Good Luck NoNoWriMo Participants!

They're off! It's official! The race has begun!

NaNoWriMo kicked off at 12:01am last night. I wish all of my participating colleagues and friends much luck. These writer friends will have more accomplished in one month than I've been able to achieve… well, ever. I wish everyone a huge success in getting their stories written.

As you have probably surmised, I am not participating again this year. I hope not to regret the decision, but I couldn't find sufficient time in my schedule to write a 50,000 word novel this month, and I didn't want to set myself up for failure. I've been told this exercise is about finding the time. Well, I'm open to that, but we do still have to be realistic with our expectations.

Between running family members to and from work, school, soccer games, soccer practice, karate lessons, gymnastics lessons, gymnastics competitions, writers group meetings, girl scout meetings, and other events such as math club, choir, church, church Christmas play practice, 40 hours or more work each week for my employer and more, I don't have daytimes or one evening in a week free, nor are the weekends much better. I already begin my weekdays with the clock set for 4:30am in order to get done everything that needs my attention.

This isn't written for sympathy, and its intent is not whining. Rather, I am convincing myself of the sanity in this decision and hope to warrant off future feelings of regret.

Good luck to all the NaNoWriMo participants!

No Bandwagon Here

Recently a friend told me to "jump off the bandwagon." I won't go into the topic, but what bothered me was that she thought I was on a bandwagon at all. Then I got to thinking, why should that bother me and why can't I let it go.

I avoid confrontation and I avoid conflict. My being on a "bandwagon" implies a cause, which means I am exhorting my thoughts and beliefs on others. But I don't do that. How can this be?

My parents are probably the most ethical people I've ever known. They don't lie, they don't steal. They do unto others as they would be done, treating people with kindness and respect. They are not pushy and they are not prejudiced. They are really good people. But there was plenty of conflict growing up, and it was something I never learned to be comfortable with. I always preferred tranquility, at any cost, and I always strived for peace.

It has occurred to me that this is exactly one of my problems in writing. I have trouble creating enough conflict and letting it stir. I'm too quick to resolve the conflict and have life go on, which is (yawn)…boring! At least so for a story.

So thanks to my friend, I will focus more on the conflict in my stories. By being aware, hopefully I can escalate the tension and write stories that are full of emotion and exciting.

Ready for Split

It's finished! I finally completed my contribution to Split, a short story entitled Enrico's Only Hope. Ready for copyediting and proofing, Enrico's Only Hope survived a computer crash and countless revisions. It has evolved into a story that I'm satisfied with, and one that I believe is as good as I'm going to make it. It's been a long road to completion.

Enrico's Only Hope originated from a picture that I saw on the internet. It showed two men playing pool with a female onlooker, and appeared to be set in the 1950's. This was my starting point. It was truly a delight to bring the characters to life, learn how these two men from differing backgrounds came together and discover why they were playing.

It feels really good to have moved this story from draft stage to final, and I am excited and anxious now to move on to the next project.

PRAYER REQUEST

My father-in-law and his wife were ordered to evacuate their home in San Diego. They were not given an opportunity to take anything with them. Please take a moment to say a prayer for Herb and Kathy, my in-laws, and for everyone else effected by this devastating fire. Thank you.

Happy Birthday, Sweetheart

Today is a special day in our household and I wanted to take this opportunity to wish my husband of fifteen years, I'll call him JT here, a very happy birthday. Here's to a day that is happy, full of pleasant surprises, and loaded with love.

Now here's my public confession…I still love my husband and I feel fortunate to have married him. He's kind, thoughtful, imaginative, creative, funny, and he keeps you on your toes. Sometimes I think I may take all he does for granted, like doing dishes, putting up laundry, vacuuming the floor. Then I'll talk with a friend and mention something JT did and get stopped in mid-sentence with, "Your husband vacuums? Can I rent him?"

JT, you are wonderful and very special and I'm very proud of all you've accomplished. We've been through a lot together and individually, and I've seen you grow tremendously. Thanks for being such a great guy, and for all your efforts in being even a greater guy. I love you dearly. Happy birthday, sweetheart!

NaNoWriMo Here I Come, Or Not?

Three weeks and counting. That's how long we have until NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), which begins November 1 and ends midnight, November 30. Participants have one month in which to write a 50,000 word novel from start to finish. It's an event geared to get writers' writing. And I know it works.

So my dilemma starts now. Do I participate? Or not?

I can't imagine the dedication, focus, and TIME it must require to finish a 50,000 word novel in just one month. I'm already so stretched for time that I sometimes wonder which way is up. I'm setting my alarm clock earlier and earlier each morning just to get in my required hours for my employer. I spend my evenings racing this one to that affair, and that one to this function. And I mean race. We eat fast, drive fast, and sometimes I think I even talk fast. Seems like there is never a minute to spare.

But I've always, always wanted to try my hand at writing a book. If I wait for a good time, a slower time, it just may never happen. We all know that time keeps getting faster and faster the older you get (isn't that true?).

Anyway, that's my dilemma and I have three remaining weeks to sort it out. Three weeks to decide if I want to add to the already so crazy schedule I have timers going off throughout the day reminding me what's next. So, you'll either see me around during the month of November, or not. NaNoWriMo here I come, or not?

What I Like Most About Church

I missed church this morning. Missing church is not something I do often or take lightly. To help alleviate some of the guilt I am feeling over missing church and my Sunday morning ritual of fellowship and worship, I thought I would spend a few minutes blogging about what I like most about church. My church in particular.

Woodforest Presbyterian Church is very small, and that is exactly one of the things that I like about our church. When you arrive, whether for a morning worship service or an evening bible or book study, you are always greeted with genuine smiles and warm hugs. Everyone knows everyone, and there is truly a sense of community, of family.

Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.–Matt. 18:20. And so it is. I can truly feel the Lord's presence at my church when we gather together in worship and in fellowship. While the church may be small, it is large in belief.

Right now, in the adult Sunday school class we are studying the Book of Revelation. Another wonderful reason to love our church, this study is fascinating to say the least. Enough so that I will need to reserve more time and space to a more full discussion at a later time. Suffice it to say that we have a magnificent and very knowledgeable leader, one that is able to reference many Old Testament passages that support the Book of Revelation, very interesting questions and conversation, and well, we know the end. God wins!

These are just few things that come to mind when I think of reasons I love my church. There are more. In fact at one point we came up with and published a "top ten list" of reasons to attend Woodforest Presbyterian Church. I don't remember all ten, but I know fellowship and a sense of community was right at the top.

We don't have much information posted on our website, but it you want to take a look, the address is http://www.forministry.com/USTXPCUSAWPCWP/.

Shalom!

Wanting What’s Best for Our Kids

Something has been bothering me since the start of this new school year, and I would like to share my concerns and hope to gain a better insight. I also wish to learn what, if anything, can be done to resolve this dilemma.

The fifth grade of the elementary school my daughter attends is not issuing textbooks to the students.

I've had conversations with the teachers, exchanged email with the principal, and have talked with some other school district employees. And even after all these communications, I'm still not quite sure of the reasons behind the decision not to issue textbooks. I can't help but believe this is a cost-saving measure and not a decision based on our children's best interest.

One reason cited for the decision not to issue textbooks to the individual students is that they want to encourage our kids to use additional resources. They don't want our kids relying too heavily on a textbook. They want the kids to know how to look up information outside of a textbook. All fine and dandy, but what is wrong with their knowing how and using a textbook too?

Another reason mentioned is because they are using a new, advanced, hands-on curriculum and the textbooks are outdated. To that… I say buy new textbooks that are up to date.

I've also been told that this decision is so that we can encourage thinking outside the box. That we've raised a society of middle-managers and need to encourage more creative thinking. Great! But I still don't get how not having individual textbooks is going to help that.

Before school started, my sister told me that her child's school was not issuing student textbooks. No individual textbooks, just a classroom set that can be checked out! I was appalled and thought what kind of a school would try to teach students without books? What a surprise it was to learn that our school district is doing this too. Is this a trend? Are there others?

I believe most of us are reasonable people and open to change. We want what is best for our kids, and oftentimes change is for the better. This is one change however that is difficult for me, and I am very curious how other parents feel. Please share your comments. Perhaps together we can uncover the truth and come to a better understanding. Thank you.