A Mini-Meditation on Writing

I should be doing something productive right now, but I'm not. I'm blogging. It's not that I think blogging is a waste of time; it's more like I have a number of things I could be doing. Like school reading. Paper writing. Heck, I could even be watching Princess Mononoke, which I rented today. At least that would get my imagination going.

I'm a big fan of the imagination. I guess that's why I keep wanting to add elements to the story I'm writing for Children's Lit this semester. It began as a straightforward LotR-esque adventure story, but as I've thought more and more about it--and watched a few Miyazaki movies--I've wanted to expand the world. I want to crack open the top of my head (metaphorically) and build a world that amazes. I don't want to populate a fantasy world with elves and dwarves and orcs, though there's nothing wrong with doing that. I want to bend categories. I want to invent critters that hang in the imagination long after you've read their stories. I want to blend the stuff of differing historical eras into one and make it seem as natural as breathing. That, to me, sounds exciting.

I haven't abandoned adult fiction, though. "Come on Casper" is still in the works. It's just not something I'm working on for a class these days. That story is a different kind of challenge. It's more about structure and getting the language just right . . . not giving away too much before the end of the story, etc. Of course, as I typed that, I recognized that children's lit requires all that too. I just don't get to 'play around' as much with "Come on Casper."

Is it less fun then? Yes and no. It's not a blast like inventing monsters and other whimsical doodads, but there's an intense pleasure that comes from actually constructing a story and using structural elements to guide the reader when the subject matter doesn't make reading the story 'fun.' That's what I like about adult lit. Still, though, I plan on incorporating the fantastic into my 'serious' adult fiction later. I just have to figure out how to work it out.

OK. Time to be productive.

It's a . . . Blog Post!!

After a rip-snortin' start to my blogging year in January, I fell off the wagon in February. Part of it has to do with classes, but that's not the full reason. Facebook also takes its share of the blame. After all, I hear Facebook is killing little blogs like mine. Meh. I'll keep going.

So that's out of the way. The biggest news in my life is obviously finding out the sex of our baby. Most of you probably already know that the baby is a GIRL. That's right! We're having a girl. So many doubted, but we did the improbable.

Now, if we could just figure out a name . . .

Writing Update: "Come on, Casper"

I've posted lately about submitting stories, researching MFAs and plain ol' nonsense, so I thought I'd make a post about how my writing is going. Of course, I wouldn't make this post unless there was news, so I wanted to say I'm pleased to announce I've finished the first draft of a story. Not huge news, I know, but news nonetheless.

The story, now titled "Come On, Casper" but due for a name change, weighs in at about 1700 words. Much of what I do seems to fall in that range. That total will go up or down depending on how the editing process goes, but I wouldn't expect much fluctuation.

It seems odd to me that I worked on "Keep Thinking, Keep Moving" for one day and it hit just under 1000 words, while I've worked on "Come On, Casper" on and off for a couple of months and it's 1700. I guess I'll never write a 20 page short story. I'm not sure why that is. I'll have to think about it.

Anyway, I think the story has some potential, but it needs a good hearty tweak or two. The structure is basically there, and the thread of the story as well, but it needs shaping and polishing. That's still a new process to me. I never used to edit the stories I wrote. I suppose that's why I never considered them worth keeping. I want my stories to be worth keeping, though, so editing is a necessity. Thanks for reading, and I'll keep you posted.

Amazingly True Educational Fact 2

The original title of F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" was "The Curious Butt of Christopher Cason."

Amazingly true.

From the Journal of Amazingly True Educational Facts

PCA Churches in MFA Towns

One of the factors we need to consider in choosing an MFA is how we like the location, and a big part of that depends on what kind of churches the community has. We've been in the PCA for a couple of years now, so if I could find a good one in the MFA program's community that would be a big plus. Here's how they stack up.

1. UT-Austin-Austin has five PCA churches: CrossPointe, All Saints, Redeemer, Christ the King, and Choongmanhan. Lots of choice there.
2. Syracuse-No PCA presence. A friend told me that there is an OPC presence, but we probably don't want to move in a more conservative direction.
3. Purdue-Two Cities serves Lafayette and West Lafayette.
4. Indiana-No PCA presence in Bloomington. I may do some research to see if any of the PCA churches are within driving distance.
5. Notre Dame-Michiana Covenant Church is in South Bend
6. Alabama-Trinity and Riverwood serve Tuscaloosa
7. UNC-Greensboro-Friendly Hills, Summer Oaks, Spring Garden.
8. Ohio State-Grace Central Presbyterian Mission is in Columbus.
9. Florida-Gainesville has Faith Presbyterian and Christ Community
10. Penn State-Found nothing in College Park, but again I don't know what towns are within driving distance.
11. Wisconsin-Lake Trails and Madison Sah-Lang
12. Minnesota-No PCA churches in Minneapolis/St. Paul
13. Illinois All Souls in Champaign-Urbana
14. Iowa-One Ancient Hope Mission Church

Of course, even if the town has a PCA church/churches that tells us nothing about the vitality of that/those church(es). That will take a bit more research, and may be best left for a time after I get accepted to one of these programs. If I get accepted.

After I Wake, Before I Shower

Though the title of this post could by itself earn it a number one vote on the "Posts No One Will Ever Read" list, I couldn't think of a better one. The time between when I awake in the morning and when I get in the shower is usually the time I have some of my weirder thoughts. They're usually silly and/or nonsensical, and are often sentence fragments. I want to start recording them, though, so I'm going to do the foolish thing and do so publicly. For today:

"Three things a sitcom needs: Razor sharp wit, sparkling political satire, and a cat with a big butt."

Anderbo? AnderNO.

Well, Anderbo got back to me slightly faster than the one to three months than I expected. They politely declined to use my story. I didn't even have time to get nervous. At this rate I expect journals to start sending me preemptive rejections.

EDIT: And just for the record, I harbor no ill will toward Anderbo. I would submit to them again any day. I was just surprised to receive notice that early.

Submitted for Their Approval

For the first time in my life, I have submitted a story for publication. I sent Keep Thinking, Keep Moving to Evening Street Press and Anderbo. I wanted to send it to a few more places, and probably will, but some of the others I was looking at don't accept on-line submissions.

I'll keep everyone posted.

AMAZINGLY TRUE Educational Fact

There is a word that rhymes with orange, but its meaning is so filthy that Penn Gillete reflexively yanks the head from his 12-inch, fully articulated Lenny Bruce action figure every time he hears it.

Amazingly true.

-from the Journal of Amazingly True Educational Facts

I Got the Gift of Music

I got a couple of iTunes gift cards for Christmas. I've kinda sorta fallen in love with cherry-picking favorite songs. They don't have to be great songs, just songs that appeal to me. My number one criterion is they have to be mood-changers. Whatever mood I happen to be in, any one of those songs should be able to take me where it's going emotionally. I had $30 to play with this time, and here's what I've gotten so far:

1. The Weight-The Band
I honestly didn't even know about this song until the last few years, which is surprising considering how much 'oldies' radio my parents listened to as I grew up. As soon as I heard it, though, I knew why it was a classic.

2. The Worst that Could Happen-Brooklyn Bridge
I'm a sucker for songs like this. The guy is mourning his lost love, but glad that she is finding happiness. I'm pretty sure this was Brooklyn Bridge's only hit.

3. Oh Girl-The Chi-Lites
Another 'lost love' song. Nice and melancholy.

4. Fox on the Run (Live)-The Country Gentlemen
This is probably my favorite bluegrass song. If you'll notice, it also has a bit of a melancholy, lost love element. This was taken from a live concert from their tour of Japan.

5. Old Salty Dog Blues-Flatt and Scruggs
I first heard this bluegrass tune at my Aunt Sue's birthday party more than a decade ago. I loved it instantly, but never put forth the effort to track down a copy. The situtation has been rectified.

6. Sweet Child o' Mine-Guns 'N' Roses
Contrary to what Rex Queems might think, this song has one of the best opening riffs in rock music.

7. Don't Pull Your Love-Hamilton, Joe Frank, and Reynolds
Another one hit wonder, another 'lost love' song. I also really enjoy the harmony in the chorus. This one is very fun to sing along with.

8. With a Little Help From My Friends-Joe Cocker
There are not many Beatles covers that surpass the original, but Joe Cocker does it easily with this one.

9. The Letter-Joe Cocker
Hear me now: This is the definitive version of this song. Don't get me wrong; I liked The Box Tops' version. It's remembered for a good reason. However, Cocker's cover from Mad Dogs and Englishmen is powerful and dynamic in a way that The Box Tops can't approach.

10. Take Me Home Country Roads-John Denver
I'm from the WV, man! How can I not love this song?! Don't give me that "the song's really about Virginia 'cause the 'blue ridge mountains, shenandoah river' line." Almost Heaven, West Virginia.

11. Ave Verum Corpus-London Festival Orchestra
We did this in my 'Wayne Singers' class back in high school. Great harmony and beautiful in a way I don't have the musical vocabulary to describe

12. Brandy (You're a Fine Girl)-Looking Glass
A pure fun song. Great for singing at the top of your lungs in the car.

13. Mr. Bojangles-Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
Probably one of the saddest songs I know. A true, tragic, story about a popular culture icon from the early 20th Century. NOTE: Thos ain't true. See comments

14. Sea of Love-Phil Phillips
I vacillated over whether I'd buy this version or The Honeydrippers' version, but I went with the original. I'm glad I did. Both are good, but I just like Phillips vocals more than Robert Plant's.

15. Handle With Care-The Traveling Wilburys
It was a shame Roy Orbison passed away so soon after The Traveling Wilburys recorded their first album. I would have loved to hear more from this most super of super groups.

16. Buddy Holly-Weezer
A '90s classic. One of the most fun songs Weezer ever recorded, though I can't say that I followed their career. Not a huge fan, but I appreciated what they did.

That leaves me with $14.39 to play with. I'm open to suggestions, but my list is going to be very idiosyncratic. Don't be offended if I don't pick songs you like!

One Clean Slate with a Heaping Tablespoon of Uncertainty

Clean slate, folks. We have a new year to muck around in. I usually don't make a big deal about the new year (after all, it is technically just another day), but I feel a bit different today. There's something about having a specific goal for the year that changes my perspective. I know I have a lot of work to do for the MFA applications, and I know it has to be good work. I can't work on my writing sample with, say, the same forethought and effort I give to these blog posts. Nor can I let the MFA requirements slip for a month or ten. Procrastination is not an option this year. With the the number of application fees I'll have to pay, I can't afford to wait and do them all at once.

Then there's the GRE. My general impression is that the GRE doesn't matter much for the MFA programs themselves, but the grad schools in general require them. So I'll need to study for that. The GRE has double the pressure, though, because I have to beat my brother's score, and he hasn't left me much wiggle room. Right bro? Seriously, this test is a big deal. There's at least the possibility that my score could be a tie-breaker between me and an equally qualified candidate.

The more I think about it, the more I feel like a high school senior applying to some top colleges. When I applied to college I had no doubt I would get in to my schools of choice. Marshall University and Tri-State Bible College are fairly non-competetive. I was even confident about getting in here at the seminary. Covenant is a good school, but it's not primarily a scholar's seminary. Now, on the other hand, I'm applying to schools that are among the best in the field. That means I'll be up against the best writing students in the nation. If it was just a standardized test, I wouldn't worry about it so much, but writing is more subjective. Add to that the fact that I don't have a good sense of what quality of work I can do consistently, and my consternation increases.

So hopefully in the next few months I can crank out a couple of perfect 10 stories, which will then lead to me getting into every program I apply to. Then I can stroll onto campus as a superstar, and writing success will inevitably follow. That's how it works, right?

2008=Set Up, 2009=Rising Action

2008 is gasping, wheezing as he stumbles toward his rest. The earth has been turned, his grave awaits. That is to say, the year's up. Pencil's down, class. So, to continue with the test image, did we pass or fail? I think 2008 will go down as a year in which I really acheived something. That's right, in 2008 I blogged more than I have in any previous year. This makes post 62, whereas my previous high was 59. High fives all around.

Seriously, 2008 has been a fairly productive year for me. In 2008 I decided to pursue an MFA in creative writing. In 2008 Mary Ann and I conceived child #4. I had a decent academic year in 2008. On the other hand, I haven't done tons of writing this past year. That's a big problem, but I'll remedy that as early as possible in 2009, though. On the positive side of the writing ledger, I had positive responses to almost everyone I let read "Keep Thinking, Keep Moving".

Writing will play an increasingly large role in 2009. I've got to prepare for MFA applications, so I have to have a good writing sample, and I also want to get involved with some local writers in St. Louis to get some more good feedback. And heck, I'd like to get published a time or two as well. We'll see how that goes.

The MFA application process is the thing that looms largest on my horizon right now, though. I need to get the aforementioned writing sample shaped up, take the GRE, scare up some references, save up the cash for application fees, etc., etc . . .

Fortunately, I have a pretty good list of schools picked out. They are, in no particular order:

1. UT-Austin
2. Syracuse
3. Purdue
4. Indiana
5. Notre Dame
6. Alabama
7. UNC-Greensboro
8. Ohio State
9. Florida
10. Penn State
11. Wisconsin
12. Minnesota
13. Illinois
14. Iowa

I still have some research to do on some of those schools, and others of them I know I am unlikely to accept because they're the best. But I'm going to take a shot. As the list changes over the course of 2009, and as I get my applications sent off, I'll keep everyone posted.

Calling Brent Bourgeois . . .

Bourgeois Tagg. Obscure '80s band. Remember them? They had a couple of top 40 hits and then vanished, like a lot of pop groups. The thing is, they had this one song that has been stuck in my head for more than 20 years. It was called "I Don't Mind at All" and it had this melancholy, string quartet feel to it. Now, in this age of iTunes you'd think I'd be able to find a digital copy and download it quick as you please, but such is not the case.

Perhaps if Bourgeois Tagg had continued their rise, their entire catalogue would be available. Sadly, they did not. The 'Bourgeois' part of the duo developed a nasty drug habit, and things began to fall apart. The happy part of the story is that Brent Bourgeois kicked the habit when he became a Christian. Bourgeois Tagg finally broke up in the aftermath because Brent's lyrics were increasingly Christian (at least that's my understanding), so they faded into the '80s history.

So here's my plea to Mr. Brent Bourgeois: I want to download "I Don't Mind at All." Legally. Help me remember that I was just as melancholy before I was 10 as I am now. Put it on iTunes!

The Contest is Dead, Long Live the Contest

So the big news of the week is that the Missouri Writers Guild Flash Fiction Contest has officially ended.  The winners have been announced, and I am not among them.  No cash prize, no honorable mention.  I'm definitely disappointed, but I'm not heartsick about it.  I was more disappointed, I think, before I remembered that I sent the unedited version of the story to the contest.  There were a lot of typographical errors, plus some slightly confusing language at the end of the story.  I guess that's why I was initially only hoping for an 'honorable mention' in the contest.

The aggravating thing about it, though, is that the story wasn't the best it could have been.  I'll never know how the story would have done if I had polished it more, tightened it up a bit.  That's the price I pay for waiting until the night of the deadline to do the bulk of the writing, though.  My fault.

On the other hand, I'm happy that the thing's over.  I can move on a bit more now.  I have other stories I can work on, and the contest had left me hamstrung.  Since it was my first real contest, I was too concerned with waiting on the results to move on.  That's a good lesson for me, I think.  I've got to keep plugging away and not worry about contests, or whether some magazine will accept my stuff for publication.  I think I felt this way because it was my first real contest.  Losing will be beneficial, though, because it will help me approach the rest of my writing with a greater eye toward detail.

The blow is also softened by the fact that I know I wrote a good story, so there's none of that "My writing is just crap and that's why I lost" attitude.  I've had good feedback on the story from all quarters, both from people who have a vested interest in me and those who don't know me from Adam.

I guess my next 'contest' needs to be developing a portfolio of good work that I can send to MFA programs.  I've got less than a year to develop 20-30 pages of butt-kickin' lit.  It's kind of scary.  20-30 pages doesn't seem like it should be that daunting, but it is because I haven't done it before.  I don't have 20-30 pages worth of completed material.  I can't let that bother me, though.

I must, as the French say, "Keep on truckin'."

Under the Gun

Test tomorrow.  Big assignments due.

Yeah.  My time of the semester.

Woof woof.

WORD FACT!

The plural of 'enema' is 'enemata.'

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Sometimes Life is Like . . .

. . . spilling a glass of ice water and then cleaning it up and then trying to use the glass again but finding out that the ice you put back in the cup has hair and sand on it.

Desperately Seeking Laughter

I like to think I don't watch much TV, but that's not true.  I watch plenty of TV.  I watch cartoons with my boys.  I watch CBS Sunday Morning every week.  I eagerly anticipate Antiques Road Show every week.  I also like The History Detectives, and I watch football.

Here's the thing:  I like to laugh.  Not surprising, I guess; a lot of people like to laugh.  I ask you, though, what is there to laugh at on television?  None of the aforementioned programs are comedies.  I've watched episodes of How I Met Your Mother.  I've seen Chuck.  I'm half watching SNL right now.  They don't get it done.  I'm not saying these shows are unfunny, but I don't crack up when I watch them.  I chuckle regularly, but I never get that good, cathartic belly laugh I'm looking for.  I've resorted to perusing YouTube for Mystery Science Theater 3000 clips.

That's why I would like to, publicly and in writing, thank Tina Fey.  Thank you Tina Fey, for 30 Rock.  Yes, I'm aware that the show has been around for a few years now, but until recently I had never seen an episode.  I try to avoid being trendy, you see, and if a show gets popular I usually avoid it.  This had been the case with 30 Rock until my wife recently started watching it.  Since she was watching (and enjoying) the third season, she wanted to see the earlier seasons.  We have Blockbuster Online, so we got the first disc.  We made short work of it, and traded it in at Blockbuster for Season 1 Disc 2.  That was earlier tonight, and we've watched over half of the episodes on that disc.

So thank you Tina Fey.  30 Rock  is the only show on TV right now that keeps me laughing.  The concept is good, the writing is absurdly hilarious, and the cast is spectacular.  I haven't been pleasantly surprised about a TV show in a long time, but 30 Rock has done it.  They consistently hit the mark.  Keep up the good work, folks.  Thanks for lightening my heart.

Dental Adventures in Theological Perspective

NOTE:  At the behest of the masses, I post again.  I'm not sure why youse guys are putting so much pressure on me lately since I've had much longer posting gaps before, but I'm caving.  You only have yourselves to blame.

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As some of you may already know, our oldest son Max has been shedding teeth like a shark.  By the time one tooth comes out another one or two start getting wiggly.  He lost another one last night, but . . . well, let's just say the tooth fairy got one a little earlier than she expected.

I was sitting at the computer sorting through our Blockbuster Online queue when I heard a big thud.  No big deal.  I've heard thuds before.  Only after this thud Max started crying.  Nearly any cry merits parental attention, but this one was different.  There was a decidedly hysterical sound to this cry, and not in the humorous sense.  This wasn't a bonk on the head or a banged shin.  This was real pain.

I shot up from my chair and hurried to Max processing an amazing number of potential problems in the seven feet from the computer desk to the ottoman where my son lay.  Broken arm/hand/finger(s)?  His arm was positioned awkwardly, but it didn't look broken.  And as I said before, the cry was too powerful for a simple head bonk.  I didn't see a pool of blood, no evidence of puncture wounds . . . what was it?  Then I picked Max up and looked him in the face.

"Oh gosh, buddy!!"

Yes, my exclamation at the sight of my son's bloodied mouth was really that G-rated, but 'unprofane' as it was, it was also that unhelpful.  My boy needed calm, and I was not providing it.  He stood there crying, and I could see the blood in his mouth.  Finally my eyes fixed on the gap where his incisor used to be.  It was a baby tooth, thankfully, and it was already getting loose before Max's face-first collision with the armchair, but it was far from being ready to come out.  I got him to the bathroom, Mary Ann brought a wet wash cloth, and we got him settled in.

Max was still freaking out a bit at this point, which was understandable.  Mary Ann continued to try and stem the bleeding, so I went out to get a cup of saltwater.  I can still remember that when I lost one of my teeth when I was a kid my Dad sent me out to the front porch with a cup of saltwater in hand.  The instructions were to swish, spit, and repeat.  So I did what my Dad did.

I went into the bathroom and handed Max the cup of water.  The biggest struggle at that point was keeping him from 1)freaking out over how bloody his spit was in the sink, and 2)freaking himself out even more by looking at himself in the mirror.

Soon the cup of saltwater was gone, we were out of the bathroom and in front of the TV.  By the time Aang vanquished Fire Lord Ozai the psychological trauma was, for the most part, over. Max's psychological trauma, that is.  Mine is still going.  Every time I look at him and see his purpled gums and that raw toothless gap, I'm reminded that I can't always protect my boys.

Max's tooth will grow back, and we'll probably laugh about this story one day.  Heck, if he's anything like me Max will milk this story for every laugh, wince, and gasp it's worth.  But I'll always remember the heartsick feeling that, even though it happened in a small way this time, life can change irreversibly in a heartbeat.  

I must confess I feel foolish, having such a strong reaction to such a small event, but I guess that's because I've lead a pretty easy life to this point.  God has been merciful to me and mine.   Still, even small traumas can help gain a little perspective.

I can't go through my life expecting every detail to work out, even where my kids are concerned.  We were never promised that.  God never said, "be faithful to me and you'll raise a quiver full of healthy kids, live comfortably, and die surrounded by loving grandchildren."  We get trials like everyone else.  In fact, as Christians we have a target on our backs from Satan as well as human enemies of the Gospel.  They hated Jesus, and they'll hate us.

So instead of falling into the 'comfort' mindset that is so common for Americans, I want to use last night's drama as a wake up call.  Ladies and gents, we are not guaranteed comfort, but we are truly in God's hands.  And uncomfortable as that may seem, it's the best place you'll ever be.

A Fraction of a Pinch of a Part of a Hint of a Taste of . . . Writer's Block

I'm having a tough time with my writing right now.  I haven't written much since the middle of October.  When I wrote "Keep Thinking, Keep Moving" I did it in one night.  It turned out alright, too.  I was fairly happy with it and, as I wrote in a previous post, I have gotten a decent response to it.  The problem with writing something that quickly is that I start expecting to continue in that fashion.  Unfortunately, that doesn't happen.  My experience with "Keep Thinking, Keep Moving" was highly atypical in that way.

I think that one reason I'm having trouble with my other stories is that I don't know my characters well enough.  I can't write them as naturally as I would like.  Their dialogue and reactions to certain situations aren't obvious to me like Stooke's were in "Keep Thinking, Keep Moving."  

I was wondering why I knew Stooke so well and am having trouble with other characters.  Eventually I realized that 1) Stooke is based on a real person and the story is based on a real incident, therefore 2) I've really been working on that story for about seven years.  It was ready.  That could be problematic.  If a 1000 word story takes seven years I'm not going to be very productive.  There is hope, however.  Stooke's character, while based on a real person, is not identical to that person.  He changed while I was writing the story.  I've also written other stories in one large chunk; stories that didn't involve characters I knew before.  So that's encouraging.

Another factor that has worked against me lately is the Flash Fiction contest.  I'm still waiting on the results, and I've allowed myself to become sort of paralyzed in the mean time.  I just need to forget about he contest until the results are released and focus on writing.  I think, now that we're nine days into November, I'm ready to do so.  Hopefully I'll be able to come on here and report on new stories very soon.

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Happy now, Sam and Aaron?  :-)