Roller Coaster Books

All roller coasters are the same, right? Ummm, no. 

But they all go up and down, right? Well, yes.

So then they are all the same. No.  

That is like saying all historical books are the same. All romance books are the same and so on. (Of course I'm being simplistic.) Yes, all books have similarities, but to keep readers and riders coming, something must be new each time.

David Maass says, "Moral absolutes to not play well in fiction. Fiction is about people, and people are fallible. Also, these manuscripts tend to preach what most of us already believe. Why listen to that? Remember: Even when the message is familiar, the medium needs to be new." Writer's Digest, May/June 2012

So consider the simple roller coaster where people line up to ride them over and over for the thrill and step out of the ordinary ride of life. (These are only 3 out of the 6-7 at Busch Gardens.)

Whatever genre you write, may the twists and turns bring oohs and aahs from your readers and maybe just a scream of delight or fear.

"But I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, in order that I may finish my course, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God. " Acts 20:24

Paul who wrote many of the books of the New Testament, was ambushed by the Spirit of the Lord to turn him from a Anti-Christian-Terrorist (Acts 8:1-9:19) to a Beloved-Christian-Writer. Scripture has many twists with fallible leaders.

Our moral absolutes in life are necessary. In books and roller coasters, not so much.

karen

The History of the @ Symbol

If you are online, you use this little squiggly symbol all the time. So what do you call this graceful character so common today in modern electronic communication?

The “at” sign?

That funny swirling sign?

The Italians call it the snake.

The Dutch name it the monkey tail.

The Korean call it the snail.

The Norwegian nickname it the pig’s tail.

Surprisingly though, there is no official, universal name for this sign, though some grammar or trivia experts identify it as the ampersat.

We really don’t know much about @ origin. Some think medieval monks looking for a shortcut took the Latin word for “toward,” which is ad. They then took the “a” portion and added a looping tail from the “d.”

Others think this symbol comes from the abbreviation for “each at,” taking the letter “a” and encircling it with the “e.”

The first documented use of this fancy symbol occurred in 1536, in a letter by Francesco Lapi, a Florentine merchant, who used @ to denote units of wine called amphorae, which were shipped in large clay jars.

Another story tells the @ symbol was used as an abbreviation for the word amphora. Amphora was the unit of measurement that determined the amount held by the large terra cotta jars that were used to ship grain, spices and wine.

Merchants have long used it to signify “at the rate of”—as in “12 widgets @ $1.”  

The first typewriters, built in the mid-1800s, didn’t include @. Likewise, @ was not among the symbolic array of the earliest punch-card tabulating systems (first used in collecting and processing the 1890 U.S. census), which were precursors to computer programming.

The @ symbol found new relevance in 1971 when Ray Tomlinson, a computer scientist, pondered how to connect with other people in the computer industry. At that time many computers didn’t talk to each other since the Internet had yet to be invented.

Tomlinson knew he needed to address a message using the other person’s name and the name of the computer. He searched for symbol not in wide use to separate the two. He discovered or should we say rediscovered the @.  He used the @ to send the first email to another computer and then back to himself  - the birth of a new form of communication all due to a fancy “a” with curl around it.

Maybe that is a lesson for all of us. Sometimes we feel like we are misunderstood or no longer valued or of use to anyone. I have hopes though, that the Greatest Scientist of All, the One who created this universe knows how best to use each of us.  We may just be the one He is looking for to connect two unrelated thoughts that end up sending the Good News around the world in a new way.

Lord, use me like the @ symbol.

A Writer's Travelogue

I stood just outside the door to Ernest’s writing study and gazed in with awe. His typewriter sat waiting, books lined the shelves…it looked like he could walk in at any moment.

My trip to Key West, Florida, was awesome for several reasons, but touring Ernest Hemingway’s home was definitely a highlight. I love Hemingway’s tight prose; he’s the master of saying a lot with a little. To see where he lived and worked was inspiring! After the tour, I visited the store and came home with a matted photo of his study that now hangs in my writer’s room.

Several years earlier, we celebrated our 25th anniversary with a trip to Alaska and the Yukon. It was an eight-day land tour topped off with four days on a cruise ship. The land tour was just awesome. Driving through Alaska and the Yukon, getting out and actually wandering around and talking to people was great. I’d go back to the Yukon in a second, too; Dawson City was fascinating for several reasons. One was our visit to the Jack London cabin. It looks like the kind of place you could easily pen Call of the Wild.

And now I’ve another place to add to my writer’s bucket list, if you will: the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in Amhurst, Massachusetts. When my boys were little, we spent many an evening leafing through The Very Hungry Caterpillar and The Very Lonely Firefly. This museum houses not only Carle’s picture book art, but the art of several other children’s authors. I’d love to spend an afternoon there.

In fact, I’m just compiling my bucket list, and so far, it’s short. I need to do a little research.

What about you? Have you visited a significant writing spot? Maybe an author’s home or writing site? Perhaps the setting for a particular novel you loved?

Hmmm…where should I go next?

ANOTHER CONFERENCE

My last post was about the Florida Christian Writers' Conference.  The reports from that conference indicate that it exceeded most expectations.  I rejoice with those who planned and those who attended.  Will have to admit that during that time I pouted quite a bit.  Seriously, I reminded family members and friends that the conference was going on without me.  I felt so left out, but my family was visiting and when I have choices, I have always chosen my family. God has never failed to bless me for following that desire.  We had a wonderful time.

But now it is time to think CONFERENCE again. (I have that in caps on purpose) This past week I registered for the Write to Publish Conference which is to be held June 5-8 in Wheaton, Illinois.  I will be rooming with two of the other Kindred Hearts, Jean and Laura. I am so excited about this new conference. I urge you to go on line and read about  Write to Publish.

I have signed up for  BUILDING YOUR OWN WRITING CAREER as my continuing class. This means that all four mornings of the conference I will be learning from an expert. And in the afternoons I can choose electives taught by experienced, knowledgeable professionals. These classes are so uplifting-sometimes I learn something new-sometimes I am encouraged to know I am doing the right thing -always I talk with those who speak   writerese-a language known only to those of us who write.

And that is the best part of any conference-talking with the people. Old and new friends meeting together to talk about our common interest.  I am anticipating late nights and early mornings as we gather to learn more of our trade and draw closer to the small group who call one another writer and friend. I would so like to talk our language with you.  Please join me there.

Five Writers, One Story

I asked the Kindred Hearts to play along with me on this post. I began and ended the story. All went swimmingly until the last one, ahemmm, who had me change my whole idea for the end.

1.)Macy and Carol, middle-school twins, wanted to make their Dad a cake for his birthday. Macy, creative and free-thinking, and Carol the detail-organizer knew this would be a wonderful surprise. So, this should be easy. Yeah right. They pulled out cookbooks from Mom's collection to look for a new, fun recipe.

2.)Macy grabbed the biggest cookbook, a massive three-ring binder with glossy pages and a red-checked cover. An attractive brunette wearing a frilly apron smiled as she pulled a perfectly baked pie from the oven. Juggling the heavy book on her lap, Macy opened it and read aloud the name written inside: Carolyn Macina Whitt. She elbowed Carol. "It's Grandma's cookbook, the grandma we're named for."

3.)But Macy's elbow hit only thin air. Carol had scrambled away from Macy's side and was already standing on a step stool, taking inventory of the pantry's ingredients, notebook and pen in hand. She turned and smiled. "Perfect, Macy! Now, if we can just find a recipe that matches what we have in the pantry.

4.)"Oh come on Carol, we'll have to shop. You know Mom hasn't stocked up on  all that since we moved. Besides it will be fun to hit the grocery.  We haven't been there since we moved  to this little burg. Who knows what we might find, and maybe we will meet some kids from school." Macy grabbed Carol's hand, picked up her sweater  and headed for the door. Shrugging her shoulders and giving a quick glance toward the open cookbook on the counter, Carol followed Macy out the door. "Wait for me, maybe we should make a list."

5.)The girls returned to the kitchen to make a list and opened the recipe book to a cake called "The Whitt's Traditional Yummy Birthday Cake."  They knew instantly that this was the recipe to bake for their father.  Imagine their surprise when they read the ingredients:

Flowers from the garden - whatever is in bloom

Snap Sugar beans 

Baking TNT Powder

Two Mourning Dove eggs

Three salty tears
 Goat's milk

And dash of dew from the Sycamore tree in the backyard

1.)“Whaaat? No way” Carol said. “Now what?”

“Come on let’s go! We don’t have much time.” Macy grabbed Carol and ran out the door. The unfolding of their translucent wings and the swoosh of the pulsating air broke into the silent morning.

They had only minutes before the dew formed on the beloved Sycamore tree. The girls arrived just as the golden sun touched the tree. The morning- kissed leaves tilted their wet heads into the woven palm pouches the twins carried on their back.

“We have everything!” Carol said checking her list, as they arrived home to bake the cake. 

Fairy-Father Whitt proclaimed it the best birthday cake since his Mom made it for him years ago.
**************

Five writers, one story. Each of us wrote with different voices, yet the story remained true. A birthday cake for Father.

Moral of this story: If you find yourself with writer's block, ask a fellow writer to continue your WIP for a few pages, just to get a different perspective. It might bring a new revelation. Ha, much like Jeanie did as the last entry # 5. Made me change the whole ending. :)

"Jesus provided far more God-revealing sings than are written down in this book. These are written down so you will believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and in the act of believing, have real and eternal life in the way he personally revealed it." John 20:30-31(MS)

The Bible has many authors, but one main theme, Jesus as Savior.

karen