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My entry for the Daily Writing Challenge |
My entry for "Invalid Item"  . Each piece will remain unedited til the end of the month.I think that what I'm going to do is two-fold. First I'm going to work my way through the novel that has been in my mind for the last ten years. However, I do try to keep my mind on spiritual things on Sunday, so I will be writing on "church stuff" - mostly my beliefs, I suppose - on Sundays. I will try to make the title reflect accordingly. Thanks for reading! SG The February word limit (for the curious): ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** The March word limit (level 2); ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
| If you've ever had a run-in with our missionaries, then you know a little bit about the Book of Mormon, even if it's just that they are always trying to give it away. This week I'd like to touch briefly on what the Book of Mormon is and why it is so important to Latter-day Saints. First let me discuss what the Book of Mormon (BoM) is not. I have heard it constantly referred to as "the Mormon Bible", and I suppose you could say this is partially true, because we think of it as scripture like the Bible. However, Mormons do believe in, read, and follow the Bible. The BoM is not a replacement for the Bible. Instead, it is "Another Testament of Jesus Christ", a book of scripture that supports the teachings of the Bible. Mormons believe that around the time of Isaiah, a man named Lehi was commanded by the Lord to take his family to America. Lehi was a descendent of Joseph, the same Joseph who was sold into Israel and to whom great promises were made. Joseph is one of the twelve tribes of Israel, and the BoM is a record of the Lord's dealings with that tribe through Lehi and his descendents (the Bible is based on another tribe, the tribe of Judah). If you look at Genesis and see the favor the Lord had for Joseph, and the many promises made, it is only logical to expect those promises were fulfilled. The BoM recounts those promises. The children of Lehi were taught the gospel of Christ, the same gospel taught to the Jews. Some chose to believe, some did not. After Christ's resurrection, he stated "Other sheep have I which are not of this fold", sheep that he intends to visit. We believe that one group of those "sheep" were in the Americas; other groups were the remaining ten tribes of Israel which have been dispersed over time. One of the most beautiful parts of the BoM is the section where Christ visits the children of Lehi and ministers to them, much as he ministered to the Jews. The Book of Mormon is, as its subtitle declares, another testament of Jesus Christ. In all ways, it supports the [word count: 375] teachings of the Bible. The BoM does not seek to replace the Bible, but to strengthen its teachings. The Book of Mormon helps bring believers closer to Christ. I highly recommend reading it to anyone who seeks to learn more about the Savior. To obtain a free copy, call 1-888-537-1212. The book can be mailed to your or can be delivered. |
| Josh Calife is another complex character. He doesn't say a lot, doesn't do a lot, but has a major impact, in part because of his relation to Natasha and Harriet (cousin and son), in part because of his relation to Eric (friend). Josh is pretty quiet and soft-spoken. He's basically a good kid who fell into the wrong crowd. He's not comfortable with what Eric is doing but is the go-along type who doesn't fight the flow. He isn't too uncomfortable, since he does take part in the robberies (to help his mom out? Maybe he tells her he has a part-time job). He seems like the type who is closer to Danny than Eric, but Danny's death throws him into a tailspin, compounded by Harriet's death. Somehow Eric has to pin them both on Natasha to get Josh really in a rage, but I'm not sure how he's going to do that yet. On the other hand – slightly deviating – Natasha needs to tape Eric's confession, otherwise it's just her word against his. Or does Josh confess? Perhaps he does, and gets a lighter sentence. That would explain why he's out sooner. Perhaps Eric doesn't blame Josh's death on Natasha. In fact, maybe he doesn't blame Harriet's either; Josh is out sooner and just "shows up" once Eric escapes. He knows where his old buddy is going to. So we have *two* Josh's, then. The younger one is less responsible and more go-along, the older one regrets his mistakes and is trying to make things right. (Would they let him out of jail after two years for murder charges? Maybe he does the flat-out confession, but why wouldn't Eric kill him for it? Or maybe he does. If he were an accomplice who didn't pull the trigger AND the one who "rattted", would they only lock him up for two years? Maybe for robbery, maybe he wasn't there when Danny was killed. I need to research that.) Young Josh grew up practically by himself. I still don't know who took care of him, the old lady across the street? Maybe [word count: 350] an at-home daycare, someone Harriet met when she moved in. (Note: Harriet used her money for a house, did Joseph use it for college? Or get scholarships?) Once he turned about seven or eight she let him stay home alone, she just couldn't afford the daycare. Plus he was "old enough". So he hung out on the streets and met Eric, or maybe he had already met Eric at school. Have they been friends that long? Sure, why not. |
| Funny how Harriet seems to be my hardest character to develop – or the one who has gained most of my interest – and she's not even around all that much. I suppose it's because she has an effect on Josh, and of course on Natasha. But you would think Natasha's parents (her mom's name is Cynthia, glad I remembered; any other name wouldn't seem right) would have had as profound affect. Maybe they did and I need to develop them some more. Even more, you'd think that Natasha herself would take up more room, being the main character, or that Jared and Lesha, secondary characters, would, yet they didn't. Harriet got pregnant and her boyfriend left her. She had to take two jobs to keep herself and Josh alive. How did she afford a house, then? Maybe she didn't; maybe she lives in an apartment. No, that wouldn't work as well with the fire. Money from her parents left in a trust? That seems more logical. When she turned 18 she received the money – how much? Enough for a downpayment on a little house "on the wrong side of town". Three bedrooms, or only two? Natasha has to have her own room to run into to escape Eric. One bathroom. All of the rooms are tiny. Harriet is tired, worn out. She made a mistake with her brother and sister-in-law and is trying to make up for it by taking care of Natasha. She is pale, drawn, and miserable after Joseph's death. She even regrets being mean to Cynthia, though "she desereved it" for stealing away her twin. It takes several days for the "officials" to find and contact Harriet. Or does it? Maybe Joseph has a lawyer who already knew about – and kept an eye on – Harriet. Maybe Joseph was trying to reach out and contact (and help) his sister but she refused time and time again. Joseph contacted her last maybe ten years? ago [word count 325] and she ripped up the letter, then later regretted it because she couldn't contact him. |
| Harriet Calife, Joseph's brother. I think they're twins. Both of them were orphans, and didn't like Natasha's mom (shoot, I forgot her name). She felt that her new sister-in-law came between her and her brother. I need to figure out how her parents died. After all, we have a suspicious number of deaths going on here. We have plenty of violent deaths coming up, and an accident in the past, so we want something that won't seem suspicious. One disease, one what? I don't know (and we have to orphan Natasha's mom, too). I'll work on that one. Okay, so when Joseph and (the unknown wife) got married, Harriet ran away from the orphanage. She met up with some guy and boom, Josh was born. (Josh, Jared, Joseph – do we have a plethora of Js here?) How important is Josh's dad? Does he come back? Do we need to know a lot about him now or can we work it in? I think we'll have to see how important he is to Josh. Was he around when Josh was a kid or just long gone? One thing's for sure, I can't kill him off, that'd me WAY too much death. Harriet is a single mom, hard working. She's doing at least two jobs; she's a waitress and what's the other? How about a maid, and a waitress at night. Since she ran away, she didn't graduate high school, much less go to college. Working two jobs means she's never at home. How did Josh grow up? Who took care of him? I need to know why he went bad. Then again, I'm not sure he *did* go bad, just sort of fell into it. I don't think at the start of the novel he was just sort of hanging around. Word count: 300 |
| A little ditty about word counts: I am working on a short story for publication at present. I've had tons of problems, not the least of which is my printer broke and I edit better off the computer than on, I don't know why. I emailed the story to my husband at work on Friday and he didn't get it; he finally brought it home last night (having forgot it on Monday). I was all set to submit the story electronically on Friday when I realized that the word count for my market was max of 5,000 and my story was just shy of 7,000 words. I'm sure they'd forgive one or two words but not one or two THOUSAND. To complicate matters, I actually mapped this story out so each scene is important and quite relevant. Therefore I can't get away with nixing one scene and fixing my word count. Each step is necessary to the story, especially since it's a character development story. So I have spent all of my free writing time lopping the story down to size and right now I'm down to only 5,540 words. Still 540 too many. Maybe I can move them over HERE to the DWC, huh? One for today, one for tomorrow. Anyway, that's why I am yet again journaling. My brain is locked into this story. I have about fifteen minutes before my kids will be waking up from their naps – if I'm lucky – so I am going to unwind from this one and just read. I'm trying to ignore all the other strange stuff that I have to do – I'm responsible for a class [WORD COUNT: 275] at church on Tuesday and have to do the lesson for my visiting teaching tomorrow and Friday (also church related), AND I'll be going out tonight to run errands. Maybe I can work on my story after the kids are in bed. I wonder if my hubby will print out another version for me to attack? Oh look, my son is waking up. BTW I *hate* word counts (DWC not included) |
| Today I'm going off kilter and just vent. I've had a rough day – take, for instance, my 2:40 doctor's appointment that was apparently entered into the computer as being at 10:40. Huh? I know the nurse told me 2 when I called. Anyway, I had to run the kids to my husband's grandparents since it wasn't one that I wanted them underfoot. I remember now how much I adore my doc, she's fantastic. But that ate up most of my day (if you've ever seen Atlanta traffic you know what I mean). That said, I have to vent about unwanted advice. I respect my elders – parents, grandparents, heck, any older person in general. I believe that there is a lot that can be learned from them. However, once you give advice one time, then drop it, especially if it is of an intensely personal nature, particularly if your advice wasn't really asked for in the first place. If the subject comes up again, you don't have to say "well, I just don't think you're ready." We got that the first seven times you said it. I guess it's not really advice if you make snide "you're not ready" comments every time, but c'mon, give it a rest! Not only are you making a nuisance of yourself and irritating the people who are on the receiving end, you should also consider that such judgmental opinions could hurt the ones you are (supposedly) trying to help. Please learn to drop the subject! word count: 250 |
| I don’t know if I can handle any more mapping! I’m ready to dive in and start writing some more! Leisha Arntz is Natasha’s age (side note, I need to work out a ‘calender’, I’m not even sure WHEN all of this is happening), sixteenish when the novel starts. She’s friendly, fun-loving, and a good listener. Family is very important to her, especially her brother Jared. Does she include Natasha on their family outings? I think she should, especially since Harriet (gotta do her next) is always so busy. Natasha and Leisha have some classes together – history, math, English? – and maybe they can trade help. They can study together, maybe while playing pool? That seems viable. That’s good relaxation time, too, and Jared can slip in on occasion. On the temporal subject: cross country is a fall sport. Do we want Jared to meet Natasha first separate from Leisha? If so, we want to do it in the fall. Maybe Natasha’s family went on vacation for Labor Day weekend? That seems viable, especially with all the drunks on the road. Meet Jared and Leisha within a few days – Jared shows interest but Leisha “befriends” her first. Leisha invites her over to study, maybe? Since Natasha has a) missed quite a bit of school and b) changed schools, she needs to catch up. Question: if Natasha [word count: 225] was just in a car wreck, would she be running that soon? She wasn’t seriously injured. |
| Do Mormons believe in Jesus Christ? I have been told many times that we do not, and thus that we are not Christian. I believe in Jesus Christ, the literal son of God. I do not believe that Jesus is God, else how could He be His own son? To me, being one means “one in purpose”. I believe that Christ lived a perfect life, and is the only human capable of doing so. I believe that He was chosen (or “preordained”) to come to Earth. The most important thing that Christ did while He was on this Earth was His atoning sacrifice. He enabled all men and women to repent of their sins and be “perfect in Christ”, thus allowing us to return to the presence of a Heavenly Father who can tolerate no sin. The second most important thing that Christ did was to overcome death through His resurrecton. Because of this, the spirits of everyone who has lived on Earth will be rejoined with their bodies after the Second Coming. Finally, He provided us with the example to emulate when He lived here. We should all strive to be more Christlike, though we will always be imperfect. |
| Jared – what’s his last name? – Arntz? Two years older than Leisha and Natasha. Brown hair, brown eyes. Quiet, serious, studious, with a good sense of humor. He falls in love with Natasha, not immediately but slowly. Good moral character, he tries hard to “choose the right”. He looks out for other people and especially his sister (and later, Natasha). He’s not muscular but strong, maybe a runner? Maybe I should give Natasha an extracurricular activity, and running would certainly be a good one. That would help when it comes to Eric, and give Jared and Natasha a chance to get to know each other when Leisha isn’t around. Not that either of them see it that way. Hmm, good possibilities with away meets and such. He may be two years older but I only want him one grade ahead, so I need to work out birthdays. Are we starting Natasha’s junior/his senior year? That gives me another year. What are his after-high school plans? Probably college, but not too far away. Where will Natasha go? Word count: 175 |
| Loose plotting: Natasha’s parents are killed in a car accident. She spends some time in the hospital (does she meet Jared briefly? Or is that too much? If they are driving, how would he be there? THAT’s a stretch. Perhaps a transfer to Harriet’s city, then he’s there visiting a friend (broken leg) and they meet). She moves in with Harriet (meets Josh, Eric, and Danny). Need some sort of scene with Eric (still not sure how to measure him out). She starts school still avoiding Eric and meets Leisha (friendship develops). She goes home with Leisha and meets Jared (Leisha’s brother). Natasha starts dating Danny (why? I would avoid Josh’s friends, myself, and if she’s avoiding Eric then she’s avoiding Danny. How do they meet?). Danny is killed (to cover up their robbery heists [was Danny part of that or did he just know? Why was he a threat?]). Word count:150 |
| Natasha is sixteen when the story begins, somewhere around 18 when it finishes? Black hair, green eyes, nice girl. Close to her parents, feels lost/abandoned when they die. Perhaps a promise her dad made because he was an orphan? No other family since parents met at orphanage. Need a "fatal flaw", something that she has to work on. Something to make her unique. A temper? Every time she is on the right track, she puts her foot in her mouth, or loses her temper? Hmm, there's an idea; does that work with the "nice girl" image? LOL Perhaps more of a "speak before thinking" flaw. She likes to read, is a hard worker. What do she and Leisha do for fun? Hang out and talk? Word count: 125 |
| Inspiration struck last night! I finally figured out how to hitch a few things into place, including developing Natasha as a character. I figure I’ll shoot for the “why do bad things happen to good people” question. I also figured out how to interject spirituality without being preachy: through Leisha’s family. They can help out – obliquely – while avoiding the whole “preachy” point of view that I want to avoid. Little things – Family Home Evening, prayer – as well as the “big” questions. This way, I can keep the novel adventurous, avoid falling into the “cliched” spiritual category, yet still be uplifting. Word count: 100 |
| Plotting: Natasha’s parents die, she goes to live with her aunt Harriet & cousin Josh. She befriends Leisha and Leisha’s brother Jared (who falls in love with Natasha, unbeknownst to her). Natasha has problems with Josh’s friend, Eric, who grows angry when she doesn’t respond to his attention but instead focuses on Danny. Ultimately, Eric kills Danny and Harriet (Danny protecting his “secret”, Harriet when Natasha threatens to turn him in). Natasha is “adopted” (??) by Leisha’s parents and then she comes to realize she loves Jared. word count:87 |
| The novel I am plotting has been rewritten at least five times, the last time when I was seventeen, the first at eleven. I can’t seem to get it out of my head, despite the fact that there really is no plot. Today’s question: how to make it interesting and something I’d be proud to have my name on? After all, I initially created a character that I envied and then ripped up her life in revenge. Word count: 77 |
| The Lord blesses us and asks that we follow His commandments, including keeping the Sabbath day holy. Thus Sabbath activities should turn us toward God. Word count: 25 |
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