In The Power of One, Bryce Courtney tells the story of Peekay
and the power of one person to change the world. There is a lot of truth in
that. We have heard of heroes – Joan
D’Arc, Martin Luther, William Wilberforce, Florence Nightingale, Martin Luther
King Jr, Mother Teresa, Nelson Mandela – people who changed the course of
history.
And yet, there is also a power in the many.
Writing can be a solitary pursuit, compounded by the fact
that many of us are confirmed introverts. This was certainly the case when I began writing in my late
teens and early twenties – and finished my first novel scribbling away in spare moments and even in between patients. A friend typed the manuscript for me, others read it and encouraged my efforts. In the early
1990s, I began to seek publication (with one positive nibble) but then life
took another turn and my first book baby languished in a virtual bottom drawer until
4 years ago when another school-mum mentioned the post-graduate course she was
doing. I took the plunge and enrolled – making online writing friends and
plunging back into writing fantasy novels. Yet I was still basically a solitary
writer beavering away on my own.
And perhaps this wasn’t surprising given that there wasn’t a
great deal of support or prospects for writers of Australian (and New Zealand)
Christian fiction in the 1990s.
For me the tide turned when I heard about the Word Writers
Fair/Camp in 2011. That was a heady if humbling experience – suddenly being
among so many already published authors, as well as editors and publishers. I
came away inspired and with a bunch of new writing Facebook friends across Australian
and New Zealand. At the conference, I
attended the Caleb Prize dinner and heard about Omega Writers and met the
redoubtable Rochelle Manners. Paula Vince invited me to join the Christian
Writers Downunder Facebook group, and I began blogging for CWD in 2013, joining
Omega Writers later that year. In September
2013, I was invited to join the newly formed ACW group. In 2014, Deb Porter
introduced me to Faithwriters. Since 2012 I’ve attended each of the Writers
Conferences and been an active participant of the various groups.
Doing a Masters in Writing has been inspiring and
challenging, but I can honestly say my participation in the Christian Writers
Conferences, CWD, Omegas, ACW and Faithwriters and networking with other
Christian writers has been of equal value.
It’s been heartening to see these groups work together,
supporting Christian writers in Australasia. In recent days this has been
confirmed with a post from Omega’s new President Simon Kennedy about the revamped
Caleb prize on CWD blogspot, a cross-post on vanity publishers by Narelle
Atkins on both CWD & ACW blogs and yesterday a post by Iola Goulton
introducing ACW to CWD.
So what is the difference between these groups and why not
just have one group?
Omega Writers
Was launched in 2010 under the indomitable vision of its first
president Annie Hamilton as a writers group (with paid membership) and in
conjunction with the Caleb Prize awarded to top Australasian Christian books and one unpublished manuscript. Omega provides to members with an up-to-date website,
chapters with local & special interest writing groups, news links,
workshops, retreats, mentorships and manuscript appraisals, book reviews as
well as a directory of members.
Christian Writers Downunder
Starting as a small group in 2010, CWD currently has over
600 members.
CWD is a writing support group with a friendly and helpful
Facebook group, a blog that has been going since 2010. This year, CWD (in
conjunction with By the Light Books) is publishing Glimpses of Light anthology with
poems, flash fiction, short stories and creative non-fiction from Christian
Writers Downunder. It also ran a lively FB group and two virtual cabins during
NaNoWriMo’s Camp July.
While CWD appreciates our wonderful international members,
our particular focus is on Australian and New Zealand writers, editors and
publishers – we have a broad focus on different genres as well as welcoming
cross-over and general market fiction writers.
Australasian Christian Writers
ACW was formed in August/September 2013 and now has over almost
400 members.
Like CWD, ACW also has a Facebook group and blog – Iola
explains this groups distinctive here.
In particular, there is a greater focus on Christian fiction, readers
(as well as writers) and international members. Also, ACW has recently run a
Romance Competition and is currently running a NaNoWriMo FB group for those
brave enough to do NaNo this month.
Faithwriters
Faithwriters has a paid membership (with a free trial
membership). While it is based in the US, a number of Aussie and Kiwi Christian
authors are involved, including Deb Porter (who is also the prime mover of
Breath of Fresh Air Publishing).
There is a large overlap in membership between the different
groups. And of course there are other lcoal writing critique groups too, as well as secular and international writers groups.
I can't help but wonder - could it be a movement of God that a number of groups were
raised up to support Christian writers in Australasia from about 2009 onward?
Certainly there has been cross pollination and, despite possible clashes of
personality and opinion, an overall harmony in goals and vision. And sometimes our differences make us stronger. The sharp disagreement between Barnabas and Paul (on account of John Mark's failure) actually
served to expand God’s work (as Paul headed off to new opportunities in Asia Minor and Greece). So to the
formation of these different groups have further enriched and encouraged Christian
writers in this part of the globe.
Annie Hamilton named Omega’s annual award CALEB – Christian
Authors Lifting Each (other’s) Books. In an ICFW blogpost, she reminds us that during the battle against the Amalekites, Joshua needed Moses to
keep his arms lifted to the Lord, and Moses needed Aaron and Hur to help him
hold his arms up. So too we are called to hold up each other
arms, to support each other, celebrating our differences and uniting in our
common purpose to honour God through our love for books, reading and writing
poems, stories, novels, blogs, devotionals and non-fiction for all ages, for those both within and outside the church.
Jeanette O’Hagan
Meerkat image courtesy of tratong at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Jeanette O'Hagan has a short story published in the general market Tied in Pink Romance Anthology (profits from the anthology go towards Breast Cancer research) in December 2014 and two poems in the Poetica Christi’s Inner Child anthology launched in July 2015. She has practiced medicine, studied communication, history and theology and has taught theology. She cares for her children, has finished her Masters of Arts (Writing) at Swinburne University and is writing her Akrad's fantasy fiction series. You can read some of her short fiction here.
You can find her at her Facebook Page or at Goodreads or on her websites JennysThread.com or Jeanette O'Hagan Writes .
