By Jenny Fulton

I’ve loved telling stories and writing since before I could write, when I’d dictate my tales to my mom, who patiently wrote them down. But I didn’t get serious about improving my knowledge and skills in the craft until I was teaching in China in 2007 and didn’t start writing a full-fledged novel until I was hired to do so in 2014, when my oldest daughter was a year old. I didn’t get intentional about writing and publishing my own books until 2019 and didn’t attend an in-person writing conference until March 27-28, 2026.

The Conference: ACFW Write in the Springs (WITS)

Location: La Foret Conference and Retreat Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado

Theme: The Forest and the Trees: Characters, setting, and heart that create meaningful stories

Speakers: Lisa Phillips, Pepper Basham, Jaime Jo Wright

In short, it was amazing. I’m still processing everything and probably will be for some time. Since many people have asked me how the conference went, I decided to share my overall impressions of the event and some of my key takeaways.

I tend to imagine and build up expectations of new experiences to such a degree that reality has a hard time competing. As the days drew closer to the conference, my logical mind warned me I was doing it again and that I should probably temper my eagerness to a more reasonable level. My imagination promptly ignored that logic. Though, in actuality, I didn’t know what to expect. What I did know what that I was looking forward to meeting like-minded writers I could connect with on a deeper level than strictly online connections allow, gaining a few practical tips that could direct me in how to better market my children’s books, and learning story-building techniques that could improve the development of the Navajo mystery I’m working on. In one of those rare and beautiful moments of human existence, reality exceeded my expectations.

Overall Impressions – A Glimpse of the Body of Christ

“Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord. There are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons. But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good” (1 Corinthians 12:4-7, NASB).

Shortly before noon on Friday, March 27, I stepped into Lapp Lodge, unsure of myself and the process for the day, unacquainted with a single person in the room, fighting my natural urge to be an outskirts observer rather than an active participant. As I surveyed the available seating, particularly those in the back and towards the edge, I heard an inner voice shout above my ordinary inclinations.

“Be bold,” it said. “You didn’t come all this way to be invisible.”

So, I made my way front and center, determined to be as present and open as I possibly could. From that moment on, I strove to engage others in conversation (though many beat me to the initiating of it), and throughout that day and the next, I received a glimpse of the body of Christ.

The attendees came from around Colorado and other states. They ranged from 6 months old to don’t-ask-their-age. Their writing/publishing journeys extended from not-yet-published to award-winning and multi-best-selling authors. They wrote in the genres of non-fiction, children’s books, middle grade, young adult, romance, mystery, suspense, fantasy, and science fiction. There were self-published and traditionally published authors and some who’d published both ways.

So much variety. So many different personalities. And yet, every person held the same passion, the same purpose – to honor God with the gifts He’d given them; to share His light, truth, and love through writing.

Sessions by the speakers and one-on-one conversations with both the speakers and attendees revealed common questions and struggles. What’s next for me in this journey? Where is God leading? How can I grow in this gift He’s given? Is my writing making a difference? How do I get my books out there? Book signings are awkward (even for best-selling authors apparently).

The most experienced listened and offered feedback to those of us newer on this path. Writers at all stages gave and received encouragement to keep pushing on. We rejoiced in each other’s progress and commiserated over the disappointments and setbacks.   

Lisa and Scott Phillips opened each session with worship, beautiful and powerful as the entire room lifted their voices and souls in harmony with the One who had given us this similar and yet incredibly unique, tailored-to-each-individual, calling.

As one of the speakers later said, “Recognize that your calling is your calling because He has given it to you and we’re all in this together.”

Key Speaker Takeaways

Bestselling romance author Pepper Basham opened the conference encouraging us to trust God with the story of our lives.

Cultivating an Indie Career

In her Friday sessions, independently published, bestselling suspense author Lisa Phillips challenged us to, “Invite your readers on an adventure only you can take them on,” and encouraged us to, “Keep showing up.” With soft, relatable humor and a kind, matter-of-fact personality, Lisa presented us with doable strategies and described marketing as an opportunity to connect to and build relationships with readers.

Phillips also urged us to view our creativity as a resource and to be intentional about cultivating it.

“Take a solo artist date,” she said. “Once a week, do something creative, besides writing, that fills you and makes you feel like yourself… Play for the sake of playing. Explore and try new things.”

Mystery/Thriller/Suspense Genre Writing

Multi award-winning Gothic author Jaime Jo Wright filled her sessions with practical steps for developing meaningful, action-packed plots and provided us with opportunities to practice the methods on our own stories. Her teaching was sprinkled with sarcastic humor, that I could have way too much fun sharing out of context, and chock-full of deep lessons that stretch beyond an exciting story.

These are some of my favorite quotes:

• “Everything you write is practice.”
• “Write what you’re passionate about.”
• “Be careful of putting too much, too many layers into your book.”

And my absolute favorite: “The best [mystery/thriller/speculative] stories aren’t nihilistic – they use darkness to make the light visible… We write the darkness to show there is light and hope.”

Smooches and Stabs

While two of the three Saturday sessions were dedicated to genre-specific instruction, the third was a combined class with the romance and gothic writers. And what do you get when you combine those vastly different genres with two dynamic personalities? An absolutely hilarious, and highly educational, comedy show that Pepper and Jaime Jo have affectionately named, Smooches and Stabs.

Amid an abundance of laughs, and Jaime Jo playing with Pepper’s Lord of the Rings actions figures they used to illustrate their points, these women showed us how every genre gives you the opportunity to write and connect with characters on a deep, personal level. The genres just dress it differently.

Memorable Moments

Best-selling Author Conversations

Immediately following registration on Friday, we walked over to the Dining Hall for lunch. I found myself in conversation with one of the conference organizers and followed her to a table, that happened to be filled with the other conference organizers and all the speakers. For the most part, I sat back and listened, content to observe these best-selling, award-winning authors as they conversed about normal things, like which mystery/suspense tropes they’d used in their books. It went something like this:

“Have you drowned anyone, yet?”

“No, not yet, but I’ve had someone buried alive, or mostly buried. It was only up to their neck.”

“What about kidnapping?”

“Oh, yeah, I’ve had someone kidnapped…”

Personal Feedback from Jaime Jo Wright

On Friday afternoon, I attended my one-on-one mentorship meeting with Jaime Jo. She’s a new-to-me author and I’ve really been enjoying my first book of hers. I’d never been to one of these meetings, and we only had fifteen minutes, but Jaime Jo was so patient as I awkwardly fumbled through an explanation of my book and what kind of help I was looking for – mainly, does this make sense, is it a good idea, and how can I make it better. She encouraged me in my concept and gave me some great tips for how to write and develop the story and things to be intentional about including. Her suggestions triggered so many thoughts that my mind woke me up in the middle of night to describe them in greater detail to me.

Taylor Memorial Chapel

Before dinner on Friday, I took a short solo walk to the Taylor Memorial Chapel. One of my other sources of creativity is taking pictures, especially of nature. Being constantly around people for hours on end isn’t something I’m used to on a regular basis anymore. So, even though they’re all great and I enjoyed every interaction, it was refreshing to get away on my own and explore more of the beauties of La Foret.

Meeting Lisa Phillips

In general, I’m not much of a fan girl, but I do have to say it was pretty cool to meet and talk to the most famous-to-me, I’ve read a lot of her books, biggest name author I’ve ever met. I’d signed up for a one-on-one with her and Scott to talk about places and ways I could market my picture books and couldn’t be more pleased with how the conversation went. I appreciated how down-to-earth they were, how well they listened, the way they expressed a genuine interest in my books, and their enthusiasm as they offered suggestions for different things I could try.    

The Labyrinth

On Saturday, I decided to explore another campus location that had been recommended. But this time, I invited a new friend, award-winning children’s author, Kimberlee Gard. We slipped away before lunch for a bit of an adventure to find the prayer labyrinth. If you’ve never heard of this, as I hadn’t until recently, a labyrinth was part of many medieval castles and was created to help people on their spiritual journey. It’s kind of like a maze that leads to a center point, but there’s only one path, so you can’t get lost (perfect for directionally-challenged people like me). The idea is focus on God, talk to Him, and reflect on His work in your life.

It was the first time I’ve walked one. Since we were on a bit of a time crunch, we only followed it in (not out like you’re supposed to do as well), but that relatively short journey meant a lot to me. It was fascinating to realize that when you begin, the center – your goal, looks so close, and it’s hard to imagine how or why you’ll even need to walk the rest of the path. But the more steps you take, the more you realize that the first glimpse which appeared so near was actually the furthest point you’d ever be and the places where the goal seemed so incredibly far away were putting you closer than you’d ever been. I prayed as I walked, reflected on where God had lead me in my writing journey thus far, thanked Him for His guidance and opportunities He’d already given, and asked/pondered where He was taking me next. I can’t see much beyond the tasks I believe He has presently set before me, but I trust that each step will help me grow, will draw me closer to Him and His plans for me as an individual and a writer.   

Final Thoughts

I’ve often heard that writers should attend writing conferences so they can make personal connections with those in the industry (literary agents, editors, publishers, etc.) who can help them get published and succeed in this world. In one sense, that makes sense and is completely understandable. But in another light, it also sounds like an expectation to meet people for the sake of how they can benefit you.

Write in the Springs wasn’t that kind of conference. Aside from the fact there weren’t opportunities to pitch your work, it felt like this gathering was more about encouraging and building one another up, cheering each other on, and gaining more tools to use as we pursue the call to write that God has placed upon our hearts.   

I left with everything I was hoping to gain. I connected and made friends with like-minded writers, received doable advice in where and how to get my children’s books out there, and have so many ideas for developing my Navajo mystery that I can’t wait to finish and post this article so I can dive into organizing and fleshing out those ideas on paper so they’ll stop intruding at inconvenient times, like the middle of the night, when I’m driving, when I’m in the middle of a conversation with a real person…