ANWA Leadership

by Cindy R. Williams

Did you know that ANWA is the premier writing group for LDS women only around the world. Okay, ANWA is the only writing group for LDS women only around the world. There are now 341 members around the United States including Hawaii!

Did you know how ANWA runs?

Did you know the ANWA Executive Presidency exists of five positions:

President:  Peggy Urry. She is the acting President for ANWA for 2014
President Elect:  Cindy R. Williams. (me) My position is more like a Vice President this year and in 2015, I will be the acting President.
President Past: Janette Rallison. She was the acting President in 2013, and as the Past President is still part of the ANWA Executive Presidency for this year.

Think of it in the terms of the Christmas Carol. Peggy is the Ghost of Christmas Present. Cindy is the Ghost of Christmas Future, and Janette is the Ghost of Christmas Past.

Also part of the Executive Presidency are:
Secretary: Deb Eaton
Treasurer:  DeAnn Hufff

The ANWA Executive Presidency meets twice a month. We host a computer or phone meeting through Google + Hang Out in the late evening on the last Thursday of the month. Our second meeting is on the first Tuesday of the month with the ANWA Bod (the nickname for the ANWA Board of Directors). Sometimes these meetings go on for hours . . . many hours.  Meetings where we discuss policies, retreats, marketing, communications, development, finances, conferences and needs of ANWA members.

The ANWA Bod consists of:

Event Chair: Melinda Carroll
Communications Chair:  Nan Marie Swapp
Development Chair:  Donna Hatch
Conference:  Janette Rallison and Rebecca Lamoreaux.
Retreat Chair:  Cindy R. Williams
Membership Chair: Marsha Ward, who is stepping down and will be replaced by Susan Haws at the end of June.  (Thank you Marsha for years and years and years times 10 of your service and heart.)

Many hours, prayer and thought go into ANWA each month. Know that when we all meet together, the concerns of members is of utmost concern to each in the ANWA leadership.

There are also five other ANWA leaders:  The ANWA Regional Directors.

Southwest Regional Director is Melinda Sanchez
Northwest Regional Director is Terry Deighton
International Regional Director is Peggy Urry
Intermountain Regional Director is Jodi Milner
Eastern Regional Director is Terri Wagner

ANWA is an amazing organization with By Laws and rules and regulations and lots of blood, sweat and tears.  Most of all . . . lots of inspiration, creativity, love and laughter!

ANWA forever!

Morning brakes

By Beckie Carlson

It's a Friday morning at 5:30 am and I am awake. I don't have work or a screaming baby so...why in the world am I up? Well, one might say I am righting a past wrong or fixing a mistake or making the world a better place, one shed at a time. No, I'm not cleaning my shed, I'm moving it. I did this not long ago. It's kind of a big deal. I have three sheds that are very handy, very full, and very heavy. I can't possibly move them, even if they were empty. I have to call a crane company to come and pick them up and move them, even if I only need them moved a few feet. Like, say, ten feet. Yes, that is how far my $430 is moving my sheds. 

There are times when I wish I was a morning person. When I actually do get up this early and get stuff done, it is an amazing feeling. The house is quiet and I can focus and get loads of things done without any interrupting. My Facebook friends are mostly still asleep as well so, no distractions there. The problem comes around 11:30 am when I completely run out of steam. That is when I remember why I like sleeping in.

Don't get me wrong, I get up at 5:30 every day of the work week. There is just something different about getting up that early when I don't really "have" to that makes my entire day thrown off in a good/bad way. The good is all the stuff I get done. The bad is the entire afternoon I tend to sleep away.

My sister is a morning person. She gets up at the crotch of dawn and runs or bikes or swims or does any number of self punishing activities. I think about how awesome that must be. I think about it while I lay in bed, watching the sun creep through my windows. I think about that when I go to bed. Sometimes I even plan to get up early and follow her example. But I rarely do. My rationale is that I prefer to workout/exercise at night. Of course, I don't do that either....

My daughter did manage to drag me to the gym on Wednesday. I'm so impressed by her. She is in amazing shape. She spends two hours a day at the gym doing painful things like squats, and...well, it seems like we did a lot of squats. This could be why she has a great back view and why I can't sit down without crying out in pain. I'm supposed to go again today and do arms. Hmm this sounds like a lot of fun. The only problem I see is, how will I get up off a chair if my arms are as weak as my legs? I'll end up rolling around the floor helplessly. Maybe I should insist she buy me one of those medic alert things for when I fall and can't get up. 

Cause I said so.

Photo credit: www.lift-run-bang.com

How do you separate your like and potential?

by Terri Wagner

This is a questioning post. I am a judge in several contest entries. Thank goodness I am not the only one. But I give each story a try. Trouble is sometimes the story seems well done, has a significant plot, and meets the criteria for a short story. However, I don't like it. It's not my cup of tea...would never read it in a million years. Can't stand the topic, blah blah blah.

I look at the other judges' comments AFTER I have read the story myself. I am always astonished to find that for the most part, I don't agree with the other judges. Most of the time I rate the story on how well it's done, whether it seems to match short story material. But I find a lot of other people just didn't like it, thought it was boring, blah blah blah (kudos to whoever made up that line, it's a great one).

So question: How do you judge a story? Your own or someone else's? Do you take into consideration what it is...series, stand alone, genre...or do you just think nope not interesting????

Naming Characters

By Claire Enos

I was trying to decide what to write, but I couldn't think of anything. I wanted to do something light and fun instead of serious. I still couldn't come up with anything, so I decided to ignore it for now, and instead work on a new idea for a story. Then, I couldn't decide what to name my characters. One in particular is bugging me, I can't seem to name her! I don't know much about her yet, but I wanted to give her a Japanese name, but I was having trouble finding a suitable name for her.

So, my question for all of you is: How do you start a story? And how do you settle on a name for a character? Does the name come first, or the description and attitude?

Have fun writing!

<3Claire