Hoosier Ink

Oh, did I laugh at that picture! Priceless! Yes,...

2012-05-27T13:37:56.691-04:00

Oh, did I laugh at that picture! Priceless!

Yes, my novel is my baby, and I'm very excited but also sensitive and protective about it. Unlike with your baby, however, my third trimester is taking years, not months. Maybe, since I'm rewriting it, I should think of it as a false pregnancy initially ~ and now this is the true pregnancy!

Loved the metaphor--thanks!

Steph

Great interview. Glad to meet you, Cynthia!

2012-05-27T10:11:37.742-04:00

Great interview. Glad to meet you, Cynthia!

Thanks, Jeff!

2012-05-27T09:57:57.036-04:00

Thanks, Jeff!

Very interesting and insightful blog. Thank you. ...

2012-05-27T07:08:08.678-04:00

Very interesting and insightful blog. Thank you.

Jeff

I love your posts, Kathryn! Thanks. :)

2012-05-27T00:36:28.580-04:00

I love your posts, Kathryn! Thanks. :)

Nikki, I'm definitely a goal setter. I think ...

2012-05-27T00:35:44.097-04:00

Nikki,

I'm definitely a goal setter. I think I have several to-do and long term project lists lying around the house. :) So yes, my goal is to dive back into editing this summer, and continue to whittle away my 2012 reading list. Enjoy your summer, friend!

This year, I volunteered to be a "judge"...

2012-05-26T10:59:53.815-04:00

This year, I volunteered to be a "judge" (humbling word) for a writing contest--my first time ever. Although we could get by with input requiring only a half-hour, I put in the time to be as thorough as I could. One of the best helps I received in a contest years ago was from a judge who did that for me, so in gratefulness I hope to do the same for contestants I crit. Your list was wonderful, JoAnn, and I can't help but believe everyone you "judged" came out a winner even if they didn't make the cut!

Wow, you are juggling a lot of balls! I have sever...

2012-05-26T10:41:01.507-04:00

Wow, you are juggling a lot of balls! I have several, but few are in the air at the same time--the luxury of an empty nest, I guess. My summer writing goals are to keep plugging away at the rewrite of my novel, take one online class ("Powerful Openings"), and attend one writers conference (MWW). My list of books is small: Stepping Heavenward, Quiet,and The Tea Rose. That's because I have several unfinished books like The Moral Premise, Scene and Structure, etc., to finish up.

Isn't it nice to have something in the publish...

2012-05-26T10:08:35.534-04:00

Isn't it nice to have something in the publishing world simple? Thanks, Kathryn.

Great interview. I wonder if A Grief Observed is a...

2012-05-26T10:01:02.860-04:00

Great interview. I wonder if A Grief Observed is available to buy. Sounds like a good source on the topic, plus who wouldn't want to read a book by Lewis? I'll check him and Cynthia Simmons out. Thanks!

Enjoyable post. I've a few more books to add t...

2012-05-25T10:32:22.462-04:00

Enjoyable post. I've a few more books to add to my To Read list. Thanks.

Excellent reminder. Examples of this are how man...

2012-05-24T15:17:49.861-04:00

Excellent reminder.

Examples of this are how many songs share titles but have nothing in common. I know of many songs called "I Need You," "Here I Am," and "Praise The Lord." In fact, I borrowed the title "Second Hand News" from Fleetwood Mac for a song I wrote which happens to be my favorite -- the only thing in common is the title.

There are also movies that share titles, as well as books. For example, "The Illusionist" is the name of a 2007 live action movie starring Edward Norton and an animated 2010 film.

Jeff

Kathryn, thanks for the reminder. I know a well kn...

2012-05-24T11:44:00.884-04:00

Kathryn, thanks for the reminder. I know a well known author titled one of her books the same as one of my manuscripts and I thought at the time that it would be hard to sell it under that name. lol but time has passed and I still have that ms. so by now it probably won't matter at all.

"In 2005, Christians who attended church regu...

2012-05-24T08:38:10.122-04:00

"In 2005, Christians who attended church regularly earned more than $2-trillion but donated less than 1 percent of that figure to charitable causes. Christian churches generally advocate tithing about 10 percent of one's annual income each year."

You haven't become any more generous since then.

CHRISTIANS, YOU OWE THE LORD $198 BILLION!!! If you're broke because of our economic downturn, maybe you should learn who's behind it. It's been their agenda for LITERALLY centuries:

http://talmudunmasked.com
http://tinyurl.com/100777.com/protocols
http://tinyurl.com/JewsFoundedCommunismPeriod
http://tinyurl.com/JewsAmericasWorstEnemies

Mary, I love the idea of moving your workspace out...

2012-05-21T16:57:47.956-04:00

Mary, I love the idea of moving your workspace outside so you can enjoy it and still keep working. Wonderful compromise.

I move my work station into the garage, just insid...

2012-05-21T12:18:58.614-04:00

I move my work station into the garage, just inside the bay door where I'm shielded from the sun, but definitely "outside". I plan on self-pubbing a book of Christmas poems, completing edit/rewrite of ALMG, and trying to write a poem a day to flex the creativity muscles. The juggling I hate worst involves time with grandkids, but they're so busy it isn't often a problem except in my mind.

I agree, Liz. Often we put a lot of pressure on ou...

2012-05-20T21:36:57.395-04:00

I agree, Liz. Often we put a lot of pressure on ourselves that isn't really coming from other people. Sometimes, in some things, "good enough" has to be the goal. And some things need to be given up so others have an opportunity to pick them up.

What an enjoyable post. We all juggle, all the tim...

2012-05-20T07:39:06.956-04:00

What an enjoyable post. We all juggle, all the time, and some are more successful at it than others (my kids are in their 30s & 40s and I still feel as though I failed them in some regards), but I think your use of the word "intentional" is important. Sometimes some of the less important balls just need to drop!

Better late than never, but let me add my works in...

2012-05-20T05:36:25.419-04:00

Better late than never, but let me add my works in progress, and then share a couple of first lines I'm impressed with.

Here's one from the one I'm polishing and revising and rewriting, etc.:

“Slow down, Jen.”

This is from the follow-up that I'm working on, though I'm not worried what an editor or agent thinks of this one:

A look of realization crossed police officer Jamie Ness' face.

Why am I not worried? Because I know this won't be the first line when I get to reworking it. Jamie Ness won't even be in the first chapter. My focus would be on the primary character.

Other first lines? I can't remember the first sentence verbatim but I liked Allistair MacLean's opening to "When Eight Bells Toll". I can't locate my copy of "Voyage of the Dawn Tread" by C. S. Lewis, but that's another. And finally, here's one from "The Shadowed Mind" by Julie Cave:

He looked utterly ordinary.

Jeff

I don't know, Jeff. I think you may be able to...

2012-05-19T19:11:18.869-04:00

I don't know, Jeff. I think you may be able to sneak in an encyclodpedia or a dictionary somewhere. :)

Sounds like you have a good plan already. I'll check out some of the books you mentioned. Sounds like a great list.

Nikki

Nikki, Good blog. Thank you. As far as my summer...

2012-05-19T17:28:21.893-04:00

Nikki,

Good blog. Thank you.

As far as my summer, it's not only going to be the typical busy of putting together the annual music festival -- I'm planning on organizing a conference for the fall. So, yes, it will be harder than ever for me to find time to write. I also have a wife that writes and she struggles more than I do to write, so when we took a vacation, the laptop was hers; I read a book on writing.

Summer reading? Actually, I'm taking part in a year long reading program. I signed up for twenty this year -- I was started but less than half way through half a dozen books, so the organizer allowed me to count those six as half a book each. At this point, I've read eight books, including four of the six "half-books".

Books I'm currently reading? I've started "Fatal Convictions" by Randy Singer (fiction). I'm also reading "The Anatomy of Story" by John Truby, "Holiness For Everyday People" by Keith Drury (who also wrote a book for writers that was given to each participant of the Indianapolis Christian Writers Conference and had a workshop there), a biography of Millard Fillmore, and two different books from Zondervan's counterpoint series: Six Views of the Worship Spectrum and Five Views of the Church Growth Movement. Do you think I'm reading enough books?

Thanks again, Nikki, and have a blessed day.

Jeff

Spiritualism is come from heart.It's really gr...

2012-05-18T10:39:41.476-04:00

Spiritualism is come from heart.It's really great thought.

Life is like a journy and short.Science fiction is...

2012-05-18T10:35:03.350-04:00

Life is like a journy and short.Science fiction is very intersing.

Forgiveness is great thing.Supernatural full ill o...

2012-05-18T10:28:48.818-04:00

Forgiveness is great thing.Supernatural full ill our dream.

Thanks for your comments, everyone. I appreciate y...

2012-05-15T13:31:01.822-04:00

Thanks for your comments, everyone. I appreciate your taking the time to read my post and always value your input. Many blessings to you.