Happy Birthday!

I can now officially eat off of the 55+ menus at Frisches and Bob Evans. I am closer to 60 than 50. I am closer to retirement than than I was :) I am wiser (I hope), more confident (I think) and closer to heaven (I'm sure). Getting older just means I've wracked up more experiences to draw from, met more interesting people and lived more life.

I've set a goal as I turned 55. To finish the novel I'm writing and get it published before I hit 60. So here I go-on to the next great wave.

Happy Birthday!

Mayberry's Andy

Rarely does a character crawl into the imagination and linger for a lifetime.

Last week, we lost a television icon. One who enriched my life with wisdom and humor. Andy Griffith lived a long life that he shared with the world. As Opie's dad he taught us how to parent, as Barney's friend, he showed us to be accepting and tolerant, as Mayberry's town sheriff he taught fairness and compassion. The one thing I loved most about Andy and his friends was that I could invite them into my living room and enjoy the camaraderie no matter how my day unfolded. They added a bright spot and made me laugh. I'll not long forget the funny stories and even the little white lies Andy told to make everything work out.

So I say thanks to the writers who inspired the show and the warmth that still exudes from every episode. Thanks to Andy for giving us a character enveloped in goodness. While his loved ones will miss him, he lives on in the hearts of his fans and the reruns that will hopefully continue to roll on in to a new generation.

Technology

I've often said, that I love technology as long as it works. At my job, I spend most of my time in some sort of software program. I use the software for the catalog. I make purchases on Amazon, and search academic databases as well as Google. 


Then I get home and practically live in Microsoft Word when I'm writing a devotion or story. Word has these wonderful tools that help me write with more accuracy and less mistakes. That is, as long as I use the tools properly.  I can use "find and replace" to search for a word or phrase and replace it with another word or phrase. That sounds nice and easy, until I accidentally ask it to replace every occurrence of the main characters name, Willow,  with the word "She". Yes, I did that. I replaced Willow's name with "She" throughout the entire 200+ page novel. And I hit save instead of reverse. 


You guessed it. I had to go through the entire document and find every place that should say Willow instead of "She". I think the funniest one I found was her niece calling to her "Aunt She, Aunt She!". 


Instead of getting grumpy and  frustrated, I took my mistake in stride and saw it as one more way to reread and revise my book. I'll know soon enough if I found them all. I just finished editing chapter seven for hopefully the last time. Just 19 or 20 more chapters to go. 


That seems like an eternal job, but for someone over fifty who's lived to tell about it, it's just a drop in the bucket.


What crazy computer mistakes have you made?

The Joy of Camaraderie

This week I met some lovely ladies who also write. I attended my first cluster meeting of the ACFW in Ohio. We ate lunch-food is always a plus, and Patty fed us drum sticks-good chocolate ones. Once our appetites were satisfied, the group moved the discussion to our stories. All of us write some genre of fiction. The ladies represented women's fiction, suspense, fantasy, apocalyptic, and children's fiction. Quite a variety with one purpose in mind. We all write for God. He's led us to our stories, and he works through our words.

What a joy to meet with other writers who strive to do their best and give their all. I appreciated the encouragement and the camaraderie. Best of all, I got to put faces with names. I'd had the privilege of meeting some of these fine ladies online. Now I can picture them typing their words and telling their stories. I have been blessed with one more connection to the writing world.

The Joy of Writing

Revise, revise, revise. I am rewriting my fiction manuscript. One of ACFW's offerings is their wonderful critique group. And I say wonderful with some trepidation. I love the group and I enjoy reading and making suggestions on other people's work. I especially appreciate the comments and suggestions that they give me. But my goodness, revising works my brain and fingers into a tired puddle by the end of the day. 


That said, with any writing that I do, even a short devotion, I reword it at least four or five times. One of the joys of writing involves playing with the words and images until I find the perfect combination. I aim to paint a picture for the reader and help them discover what I see. So I continue to write, rewrite and revise. 

The Freshness of Spring

As I walked around the lake at Look Up Lodge yesterday, I watched a blue heron sail across the lake. A snake raised its head to the sun, and the fern fronds prepared to unfold. The azaleas bloomed shades of blushing pink. What a beautiful place to talk to God and sing his praises. I'm spending a week with my daughter, Hannah, at the camp where she works.

I am at home in the woods and at camp. I spent at least one week every summer at church camp, and I loved every minute of it.

Yesterday we visited Carl Sandburg's home in Flat Rock, NC. After Mr. Sandburg passed away, his wife and family made sure the estate got into the hands of the National Park Services. The home looked like the family had just gone out for a walk. All of their possessions lay right where they left them. He owned more than 117,000 books. The shelves filled with tomes lined every room. I loved it!!!

Mrs. Sandburg raised goats. In the field behind the house, we visited her farm. Two babies, less than twenty-four months old hobbled on their little legs. What a delight to see them and to watch their mama. She protected them from the other goats, but she let us pet them. So sweet!

Today more adventure-off to Asheville to see Jason, Missy and Scout.

ACFW

This week I joined the ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers) organization at the recommendation of two authors that I respect. With that comes responsibility and action. God blessed me with this story he's given me and now he is leading me into a group of folks who also write for him. I pray that I can keep up with the task he set before me and that I continue to have a heart for the story.


I've already met some interesting people online and hope to get connected with a critique group. I want to help another author along this journey as they in turn help me. God has great things in store-I just know it!


Pray for my journey. I'll keep you posted.


Currently revising,
Penny