Learning From the Master and Remembering What I've Learned

I just checked the date on my status bar...  It's been almost a month since I received my Christmas books.  I've got to get this ball rolling!  I've been reading Stephen King's On Writing.  (It was the smallest, so I figured I'd start there.)  The first section of the book was more of a memoir of how it happened for King.  I carried the book in my purse and used it to fill my waiting time while taking FIL to his appointments.  I've just now gotten to the heart of the matter.  The book is out of my purse and on my side table.  Getting to the part of he said/she said, I'm actually feeling pretty good about my WIP... so far.  I'm sure there will be lots of places that need tweaking.  I haven't gone back to reread and double-check my memory.  (Do you sense fear?  Denial?)

Speaking of my memory...  I can't remember what I had for dinner last night!  How will I remember all I learn from these books?  Highlighting and dog-eared pages are OK, but who want to flip through all the books over and over while editing?  I'm going to make a cheat sheet.

Remember back in the days of high school?  We called it taking notes.  How many of you do that now?  Isn't note taking just as important now as it was then?  No, there won't be a test to study for, but notes do make it easier to recall all the wonderful things we glean from books and blogs.

In a past blog post, I talked about using the program One Note to organize everything.  However you decide to organize your notes is up to you; but you must have some way of sorting through the data.  Just as I don't want to have to flip through books looking for highlighted items, I don't want to read through paragraphs, and even pages, of notes to find the topic I'm looking for.  Using a digital form makes sorting through the pile much quicker, and makes a simple task of reorganizing.


I can't wait to finish this book and get on to the next.  I'm still on a break from writing.  There's just been to much going on, and now I'm sick.  Nothing serious, just the yuckies; but still, it's hard for me to feel creative when my nose is out of sorts.

Off the subject of writing...  There is a new addition to our family.  A boy!  Yes, after four granddaughters from my daughter, my step-son has a brand new son!  Click HERE to see a photo of all five grandchildren.

FIY

Yeah, I've been MIA.  Of course, the holidays were an obstacle, but I've had a lot on my mind.  Click HERE to find out what's been getting my attention.

My Favorite Gifts

I got them!  The books I wanted...

Both my daughter and my DIL actually asked me what I wanted!  I gave them book titles.  I can't wait to get deep into these titles.  They're exactly what I asked for.... but still, they're not my favorite gift.

It's hard to top this...

So if I never become the best-selling author I dream of being, I have achieved greater success already!

What are some of your favorite Christmas gifts?

A Christian Writing in a Secular World

WWJD?  I've been wrestling with this one.  My WIP is not Christian fiction.  There is no story line about how the protagonist got saved and it turned her world around.  As a matter of fact, it doesn't even mention God, church, Jesus...  At one point, the antagonist screams out hatefulness.  It was a hard dialog for me to write.  I still haven't decided on one sentence in particular.  He says a bad word.  Yep.  My mom would have washed our mouths out with soap!

OK, it's not the @ word, but it's still a curse word.  A Christian friend of mine, when told of my dilemma, suggested I use @#%*#!  Not that the thought hadn't crossed my mind; but dialog is words, not symbols.  The character spewing the word is far from reflecting Jesus.  He is evil, cruel, abusive... just plain mean.  He doesn't say things like, "Darn it, you mean girl!"  I left the word in there. 

I consider writing a form of art.  I am an artist.  I use words to paint.  You cannot paint a sunny day without the color blue.  You cannot paint a sunset using only yellow.  My WIP is already written in my head.  My story has a beginning and an end.  The characters are strong.  I cannot weaken them... it would do a disservice to my work.

I have a notebook on my laptop with oodles of ideas for other books.  Most of them have a dark character.  They're not childrens' books.  Don't get me wrong... I would let my teenage granddaughter read my book.  It's about real life, and sometimes real life is ugly.  I would not be ashamed for my Christian friends to see what I've written.  I really don't care what they think, anyway.  I do care what God thinks.

Sometimes I wonder if God would want me to only write Christian fiction.  I credit Him for this talent that I think I have.  (Although, being a writer, I will face another judgment day!)  Does God want us to use the talents He blessed us with for His glory alone.  If my writing does not bring people into His Kingdom or glorify Him in some way, am I not using my gift as He would have me use it?

I just finished reading that last book of a three-part series that is a prelude to the Left Behind series.  This paragraph, in The Rapture by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins, really hit home...

"Another honoree was a prodigious pianist who had taken the gift God had given him and devoted himself to ministry rather than exalt himself by pursuing what was guaranteed to be a lucrative career in the great concert halls.  He taught piano in remote arenas of the world and used his giftedness to spread the Word of God, eschewing personal glory and wealth."

So am I exalting myself for my own glory if I write something other than Christian fiction?  Even though I still pray on this question, I think God says no.  After all, if I were a great classical pianist no one would expect me to play only hymns, would they?

I might someday try to write a Christian fiction novel, but I truly don't think I have talent in that area.  If it is God's will, I'm quite sure He'll let me know...

I have many Christian writers that follow my blog.  I also know a lot of you are Christians without writing Christian stories.  What do you think about this issue?  Does God want us to use our gifts solely for His purpose?

A Big Leap!

Today was a great day!  I have exciting news to share with you.

I was astonished by my e-mail this afternoon.  No, a better description would be knocked silly!  An item in my in-box informed me that I had been invited to contribute to a writers' blog.  Yeah, me!  Yeah, really!  Would I joke about something like that?

So anyway, the letter goes on to say that I should check out the blog...  I clicked before even finishing the letter!

Very quickly, my excitement was replaced by anxiety and doubt.  Yes, it was a new blog, a new group trying to pick up steam.  Still, these were published authors!  Some of these people have traveled the world!  I felt very inadequate.... but that's the old me.  The new me knows that I can write.  I've had this dream my whole life... but I let my low self-esteem continually steer me away, placing roadblocks in my mind.

My biggest fan, Lille Diane was instrumental in my being selected.  She has read a couple of chapters of my book.  I constantly receive encouragement from her.  She was the one that suggested the creators of the blog consider my writing.  How could I not jump on the opportunity?  So I did.

I am now a contributing writer!  Please check out my debut post on Writers Rising.

Dear Anonymous,

I will no longer be allowing anonymous comments on this blog.  For an explanation, click HERE.

Update on my owie...

I am so touched by all the nice comments you left after I posted about my fall!  It's so nice to have dear blogging friends.  I just wanted to let you know how much I appreciate your thoughts and prayers, and to let you know that I am OK.  Just very sore all over.  I'll be good as new in a couple of days.

The best news is, the more I'm typing, the better my hands are getting!  I won't be taking them for granted.  And I won't walk fast and daydream at the same time anymore.  Well, I'll try not to...