My Writing Adventure

This poor blog. Clearly shame doesn't motivate me, evidenced by all the years I spent as a gal shopping in the extra-extra large section.

My writing adventure is mostly one of anxiety and indecision. Do I write? Do I not write? Should I pursue writing? Should I forget about writing? How do I do this? It's schizophrenic, at best.

In this season when I've had plenty of time during the day, I've found it still isn't enough time to write when you don't know what you're doing. Every day seems to be overfull and I continue to be offered more opportunities to be involved and serve at church. As much as it pains me, I have declined a few church requests. People have recently commented I don't have time to have a regular job. I am certainly not looking for more things to do.

Speaking of a regular job, as I continue to seek out a full-time work position, I've been looking in the Executive Assistant field, since that's what I've done for the last nine years. But, I'm beginning to wonder if God has other plans for me since no doors are opening in that area. So, I've actually put my resume in for a writing job. It's crazy, I'm probably not qualified, and my husband is sure the pay won't be enough. But, we'll see.

I'll keep you posted...

Dear Readers,
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Romans 12:12
Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.

I took a time-out this afternoon to go see a cute little movie.

For 9 - that's N I N E - American dollars.

For a 3:55 pm showing of a two-hour movie. At which I am forced to see commercials beforehand.

But, that's not what I haven't been able to stop thinking about this afternoon.

For better or for worse, I rarely go to the movie theatre. When I do, it is usually to see a movie that only kids and their parents are attending. (I'm just not an R-rating kind of girl). I only want to waste, I mean spend, that much money on a movie that multiple trusted reviewers claim is really worth it.

So here's what I can't stop thinking about: I am floored that parents pay $9 (or more at a non-matinee) per person to bring children who have no business being at the movies into a movie theatre.

Now, I'm not saying we should ban children from the movie theatre below a certain age. But, where is a little discernment these days?

When I saw Prince Caspian a few months ago, the 8 or 9-year-old girl sitting next to me had zero comprehension of what was happening during the first half of the movie. She was either explaining it to herself or asking her mother to explain it to her.

Which led me to question if she, or any of the other question-filled youngsters in that theatre, was capable of simple reasoning. Because the who is that question asked by children all around me for the first 15 minutes was about to drive me bonkers. I mean, might they figure out that he's the title character - Prince Caspian??

Speaking of which, parents seem to have given up on speaking quietly in the movie theatre. Today, I was bewildered, humorously so, by the little social microcosm I stepped into by going to a movie theatre populated by little girls under 10 and their mom or dad. There was a dull roar the entire movie. Some kids, and some parents for that matter, didn't even try to whisper.

Unless I'm remembering incorrectly because of the lack of oxygen up here on my high-horse, I would have been given the look of death by my parents if I had deigned to make a peep in the beautiful old Fox Theater in Redlands, where I saw many Disney double-features.

Today, the movie I viewed lost over half the kids in the audience in the first 15-minutes. Kit Kittredge deals with some difficult to understand, and frankly depressing, concepts. The little girl behind me was absolutely begging to be taken home by the movie's midpoint.

Now, I'm not saying that Kit Kittredge isn't worth seeing - although it frankly should have been a "wait for video" since it doesn't need to be seen in a theatre. The American Girl movies do a terrific job of giving the viewer a taste of what a certain period of history might have been like. Kit's parents are wonderful examples of two people in very tough circumstances who choose to handle their unhappy circumstances with grace. There are many lovely aspects to this story. I just wish parents would wait to bring their kids to the theatre until they can fully understand, and enjoy, the film being presented.

Also, since I'm already ranting full-force, what mother doesn't notice their kid kicking the seat in front of them? Okay - maybe this is the ban I would create and enforce: Don't Put Your Feet Up On the Seat In Front Of You.

I can't wait until I'm a parent so I can not bring my kids to the movie theatre.

*Sigh*

I just spent the last few days taking the Scrivener tutorial, importing my already written documents, trying to figure out how to format those documents, and getting some semblance of organization going.

I've struggled with moving forward with my novel because every time I look at what I've written, I think it's terrible and work to rewrite it. And, that, my friend, is getting me nowhere.

Also, working with a dozen Word documents gets confusing. The nice thing about Scrivener is that you can see all your documents at a glance. I actually found scenes I had forgotten about - ooops!

I read a quote by Terri Blackstock today that I've posted in Scrivener to remind me to keep moving forward. Terri says, "Don't get it right, get it written."

Terri's theory is that you just need to get the first draft written (oh, first draft, how I long to see you). Then, you can re-write, but not before.

In an odd way I cannot explain, I feel writing this book is an act of obedience. I need to get going and get this thing written or let God give this task to someone else - not something I feel led to do.

Anyway, that's the progress for now. My mouse-arm and fingers are aching so I must be doing something right. Or should I say, write? (That was terrible. I think it's time for me to call it a day. Good Night!)

I needed something to help me organize my writing better than just a word processor. So, I purchased a copy of Scrivener last week. It's a pretty powerful piece of software and I'm eager to dig in and put it to work. Check out Scrivener here: http://www.literatureandlatte.com/scrivener.html

As I continue to receive reminders to pray for Steven Curtis Chapman's family because of their loss of little Maria, I wanted to share a link to an interview with Mary Beth Chapman from 2003. It is an interesting peek into what their family has gone through in order to adopt their Chinese daughters and an honest conversation about Mary Beth's struggle with depression.
Click here to read the article.

Click here for information on the Chapman's adoption ministry called Shaohannah's Hope.

Please continue to pray for the Chapman family, especially the son who accidentally hit Maria.

In a nutshell, "Imagine" won the title for David Archuleta. That kid can bring it! He stepped up his game tonight and gave his best performances of the season.

That being said, David Cook is the better all-around performer. As much as I would love to see him win, I think that it might be better for him to come in second. He wouldn't have to do all the publicity after the AI season and could go home to spend more time with his brother before the tour starts.

I agree with Simon that David Cook's last selection was a mistake. Moments before Simon commented, I said that David should have done "Billy Jean," "Hello," or "Eleanor Rigby" again. But, mastering "The World I Know" shows David Cook's range and ability to bring something fresh.

No matter what happens, these young men are certain to have very strong careers in front of them.