Notes From the Blue Rudge Mountains Christian Writers Conference

The BRMCWC was held May 21–25, 2006 in LifeWay's conference centre in beautiful Black Mountain, NC. Author Yvonne Lehmann is the conference coordinator extraordinaire. I have attended this conference for a few years, but was unable to make it this year. Rose McCauley attended and was good enough to share her impressions with us.

Yvonne Lehman opened the gathering by making her appearance as a slow but steady turtle, encouraging us to persevere to the finish line in our journey as writers. She and many other speakers during the conference encouraged us to write our best for the Lord and gave us examples of His creativity and how we can use the power of that creativity in our writing.

Each morning opened with praise and worship led by the inspiring group Promise. Wednesday showcased a special patriotic musical offering by a youth choir and orchestra from First Baptist Church in Ada, OK. Twice McNair Wilson, a former Disney Imagineer, wowed the audience with his dynamic performances on creativity and spirituality.

The rest of our mornings were filled with continuing classes on various writing genres. The faculty was wonderful—all multi-published, award-winning authors. In the afternoons, we had a wide array of electives and were also able meet with editors and agents. Each night featured another praise and worship service and more great speakers. Tuesday night we watched a movie based on Deb Raney's book, A Vow to Cherish.

On Wednesday evening, we were treated to a banquet where the winners of the writing contests were announced. Steve Youngblood was awarded second place, and Tracy Leigh Brown won first place in the Novels Category of the contest. All first place entries were judged for the Award of Excellence and Tracy won that.

In the midst of this entire jam-packed schedule, we found time to fellowship with old friends, meet new ones, pray with others. Ridgecrest has a number of shady porches filled with swings and rockers, inviting attendees to sit and relax.

My mornings were profitably spent in a fiction mentoring clinic with Gayle Roper and six other aspiring writers. I would encourage anyone to take this very helpful class. I was able to take a couple of Ron and Janet Benrey’s inspiring classes in the afternoon.

Some highlights of the conference were: the continuing classes; Eva Marie Everson’s and Allison Bottke’s heart-wrenching testimonies; Gail Martin’s and Gayle Roper’s calls to excellence; and McNair Wilson’s comedic but thought-provoking sketches. In short, everything was a highlight for me!

I came to the conference not knowing whether I should even try to continue writing. I left with a plan, a purpose and the knowledge that God can use me to accomplish His will.

Rose McCauley is published in 4 non-fiction anthologies and is continuing to work on getting published in fiction.

Next year, the conference will be held May 20-24, 2007. Information can be found at: http://www.lifeway.com/lwc/mainpage/0,1701,M=200375,00.html - scroll down until you see Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference.