2017 Montrose Christian Writers Conference
Faculty Spotlight
Cathy Mayfield
Teen Track Moderator
Legacies Let Loose
What does receiving a legacy mean to you? Do you dream of mansions, jewels, coins, savings bonds, cars? Or, like me, do you long for the stories?
When my grandmother passed to glory, I regretted not writing out the stories she told about my grandfather’s days on the railroad in the 1940s. Some I remembered; others left with her. I would love to have those stories memorialized to read to our grandson one day so he could live his great-great-grandfather’s adventures:
- He would laugh about the live rooster Pop brought home in his lunchbox, forgetting to tell his wife before she opened the lid, and mayhem broke out.
- He’d giggle over Pop’s exploits trying to cram a several-hundred-pound hog back into a crate from which it had escaped
- He’d wonder over the mystery of where Pop went or what he did when he’d leave on secretive trips during the war. But those three stories aren’t enough.
Enter my passion for helping people to leave legacies by writing their stories for their families and friends. I began simply by writing my own in a journal with the aid of passwords (an idea from the book Passwords to Your Past by Max Kelly and Dorothy Breslin), which started an onslaught of writing ideas – devotionals, Bible studies, columns, and more. And my passion grew.
I began volunteering at senior care facilities, listening to the residents relate their cherished stories, pure joy to this writer. My goal remains to one day help them leave legacies by writing those stories and publishing them into booklet form for their loved ones to read someday.
A plaque my daughter bought me hangs on our wall: “Home is where your story begins.” Write it down before you forget! Help others write theirs! Let the legacies loose!
Teen Track Workshop Description
Ready, Set, Write…and Finish! 2017 Montrose Teen/Young Writers WIP Class:
• Get Ready! – Pick one of the hundreds of story ideas swimming in your head.
• Get Set! – Do some brainstorming or free writing until you have some storyline ideas, a setting, and some characters.
• Get Writing! – Start the writing process! Make sure you have a beginning which will hook your readers. Work on twists and turns as the middle proceeds.
• Get It Finished! – And that’s where we come in! Bring your manuscript. We’ll help you keep going…and going. Editing…and editing. Rewriting…and rewriting. Prepare to “Get it finished!”
Spread the word! Teens are always welcome at the Montrose Christian Writers Conference! Marsha Hubler, director