Captain’s Log, Stardate 04.30.2005 I just got my ACFW Book of the Year judging packet. Looking over the score sheets, I realized that this is very much like a contest for an unpublished writer. The authors are receiving anonymous feedback from readers who can freely give opinions on things like character, conflict, motivation. Many times, I’ve read a book where the character is inconsistent, or the conflict isn’t strong enough, or the motivation isn’t quite believable, but I’ve never written to the author to complain. I can see how this might be scary for an author. I know I’d be freaking out. I was just talking with a friend of mine last night about Christian fiction. While much of it is excellent quality, there are a few that really disappoint. It doesn’t even matter sometimes if the authors are new or multi-published. Some things are blatant and unprofessional--I recently read a Christian book where the heroine had absolutely no goal and no conflict wit...

Captain’s Log, Stardate 04.29.2005 I haven’t blogged in a while, but in all honesty there hasn’t been much going on. Writing: The past few days I’ve been brainstorming my next project, a Chicklit novella. The heroine eludes me for some reason. I’ll need to give it more thought, more freewriting. Today I interviewed a coworker who has done work with embryonic stem cells (ES). Before asking her my questions, I made clear that I’m a Christian and I don’t agree with the morality of how they acquire ES, so she didn’t need to continue talking with me if she didn’t want to. I explained that I wanted verification for my plot premise in my latest manuscript. She was very nice. She explained why she felt ES were necessary for research and therapy, but she also answered my questions. My plot premise is sound, and she thought it was very interesting. She also showed me that the field for ES is wide open with a multitude of other possibilities. My devious brain is alread...

Captain's Log, Stardate 04.22.2005 At 9:00 PM (PST) I typed the last word to my Asian suspense manuscript! Well, I still have several crucial items of revision ahead of me, but the bulk of it is done. <br> I celebrated by watching the movie "The Day After Tomorrow" with my husband. Awesome special effects. I loved the tornadoes in L.A. I admired the writing and suspenseful plot development--each scene moved to the next one with good pace, with no release of tension. I liked the deleted scenes much better than the ones they had in instead--they added more depth and color to the movie--but oh well, I'm not the editor. I also watched the most emotional TV episode that I've ever seen, the most recent one of "House." A woman who had several miscarriages is finally pregnant (7 months?) but she also has a fast-acting lung cancer. The whole episode talks about the moral dilemma of savi...

Captain's Log, Stardate 04.19.2005 Okay, I admit I should be writing--I have literally only three scenes left until I'm done with my manuscript--but I feel guilty for not blogging. Can you believe it? GUILTY. There is something seriously wrong with me. It's not even like I have anything deep, spiritual, encouraging or inspiring to say! Writing is slow but wonderful. I finally realized that maybe the reason I was so distracted and unmotivated to finish this manuscript was because Satan didn't want me to. Spiritual warfare had been the last thing on my mind. And me being the weird person I am, that actually encouraged me because that meant my manuscript was important to God, or else Satan wouldn't bother tormenting me, he has tons of other missionaries and pastors to dig into. Once I realized it was warfare, writing became easier. Or maybe I started praying more, I'm not sure. But now I'm three scenes from the end and very happy with what...

Captain’s Log, Stardate 04.12.2005 "Dreaming in Black and White" by Laura Jensen Walker <br> From the back cover: Phoebe Grant is everyone’s favorite movie geek--unbeatable at trivia, convinced that all the world’s a movie screen. She can organize a four-hankie chick-flickathon with a wave of her tall, nonfat, double mocha. And she’s a shoo-in for the job of her dreams--movie reviewer for the newspaper where she works. Enter Alex Spencer--not only gorgeous but also a film buff, perfectly cast for a celluloid kiss and a fade to sunset. Unfortunately, Alex is the villain who sends Phoebe packing to the last place on earth she wants to be--back home to boring little Barley, California. But wait. It couldn’t be. Dark, handsome, and annoying Alex . . . in Barley? Can Phoebe protect her hometown--and her heart--and prove It’s a Wonderful Life? Or is her promising future truly Gone With the Wind? Camy here: Fabulous! Hilarious writing--dialogue, scenes, cha...

Captain’s Log, Stardate 04.11.2005 <br> From the back cover: He'd find Kailey someday. One assignment at a time. One prayer at a time . . . Ever since a cult took his daughter, police investigator Ross Malcolm's mission has been to protect children. So when a secretive sect in Hamilton Falls , Washington , comes under suspicion for child endangerment, he's on the job, seeking evidence from the latest recruit's aunt, Julia McNeill. Though disdainful of her restricted lifestyle, Ross finds himself wanting to teach Julia the truth of God's love. Accustomed to living in her sister's shadow, Julia is unaware of her own strengths. Though she's been taught to fear outsiders, conscience compels her to risk everything to help Ross protect her nephew and find his daughter. But Julia'...

Captain’s Log, Stardate 04.10.2005 Since it’s technically Sunday already, I’ll post for today. Writing: I had a hard time writing earlier today--easily distracted, chronic procrastination--but this evening I came into a writing zone. I think it has to do with the fact that I’m a night owl. My best writing time is usually in the evening, often after midnight . I had wanted to be done by tonight, but I blame it on laziness and preplanned events. I’m so close I can taste it. I already wrote my heroine’s spiritual epiphany scene on Friday (during that creative episode at work), which was probably one of the hardest passages. I know I’m not supposed to edit while I write, but I have a hard time allowing myself to lay down trite and clichéd prose. I write something and think, “That’s bland, that sounds funny. What’s a different way I can phrase that?” I also have a tendency to reuse words within a few pages of each other, so I try to reword things as I go. I proba...