Poetry from a Pup

This weekend, while I was slicing up the roasted lamb, the pup waited very patiently for her share, and with good reason. My daughter, 8, wrote this from the point of view of the pup.

The knife slices through the juicy meat,

the dark red liquid oozing

down,

down,

down,

until it reaches my quivering black nose.

I lap it up

quickly

and lie in wait

for my next treat.

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C. S. Lewis

What a gem this book is: C.S. Lewis's CASE FOR CHRIST: Insights from Reason, Imagination and Faith. The many things I struggled about religion since I was twelve years old are the same that C.S. Lewis struggled with. How I wish I could've met the man. He used his literary background and reason to accept Jesus and grow in his faith.

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Art Lindsley has compiled the essence of many of Lewis' arguments in perfectly digestible bits. Questions like these are answered:

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1. How can I believe in God when there is so much evil, pain and suffering in the world?

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2. Isn't Christianity one myth among many?

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3. Isn't belief in God just a crutch for needy people?

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And so many more.

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I especially loved the last chapter which answered the question: Isn't Jesus just another good, moral teacher? If you read the Bible you know that Jesus claimed to be one with God, be God. He called himself the bread of life, the true vine, the light of the world. If an ordinary person would say that, and got people to believe it, he'd be the world's biggest trickster. If Jesus believed it but it were untrue, he'd be crazy. But what if it were true? Then He is who He claims to be. He is the Lord.

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You decide.

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I'm looking forward to reading MERE CHRISTIANITY by Lewis next.

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Cooking and Writing

After a very hectic week and weekend, what with the garden bursting with good stuff, and my students even more productive than me, and the usual sports and church activities, I finally have a chance to breathe and write. My freezer is filling up with zucchini bread, vegetable stews, and salsa.

Alas, my novel is losing weight. I realized during all the cooking (I don't know what the correlation is) that the book would be better told through a single viewpoint instead of the alternating viewpoints I have been using. I'm throwing out almost everything but the first chapter and starting over. So goes novel writing -- many false starts, but when I do hit upon the right one, I know it's right.

The moral of this story? It's good to have lots of food in the freezer. But in a story, more is not always better.

Happy writing, all.
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The Hiding Place

I love books like these that uplift my soul and remind me that "there is no pit so deep that God's love is not deeper still." The Hiding Place is full of practical examples showing how to live when times are tough and you feel that evil is winning and so much more.

Corrie ten Boom was a middle-aged woman who lived with her sister Betsie and father above their watch shop in Haarlem, Holland, when Nazi Germany invaded. They opened their doors to Jews, managing to find homes for some, and keeping others hidden in a secret room in Corrie's own bedroom.

I love this quote from her father when a man feels that Corrie and her family shouldn't be putting themselves at risk with "all this illegal concealment and underground business." Corrie's father holds a baby close and says, "You say we could lose our lives for this child. I would consider that the greatest honor that could come to my family."

Corrie and her entire family were sent to concentration camps. Corrie survived with the help of her sister Betsie, who always reminded her to fix her eyes on Jesus. They managed to smuggle a small Bible and found themselves transformed in a place they thought God had forgotten. There were so many excerpts I read out loud to my family from this book. It is a must read.

I almost put this book down because the first part of the book is about their life before the invasion and there isn't much conflict. The ten Boom family was a happy one. It reminded me of Tolstoy who said, "Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." It's not that I don't like reading about happy families, because I do, but there just isn't enough tension to keep turning the pages. But Bam! we have invasion and suddenly the tension ramps up and it just doesn't stop. There is no room to breathe. The stakes keep getting higher and higher and higher. I knew how this story ended, yet I couldn't put down this book.

I hope you will pick up this book to read. There is also a movie, if you prefer. Haven't seen it yet.

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A Budding Teacher

Every morning, I tidy up a little bit before sitting down with a cup of tea. Here's a piece of scrap paper that I have to share with you all. I don't have a scanner, so I will type this up, creative spelling and all. Looks like my eight-year-old daughter is absorbing the art of writing editorial letters:

Hello,

My name is Daughter. It is a plesure to be teaching you this year. I look foraward to sucsess. Your desk s will always be where they are right now. You will never be able to see my body, head, shape, or size. Right now please work on page 3 of the papers. It tells you exatly what to doo. And rember, behave! I am watching every move you make. I hope you are looking forawd to the new school year too.

Sincerly,
Daughter

Well, there you go! My budding teacher. She's much tougher than I am.

Oh, I forgot to add that when my kids were little, they'd send rejection letters to each other when they were mad. It's funny what kids pick up when they live with writer-moms.
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Slow and Steady

I'm finally getting into a writing groove. I try to write longhand first thing in the morning, that is if the pup isn't nosing the cat and the old cat's not getting into a big snit. Then we get ready for school. The dog gets a good walk. And I love listening to my kids during our walks. It's a great way to start the day.

After I come home, it's time to have a hot cup of tea, reconnect with my husband who's already spent a good couple of hours working, do the wash, clean the kitchen and finally sit down to write. I write two pages a day (about 500 words) and that translates quite nicely to ten pages a week, or roughly a chapter. The rest of the time is devoted to teaching and taking care of my family. I need to add marketing to the schedule. When I was writing more for magazines, I'd devote a couple of hours every week to sending my work out. I might have to institute Marketing Mondays or some such. I've been consciously lazy about that. I take breaks from sending my work out.

I couldn't have a writing career without my husband. He does most of the shopping, cooks just as much as I do, and does most of the driving back and forth to various sports practices the kids have. The whole family helps with the housework and garden and I am thankful for that.

So, how is everyone else adjusting to the new school year? I hope you are all carving out some time to think and write.
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Books That Make Me Think

One of my cousins is a so-called "dumpster" baby. She was left to die, but someone found her and my aunt adopted her, giving her a good life. This is fairly common in India, but I wouldn't expect that here, in such a prosperous country. Yet, all too often, I have read the news of a baby found in the dumpster. So I know it happens.

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AFTER by Amy Efaw weaves a story around a girl, Devon, who does just that. It explores what happens when the new mother is facing charges of attempted murder. It shows Devon's understanding about what she has done as well. This book has been written with tremendous grace. The ending is magnificent.

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The author's note cites a few statistics. One baby is abandoned to a trash can every day in the United States. And the CDC has concluded that "the homicide rate on the first day of life was at least 10 times greater than the rate during any other time of life." There is something disturbing when the CDC makes a statement like this. It implies that life happens when you are born. Not so, folks. Life begins at conception. A new human being is formed and the nine months that the baby is in the womb, he or she is very much alive. Infanticide has been going on throughout history. Even sanctioned in some cultures. But never in the millions. The abortion rate, although falling, is roughly over a million per year in this country. Sanctioned by society. This is the world we live in today. Something to think about.

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Choices by Deborah Lynn Jacobs is a fantastic book about multiple universes. Each time you make a choice, the universe splits. I have been fascinated with this idea for a long time and the author weaves a story about two people who both have the ability to shift between these parallel universes. It's about making choices and realizing that they have consequences. I'm reading another book by her, Powers, that gives plenty of food for thought.

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I thought I had read most of the Grimm's Fairy Tales. But I missed the one that Shannon Hale's Book of a Thousand Days is based on. It's a magnificent story cast in the central Asian steppes. I'm looking forward to reading the original tale this is based on.

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I'm also going through The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren. Only a chapter per day. This book has probably given me the most food for thought besides the Bible.

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Summer Holidays and Hopes for Fall

School begins tomorrow. As I look back upon this summer, I am filled with joy. Here are some of the critters that we came across today in the woods.

Two banana slugs posing:

A cricket sunning:

An owl hunting! In broad daylight:

We came home to our summer bounty:

Perfect for ratatouille (I added a big eggplant from the store).

Summer is far from over. And soon I'll need to make more batches of zucchini bread, tomato salsa and soup. I love having a taste of all this in the winter ...

Besides all the food processing that I will do this fall, what do I hope to accomplish writing-wise? To begin anew on my novel. I only worked a little bit on it this summer not because I didn't have time, but because I chose to spend it doing other things, like doing projects with my kids, taking long walks in the woods, going swimming, visiting with family and friends. Oh, I wrote every day, but I didn't work on my novel. Big difference. So here's hoping I can finish the first half of this by the end of this year. And polish a few shorter pieces for magazines. I should probably get my CV out there again for writing work-for-hire books.

Tomorrow.

Tonight I will read over the bits of the novel I've written, see where I need to go, write two pages even if it all ends up in the trash.

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On Revision and Deadlines

It's taken my ten-year-old son all summer to get to a story that I asked him to polish , but once he put his mind to it, he made two rounds of revision, wrote a cover letter and sent it off. To Stone Soup! Wish him luck.

By the time football season ends he should find out whether or not his story was accepted. He'll be spared a letter of rejection since they only respond if they are interested. Regardless, I am proud of him. He wrote a terrific first draft last year for a salmon unit in class. I didn't see it until this year and I was impressed with his natural sense of story, the vivid language -- specific nouns and active verbs. The story sparkled. I knew with a couple of rounds of revision it could be dazzling.

It's not easy to get a child to revise a story. I do workshops in schools and kids don't really care for revision -- they wrote a story and that's that. I like to show them the process and show how much fun it can be to say what you mean, to choose words carefully and what a difference even small changes make in clarity. Although most children enjoy the workshop, they don't make it a habit to revise their work unless they have to. My son included. So I gave him a deadline -- before the summer is over, I wanted that story polished and out in the mail. And he did it with a week to spare. Yes!!!

That's what I need -- for my mother to tell me to finish my book or else!

So tell me how you finish projects? Do you obey self-imposed deadlines or do you need a nudge from a critique partner? Or do you only finish the projects that you've got a contract and deadline for?

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Discipline is Freedom

"Discipline is Freedom." I first heard this from Garth Fagan, modern dance choreographer extraordinaire. Years ago, I had the privilege to take a master class with his company when they were in Pullman, Wa. I'm no dancer, but I took a couple of jazz and ballet classes during graduate school for a sense of balance. My Ph.D. thesis advisor, Lin Randall, was a fan and friend of Garth Fagan and she managed to get me a place alongside all these amazing dancers. I couldn't believe the things they could do with their bodies, and so effortlessly. I was even more in awe when I learned about how he made his company, from the bottom of the bucket.

Kristi's post on Talent, Passion and Discipline reminded me of his quote. Because it's true. When you have the discipline to practice your art and craft, you gain freedom to be the best you can be. Read more about cultivating self discipline here.

During the summer, my own writing takes a backseat to my children, home, students, and company. It's not the season for it. I have my priorities and family always comes first. Perhaps I will not be the writer I can be, but then again, perhaps I may have nothing to say without these important people in my life. But come fall, when school begins, I need to be more disciplined in carving time for my novel and then using it for that. I like to shoot for two pages. I make slow and steady progress that way.

So, tell me, what are your writing routines that work for you? How do you stay disciplined?
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