May 2009

We went to see the new movie Up last night. Amazing movie! Well-written story, great 3-D animation, and unlikely heroes. I think that’s the part I liked best – the heroes. Take an old man who is widowed, lonely, and hopeless and an overweight kid who is without a dad, anxious, and still carries a spark of hope and make them a team. Brilliant!

The movie touched so well on the reality of life – explored why old people act the way they do. Why do they guard their things or get upset when someone touches or threatens what’s theirs? By starting the movie when they did, showing us the past as it relates to the present, they set up character motivation very well. We understood the “why” behind it all and it worked.

I think that’s what I love best about writing. I’ve always been one to try to understand people. I’m not all that good at it, mind you, but I try. The question, “Why did David need so many wives?” is what started my whole interest in writing his story twenty years ago. And the same applies to people who are alive today and part of my life. What motivates a person to act as they do? What makes a person unforgiving and bitter or resentful while another person can overlook a wrong and love anyway? Often, motivations go back to childhood, as the movie Up showed so well.

Speaking of motivation, today I’m trying to decide how to motivate myself to get some work done around here. :) I’m planning to work on Bathsheba for a time. I’d like to write a chapter or so. But I have a couple of rooms with too much clutter that need me to go through and get rid of – if I can bring myself to do it. Sometimes, big projects like that tend to immobilize me. Like eating an elephant only I don’t feel like taking bites of this hide right now. :)

But I suppose I best stop distracting myself with websites and that movie name game I mentioned in my last post. I’ve found 28 of 50 so far! Some are really tough! I think the laundry is calling…and I don’t have any excuse or a flyaway house attached to a zillion balloons to take me to Paradise Falls to forget it all.

Time to get going…

Today was one of those days when you’re expecting one thing and are handed another. I had fully intended to extend the holiday weekend by getting a lot of writing done, catching up on laundry, mostly staying home – before my week of errands kicks in. I did manage to write a scene and get some laundry done, but this morning took me on a detour that set me back several hours. I had to locate information that was suddenly needed this week and figure out how to create a .pdf file – I learned something new! – and get my fax machine to actually work. Time consuming and more than a little disorienting to my week because it won’t be done until Friday when I hope it all comes together as planned. Praying to that end because things often don’t go as planned! (This, by the way, had nothing to do with my books or writing work – it was personal family stuff.)

After taking care of my end of things there, I did manage to keep from distracting myself enough to finish a scene. Needs rewriting, but I am glad to get the first draft down. I’m starting Part 3 of Bathsheba’s story now, and praying about how to handle this third act. There is a lot to fit in, and I want to do it from the best angle. Fortunately, I have time to play around with it though I’m dying to complete the first draft and reread. My boys completed a draft of their screenplay and are doing just that – rereading. There is something satisfying about typing “The End” and then getting to go back and see what you’ve accomplished.

Sometimes though, the writing moves slower than I’d like. For me, common distractions are email, Twitter, Facebook, and a new one is a game – a painting with pictures depicting different movie titles – there are 50. So far, I’ve found 11. I’m not so great at movie titles, but I’ve guessed right a few times. :) Here’s the link if you’re a movie buff.

Yesterday, I decided it was time to pick the rhubarb from our yard. I forgot about it last year and didn’t want to waste it this time around. So I picked the ripe stalks and cut up about fourteen cups worth. Six of those went into a Rhubarb Crunch from the Frankenmuth Cookbook I bought on a visit there one year. (I love to collect cookbooks and recipes.) I’ve been trying to eat gluten free this week to see if I feel better (had a few issues lately which I think may be food allergies) so I made the dessert with oat flour instead of wheat. Actually, oats might have gluten, but they can be less allergy-inducing. The diet is more like an allergy elimination – though I’d like to see a few pounds eliminated as well along the way! We’ll see if it works. Thought I’d go off most caffeine at the same time – I figured a caffeine headache was a good way to start the week – though after this morning I couldn’t tell if the headache was due to caffeine loss or was stress induced! (Thankfully, the headache only really lasted a day or so.)

I read a book this past week that’s been on my TBR Pile for way too long. Watching the Tree Limbs by Mary DeMuth. This book was phenomenal! I interviewed Mary a while back on Spotlight but hadn’t yet read her work. I am thrilled to say that she is an excellent writer! Her book was poignant, moving, powerful, and enlightening. I’m still thinking about the story and doubt I’ll ever forget Maranatha. She captures a 9-year-old’s POV perfectly! Highly recommended!

Last night we watched a movie that has also been around a long time, quite a bit longer than the book I just read. The movie came out in the 70s One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest. Interesting, strange, humorous, and sad. Another story to ponder after the credits run.

I started reading Sins of the Father by James Scott Bell today. The story has already grabbed me, and now I can’t decide whether to read or write more. Probably both.

Now the only thing I need to find for one more writing distraction is Spider Solitaire for Macs – a free version. Doesn’t seem right that I should pay for one when it was free on my PC. If anyone knows of a totally free version, please email. Not that I need more excuses to play instead of work…but hey, we all need comic relief sometimes!

Selah~

Randy and I spent part of the Memorial weekend on a getaway trip for our 32nd wedding anniversary. We spent our anniversary closer to home – had some great food at a restaurant we’ve only been to once – swam in a pool and reminisced about past vacations when the kids were small and remarked about how fast time has gone. I remember when we were first married, we never imagined being like those couples whose kids are grown. Part of me wishes I could relive those days. Part of me is grateful I don’t have to!

The second day of our mini excursion we drove to the eastern side of the state to the shores of the St. Clair River near the Blue Water Bridge in Port Huron. We ate dinner at the Thomas Edison Inn, and I tried the duck with raspberry glaze, which was quite good. We walked along the river with the wind in our faces and held hands like young lovers, glad to have the time together. We toured the city’s museums and had Star Bucks drinks at the Barnes & Noble. Saw Michal still on the shelves placed near The Shack, which seemed like good placement. :)

Last night we came home and watched The Maltese Falcon starring Humphrey Bogart with two of our boys. I’d never seen it before. Good movie!

Today in church we honored our veterans, and this afternoon I was thinking about the veterans in our family. Both of our dads served in World War II and both had jobs involving secrets. Randy’s dad was a courier carrying secret messages from one place to another. My dad was a secret message decoder – I’m not sure what his title was, just that his job was to figure out the message from the code. I don’t think his job was as exciting as it sounds, but by the time I came along, my dad didn’t talk about the war all that much. I did eventually sit down to hear some of his tale, but his memory wasn’t as detailed as my imagination. What did the messages say? Did they ever involve some highly sensitive information? Did he ever save someone just in time because of what he uncovered?

I tend to think in questions and in story. For instance, in one of the museums we visited in Port Huron, I found a letter from a seaman who had been caught in a terrible storm on one of the Great Lakes. (It’s amazing how many ships have gone down on those lakes, how treacherous they can be. “Lake” doesn’t sound as foreboding as “ocean” but they are.) In the letter, the man talked about how they’d lost several men and were waiting for rescue. One boat did come by and according to the letter could have helped, but for some reason decided not to risk it. (Like the Pharisee not willing to help the injured man leaving him to the Good Samaritan.) A Good Samaritan ship did eventually come along to save those who were left, but the men had been waiting three days without food.

I read such things and my mind sees a story complete with visual effects. The way I imagine both dads in their secret duties during WWII. Puzzles are fascinating to me. Perhaps that’s why I like books that keep me trying to figure out what happens next or watching a show that solves a mystery or seek to understand why people act the way they do. I think deep down I’m that little kid that keeps asking their parents, “Why?”

But I suppose that’s part of what keeps life interesting. Though I don’t expect all of my “why” questions to have answers. Someday they will. Someday God will explain things in great detail – we will know as we are fully known – not in the smaller snippets we are so used to now. I’m glad God doesn’t tire of my endless questions, and his memory doesn’t confuse the details. Maybe someday He’ll even tell me what the secret messages were that my dad decoded or my father-in-law carried to protect this nation.

Happy Memorial Day!
~Shalom~

I read an interesting article this past week about introverts and their needs. (Check it out here.) I was already familiar with much of the content as I’ve taken the Myers-Briggs personality temperament tests and studied the various types of personalities not only for myself but for my characters. Fascinating stuff.

Introverts are often misunderstood by their extroverted counterparts. Extroverts need people. They feed off the energy they derive from being around people. They like parties and large crowds and grow tired and bored if they spend too much time alone. They are usually perceived as friendly, outgoing, gregarious – qualities that most people consider good.

Introverts need people, just not in large doses. Introverts feel their energy drained the more they are around people. Too many social settings where they have to interact with others will cause them to use the fuel in their energy tanks faster than anything else. They need down time, solitude, to refuel. Whereas solitude depletes the extrovert’s energy, socializing depletes the introvert’s.

Sometimes extroverts make introverts feel guilty over their need of solitude and down time. Children who prefer time with a book over time with a group of friends can be perceived as unfriendly, socially handicapped, or worse, when in fact, the truth may be that the introverted child feels drained in too many social settings, and time with a book or alone with her music or art or whatever else she loves to do might give her the energy she needs to face social settings more easily.

I found the article refreshing because it reinforced what I already understood about myself. The past few months have been busy, especially weekends, with lots of social interaction. I love people, and I love chatting with friends and connecting with readers and being with my family. But I couldn’t understand why I was feeling so tired all of a sudden, taking days to recuperate after weeks of a full social schedule. I thought it was stress due to changes in my life, but I think the truth is, I crave that down time, the solitude to read or write or spend time with the Lord. I am energized when I can be alone for a while – not too long or I’ll get lonely! But long enough to keep my focus where it should be, and using the gifts God gave me. To create, to live in my fictional world for awhile, to read and let others take me away to the fictional worlds they’ve created, to study God’s Word and be revived – my introverted nature needs these things.

So I try to learn balance. And to understand when extroverted friends and family members might need to entertain or be gone a lot or keep a social calendar that makes my head spin! And in turn, hope they understand my need for regular intervals of alone time.

I find it fascinating how alike and unique and yet different we all are. Respecting our differences starts with understanding them.

Selah~

Sometimes I wonder what I do all day! I tick to-dos off my list like laundry, plan dinner, make phone calls, answer emails, check Facebook, Twitter, emails (I already said that didn’t I?), run errands, sweep cat food off the floor (Tiger likes to spit out the middle of his star-shaped food), vacuum cat hair off the carpets, (the cats make a lot of extra work – but they’re worth it) sit down to write…

Check emails, refresh Facebook and Twitter…try to come up with 140 characters for Twitter that I haven’t already said before. File my nails, chew gum, unwrap a Dove dark chocolate and let it melt in my mouth. Look at a few online stores where I need to purchase something…read a friend’s blog, look at my work in progress and decide what scene should come next…

Empty the dryer, fold clothes, start dinner, answer the phone…eat lunch, read a book while I eat. Where did the day go?

Does anyone else have days like this?

Actually, today was rather productive. I did much of the above, and even managed to write a chapter on Bathsheba, though I really wanted to write more tonight. But I had to do some online shopping, and I honestly think I take more time deciding what to buy online than I do in a store! Who says technology is faster?

But technology does have some wonderful uses. I got to talk to my son in NY tonight for 30 minutes. I think we talk in more concentrated doses now than we did when he was at home. I love being able to see and chat with him, like he was really in the room with you. The only down side is that the cats cannot see him on the screen. They can hear his voice. Tiger even looks to the place where Chris’s computer used to be, but not at my computer screen where he is when we talk on Skype.

I have only one complaint about my new MacBook, and that is when video (like Skype) is running or Internet windows (for email, Facebook, Twitter, etc.) are open, the computer gets pretty hot on my lap. Maybe it’s the thinner laptop body, but they need to fix the heat thing. I’d rather have it cooler than quieter. But why not have both? There’s got to be a way!

Laundry is still on my bed waiting to be folded. I made a new casserole for dinner tonight from a Taste of Home cookbook. It was meant to be made in small custard cups, but I didn’t have any so I improvised and put the whole thing in one casserole dish. It tasted great! Strawberry poppy seed salad to go with it. There weren’t too many leftovers!

Time to go read Havah: A Story of Eve by Tosca Lee. So far, I’m finding the story quite intriguing.

Shalom~