I spoke to a collective group of Sunday School kids, ranging in age from Kindergarten through Fifth-grade, a few weeks ago, and as has happened before, kids say the “darnedest” things!” After speaking about my blindness, and how God has helped me, I asked them if they had any questions. After one or two questions, one of them asked, “Is it fun being blind?” I couldn’t exactly point out that that’s a pretty dumb question, so I tried to answer it as best as I could. Have you ever asked a really dumb question? I sure have.
I’m progressing with ‘Home Run,’ and my above story connects with the character of Bradley, who makes his second appearance in the chapter I am currently working in (chapter 6). Bradley is serious, even stoic, watchful, focused, which are all decent qualities, but he is also extremely boring. He’ll say some things that will sound like he’s really dumb, despite the fact he is a wealthy businessman and understands his line of work better than most people twenty years his senior.
My ultimate plan is to write the sequel to ‘Home Run’, which will feature Bradley’s efforts to change his dullness, and address his growing awareness that his life lacks something very important. Any guesses what (or who) that could be?
Well, yes, ultimately, it is a ‘who’ that is missing in his life. I plan to create a story line that will focus on this missing part of his life, hopefully in a way that the reader will follow his growth and relate to it in some way. His future partner will probably be very opposite in many ways, and most likely will have spotted some potential in him that she will seek to nurture and bring to full bloom.
Since ‘Home Run’ and its sequel are modeled after the Luke 15 passage about the prodigal son, I’ve enjoyed reading and re-reading that section. My story lines, including the brothers, as well as their contemporary environment, are of course quite different from the setting in Scripture, but I hope to stay true to the basic underlying principles. A really big one concerns choices we make. They can make or break us. I’ve made some really bad choices in my life, which have caused me no small amount of trouble. The cause and affect principle is alive and well, and this will be seen in both ‘Home Run’ and the sequel.
Even though I have brought trouble into my life (and those around me) because of bad choices, God has still seen fit to provide many blessings in my life. No, being blind is not fun, but I am alive, and have been blessed with a loving and faithful wife, as well as a terrific son. Maybe my temporary blindness is all about giving me a sturdier platform to stand on when training my son about choices. Maybe, I am just a link in the chain so he (and maybe future offspring) will grow up to be strong, bold, wise, and more faithful servants of Christ.
It’s no picnic being blind, but it may have its benefits!
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
A New WIP
Writers refer to their current work, or the story they are working on, as their ‘WIP.’ This stands for, ‘Work In progress.’ I bring this up because, I’ve recently started working on a new WIP. My last WIP (on the back burner for a while), Wintergreen, will have to wait it appears. I don’t fully know why, but God is moving me along a different path at the moment, and all I can do is follow His lead.
I’ve always enjoyed reading romance novels (Christian and non-Christian) that are well written, involve some degree of adventure or danger, and involve characters that are usually less than perfect. One such book, written in the 1980s was ‘The Honorable Impostor’ by Gilbert Morris. The writing style is outdated, but the story line (centered around the people who eventually became the Pilgrims crossing the Atlantic Ocean in 1620, is timeless.
My stories will always involve characters that are neither perfect, nor have life figured out. Life is all about struggles and trying to figure out what God wants us to be doing. And, just like the main character in the honorable Impostor, who ultimately comes to know Christ, and who finally figures out what he’s supposed to be doing, so will my books run along this same theme.
My new WIP, tentatively called ‘Home run,’ is based on a well known parable from the Bible. It’s about the prodigal son (Luke 15). Set in the present time, Brent King takes his share of money from his father (the modern day equivalent to an inheritance) and heads off to Las Vegas. Though he intends to both enjoy himself, and multiply his inheritance (he wants to out do what his older brother did with his share of the inheritance), he quickly ends up broke and in serious trouble to boot.
This story will proceed its sequel, which will naturally be about the older brother. If you look at the Biblical account, you can see that the older brother had some legitimate grounds to be upset. At least, it seems that way from a human perspective. Well, that’s a long way off, so for now, I’m putting lots of energy into ‘Home Run’ with the hopes of completing the manuscript by the end of the year.
I mentioned I like romance with a bit of danger and depth. This is, in essence, what life is. And, that’s what I like to write about. I don’t mind telling people I enjoy romance stories, because that’s what life is really about. There is a big difference between the romantic literature I’m referring to, and the contemporary ‘chic lit’ that is less concerned with the deeper things of life. Some have called that writing ‘brain candy’ and it is true.
I hope my books won’t be called brain candy, but instead, brain nutrition!
I’ve always enjoyed reading romance novels (Christian and non-Christian) that are well written, involve some degree of adventure or danger, and involve characters that are usually less than perfect. One such book, written in the 1980s was ‘The Honorable Impostor’ by Gilbert Morris. The writing style is outdated, but the story line (centered around the people who eventually became the Pilgrims crossing the Atlantic Ocean in 1620, is timeless.
My stories will always involve characters that are neither perfect, nor have life figured out. Life is all about struggles and trying to figure out what God wants us to be doing. And, just like the main character in the honorable Impostor, who ultimately comes to know Christ, and who finally figures out what he’s supposed to be doing, so will my books run along this same theme.
My new WIP, tentatively called ‘Home run,’ is based on a well known parable from the Bible. It’s about the prodigal son (Luke 15). Set in the present time, Brent King takes his share of money from his father (the modern day equivalent to an inheritance) and heads off to Las Vegas. Though he intends to both enjoy himself, and multiply his inheritance (he wants to out do what his older brother did with his share of the inheritance), he quickly ends up broke and in serious trouble to boot.
This story will proceed its sequel, which will naturally be about the older brother. If you look at the Biblical account, you can see that the older brother had some legitimate grounds to be upset. At least, it seems that way from a human perspective. Well, that’s a long way off, so for now, I’m putting lots of energy into ‘Home Run’ with the hopes of completing the manuscript by the end of the year.
I mentioned I like romance with a bit of danger and depth. This is, in essence, what life is. And, that’s what I like to write about. I don’t mind telling people I enjoy romance stories, because that’s what life is really about. There is a big difference between the romantic literature I’m referring to, and the contemporary ‘chic lit’ that is less concerned with the deeper things of life. Some have called that writing ‘brain candy’ and it is true.
I hope my books won’t be called brain candy, but instead, brain nutrition!
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
The Novelist And His Novel
Technically, I am a published author. More accurately, I am a published free lancer. I find it very easy to compose short articles, however, my heart is not in that field. My dream is to write an inspirational fiction novel one day, and have it published of course!
I’ve been working at this for a number of years. My first submissions to critique groups were an eye opener, and I quickly found out that writing wasn’t as easy as it appeared. There were steps involved in creating a novel. Imagine that! In addition, at the time I began, there were some newer concepts emerging that have changed the landscape of writing significantly. Read a novel that’s twenty years old, then read one that’s new or only a few years old. If you make a conscious attempt to spot the differences, I’ll bet you’ll find them.
God blessed me with a creative mind (although it’s been a curse at times). Coming up with story ideas and characters is not hard for me. The hardest thing for me, interestingly, is coming up with names. Many people don’t even think twice about the name of the hero or heroine, but I can assure you, the author has put a lot of thought into those names. Some authors more thought than others. In today’s writing world anyway, you can’t really have your main protagonists (or antagonists) called Mary, or Frank. Usually, the names for these characters are names we would never give our own children. Moreover, we’d probably have changed our names had we been christened with them!
The novel I am working on is called Wintergreen. It’s mainly about two people, named Davis and Corrie at present, who are victimized by crime. I used my experience in this field as a basis for this fiction novel, so I hope to tell their story in a realistic light. It’s set in Erie, Pennsylvania, about the only part of Pennsylvania I’ve never visited. I hope to write about my progress on this blog site, and perhaps I’ll post segments from time to time.
I’ll end this post with a tiny bit of information about the plant named wintergreen. It is of course the source of the fragrance we know about, but did you know that its name was actually the predecessor of the word evergreen? Wintergreen could once be found growing naturally in Wintergreen Gorge, or Four Mile Creek, near Erie Pennsylvania, but apparently not today. Part of the story line in Wintergreen will connect with Wintergreen Gorge, specifically, near the end where the antagonist comes on the scene in full force.
I’d love to hear any other interesting facts or trivia about wintergreen. Leave a short comment if you have anything you feel might be of even the tiniest bit of interest.
I’ve been working at this for a number of years. My first submissions to critique groups were an eye opener, and I quickly found out that writing wasn’t as easy as it appeared. There were steps involved in creating a novel. Imagine that! In addition, at the time I began, there were some newer concepts emerging that have changed the landscape of writing significantly. Read a novel that’s twenty years old, then read one that’s new or only a few years old. If you make a conscious attempt to spot the differences, I’ll bet you’ll find them.
God blessed me with a creative mind (although it’s been a curse at times). Coming up with story ideas and characters is not hard for me. The hardest thing for me, interestingly, is coming up with names. Many people don’t even think twice about the name of the hero or heroine, but I can assure you, the author has put a lot of thought into those names. Some authors more thought than others. In today’s writing world anyway, you can’t really have your main protagonists (or antagonists) called Mary, or Frank. Usually, the names for these characters are names we would never give our own children. Moreover, we’d probably have changed our names had we been christened with them!
The novel I am working on is called Wintergreen. It’s mainly about two people, named Davis and Corrie at present, who are victimized by crime. I used my experience in this field as a basis for this fiction novel, so I hope to tell their story in a realistic light. It’s set in Erie, Pennsylvania, about the only part of Pennsylvania I’ve never visited. I hope to write about my progress on this blog site, and perhaps I’ll post segments from time to time.
I’ll end this post with a tiny bit of information about the plant named wintergreen. It is of course the source of the fragrance we know about, but did you know that its name was actually the predecessor of the word evergreen? Wintergreen could once be found growing naturally in Wintergreen Gorge, or Four Mile Creek, near Erie Pennsylvania, but apparently not today. Part of the story line in Wintergreen will connect with Wintergreen Gorge, specifically, near the end where the antagonist comes on the scene in full force.
I’d love to hear any other interesting facts or trivia about wintergreen. Leave a short comment if you have anything you feel might be of even the tiniest bit of interest.
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