Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Threads in the Fabric

Threads in the Fabric


by Karen Ball
If you came to visit my office, you’d see my walls are lined with bookshelves. Twelve in all—six ceiling-to-floor shelves and another six half that height. Plenty of room for all my books, right? Yeah, that’d be nice. I still have box upon box of books, all awaiting the day they can come out and play. Trouble is, I’m out of room for bookshelves. So I find myself faced with the painful duty of culling. I’ve done this difficult task probably 10 times since we moved here 8 Thanksgivings ago, and still the boxes aren’t empty.
What can I say? I love books. Always have. To read the rest, please link to Threads in the Fabric

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Cec Murphey's Writer to Writer: Common Problems (Part 9 of 50)

Cec Murphey's Writer to Writer: Common Problems (Part 9 of 50): Don't filter #2. To avoid filtering, we need to be aware of staying within the selected POV. When you are in the POV of one person, readers...

Monday, November 28, 2011

Writing the Season

 Out of curiosity: who is gleaning sights, sounds and smells for a Christmas novella...and who is just enjoying the season?

Writing is such an introspective task. You can concentrate on your WIP while driving, cooking, brushing your teeth...worshiping. Although, sometimes plots and characters hijack life so every event in your day, and nearly every thought begin to apply.

There is a season where this is a necessary for planning/plotting--but who wants to serve or worship their work?

How do you purposefully pull back, or refrain from allowing the joy of writing to take over another season?

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:
a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Loose ends and forgotten characters

We watched Source Code the other night.

Story Line: Colter Stevens, a US Army helicopter pilot whose last memory is flying in Afghanistan, wakes up on a commuter train. However, he discovers that he has assumed the identity of another man. 8 minutes later, the train explodes and Stevens finds himself in some kind of pod.

The thing is: I couldn't stop thinking about the man whose body/identity Stevens assumes. And in the end, I felt sorry for this poor schmuck, Sean, who took months to work up courage to ask a girl out, and by the end of the date...ceases to be.

It didn't ruin the movie for me, it was an "acceptable loss." But the memory of it does overshadow.

If you've seen the movie, comment if you can think of a way the writers could have created a satisfactory conclusion for Sean. Or mention another character from a book/movie which you wonder, "What ever happened to that guy?"

Meanwhile, as you write today, keep in mind your loose ends and forgotten characters.

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Writing Contest

Idahope Writers (Idaho ACFW chapter) has an annual writing contest to help fund their conference.

But, they need a minimum number of entrants--10. Currently, the deadline has been postponed until November 30 to try to get the minimum number. It is a $25 entry fee, but those are great odds.  

Prizes:
  • Grand Prize: Kindle Wifi Model (Retail Value: $109)
  • 2nd Prize: $75 Amazon Gift Card
  • 3rd Prize: $50 Amazon Gift Card
Contests are a great way to learn and to earn writing credits, and this one will help Idahope bring Jeff Gerke next March. If you have a contest going on in your area--leave a link in the comments.

Writing Ain't Easy

You are not alone... Writing Ain't Easy
By Rachelle Gardner