Dallas-Fort Worth Catholic writers are making progress

Last year's Catholic Writers Conference
in Arlington, TX provided the inspiration
for our group. We've achieved a lot since then.

The most recent meeting of the DFW Catholic Writers Group gave evidence that the encouragement of the group is helping writers finish projects. Although attendance was somewhat sparser than most meetings, there was plenty of progress to report.

Curt Lampkin has had two pieces published in recent months, in prominent Catholic publications. First was a letter to the editor of the well-known apologetics magazine, Catholic Answers, highlighted as "letter of the month," in which he discusses the need for better catechesis of Catholics. Also, on April 18, The Catholic Thing website published an essay in which Curt intrepidly tackles both the topical (the Boston Marathon bombing) and the perennial "problem of evil." He argues against the claim that a good God wouldn't permit the evils that have come to seem an almost daily occurrence in our modern world.

Bernadette Waterman-Ward shared a portion of an opera libretto that she is working on, in collaboration with a Catholic composer. The work will recount the Biblical story of Elizabeth and Zechariah, bringing in both the way the Old Testament prefigured the birth and ministry of John the Baptist and the way John's life prepared for and contributed to the mission of Christ himself. And all of this must be compressed into a brief text of only about 4,600 words.

Lisa Nicholas reported that she has completed a 120,000 word first draft of Cast Into the Deep, a Catholic science fiction novel that will be the first of a planned series of 6 or more novels. And Melissa Finn read a short essay on how she finds brief moments for contemplation and restoration in the midst of the life of a busy mother of young children -- this piece will soon appear as a guest blog post on Nancy Ward's blog, Joy Alive in our Hearts.

You can see that our members are working on a wide variety of projects, and we're all benefiting from the mutual support and encouragement that the group provides. If you'd like to attend one of our meetings or want more information, please contact Nancy Ward. If you live in Tarrant County and are interested in a meeting a little closer to home than Dallas, let Lisa Nicholas know.

Meeting this Friday, May 10

The next meeting of the D/FW Catholic Writers Group will be held Friday, May 10, 11:30 a.m. to 1-ish. Once again, we invite any Catholic writer (or aspiring writer) to join us for friendly support and (if you like) critiques or feedback on your current writing projects. If you don't have any writing to share, you can just come for inspiration and encouragement -- current members are working on a wide array of projects, both fiction and non-fiction.

Our Friday meetings are held at Half-Price Books, 5803 E. Northwest Highway near Central Expressway in Dallas. Click here for a map and directions. Look for our group in or near the Community Room at the far left back corner (just past the Hollywood Lights). Feel free to bring your lunch or pick something up at in-house café.