“amazing”
“unique opportunity”
“like-minded people”
“supportive community”
“invaluable”
“hugs and laughter”
“encouraging”
“challenging”
“a treasure”
“no ‘us and them’”
“tools and insights”
“awesome place”
“expert clinicians”
“nurturing”
“excellent”
“on-going relationships”
“family”
Comments from our registrants...
This will be my 6th year attending Write About Jesus. I keep coming back because I love:
The amazing community of my writer friends.
The fresh workshops every year, and the growing, challenging track for alumni.
What happens when we get together, watching writers grow, and hearing
great songs that make me want to write.
The heart of the Sue and clinicians.
Phil Mehrens
Missouri
Without Write About Jesus I would never have been signed as a staff writer at Brentood-Benson. It offered me a unique opportunity to learn from the pros how Christian songwriters work and to get valuable feedback on how to develop my craft... stuff that's not written down in any book or contained in any course material. It's also a wonderful, sharing, supportive community of like-minded people and the first thing to go onto my year planner.
Simon Hawkins
Great Britain
I attended my first Write About Jesus five years ago and even though I never won the competition… never even won first place in my small group… I know the things that I learned led to my eventual signing as a staff writer at Brentwood-Benson.
Gina Boe
Nebraska
Write About Jesus has provided me with tools and insights that I was able to immediately employ. As a result, both the quality and the production level of my writing have improved. In addition, the opportunity to have a highly regarded, well respected, often times award winning, songwriting professional listen to, and provide feedback on, my music was invaluable.
Bill Filer
Missouri
What makes "Write About Jesus" any different from all the other songwriting workshops you've ever been to?
First of all, its size: it's big enough to bring in the country's finest songwriters as teachers but small enough to make you feel like family. There are hugs and laughter around every corner and newcomers find that it only takes about twelve minutes to feel like they've been attending forever.
The clinicians are amazing--honest with their song critiques and yet finding every way possible way to season their critiques with genuine affirmation. They make themselves available to chat in the halls and over meals, not squirreling themselves away in the exalted atmoshphere of a room reserved only for the upper echelon of writers Because at "Write About Jesus," there really are no upper and lower echelons. Every single songwriter, whether beginner or accomplished, is saying by his or her presence, "I'm here to learn. I'm here to grow." And learn we do. And grow we will! It's that kind of place.
It's impossible to leave a WAJ workshop without being encouraged and challenged by the most brilliant writers in the business and by the most talented, fun, affirming, and dedicated registrants you could ever hope to meet.
Bottom line? If you're serious about your songs, you will be in St. Louis in October.
Becky Smith
North Carolina
"I am so thank for a place where I can learn from, and interact with,
such multi-talented, award winning clinicians, who have a heart to write
about Jesus and to teach others to do the same. WAJ has opened many doors
for me to grow spiritually, mentally and musically, and to share my music
with others."
Deborah Bailey
Tennessee
"I love Write About Jesus! It is a great workshop for songwriters that are looking for an awesome place to focus on the art of songwriting. The Clinicians are great. They truly are there to help everyone grow as a songwriter. I couldn't ask for a better place to meet great people while growing and developing my talent for Christ!"
Tiffany Casto
Ohio
Write About Jesus has given me so many practical tools and knowledge for improving my songwriting. But for me, the most meaningful benefit is that I have gained a new family of friends who celebrate and encourage the artist in me, and who give me opportunities to celebrate them.
I am continually impressed with the expertise and successes of the clinicians, and even moreso with their active participation with the registrants. There are no us-vs-them lines... meals, fellowship, and learning are all done together.
After going to critique sessions, I came away with an honest evaluation of my craft. That helped me to set goals, use the tools I learned at WAJ, and work towards meeting them by the next years' workshop. There is such a spirit of encouragement there that it is fun to work hard toward my dreams!
A huge benefit of going to WAJ is the different writers I meet each year. Now I am co-writing with different writers from other states, simply because we first began a friendship at WAJ. Now going to the workshop is like seeing old friends, and meeting new ones.ALLIE LAPOINTE
I had heard about Write About Jesus in 2002 while attending GMA at Estes Park. I wanted to attend every year since then, but for various reasons I was prevented from getting to go until finally in 2005 I made the commitment. I joined the discussion board months before the workshop and ended up going to the seminar feeling like I already knew many of the registrants. It was a great experience, very informative, and mostly I left feeling like I had met my second family. The next year was just as great! I recommend that any songwriter wanting to better their craft, learn about the business, make tons of life long friends who just may end up your future co writers, and who want to do all of this in a more personal setting, to attend write about jesus. You will not be disappointed.
Ericka Harvey
Tennessee
Write About Jesus has been a place of unexpected treasures in my life. The instruction is top notch and an honest look into the Christian Music industry. The atmosphere is warm, friendly and accepting. No matter what level of writing you have attained, there is always someone to challenge and motivate you to reach higher and write better. But transcending all of this is the sense of family and community which permeates the entire weekend. It's a songwriter's home away from home. Serendipity!
Kara K. Smith
Wyoming
I feel that WAJ has been the tool and education that
has raised me up as a songwriter. I am what I am as a
songwriter because of WAJ's commitment to mentorship,
training, and the opportunity to network. I will
continue to sit under the training classes each year
to help inspire, challenge, and give me the
relationships and accountability I need to achieve my
goals as a writer. Any goals I have achieved is thanks
to this Seminar year, pouring into me year after year.
Thank you Sue and John Smith and WAJ!!
Tricia Bartig
Missouri
I look forward every year to attend WAJ. I have grown as a writer with the tools given to me. The staff is so helpful and really help's you own your craft. This is the best place to go for a songwriter.
Christine Chavez
Tennessee
I have attended Write About Jesus for the last five years. Though it took me five years to win the "Grand Prize" with Helga, every year I felt like a winner because of all the information I learned about writing. It has been amazing to me how you opened up your heart and given people like me an opportunity to learn from the best in the business! The clinicians are wonderful, the classes are awesome, and I feel honored to be a part of the Write About Jesus Alumni! You are the best!
Karen Gillespie
Delaware
I have attended Write About Jesus for several years. When I first went to this workshop, I thought it might be another event that would be all about the competition, but it's not. I have made some of the most amazing friendships
that will last a life time. Attending Write About Jesus will allow you to learn from some of the best songwriters in the industry. If you are looking for a place to strengthen your songwriting skills and build wonderful relationships,
then Write About Jesus is the place for you.
Stacey O'Hara
Tennessee
Write about Jesus is a weekend full of practical, helpful classses taught by experienced, friendly clinicians in a relaxed atmosphere. Besides the classes, there is lots of time for meeting new friends with the same interest in writing songs to glorify God, an informal concert with some of the best Christian songwriters in the business, and sharing meals and fellowship with fellow students and clinicians alike. It's a super weekend at a bargain price. I loved every minute of it. (And -- you get a T-shirt with a witty slogan to show off to your friends back home.)
Gary Mott
North Carolina
Imagine a place where you are surrounded by people who have one passion......imagine an environment where you have access to clincians who are the best in the business and share their knowledge in intimate class settings........imagine the opportunity to showcase your ideas and receive valuable input from professional writers, publishers and producers.It all happens at Write About Jesus! I'm just so excited about WAJ and I keep thinking that there will be someone, just like I was five years ago, new on their writing journey and wondering what they are supposed to do next! And WAJ is going to be the answer for them.
Donna Norton
Georgia
I'm a habitual attendee of the Write About Jesus workshop chiefly
because it is different. What makes Write About Jesus different than
other workshops?
First, it is truly a workshop for songwriters, focusing tightly on
songwriting techniques while avoiding the intimidating "performance"
oriented environment found in many workshops.
Second, Sue Smith and the other WAJ clinicians have made themselves
accessible, real, and vulnerable. Their hearts are sincere, their faith
is genuine, and their approach with amateur songwriters is a healthy
balance of constructive criticism and gentle nurturing. This makes for
a warm "songwriting family" environment that is very enjoyable.
Third, the results are clear: I have formed some wonderful on-going
relationships. I have been inspired to focus more time on my writing.
I have been challenged to improve on key areas of weakness. And
finally, my recent first "cuts" are the direct result of the Write About
Jesus workshops.
Ed Stivers
Kentucky
The Write About Jesus Conference is an exciting, nurturing, yet
challenging environment for the songwriter who wants to go to
the next level in their craft and possibly in the music
industry. The quality of instruction says true to the name of
Jesus because Sue Smith shoots nothing short of "EXCELLENCE" in
the big picture of songwriting--regardless of the genre--and yet
no stone is unturned in the details. The quality of the
Clinicians is unmatched. Period. Among the Registrants, there is
a sense of comradarie and "rah-rah" support--rather than
competition--that SHOULD exist at a conference such as this. The
only disappointment I had was leaving...I am proud and honored
to be a WAJonian and to be under the mentorship of Sue Smith.
Sue Smith = Excellence + Integrity + Inspirating Leadership
Modeled through Servanthood. For real :) "
Karen Chronister
Pennsylvania
After 5 years of going to Write About Jesus, I'm starting to think I need to
make a planner that starts and ends in October. I measure my progress as a
writer by how much I can apply what I have learned at the WAJ conferences.
Anyone who wants to be inspired and equipped to be a better Christian
songwriter should make plans to come to Write About Jesus. And, the
t-shirts are the coolest shirts in my closet!
Lisa Qualsett
Nebraska
WAJ is so much more than a workshop....it's a songwriter's dream come true!! To eat, breathe, and sleep songwriting for three days and learn about songwriting (whether you're a novice or advanced songwriter) from the best songwriter clinicians in the industry will inspire, grow, challenge, and stretch you like you never have been before! And it's an experience that does not stop when the workshop ends. It continues on and flourishes through the friendships made with participants and clinicians.
Romi Kamberg
Arizona
When I first attended WAJ, I expected to learn about songwriting, but it far surpassed what I thought was even possible. It was and is an incredibly unique experience, very refreshingly different from other songwriting workshops I've attended in the past. But more importantly, I learned the essence of what authentic community is and should be all about. It was at WAJ that I found a family of incredible people who cares, supports, encourages, and inspires me all through the year! It will truly make your heart smile and help you realize your dreams as a songwriter!
I heard about Write About Jesus in the summer of 2004 from Sue Smith at GMA's event in Estes Park, and my husband convinced me to attend the conference that very year...why wait? It seemed like a logical thing to try...baby steps, right? Little did I know how radically my songwriting and my life would be affected by Sue and her clinicians, not to mention by the other attendees! I mark 2004 as a kind of rebirth in my songwriting life. If it wasn't for Write About Jesus, I would still be writing songs about Jesus...but my songs would be less effective, and my world would be so much smaller. WAJ is a family, pure and simple - and I would never have guessed that I needed all of them so very much. If you're going to do that "one special thing" for yourself as a songwriter this year, make sure Write About Jesus is it. It will change your life.
Bev Herrema
Colorado
If you are looking for excellent instruction from the pros who really care
about their craft and making you better,a place that has become a community,
something to come home to once a year, you've found your nation.
Melissa Bishop
Missouri
Before attending Write About Jesus, I never realized how much help I needed and information I did not know when it came to Christian song writing. Luckily, I met Sue Smith at another writing conference in 2003 and she mentioned WAJ to me and suggested that I strongly consider attending. In 2005 I made the trip to St. Louis and to WAJ for the first time and I was completely blown away!
The first thing I noticed after just 30 minutes in the door , was that I felt like I was part of a family gathering to discuss song writing verses a formal conference environment. I immediately turned off the concern I had about being a beginner and not a returning alumni. That alone jump started my first absolutely awesome WAJ weekend!
I also noticed that the conference schedule was well paced and setup in such a way that I could easily determine my conference road map. The session topics were well thought out and were current which was very important to me! I have attended classes at other conferences that felt outdated, so the WAJ sessions were very refreshing. The number of sessions to choose from exceeded my expectations and the hall chat from those leaving one sessions to go to another frequently forced me to make schedule adjustments. It is very difficult to not talk about a great session you just left while walking to the next. I feel that each session was taught by clinicians who live what they discussed. I soon learned that WAJ topics are not intended to be “book knowledge overviews”, but they reflect, “what is real”. This approach empowers me as a writer to apply “real” concepts to my writing verses something I could pick up in a book somewhere. I walked away from many sessions completely in awe that a clinician just shared their heart, their writing passion and related it to the subject matter in such a way that made sense to a beginner like me! I’ve not seen that at other conferences. I feel like many WAJ sessions came to life for me and they are still a solid foundation in my song writing today.
The meal time is another example of “Family Time” at WAJ. The food is great, but it also serves as another opportunity to meet new friends, interact with the staff, rub elbows with clinicians and listen to Alumni singing some great original music. I made it a point to try and sit with different people for many meals, just to expand that network of new friends!
I could go on and on about watching a live co-write, the Writers Round Table, the morning Praise and Worship time, the friendships I’ve developed, the co-writes that came to be as a direct result of meeting someone at WAJ and the list could go on and on and on…. However, the best thing about WAJ for me is the fact that is it so much more than an annual conference. It is a support group of Christian Writers (mostly normal people and attendees like myself), who represent all levels of skill, contributing and sharing through their experiences and knowledge 365 days a year via the WAJ web site. Yes the conference is great and a must for anyone who is serious about wanting to become a better Christian song writer. However, you’ll soon learn that the conference is just the beginning!
Brian Principe
Florida