%%USERNAME%%    %%ACCWORDS%% %%ONOFF%% |
 |   Exploring the future through the present. One day at a time. |
| This morning my husband called and asked, "Do you have a few minutes?" Strange question. "Sure," I said. "Good. Listen." A pause. "Say 'apple.'" Thomas's little voice said, "Apple." "Now say 'mommy.'" "Mommy." For the last three or four months Thomas has been saying, "Daddy" even though it comes out "Atty." "Mommy," on the other hand, Thomas has kept his lips tight. I know he knew how to say it, because every time either Dave or I asked him to say it, his lips turned into a quite mischievous grin. He also has no trouble pronouncing 'm' or 'o.' I said, "Oh, thank you, sweety!" Thrilled doesn't begin to cover what I felt. Dave said again, "Say 'mommy.'" Silence. "Let me guess," I said. "He's grinning." "Yep." Once is enough. For now. |
| Any idea where I got the title of this entry? I’m surprised to say it, but now that my book is out of the running, I’m having more fun on the forums. How strange is that? Part of it is I no longer have to keep quiet as to which one is mine, and I could engage with those who liked my premise, and who didn’t. I learned quite a bit as to where my premise went wrong, and what I did right. The third phase of the contest is in full gear, with a lot of people discussing what they liked or didn’t like about a particular entry. Plus I get to put in my own quarter (taking into consideration current inflation). I still encourage everyone to continue reading the entries and voting whether the ones you liked are in the running or not. How often do we get to decide what book gets published? Plus as writers, it’s an excellent learning experience to discover what readers are looking for. To find out more, got to http://wherethemapends.proboards.com/index.cgi and go to the Marcher Lord Select thread. You’ll be prompted for a username and password, so if you haven’t created one yet, it’s easy enough. In the main contest you have to vote for three, minimum and maximum. For the premise contest, the minimum is three and the maximum is eight. Some of the discussions got a little heated, and it reminded me of something I read a few years ago. I wish I could remember who said it so I could give proper credit: “When an editor tears apart your writing, your baby, you see a person grabbing hold of the little one and slashing it with a knife. Your first instinct is to grab it back and attack the person who tried to destroy what you created. That’s not it at all. An editor is merely taking your child in his or her arms to give it a bath, put on a clean diaper, and dress it up to make it more presentable.” |
| Not long after I wrote my last entry, I shut down my computer, preferring to mope instead of wishing the winners Godspeed in the next round. I was not inclined to be gracious in losing. Yep, I wanted to be a poor sport, and sing to all within ear (eye) shot my “woe is me.” And I did. For about thirty minutes as I watched my little boy — up and eager to play since 4am. All the icky thoughts of how worthless my writing and stories are poked and prodded. Shouldn’t I just give up the entire writing thing — or at least publishing thing — and concentrate on more important things such as raising my child and making sure I work hard enough to keep food on the table? Perhaps I should write for my own pleasure and sanity, and forget about sharing my measly offerings to the world. Nothing like a child with little care to put things in perspective. Here he played and giggled, thrilled with the single fact I allowed him out of his crib to run around the living room. Really, what does it matter my story didn’t make the next round? It’s still possible MLP will pick up my book for publication; it just won’t be as soon as I’d like. No longer desiring to wallow, but needing a spiritual “There, there,” I picked up my Bible and read the following passage: “And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him.” ~ 1 John 5:14 No matter how hard I fight it at times (more often than I should), writing is my heart’s desire. But more than that, I want to share it; not to glorify me, but to glorify God. It’s at times like these — when I appear to fail — that God reminds me it’s not about me, but about him and his will. So I have to ask, am I following God’s will by presenting my work to publishers? The answer invariably comes back as yes. How do I know? In this case, because God, through his Word, pushed the self-pity away and encouraged me to get back on those boards and express my congratulations. By the time I wrote the last word, I was sincere about it. I also started my own thread to ask everyone what worked and what didn’t. Within minutes someone responded with why she liked it and how she was saddened it wouldn’t be going forward. My little 100-word blurb effected at least one person. Proof enough to me I shouldn’t give up. With time, work and continued patience, my book will end up on someone’s shelf. God willing. |
| The votes are tallied, and out of 49 entries I'm in the bottom 29. Somewhere. That means I didn't make it to the top twenty and will not be moving on to the next phase of the contest. When I have the gumption (and less sad), I'll start a new thread to ask where my premise/blurb went wrong. It doesn't help that Thomas has been up since 4am. Later. |
| Voting for phase 2 of the Marcher Lord Select contest ( http://wherethemapends.proboards.com/index.cgi ) is now open! You have until Sunday, November 30 to vote. Again for both the main and premise contest you must vote for at least three. I’ve been thinking about what I consider my chances for this one. I admit I’m in a gray zone, neither confident or uncertain. Okay, maybe a little uncertain. It’s one thing to look forward to the opinion of a single person, publisher or agent. No matter the outcome, it is after all the opinion of one. That the ego can bear. With this contest, I’m depending on the opinion of hundreds. To find out that hundreds didn’t vote for mine is not something my ego can shake off so easily. By the same token, if those hundreds vote for mine, I’ll have trouble keeping my ego from giving my forehead stretch marks. Yet, as a writer seeking publication, that’s the pool I’m diving into. To be published is only the beginning of the swim. Yet if I am to succeed, I have to take a risk and allow hundreds if not thousands of readers to judge my work. As a Christian, I could easily say that there is only one Judge that really matters. While true, it’s not my only goal. I want the words I write to be read by others, and, God willing, find God in them. After all, no one ever said ambition can’t be a good thing — as long as I dedicate that ambition to God. Now I’m going to slather my forehead with some anti-stretch-mark cream. |
General Thanksgiving By the PRESIDENT of the United States Of America A PROCLAMATION WHEREAS it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favour; and Whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me “to recommend to the people of the United States a DAY OF PUBLICK THANKSGIVING and PRAYER, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness:” NOW THEREFORE, I do recommend and assign THURSDAY, the TWENTY-SIXTH DAY of NOVEMBER next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country previous to their becoming a nation; for the signal and manifold mercies and the favorable interpositions of His providence in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed;– for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enable to establish Constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted;– for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge;– and, in general, for all the great and various favours which He has been pleased to confer upon us. And also, that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers andsupplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions;– to enable us all, whether in publick or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually; to render our National Government a blessing to all the people by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed; to protect and guide all sovereigns and nations (especially such as have shewn kindness unto us); and to bless them with good governments, peace, and concord; to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us; and, generally to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best. GIVEN under my hand, at the city of New-York, the third day of October, in the year of our Lord, one thousand seven hundred and eighty-nine. (signed) G. Washington |
| After seven days the Lord gave me a message. He said, “Son of man, I have appointed you as a watchman for Israel. Whenever you receive a message from me, warn people immediately. If I warn the wicked, saying, ‘You are under the penalty of death,’ but you fail to deliver the warning, they will die in their sins. And I will hold you responsible for their deaths. If you warn them and they refuse to repent and keep on sinning, they will die in their sins. But you will have saved yourself because you obeyed me. “If righteous people turn away from their righteous behavior and ignore the obstacles I put in their way, they will die. And if you do not warn them, they will die in their sins. None of their righteous acts will be remembered, and I will hold you responsible for their deaths. But if you warn righteous people not to sin and they listen to you and do not sin, they will live, and you will have saved yourself, too.” ~ Ezekiel 3:16-20 (NLT) I often wonder, especially of late, whether or not I could be compared to one who stays silent, but should be speaking out. By not talking about Jesus and my faith, am I not only ignoring God’s will, but dooming someone to never knowing God’s love and redemption? Do I damn myself by keeping my mouth shut? I have no answer, and that’s probably a good thing. I don’t think I want to know. However, I do hear the warning in Ezekiel’s words. I should assume they’re meant for me, because I know I’m not doing enough to shine God’s light in an ever darkening world. How do I start, then? By writing entries that reveal not only where my writing is going, but my spiritual growth (or non-growth) as well. Every time I have, while my words occasionally met with scoffers and cynics, for the most part they made a positive difference to someone. I can’t take the credit; I merely opened myself up to the possibility and let God guide my steps. My prayer for tonight is that I listens for God’s urgings, and follow through with every one. No more fear; no more silence. |
| About a week ago I saw an advertisement for the release of Susan Boyle’s first music album on November 23. If you don’t know who that is, check out this youtube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY Word of advice, have tissues handy. When I went to Amazon yesterday, I saw that it’s #1 in sales rank. And it hasn’t even been released yet. I wasn’t remotely surprised. What is it about Susan Boyle we all find fascinating? Why do we want to see her succeed? Because she’s like every single one of us; a person with dreams as yet unfulfilled. We know what it means to be mocked and laughed at as she was before she started singing. With one note, she proved the cynics wrong. How many of us long to do the same? She had a dream, practiced for over 35 years, took a chance, and fulfilled that dream. I want to be like Susan Boyle. |
| Looks like I will be moving to the second round in the contest. It's both a celebration point and a shrug. First, the shrug: All the premises made it through to the second round. The publisher decided that some authors could have written a killer premise, but the entire manuscript may not live up to it. The reverse is also true. He felt it was only fair all should move to the 100-word blurb round. The celebration point is even if the publisher decided not to go that route, my book would have made it. I could email for how my book scored overall, but I'm a bit ambivalent about it. Do I really want to know how many votes it got? Could I take finding out I ended up near the bottom, barely scraping by? At this point ignorance is bliss. The fact I'm moving to the second round is good enough. |
| The voting for the contest my book is in began yesterday, and goes until Sunday. For more information check out http://wherethemapends.proboards.com/index.cgi? Click on Marcher Lord Select (the first sub-board listed). It will ask for a username and password, so if you haven't signed up for the boards yet, you can do it there. You can vote for up to 20 in the main contest, and 25 in the premise contest (where my book is). I also recommend you check out the http://www.marcherlordpress.com/New_Store , especially if you enjoy Speculative Fiction with a Christian world view - or know someone who does. I've read three of MLP books, and was impressed with every one. Sales pitch over. Enjoy the rest of your weekend! |
View Portfolio
Visit Notebook
Send Gift Points
Awards
Badges
Send Email
Community Newsfeed
General Discussion
Sponsored Items
Book of Trinkets
Static Items
Books
Groups
Interactive Stories
Audio
Campfire Creatives
Community Notes
Crossword Puzzles
Documents
Folders
Images
In & Outs
Madlibs
Photo Albums
Polls
Product Reviews
Quizzes
Survey Forms
Web Pages
Word Searches
.
