NJCWG Postings

As you can probably tell, I've been a bit neglectful of this blog lately. The year-end closing at work, Christmas and my family have been recent priorities and my blog needed to take a backseat for a while. If NJCWG members come across writing opportunities or have information they want to post, please feel to drop me an email. I'll get those posted in short order. I simply do not have the time to research information for the blog at this time. Bear with me as I get through a few other matters. The blog will run high again in a few months.

Merry Christmas and may God bless each and every one of you.

Louise Bergmann DuMont
Facilitator of the NJCWG

Christmas Party Update

Once again the 2005 NJCWG Christmas Party was a grand success. I believe everyone had a marvelous time -- I know that my husband and I did. If you were not able to attend, you'll have an other opportunity to socialize with our group at the 2006 summer pot luck picnic.
To see more pictures of the Christmas party, go to www.louisedumont.com and click on the NJCWG tab.

NJCWG Christmas Party

REMINDER
Monday, December 12, 2005
NJCWG Christmas Party
No more meetings until 2006
6:15- ?
Il Plazo
Ringwood Ave
Wanaque, NJ

Quotable Quote

Alice Walker
Deliver me from writers who say the way they live doesn't matter. I'm not sure a bad person can write a good book, If art doesn't make us better, then what on earth is it for.
~Alice Walker

Essay Contest fromThe Dabbling Mum

No Fee Essay Writing Contest by The Dabbling Mum All materials copyrighted

Amateur and professional writers are welcome. There is NO entry fee to win these great prizes. Subscribe to our e-newsletter, enter our essay contest below ↓, and you could win these great prizes! FIRST PLACE PRIZE SECOND PLACE PRIZE THIRD PLACE PRIZE Bath Basics Basket Included in this decorative basket is a 6oz Loofah Bar, an 8oz pack of Sizzling Tub Bombs in decorative romantic shapes, an 8oz bottle of Starlight Bubble Bath and an 8oz bottle of our Pixie Oil-Free Bath Oil Retail: $23 value From: The Enchanted Spa Coffee Scented Cup & Saucer Candle Retail: $19.95 From Coffee Scented Candles 3 handmade soaps Homemade soap from the finest, natural oils. Retail: $15 From Cabin In The Woods Creations $10 Gift Certificate From Jilps Tups One Heavenly Hineys All-In-One Diaper with one Lay-In soaker in the size of your choice. Retail: $15.95 From Heavenly Hineys Flowertimes cloth menstrual pads starter kit Eco-friendly and environmentally safe. Includes 4 assorted holders and 8 assorted inserts, plus a carrier. Retail: $35.00 From Home Works Enterprises Please CLICK ON THE CONTEST SPONSOR LINKS ABOVE and recommend them to friends. They make this contest available, FREE OF CHARGE! Thanks! In 500 to 600 words write a personal essay using the sentence given below. Your essay may be true or hypothetical or a mixture of the two: based on real facts. When writing your personal essay, think anthologies: Chicken Soup For The Soul and God Allows U-Turns. Avoid telling the story and let us experience it. Step away from the how-to this time... All entries must be received by: January 1, 2005 by 8 p.m. Eastern Time Zone. If you've missed the deadline, don't worry. A new contest will be posted by the 10th of the following month! ESSAY MUST START WITH THIS BLURB: "Writing home has always made me feel..." Submit Your Winning Essay! Subject: Contest Entry Your full name: Your email address: Your complete address: (Required to send prize.) Please tell us how you found us? Paste your descriptive, story-telling essay using the following format: (1) Tell us if the essay is hypothetical, made up, or true, (2) Your 500-600 Word Essay (3) Your Byline, and (4) Your Web Address (optional) Send your email to: dm {at} thedabblingmum.com RIGHTS By submitting your essay, you agree to the following conditions: Winning entries WILL be posted on The Dabbling Mum website and in our e-zine without further compensation. You also grant us the right to archive your winning essay indefinitely on a webpage on this website. ATTENTION WINNERS AND WINNERS-TO-BE By entering this contest, you agree to the contest rules and the legal disclaimer. ONEY ENTRY PER SUBSCRIBER PER MONTH. All essays that follow our guidelines will be included in the essay contest. Three winners will be picked. KEEP EMAIL ADDRESSES CURRENT Please make sure your email address is correct and your email filters do not prevent us from sending you the newsletter. Thank you for understanding. YOUR PRIVACY IS IMPORTANT TO US We DO NOT sell or trade your email or private information—ever! Not now and definitely not in the future!!

Vista Print Holiday Sale

Here is a chance to let someone you love give you a great gift (at a bargain price) for holidays. Vista print is having a great pre-holiday sale on everything from business cards to Christmas Cards.

Premium Business Cards starting at $3.99 for 250 cards.
Return Address Labels - 140 @ $3.99
Postcards - 100 @ $12.49
Notecards - 10 @ $3.99
Invitations - 10 @ $3.99

Check it out
http://www.vistaprint.com/

Writing Op - Outreach Mag

OUTREACH MAGAZINE
Outreach, Inc.
2560 Progress St.
Vista CA 92081-8422
Phone: (760)940-0600
Fax: (760)597-2314
E-Mail: lwarren@outreach.com
Website: www.outreachmagazine.com
Editor: Lynne Marian.
Contact: Lindy Warren, managing editor.

Frequency: Bimonthly
"Outreach is designed to inspire, challenge, and equip churches and church leaders to reach out to their communities with the love of Jesus Christ."
80% freelance written
Circulation: 30,000, plus newsstand
Accepts simultaneous submissions
Accepts previously published submissions
Responds in 2 months to queries. - Mail & Email
Responds in 8 months to manuscripts.
Sample copy and writer's guidelines free.

Needs: Book excerpts, How-To, Humor,Inspirational, Interview/Profile, Personal Experience, Photo Feature, Religious
Special Issues: Vacation Bible School (January); America's Fastest-Growing Churches (July/August).
Does Not Want: Does not want fiction, poetry, non-outreach-related articles.
Buys 30 manuscripts/year.
Submission method: Query with published clips
Length: 1,200–2,000 words.
Pays $375-600 for assigned articles; $375-500 for unsolicited articles.
Columns open to freelancers: Outreach Pulse (short stories about outreach-oriented churches and ministries), 75-250 words; Questions & Perspectives (a first-person expert perspective on a question related to outreach), 300-400 words; Soulfires (an as-told-to interview with a person about the stories and people that have fueled their passion for outreach), 900 words; From the Front Line (a profile of a church that is using a transferable idea or concept for outreach), 800 words, plus sidebar; Soujourners (short interviews with everyday people about the stories and people that have informed their worldview and faith perspective), 800 words.
$100–375 for columns.

"Study our writer's guidelines. Send published clips that showcase tight, bright writing as well as your ability to interview, research, and organize numerous sources into an article, and your ability to write a 100-word piece as well as a 1,600-word piece."

THIS INO SUPPLIED BY:
Annette Dammer, homeschool mom, wife & College English instructor (FTCC)
Author READY, SET, GO! A Year of Object Lessons for Kids (Baker Books, 2003)
Publisher: TEEN LIGHT: The Teen 2 Teen Christian Magazine, Gal 5:22
Founder: Writer's Helper.Org - Writers' Workshops Online, All the Time, Matt 18:20

SNOW DAY

Hope you are all enjoying the snow today (12/9/05). I'm snuggled down in my livingroom recliner -- not going to work today (whopee). What a great day to write!! Hope you have the same opportunity today.

Louise Bergmann DuMont
www.cafemochalight.blogspot.com
www.louisedumont.com

Quotes

Here are a few quotes I wanted to share with you:

When Jesus comes, the shadows depart.
~Author unknown, inscription on a Scottish castle

What good is having someone who can walk on water if you don't follow in his footsteps? ~Author Unknown

If I might comprehend Jesus Christ, I could not believe on Him. He would be no greater than myself.
~Daniel Webster

CBA Christian Marketplace Lists

CBA’S NOVEMBER CHRISTIAN MARKETPLACE LISTS ONLINE. The new November best-seller and category top-seller lists—based on September sales—are now online at http://www.cbaonline.org/TrackingLists/BSLHome.js

Article - Becoming Your Own Editor by Moira Allen

Word Smith Writer recently reprinted an EXCELLENT article entitled -- Becoming Your Own Editor by Moira Allen. Check it out!

http://wordsmithshoppe.com/MAllen_OwnEditor.htm

Congratulations

NJCWG member, Lisa Ramadan, took advantage of one of the writing opportunities that are posted on this blog. This past week she was notified that one of her stories is being including in The WordSmith Shoppe's Winter Writerland project. Congrats Lisa!

Narnia Movie Review

NJCWG member, Karen Flores, was priveleged to participate in the pre-viewing of "Narnia" this past weekend and she's written a review of the movie. Follow the link and read for yourself what this movie is all about.

http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/testimony

Meeting Tonight - Lesson-Plot Structure

The last official NJCWG meeting for 2005 is tonight !!!

Monday, November 21, 2005
6:15-7:00 - Chat Time
7:00-8:00 - Lesson
8:00-9:00 - Critiques

LESSON
Tonight I will start lessons (contined in 2006) on story structure and plotting. We will use Angela Hunt's Story Skeleton as our base. Whether you write fiction or nonfiction, you won't want to miss these classes.

NJCWG Christmas Party

FOR NJCWG MEMBERS

Topic of our Christmas Writing Event -- Snow.
Rules: You must incorporate the words Winter and/or Snow in your manuscript. It may only be one page long (single spaced). We read our pieces outloud at the Christmas party. No critques -- only an evening of fun.

AN OFFICIAL RSVP IS NECESSARY.

Place: Il Palazo, 600 Ringwood Ave, Wanaque, NJ
Date: Monday, December 12, 2005
Time: 6:00 pm
Cost: $30.00 per person - for a wonderful buffet

I must get a headcount of those who will attend our Christmas Party. I am NOT sending out individual invitations. Please email me if you (and a spouse or friend) will attend. Our Christmas Party takes the place of our regular meeting.

You must call me or email me to confirm your RSVP and the number attending. So far only TWO persons who emailed me.

Louise Bergmann DuMont
njcwg.dumont@gmail.com

Blessed Thanksgiving

I want to wish each of you a blessed Thanksgiving. I am thankful for so many things -- among them: the NJCWG, the many Christian writers I've come to know and the many readers who share their love for my writing.

After you celebrate this holiday of thanks, remember to jot down your experiences and your thoughts. This is also a great opportunity to share your faith with friends and family. Let them know who it is you thank for your blessings and who you depend on when things get you down.

I am also going to my readers a favor. While many of us look forward to spending holidays with family and friends there are those, who not by choice, spend this time alone or in situations not of their choosing. Foster kids are separated from parents who can't properly care for them, relatives fear for those serving overseas and single parents fret over a limited income and security for their children. Then there are incarcerated inmates, the homeless, those in hospitals & nursing homes and the mentally ill. Let us not forget these and others who don't share a picturesque holiday when we pray.

Take this one step further. Make a phone call to the widow or single mom in your church. Send a note of encouragement to your great-aunt or your grandfather who lives alone. Make a commitment to serve food at a soup kitchen -- not on Thanksgiving -- but during the summer months when they are short staffed or in the cold winter months when others conveniently forget the needs of those less fortunate.

I pray that you have a blessed Thanksgiving -- but I also ask you to go out and bless someone else with what our Lord has blessed you.

NOTE: I will not be posting for the next few days but please feel free to drop me an email if you plan to attend the NJCWG Christmas Party (Dec 12).

Louise Bergmann DuMont
Facilitator of the NJCWG
njcwg.dumont@gmail.com

Contest, Fiction - Highlights Magazine

WRITING CONTEST

Highlights for Children is sponsoring its 27th Annual Fiction Contest. Entries should explore the true spirit of holiday celebrations. All entries must be postmarked between Jan. 1 and Feb. 28, 2006. Three prizes of $1,000 each will be awarded. Entrants must be at least 16 years old. Stories may be any length up to 800 words. Stories for beginning readers should not exceed 500 words. Work from both published and unpublished authors is welcome, though submissions must be previously unpublished. The three winning entries will be announced in June 2006 and will be published by Highlights.

For more information, visit the contest Web site:
http://www.highlights.com/custserv/customerservicecontent2main.jsp?iContentID=1584&iCategoryID=203&CCNavIDs=3,203

Quotable Quotes

A story is a way to say something that can't be said any other way, and it takes every word in the story to say what the meaning is.
~Flannery O'Connor



In short stories, it is better to say not enough than to say too much, because I don't know why!
~ Chekhov in 1888

NJCWG Members -- Christmas Party

FOR NJCWG MEMBERS

Topic of our Christmas Writing Event -- Snow.
Rules: You must incorporate the words Winter and/or Snow in your manuscript. It may only be one page long (single spaced). We read our pieces outloud at the Christmas party. No critques -- only an evening of fun.

AN OFFICIAL RSVP IS NECESSARY. So far, only Maude Carolan and Ann Crediford have responded. Everyone is welcome.

Place: Il Palazo, 600 Ringwood Ave, Wanaque, NJ
Date: Monday, December 12, 2005
Time: 6:00 pm
Cost: $30.00 per person - for a wonderful buffet

I must get a headcount of those who will attend our Christmas Party. I am NOT sending out individual invitations. Please email me if you (and a spouse or friend) will attend. Our Christmas Party takes the place of our regular meeting.

You must call me or email me to confirm your RSVP and the number attending. So far only TWO persons who emailed me.

Louise Bergmann DuMont
njcwg.dumont@gmail.com

Market News

‘NARNIA’ NEWS. In collaboration with The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (Walt Disney Pictures/Walden Media) film release Dec. 9, Just Read, Florida! is implementing a statewide event featuring grade-level-specific contests to promote literacy among public, private, and homeschool grades 3-12. The Orlando Sentinel reported Disney-MGM Studios announced a Dec. 9 opening of a new attraction called “Journey Into Narnia: Creating The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.” The 15-minute walk-through attraction begins with visitors stepping into a giant wardrobe for a behind-the-scenes look at the film.

ECPA CHANGES GOLD MEDALLION AWARDS. The Evangelical Christian Publishers Assoc. announced its Gold Medallion awards program will change radically, cutting award categories from 20 to six, dropping one of two judging rounds, rating books differently, and awarding the top-rated title the Jordon Book of the Year award. An awards name change will be announced early in 2006.

CBA’S NOVEMBER CHRISTIAN MARKETPLACE LISTS ONLINE. The new November best-seller and category top-seller lists—based on September sales—are now online at http://www.cbaonline.org/TrackingLists/BSLHome.js

NELSON LAUNCHES NCV BIBLE FOR GEN XY. Nelson Bibles (Nelson) will launch a major promotion of the newly revised New Century Version Bible translation to 18- to 34-year-olds. Plans include a Web site, www.myfaithandlife.com, nline promotions, innovative products, and a series of public service announcements created in partnership with the Bible League airing on TV and radio stations in early 2006. In February, the first full-length NCV audio Bible will release.