Digging Deep

I was working in my garden today preparing the ground for all the plants I bought all in the hopes of having some yummy veggies this summer. It was hard work. Really hard work. I had to soak the ground with water and use a large forked hoe thingie (I'm not up on the latest gardening tool terminology, sorry.). But, no matter how hard I yielded that forked hoe and beat the ground, I couldn't pull up every weed that had decided to make my garden area its home. So, I got down in the dirt with my spade and mini-rake to dig deep and find the roots. It was hard work! Every time I thought I had cleared the area, I found another root, buried deep in the soil.

It made me think about how no matter how much we think we pulled up the roots of our former lives, casting aside the root of sin, there is always more work to do. We can't do it all. I try to root out the sin in my life. I scrape at it and pull it and beat it, mostly to no avail. It's not within my power to destroy it all. Only the greatest gardener of all can empty this soil of the sins that take root.

I also noticed that there were a lot of works making their homes in my garden. Worms, as opposed to the weeds, are wanted and needed in the garden to keep it healthy. So too is there many things in our lives that are good and needed for us to be healthy and productive. However, the stems of the weeds often looked like the worms themselves. I had to be careful not to mistake the bad for the good or to destroy the good as I killed the bad. Our lives are the same. There are many good things in our lives that we should be protecting and using for the Lord's purpose; however, there are also many bad things that are masquerading as good things. These bad things, while on the surface don't seem so bad, eventually they will crowd out the truly good things and destroy them, leaving the garden barren and useless.

This was a good reminder for me to remember that all the good things in the world can't compare to the great thing that is the salvation that comes from my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

I need a life-threatening situation!!

I love putting my characters in danger...it gets the blood pumping (their's and mine) and ups the ante.  A story without conflict is B-O-R-I-N-G!!!  And, in a suspense novel conflict often translates into something involving guns, blood, death, fights...you get the picture.  I admit, I'm an action junkie.  I want to create fear and anxiety in my characters whenever it fits.  Why?  Because then you really see what that person is made up.  Yes, I do know they're just characters in a fictional story.  But, to me, they're alive and breathing (at least for now) and in the middle of the greatest adventure of their lives.  I want them to experience that adventure to the fullest.  I want the reader to go on this vicarious thrill ride all the time hoping that their favorite character will make it through relatively unscathed.

That brings me to W.t.W.W.Y.N. (still not overly enthused about the title, but I'm working on it).  I've come to this lull in the story, and I really want to push the story into action mode.  But, what to do?  Lizzie has already had her memory erased, she was nearly drowned and she was kidnapped...all that before her grandfather mysteriously dies.  I need more!!!!  I need her to feel the whisper of death on her neck so she can finally realize that what she's running from is the very thing that will save her.  

Any ideas?

Urgh!

I am trying to edit W.T.W.W.Y.N. but I've come upon a stumbling block.  I feel like I jump too swiftly between scenes and don't know how to fix it.  The problem is that I deleted a whole thread from the story and it was supposed to fit nicely between these two scenes.  But now that it's gone, I'm at a loss.  I feel like it's too abrupt, but I'm not sure how to fix it.

Also, do I add more danger in here?  I want to start transitioning into the third and final act, but the story isn't cooperating.  It drives me crazy!!!!!! 

Update:

Okay...so I fixed part of the problem by switching the order of a couple of chapters and deleting a whole other chapter.  Now, I just need to add some action because everything's getting a little bogged down in narrative.  

The Wizard of Oz

One book down!  I just finished The Wizard of Oz, and it's just as enjoyable as I remember it being as a child.  I'm curious about all the other Oz books; I know he wrote 14 of them in total.  I may have to pick them up at some point and give them a read.  

I totally recommend this for anyone who digs children's lit.  

books to read

I've decided that there are some books that I either haven't read or haven't read in a very long time.  My goal is to read these books in the next year.  I'll update this list as I go along.  

1. Wizard of Oz

2. Alice in Wonderland

3. Chronicles of Narnia

4. 

Francesca Corbette

This is just some thoughts on a new character.  Francesca is late 20's and prefers to be called Frankie. I imagine her story in the late 1880's, perhaps in Missouri or Colorado.  She's pretty, but not beautiful, more cute.  She has dark red hair that she keeps pulled back.  She is average height and weight.  She wears small, wire-rimmed glasses.  She always dresses conservatively, and she likes to keep absolute control over herself at every moment.

Despite, her deep need for control, she has a quirky sense of humor and a love of life.  She has been deeply hurt by the men in her life, so she rarely trusts men.  She keeps her fear veiled behind a shy facade.

She has had a falling out with the aunt and uncle who raised her and hasn't seen them in several years.  She also has a sister, Cordelia (called Cora or Cory).  Cordelia married young to her first husband.  He died early in their marriage, and she remarried to Curtis Landon, now with a young daughter (Maddie).  With Curtis, Cordelia has three children, James, Georgie, and an as-yet unnamed baby daughter.

I'll give more later.

random writing

I often tell my creative writing students that when they get writer's block, they should just write. They shouldn't think about the words or the setting or where they're going with it. They just need to write. I've realized that I just need to take my own advice sometimes.

I've felt kind of stifled recently...not able to move forward with Lizzie's story. I really want to finish it, but the words won't come. It's pretty frustrating. So, last night, I decided to get away from the computer and pick up a pen and pad of paper. That's pretty old school for me. I used to handwrite everything, but that managed to completely screw up my penmanship. For those of you unable to read anything I've handwritten, blame it on the stories. But last night, I decided to de-clutter my thoughts and start fresh. Just write.

I actually managed to write a page and a half in about 15 minutes. Pretty good, huh? It's a random story that I may not finish...it was inspired by my earlier genre post so it's set in the old west.

Really, though, wasn't to start another book that probably won't get past a chapter or two. It was to jump start the creative juices and remember how good it feels to create something from nothing.