Day 147

Monday, February 7, 2011. . .

            THE WRITING. . .Things are heating up for our protagonist. Naturally she is resisting, putting up barriers between herself and everyone else, hurting only herself in the process. She needs to be pushed over the edge.  And that is coming.  Heh, heh, heh.

            THE DETAILS. . .Another omelette.  =)

            Music and quotes keep me encouraged. I go back to favorites time and again, and am always alert for new ones that hit me like a skipped heartbeat.

For years and years Margaret Becker’s words and voice have been speaking to a deep place within me. I go perfectly still when I listen to Find Me or Just Come In or Look Me in the Eye. And those are just for starters. She is a wealth of really really really good stuff.  (Thanks to a friend in a writing group, 1990?, who said "my teenage son listens to this.")

            Here’s a new (for me) quote from Richard Rohr: “God does not love us if we change. God loves us so that we can change.”  Amen.

Days 145 - 146

Saturday and Sunday, February 5 - 6, 2011. . .

            THE WRITING. . .At church during the congregation’s responsive reading of Psalm 27, verse 10 pushed the breath from me. I could read no more. I just stood there letting it wash over and through me. This is where my protagonist is. Totally. This is bottom line stuff for this point in the story.

            =)

            I wrote notes during the sermon, but not about the sermon.

            THE DETAILS. . .Movie date. . .we saw The Company Men. IMHO, well done. Characters change. It’s a hard story, an honest look at today.

Day 144

Friday, February 4, 2011. . .

            THE WRITING. . .A new character introduced herself today in response to a thought: who is my Padre Miguel (Ransomed Dreams), my Agnes (Desert Gift)?  This is a wise mentor sort of character who comes alongside to point out a thing or two to the protagonist. We discussed her name for a bit and finally settled on one with some help from my “name your baby” book that boasts 100,000 names. ;-)

She came along quite naturally with a story thread I had not yet thought to explore. It was an “oh wow” moment as well as one of “duh.”

            THE DETAILS. . .Received another yummy omelette at my desk this morning. Mm. Yes I am spoiled by him.

Day 143

Thursday, February 3, 2011. . .

            THE WRITING. . .For friends in the San Diego area, here’s a link to the Library’s Local Authors Exhibit. Fun to see the wide range of book topics. Fun to read local.  =)

http://sandiego.communityguides.com/content.php?pid=143020&sid=1264513#Author%20I-L 

            Enjoying some mentoring online. New-ish writers encourage me to look back at my journey, always a cause for thanksgiving to the Author of Imagination.

            THE DETAILS. . .Girl time.  =)  Lunch with in-law friends to celebrate a retirement and an out-of-towner’s visit. . . Home Group and lingering over the Word.

Day 142

Wednesday, February 2, 2011. . .

            THE WRITING. . .Yes. It started with middle-of-the-night composing and went all day.

            Began a new novel this week by John Lescroart, a favorite of mine. Not to recommend his books to readers of my books who only like my kind of books, but I like his stuff, his style. I like his recurring characters.  I pick up pacing from him as if by osmosis; am reminded of the necessity of conflict, tension. Legal/cop/mystery/suspense reveal to me why readers turn pages.

            The website crashed.  =(  But My Guy knows people.  =)  Specifically a young woman who watches over us non-techies and comes to our rescue at times like these. (Bless you, Nicole.)  It will be up soon and then Desert Gift can be posted on it.

THE DETAILS. . .I’m sure there were some. Oh, My Guy fixed breakfast for me!  =)  A delicious omelette with bacon, red peppers, mozzarella cheese. Mmm. He mostly only grills or spreads peanut butter on toast but I have to say he knows how to cook a perfect omelette.

Day 141

Tuesday, February 1, 2011. . .

            THE WRITING. . .Full-on make believe.

            Signed up online to enter Ransomed Dreams in the Inspirational National Choice Contest.  =)  Now I need to mail four copies to the woman in charge. Times like these I want an assistant to dig (and organize while she’s at it) through boxes in the garage, get the copies, pack them up, address the label, take the box to the post office…  But I don’t have to do it today. But I better write it down on the to-do list that is currently buried on the desk.

Day 140

Monday, January 31, 2011. . .

THE WRITING. . . =)  The desk is a mess. Despite the orderly arrangement and convenience of .docx files, I need to see some notes on paper, actually on several papers all at once. Also there is something organic about the touch of paper and pencil and the act of moving a pencil across paper. It provides a connection.

A full writing day drains me of energy to work with my email change-of-address for readers. Some have been contacted, some not. It seems I can do only a small number at a time, else I am perceived as a spammer. Let me put it right here: if you would like to email me about anything whether or not you’ve read a book of mine, the address is sallyjohn.readers@yahoo.com.

THE DETAILS. . .I have a heavy heart for a 25-year old friend, who is back in the hospital for respiratory treatments, a regular thing for her due to cystic fibrosis. She designed my website.  =)  Thank you for saying a prayer for Kristen and her family.