My writing progress this summer has been better than other summers, which isn't hard, since I usually don't write ANYTHING during the summer. Too busy. It has been a busy summer (swim lessons, family reunion in Minnesota, Blaze's birthday party - 12 little girls all wanting to ride a hrose at the same time!) but somehow I manage to keep ekeing out an average of a few hundred words a week. My obsession this year has been on developing voice for my characters - earlier this spring I think I finally made a breakthrough with Arrasin and Selty. But I have some other major characters I needed to develop a stronger voice with, Tara, for certain.
Whenever I seem to draw a blank I retreat to re-reading a book that I recall having examples of good voice. Lately it has been Dick Francis mysteries. He's the only mystery writer I've ever really got hooked on (probably because most of his stories revolve around horses, in some fashion or another), but also his books are easy to analyze, as far as writing style. His main character is ALWAYS the same, with a very distinct voice, but he always has a least one colorful side character, sometimes more, that add the needed variation in voice, and add the fun to reading his novels in addition to the suspense. For instance in the latest novel I re-read, Decider, I was amused by a side character that was obsessed with his thinning hair. Much sport could be had from this obsession. Was it voice, really, or just a fun quirk that characterized many of his conversations? It's always fun to analyze. But whatever it was, it worked. Without it, the novel would have only half succeeded (esp. since this novel had hardly any romantic elements, either).
After finishing that novel, I sat down one evening at my book and wrote 1600 words - reminiscent of crazy November days! - ha! I still have it in me!) -- but even more fun, I finally hit on the idea for Tara that I've been searching for. Not just a characterization, such as Tara's sassy teenage attitude at odds with her love of reading and drawing and fantasy, but a characterization that can really be worked out in dialogue with other characters. I can't wait to finish the novel (I'm at section 73 out of 80!) so I can go back to start working my new ideas in.
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Friday, July 4, 2008
our 4th of July
I am way overdue to share some about my family in my blog. We spent the 4th of July (and our 9th annivesary) at a ranch on the border of Colorado and Wyoming - the ranch owners also celebrate their anniversary on the 4th of July. They have a big picnic and then a team roping competition for all their friends. I watched B. rope a few times, but I have to confess that I more keen to see my daughter compete - since it was her first time! After the roping they had barrel racing for the kids.
Blaze (almost 7) has been practicing barrels for the last week on my horse Rebel, and it was great to see her get around all the barrels in the right pattern in front of everyone - and how excited she was!
The highlight for me was getting to go on a long trail ride with a good friend. The ranch is in the foothills, with wildflowers everywhere and magnificent views of the distant mountains in Rocky Mountain National Park. I almost lost my old horse, Rebel, back in May when he had a severe episode of colic, and this was the first time I've ridden him since then. There was a while there where I was afraid I would never get to ride him again. But he was his same old self - ready to run at a moment's notice, still able to out-pace a horse half his age and a whole foot taller!
By the time we got home we were too tired to set off any of the fireworks we bought. Saved those for the next night, in our backyard, scaring our poor horses with all the noise and sparks and smoke. The fireworks made me miss my stepdaughter though - this our first 4th of July without her. She was the one who set off all the fireworks for us last year.
The next day Blaze had a chance to show her riding skills again at the Laramie Jubilee Days Kids Horse Show. She placed 4th in her age-class in the Riders class and was so excited to get a ribbon, a tiny decorative cowboy boot, and a $2 bill (Mommy doesn't even have any $2 bills!) She did the barrel race even faster than the day before, and in front of a much larger crowd! But there were little kids out there on well-trained horses that did that barrel race just a second or two slower than the adult competitors, it is pretty amazing how handy some 5 and 6 year olds are on a horse. Blaze is already asking me when she can go to another show. We're going to have to keep on practicing!
B. also competed in the ranch rodeo event, which is another team event where they are timed on branding calves, separating and penning cattle, and trailer loading. His team placed 2nd out of 15, so he was thrilled - but he promptly went and spent the prize money on entry fees for a bunch more roping and penning events this week at the Jubilee Days rodeo. Well, maybe he'll win some more!
As for the rest of the family, Dreamer (4 years old) is always trying to do everything Blaze does, and the twins (19 months old) are busy stealing each other's toys, and making messes for me to clean up. They aren't saying many words yet, so I've been trying to read to them more, pointing to pictures and trying to get them to say "cow" and "moo" and "kitty". They are learning to the point to the pictures themselves when I say "where's the kitty?" However, Serious has also started to point her finger at me and chew me out in her own little language.
Blaze (almost 7) has been practicing barrels for the last week on my horse Rebel, and it was great to see her get around all the barrels in the right pattern in front of everyone - and how excited she was!The highlight for me was getting to go on a long trail ride with a good friend. The ranch is in the foothills, with wildflowers everywhere and magnificent views of the distant mountains in Rocky Mountain National Park. I almost lost my old horse, Rebel, back in May when he had a severe episode of colic, and this was the first time I've ridden him since then. There was a while there where I was afraid I would never get to ride him again. But he was his same old self - ready to run at a moment's notice, still able to out-pace a horse half his age and a whole foot taller!
By the time we got home we were too tired to set off any of the fireworks we bought. Saved those for the next night, in our backyard, scaring our poor horses with all the noise and sparks and smoke. The fireworks made me miss my stepdaughter though - this our first 4th of July without her. She was the one who set off all the fireworks for us last year.
The next day Blaze had a chance to show her riding skills again at the Laramie Jubilee Days Kids Horse Show. She placed 4th in her age-class in the Riders class and was so excited to get a ribbon, a tiny decorative cowboy boot, and a $2 bill (Mommy doesn't even have any $2 bills!) She did the barrel race even faster than the day before, and in front of a much larger crowd! But there were little kids out there on well-trained horses that did that barrel race just a second or two slower than the adult competitors, it is pretty amazing how handy some 5 and 6 year olds are on a horse. Blaze is already asking me when she can go to another show. We're going to have to keep on practicing!
B. also competed in the ranch rodeo event, which is another team event where they are timed on branding calves, separating and penning cattle, and trailer loading. His team placed 2nd out of 15, so he was thrilled - but he promptly went and spent the prize money on entry fees for a bunch more roping and penning events this week at the Jubilee Days rodeo. Well, maybe he'll win some more!
As for the rest of the family, Dreamer (4 years old) is always trying to do everything Blaze does, and the twins (19 months old) are busy stealing each other's toys, and making messes for me to clean up. They aren't saying many words yet, so I've been trying to read to them more, pointing to pictures and trying to get them to say "cow" and "moo" and "kitty". They are learning to the point to the pictures themselves when I say "where's the kitty?" However, Serious has also started to point her finger at me and chew me out in her own little language.
Thursday, July 3, 2008
StoryCorps
Today Mom and I participated in StoryCorps (http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vd3d3LnN0b3J5Y29ycHMubmV0Lw==) which is a program that gives you 40 minutes to talk to each other in a mobile recording studio. The results is a CD we get to keep, of me asking my mother about her childhood, her school years and college years, all the places she's lived, and traveled; the most important events of her life, and advice to pass on to me and her granddaughters as a legacy. We get to keep the CD, which will no doubt become a precious family legacy just like the recording that mom made of her interviewing her own mother about her past, a year or so before she died. We also signed the release form so that our "stories" will be archived in the Library Congress as a part of America's living history. Pictures and videos and journals and letters are all an important part of our family's legacy, but this is a wonderful addition - I wish I'd found out about it earlier so I could have had time to tell others about it (all the interview times are already filled for the time that StoryCorps is in Laramie) but also I would have loved to drag B. down to interview him. He is a born storyteller and the stories of his childhood are so fascinating to me because they are so different than my own, plus he makes them so funny! When I try to write them down, I lose so much of the heart of the story. It's the same with my Dad. I've been asking him on and off to share memories of his childhood and young adulthood, and then later I try to write down as much as I remember, but it would be so nice if I could get him to agree to be recorded.
Later I had writer's group, my chapters 27-30 were critiqued. I feel as usual both motivated and frustrated. It's been over six months now since the end of November, when I wrote over 100 pages and made such encouraging progress on my book. So I went back and re-read everything I wrote last November and I'm afraid (but not surprised) that it's lost its shiny newness. The writing isn't terrible, but it isn't top quality, either. Well, it just needs some work. The work part isn't the frustrating part; the frustrating part is I'm so close to the end - probably just another 40-50 pages - but I feel like I can't finish it. First of all, there's some issues with the plot I can't quite figure out, but the biggest problem is that the plot just keeps going and going - I need to streamline it somehow. The book is at 400 pages right now and there's still the conclusion, plus quite a few gaps that I need to go back and fill in. It could easily go over 500 pages. I need to go back to outlining and see where I can trim things down again. With six months behind me, I no longer feel like I every word I wrote is sacred.
Later I had writer's group, my chapters 27-30 were critiqued. I feel as usual both motivated and frustrated. It's been over six months now since the end of November, when I wrote over 100 pages and made such encouraging progress on my book. So I went back and re-read everything I wrote last November and I'm afraid (but not surprised) that it's lost its shiny newness. The writing isn't terrible, but it isn't top quality, either. Well, it just needs some work. The work part isn't the frustrating part; the frustrating part is I'm so close to the end - probably just another 40-50 pages - but I feel like I can't finish it. First of all, there's some issues with the plot I can't quite figure out, but the biggest problem is that the plot just keeps going and going - I need to streamline it somehow. The book is at 400 pages right now and there's still the conclusion, plus quite a few gaps that I need to go back and fill in. It could easily go over 500 pages. I need to go back to outlining and see where I can trim things down again. With six months behind me, I no longer feel like I every word I wrote is sacred.
Monday, June 9, 2008
God sent me... the Mormons?
Wow, I totally missed the month of May in myspace world.
Okay: in May I got to attend a Beth Moore Bible conference (wow!), had a visit from my in-laws one week and then the next week a visit from an old college friend (and her five kids!), read the 216 page book Prince Caspian the night before going to see the movie, taught 5 days of intensive GIS classes, experienced my first tornado, adopted a kitten, cried more than I have in the past year (it was a very emotional month), said good-bye to my stepdaughter as school ended and she headed off back home, and still managed to re-write the first third of my book.
However, I spent no signfiicant amount of time in devotions or prayer and as a result I feel all strung out and stressed.
It all came to a head, I realized, when two Mormon missionaries showed up on my doorstep a couple days ago. Of course I invited them in, I love to debate with the Mormons. I don't often have a chance to thrash people with my stunning knowledge of the Bible (ha ha). However, my Bible skills have become so rusty that I was really struggling to find the Scripture I needed to refute some of their beliefs.
For instance, this pair was all about assuring me that the Latter Saints agree with the Biblical view of "it is by faith that you are saved through faith, not by works, lest any man should boast". However, we differed drastically on the extent of salvation. To me, once "you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God rasied him from the dead, you will be saved" - you are saved forever. You cannot lose that salvation because Jesus is always interceding for you, and His sacrifice not only covers all our past sins but all our present and future ones... even unconfessed ones.
The Mormons believe that if you subsequently turn away from God that you can lose your salvation. They are all about how it is man's choice. We must continually choose God, choose to obey Him, choose to turn back to Him... if we stray away from Him, he does not apparently come out like the shepherd to search for us and bring us back to the fold; we have to make our way back ourselves.
I was horrified that anyone could believe in any sort of religion that didn't promise an absolutely sure and irrevocable path to heaven! I argued, no it is God who draws us. It is His grace that saves us, and also His grace that continues to draw us when we stray away, and when we return, empowers us to live the obedient life.
Problem was, I was having a terrible time remembering the scriptures to back this up. For a few horrifying minutes I couldn't even find my Bible. I hadn't cracked it open in so long that I couldn't remember where I'd left it! I kept mumbling apologies to the two young men as I dashed up and down the stairs and peered into dusty corners in my desperate search. Once I unearthed it, I was able to find a few Scriptures to back up my belief in the security of salvation and the absolute Sovereignity of God, even over the capricious will of man.
I challenged them to study all of Romans 8 - the ultimate chapter of security that begins with "Therefore there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" and continues to "those He predestined, He also called, and those He called, He also justified, and those He justified, He also glorified" and finally ends with the crescendo "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?... no, we are more than conquerers through Him who loved us... neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is Christ Jesus our Lord."
I also remembered Hebrews 7:25 "Therefore He is able to save forever those who come to God through Him, because He always lives to intercede for them" and John 10:28 "I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand".
I even got a promise out of those guys that they'd study these verses some and come back and discuss them more with me (yet somehow managed to wiggle out of commiting to study verses from their book of Mormon).
But I also had to admit to myself that the real reason why they showed up on my doorstep wasn't so we could debate theology, but because God was showing me how much I'd neglected Him and His Word lately. Since then I have been digging back into the Word and rediscovering some more wonderful verses on security such as Ephesians 1:13-14. Also, some insight into why the Mormons might be confused about the security of salvation - might they be confusing salvation with sanctification? We are saved once and forever, but after that comes the never-ending process of santification, of being brought into obedience, of being conformed into the likeness of Christ (1 Peter 1:2, 1 Thess 4:3).
I really hope those Mormons come back.
Okay: in May I got to attend a Beth Moore Bible conference (wow!), had a visit from my in-laws one week and then the next week a visit from an old college friend (and her five kids!), read the 216 page book Prince Caspian the night before going to see the movie, taught 5 days of intensive GIS classes, experienced my first tornado, adopted a kitten, cried more than I have in the past year (it was a very emotional month), said good-bye to my stepdaughter as school ended and she headed off back home, and still managed to re-write the first third of my book.
However, I spent no signfiicant amount of time in devotions or prayer and as a result I feel all strung out and stressed.
It all came to a head, I realized, when two Mormon missionaries showed up on my doorstep a couple days ago. Of course I invited them in, I love to debate with the Mormons. I don't often have a chance to thrash people with my stunning knowledge of the Bible (ha ha). However, my Bible skills have become so rusty that I was really struggling to find the Scripture I needed to refute some of their beliefs.
For instance, this pair was all about assuring me that the Latter Saints agree with the Biblical view of "it is by faith that you are saved through faith, not by works, lest any man should boast". However, we differed drastically on the extent of salvation. To me, once "you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God rasied him from the dead, you will be saved" - you are saved forever. You cannot lose that salvation because Jesus is always interceding for you, and His sacrifice not only covers all our past sins but all our present and future ones... even unconfessed ones.
The Mormons believe that if you subsequently turn away from God that you can lose your salvation. They are all about how it is man's choice. We must continually choose God, choose to obey Him, choose to turn back to Him... if we stray away from Him, he does not apparently come out like the shepherd to search for us and bring us back to the fold; we have to make our way back ourselves.
I was horrified that anyone could believe in any sort of religion that didn't promise an absolutely sure and irrevocable path to heaven! I argued, no it is God who draws us. It is His grace that saves us, and also His grace that continues to draw us when we stray away, and when we return, empowers us to live the obedient life.
Problem was, I was having a terrible time remembering the scriptures to back this up. For a few horrifying minutes I couldn't even find my Bible. I hadn't cracked it open in so long that I couldn't remember where I'd left it! I kept mumbling apologies to the two young men as I dashed up and down the stairs and peered into dusty corners in my desperate search. Once I unearthed it, I was able to find a few Scriptures to back up my belief in the security of salvation and the absolute Sovereignity of God, even over the capricious will of man.
I challenged them to study all of Romans 8 - the ultimate chapter of security that begins with "Therefore there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" and continues to "those He predestined, He also called, and those He called, He also justified, and those He justified, He also glorified" and finally ends with the crescendo "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?... no, we are more than conquerers through Him who loved us... neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is Christ Jesus our Lord."
I also remembered Hebrews 7:25 "Therefore He is able to save forever those who come to God through Him, because He always lives to intercede for them" and John 10:28 "I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand".
I even got a promise out of those guys that they'd study these verses some and come back and discuss them more with me (yet somehow managed to wiggle out of commiting to study verses from their book of Mormon).
But I also had to admit to myself that the real reason why they showed up on my doorstep wasn't so we could debate theology, but because God was showing me how much I'd neglected Him and His Word lately. Since then I have been digging back into the Word and rediscovering some more wonderful verses on security such as Ephesians 1:13-14. Also, some insight into why the Mormons might be confused about the security of salvation - might they be confusing salvation with sanctification? We are saved once and forever, but after that comes the never-ending process of santification, of being brought into obedience, of being conformed into the likeness of Christ (1 Peter 1:2, 1 Thess 4:3).
I really hope those Mormons come back.
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Harry Potter and Beth Moore
Anyone who knows anything about Harry Potter and Beth Moore knows the very high unlikelihood of those two names ever occuring together in the same sentence. Harry Potter is... well, who needs to explain Harry Potter? Boy magician-in-training, JK Rowling's phenomena in the publishing world. Beth Moore is just about as famous, in Christian womens' circles, that is. She writes incrediable Bible studies, gives hilarious presentations, and mooches sunchips from innocent bystanders.
So this past week has been noteworthy in that I both started, and finished, the nearly 800 pages of the last Harry Potter book, and Heather invited me to a Bible study that is showing the latest Beth Moore Bible study, on the topic of asher (biblical happiness), and both of these events provided inspiration to my life in different ways.
I've only read the first Harry Potter book, and now the last, and actually I am not really a huge HP fan. It's great fun to read and author is enviably imaginative. The books are certainly worth all the hype. Part of my lack of zeal is because the Harry Potter world is all about witchcraft, which the Bible very clearly states as a sin (Gal 5:20). But then, the children's book I'm writing is full of magic, both good and evil. The good magic I am carefully (and prayerfully) linking to the power of God. I'm trying to make my unicorns, in their highest and best form to be servants of God, like a type of angel, whose powers only work when they are using them to help others. The Harry Potter books also distinguish between good use of magic and the "dark arts", but the author makes no attempt to explain where the power for magic comes from, either good or evil.
Anyway, my point for bringing up Harry Potter isn't to debate whether it's okay stuff for Bible-living Christians to be reading (I'll just plead Romans 14 and leave it at that), but how the last HP book inspired me with some new ideas for my own fantasy world, much in the same way the Twilight series did. The book "stirred the juices", so to speak, so that my journal and my calendar and my purse notebook are all bristling with notes about ideas I need to find time to write into the story, itself.
Ah, finding time to write! I've written nothing in this blog for over two weeks, and in those same two weeks less than 700 words on my novel. My "valley" Word document is open on this computer as I am typing this blog, in the theory that bloggin will start up some writing momentum so that when I'm done here I'll seamlessly switch over to writing fantasy...)
In the same way that Harry Potter has provided inspiration for my writing life, Beth Moore has provided a much more important sort of inpsiration, for my spiritual life. I highly recommend the three hour sessions on this DVD we are watching, A Day With Beth Moore (you can order it on the Women of Faith web site, it's listed under Beth Moore: preconference). Her talk is based on the Hebrew word "asher" which is translated as blessed, or happy. Two Hebrew words are translated to blessed in the Old Testament, "barak" and "asher." Barak means "you are blessed" - it is positional. Asher means when "you feel blessed" - it is emotional. Biblical happiness, like generic happiness, is based on our circumstances... but it is not bound by circumstances. There is no circumstance in our lives that God cannot work in. If you make happiness your life's pursuit, it will become an idol to you (2 Kings 21:7), but if you make God your pursuit, happiness will follow. Happiness cannot be obtained by pursuing it, it is only something you can receive. Biblical happiness comes when we are awakened to a work of God. Well I haven't been pursuing God very much these days... I guess I've been trying to manufacture my own happiness... and my own writing, too (no wonder why I haven't been very productive!) My goal this week is to spend time with God everyday in his Word and in prayer (I am rediscovering how wonderful it is to pray through a Psalm). I have not set any writing goals. Instead, I want to see where God takes me with my writing this week if I take the time first to pray about my writing. But prayer for my relationship with Him, with my family, my friends and church family will come first.
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
beware of starting Bible studies
Beware of starting Bible studies on better marriages - it’s sure to backfire. I feel like I am on the brink of a cold war with my husband, and the only reason why it’s on the brink and not in deep is because he’s never home, always working, working, working. He just started a new business in January, and we’ve had no regular income since then. So of course he has to work, work, work if we ever want to stop living on credit cards and maybe one day start to get them paid off (me picking up more hours isn’t really practical when it means paying for babysitting for three kids... but I have been trying to work a couple nights a week after the kids are in bed). I feel like I’m not married anymore but this fellow comes and sleeps at our house everynight and eats some food and occasionally leaves us some money in return. Okay, it’s not that bad, but my emotions tell me it is practically that bad.
So here is the premise of this Bible study we’re doing, based on the book "Love and Respect"
Ephesians 5:33 However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.
The Greek word used for "love" in this verse is agape, the unconditional, self-sacrificing type of love. So the author contends that since the man is required to give unconditional love to his wife, it follows that the wife should give unconditional respect to her husband. Men crave respect like women crave love.
But as soon as I learned this, my evil twin soul rebelled. But I don’t want to give him unconditional respect. He has to earn it! I just erased several sentences of ranting and raving about why he doesn’t deserve unconditional respect. The point is, easy to understand but absolutely the hardest thing to live, is that it is possible to give unconditional love AND respect because that is what Jesus did for us.
My battle is more with myself than with B. I understand, but I have such a hard time doing. Duh, that might because I haven’t been spending any time in the Word or with God lately... Like for several months now. Where else do you get the strength to accomplish the impossible?
I still haven’t picked up my Bible but I have started reading Oswald Chamber’s "Still Higher for His Highest" (another great devotional in the fashion of "My Utmost for His Hightest"). Here are some fantastic quotes from it that have provided me with inspiration.
Faith cannot be intellectually defined; faith is the inborn capacity to see God behind everything, the wonder that keeps you an eternal child.... Beware of losing the wonder, and the first thing that stops wonder is religious conviction... the only evidence of salvation and sanctification is that the sense of wonder is developing, not at things as they are, but at the One who made them as they are.
When the facts of life have humbled us, when introspection has stripped us of our own miserable self-interest and we receive a startling diagnosis of ourselves by the Holy Spirit, we are by that painful experience brought to the place where we can hear the marvelous message - propfounder than the profoundest philosophies earth ever wove, "Come to Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Until this experience comes, men may patronize Jesus Christ, but they do not come to Him for salvation.
Our heavenly Father has an amazing sense of humor; He will bring across your path the kind of people who manifest to you what you have been to Him. If you have been obstinate, that is why you have got that fellow around you just now, and Jesus says, "Show him the attitude I showed you." It means showing the disposition of Jesus Christ to the man who deliberately wrongs you, and it takes some doing.
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