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Showing posts from October, 2004

What I'm writing in YEAR OF THE DOG

I just finished writing Year of the Dog ! It had a massive plot hole that I had to fix which turned out to be more work than I expected. Here’s a snippet: “Hey, Auntie Nell.” He wrapped his arms around her, bussing her on the cheek and breathing in pikake flowers and shortbread cookies. And suddenly he was nine years old again, and her solid presence had made his chaotic world stable once more. “What are you doing here?” He usually took her to dinner on Wednesday nights, but today was Tuesday. The edges of her smile faltered a little before brightening right back up again. “What, I can’t visit my nephew?” She angled around him to enter his home. “Is this your new house? Looks lovely.” Which was a blatant lie, because the fixer-upper was barely livable, much less acceptable to a neat-freak like his aunt. She also left four matching pink and purple floral suitcases on the stoop behind her. Only then did Ashwin notice the cab driver standing slightly to the side of the walkway. “Can ...
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Terrible fight on Friday

10/31/04 It's probably not a coincidence that my friend Sharon has been reading about embracing your weaknesses lately, because I've been doing the same thing, sort of. Work this past week was TERRIBLE. I complained to my supervisor's supervisor that my workload was just too much, so he called my supervisor in to talk to her, and she got super pissed off and took it out on me. We had an argument on Friday, and she leveled a few unfounded and totally unfair accusations at me. She said I arrive late and leave early, so I told her I'm very conscientious about how long I work, if I arrive late then I stay late to finish my work, and if I have to leave early then I make sure I arrive earlier than normal. I was too upset to mention about the times she's had to leave early and I had to stay a little later to finish her work for her. She also said it takes me longer to do procedures than most people, but I told her that I take as long as she does, so she shouldn't accus...
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STAIN OF GUILT by Brandilyn Collins

10/26/04 On Sunday, I felt convicted to give a day to the Lord, so instead of writing, I read a book I've been looking forward to for a while, " Stain of Guilt " by Brandilyn Collins, book 2 in her "Hidden Faces" series. From the back cover: As I drew, the house felt eerie in its silence. . . . A strange sense stole over me, as though Bland and I were two actors on stage, our movements spotlighted, black emptiness between us. But that darkness grew smaller as the space between us shrank. I did not know if this sense was due to my immersion in Bland’s face and mind and world, or to my fear of his threatening presence. Or both . . . The nerves between my shoulder blades began to tingle. Help me, God. Please. For twenty years, a killer has eluded capture for a brutal double murder. Now, forensic artist Annie Kingston has agreed to draw the updated face of Bill Bland for the popular television show American Fugitive. To do so, Annie must immerse herself in Bland’s t...
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Ephesians 6

10/19/04 Today I was reminded by my discipler Miki and also by Ephesians chapter 6 that I need to keep God and His will above everything else in my life, above my husband, above my discomfort, above my desire to write. Christ, first, foremost, only. My writing would be nothing and empty if my heart is not focused on God alone. My marriage would fall apart if I don't put Christ above my own wants and needs. Lord, help me to prioritize. Humble me and help me to set aside all these things that are distracting me, and put You above all else. I lay my heart before You, O God, because only You can see if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. Categories: Bible-study
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Chicklit Anthology

10/14/04 It's late but I just have to write this down. I just spent an amazing couple hours brainstorming with Mary G. She had an idea for a multi-ethnic Chicklit anthology proposal for Barbour, so we stewed out the premise and our respective stories, and also other published Barbour authors who might be open to joining us. Barbour's policy on their anthologies is that three of the authors must be published, and two of those must have been published by Barbour specifically. The fourth author can be an unpublished author--yes, that would be me. (Mary is under contract with both Baker/Revell and Steeple Hill. Can't wait for her books to come out!) The whole experience got me so excited about writing. The blossoming of ideas, the creative juices flowing and bubbling. I loved the whole "Hey what about--" "Oh what if--" "How about--" kind of conversation. I felt such a yearning to be doing this full time. But while my heart is straining at the bit, ...
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This is my dog, Snickers.
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Characterization and writing career fears

10/12/04 Hahaha! I finally figured out how to post pictures. I got some great plotting and characterization done yesterday. I've found, over and over again, that my characterization process is integral to my plotting. The way the characters flesh themselves out determines where the plot goes. Who a character is--her inner values--will ultimately control what choices she makes as the story progresses. Each step in the plot is a direct result of how she acts in response to what happened previously, versus the character just reacting to the rocks thrown at her. Heather's blog yesterday talked about a fear she has, which resembles something I felt earlier: "What if the only reason God has me pursuing writing is to encourage others not to give up?" I had wondered if God wanted me to learn the writing craft only to teach other writers, never to be published myself. And while that scared and saddened me, I realized that even if that's what He wants for me, that's oka...
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Mary's prose painting

10/10/04 Got my website updated. I listed all my recommended books on writing technique and linked them to Amazon. Except the stupid html made my page layout all screwy so I had to be creative. LOL Okay, I just read Mary Griffith's blog and I am, yet again, floored. Dude, I could never be that poetic and beautiful and flow-y with words. Well, maybe in a certain mood, but that strikes me only rarely (Look at that! Two adverbs in a row!). But a part of me thinks that if God didn't make me that way, maybe I wasn't meant to write that way. I can admire Mary's incredible way of painting words like an watercolor picture, but if I could never do that, I won't sweat it. I'm sure God has other uses for me and the irreverent way I paint my own words like a finger-painting on a wall. LOL. I'll just read Mary's blog and feel uplifted and inspired. Okay, I've checked my email, I am REALLY going to get some writing done right now! Categories: blogs writers
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Stem Cell research

10/9/04 Heather IM'd me to scold me for not updating my blog, so here goes. Not much has been happening lately. Writing isn't flowing as well as it used to, but it's still plugging along steadily. I'm gaining more insight into my characters, which is exciting. Research for the series has been interesting. The crime is based on a private embryonic stem cell company which is also doing illegal reproductive cloning and fetal organ harvesting. The websites supporting embryonic stem cell work are both interesting and sometimes disturbing. One website kept describing therapeutically cloned embryos as "eggs." "Eggs are not babies, eggs are not fertilized," etc. But therapeutic cloning, while it doesn't use a sperm cell, produces a cell that is no longer an EGG. An egg only has half the required genetic material. A therapeutically cloned cell has a full complement of DNA and starts mitotic splitting like an embryo. Calling it an EGG is downright deceptiv...
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