has organized conferences and taught workshops for writers, editors, and personal historians.

In 2024, she published her debut novel, The Reluctant Pioneer, inspired by her research for a nonfiction book about the same person. That book, Washington Territory’s Grand Lady, was a finalist for two national awards.

Julie and her husband, Larry, have two grown children.

June 2 - Writing Family Stories

From cautionary tales to heroic inspiration, learn how to write family and local history into your stories.

Angela Breidenbach is the executive director for the International Institute of Genealogical Studies, found at GenealogicalStudies.com, where she helps people become professional genealogists and gain their dream career. As a bestselling author of historical fiction, her stories capture true history while she uses her skills as a professional genealogist to weave in the people, place, and time to bring the past to life. Whether in writing or teaching, Angie is a passionate story-telling educator preserving the past for future generations. Find her latest 6-book series, Queen of the Rockies, at AngelaBreidenbach.com.

Past speakers

June 3, 2024 - Lynnette Bonner

The Lug Nuts You Need to Keep the Tires of Tension on Your Story

USA Today Bestselling author Lynnette Bonner was born in Malawi, Africa, and spent the first years of her life reveling in warm equatorial sunshine and the late evening duets of cicadas and hyenas. The year she turned eight, she was off to Rift Valley Academy, a boarding school in Kenya where she spent many joy-filled years and graduated in 1990. That fall, she traded to a new duet–one of traffic and rain–when she moved to Kirkland, Washington to attend Northwest University. It was there that she met her husband, and a few years later they moved to the small town of Pierce, Idaho.

During the time they lived in Idaho while studying the history of their little town, Lynnette was inspired to begin the Shepherd’s Heart Series with Rocky Mountain Oasis. Marty and Lynnette have four children and currently live in Washington where Marty pastors a church.

September 11, 2023 - Jeremiah Webster

I See Satan Fall Like Lightning: Writing to Reenchant the Spiritual Imagination

Can the reality of Imago Dei eclipse the failings of a troubled protagonist? Can the Christian imagination speak to a generation captivated by Stranger Things, Squid Game, and the Marvel universe? Can the means of pop culture advance theological ends?

Jeremiah Webster teaches literature and writing at Northwest University.

October 2, 2023 - Athena Dean Holtz

Strong Words for the Writer Accuracy - Certainty - Transparency

To be lights in this dark world and for the words we pen to transform our readers, we must do our part to ACT realizing that God is working in us to do just this. Discover three core concepts to ensure your words achieve his good purpose.

_ It is God who works in you to will and to act on behalf of His good purpose.

(Philippians 2:13)

Athena is the founder and publisher of the collaborative custom publisher Redemption Press. She has recently been named Publisher of the Year (2022) by the Soul Cafe Awards.

November 6, 2023 - Eric Wilson

The Fringes of Faith: Redemptive Writing in the Darkest Places

Eric Wilson is a New York Times bestselling author with over 20 books in print, ranging from mystery to supernatural suspense to historical biography. In 2023, he released his family memoir, American Leftovers: Surviving Family, Religion, and the American Dream.

As a young boy, Eric lived in both Europe and India, and has traveled to 40 countries. Married 33 years, he and his wife, Carolyn Rose, have two grown daughters and two grandchildren. He loves hiking, chess, basketball, and peated scotch. He also loves Jesus, and tries to show others the same grace he has been shown.

December 4, 2023 - Rachel Linden

The Secret Superpowers of Story

Rachel Linden is a novelist and former international aid worker whose adventures in over fifty countries around the world provide excellent grist for her writing. She is the author of five novels including The Magic of Lemon Drop Pie and The Enlightenment of Bees. Her newest novel, Recipe for a Charmed Life, releases January 9th. Currently Rachel lives with her family on a sweet little island in the Pacific Northwest where she enjoys creating stories about hope, courage and connection with a hint of romance and a touch of whimsy.

January 8, 2024 - Matt Mikalatos

Writing without Boundaries

Matt Mikalatos is the author of 10+ books -- fiction, non-fiction, memoir, YA, MG, a picture book, ghostwriting, and an upcoming graphic novel -- as well as being a writer on a TV show and a feature for Sony Affirm, and co-creator of a science fiction show at AMC with New York Times bestselling author Hugh Howey. He lives in the Portland, Oregon area with his wife, three daughters, and a giant rabbit named Bruce.

February 5, 2024 - Genre Network Night

February is our online Genre Networking night. In addition to many of our regular meeting features, we will break out into genre groups for questions and discussion. You won't want to miss this special opportunity to get to know other Northwest Christian writers.

Genre Breakout Groups

Children's
Contemporary
Speculative
Historical Fiction
Non-Fiction

March 4, 2024 - Kara Swanson

Writing from a Scar not a Wound: The art of crafting emotionally resonant and impactful stories

Kara Swanson is the Christy Award-winning author of stories about fairy tales and fiery souls. She spent her childhood a little like a Lost Girl, running barefoot through lush green jungles that inspired her multi-award-winning Peter Pan retellings, Dust and Shadow. She is also the co-founder of the Author Conservatory, a three-year college-alternative filled with hundreds of students, where she teaches young writers to craft sustainable author careers.

April 1, 2024 - Pitch University

Practice Pitching to Experts

Learn how to sell your manuscript to an agent/editor expertly and confidently, a vital tool for professional writers.

Perfect your five-minute pitch and one-sheet.
Learn tips from experts.
Practice your short pitch/share your one sheet with fellow writers.
Give your pitch to an experienced coach who will help you polish your approach.
Show your one sheet to a veteran writer who will provide pointers to enhance it.

If you are pitching your book at the conference, you are highly encouraged to attend, so you’ll be ‘pitch ready.’

May 6, 2024 - Chris Lumry

Seven Science-Informed Tips to Refreshing Joy & Momentum in Your Creative Process

Chris Lumry is a filmmaker, author of Creativity Unlocked, Creativity Activated, and Create Today, and founder OneStepGrowth, a mission-driven company, to help people increase joy and purpose through neuroscience-informed approaches to creativity. He studied public affairs at Princeton and holds Master’s degrees in business and public policy from Harvard. After working on international social impact projects and in Silicon Valley, an unexpected wellness journey and personal awakening sparked a new approach to life and unlocked his own creativity. Favorite expressions include electronic music, sand volleyball, strategy ideation, movies, and nerding out on policy over a cup of Earl Grey tea. He also leads OneStepHope, a nonprofit that creates hope-filled content to reduce stigma and inspire action around substance use disorders and related challenges. Its first feature-length documentary highlights transformative solutions being pioneered in Alaska.