What happened in 2025?

 We are almost to the finish line of 2025. What started out as a year of devastating wildfires in Los Angeles, became for me: racial attacks in the form of hate speech, job change, closed door, closed door, closed door, more hate speech. 

I took a trip to Ojai, a beautiful part of Southern California and had a much needed day of rest. While on my way back home, I met a Godly couple who prayed over me. Doors I thought would have opened for my writing in LA, remained shut. I prayed and was in agreement as to why. Yet my heart was heavy and needed clarity. 

I've gone back to revising a novel that almost sold. As I work on the revisions, I'm finally allowing myself to let it be the novel it always needed to be. 

Faith in Christ is my identity. And in this novel, if you look really hard you can see glimpses of Christianity in the previous version. The one that almost sold! I need to be true to myself and my writer voice. I've always wanted to write an action-filled, faith-based, YA scifi novel. What couldn't have happened until 2025, is a full, no holding back, revision to this novel. My character struggles to understand faith that is not hers, yet it's the one thing she needs to survive what is to come. 

In revising this novel, I have allowed myself to let go and write, trusting God with the outcome. This novel is finally becoming what it was supposed to. 

There are two months left in this year. My goal is to have the revisions completed by December thirty first.  I wish I could say edits would be done as well, but I'm already pushing three hundred and sixty pages on the draft alone. 

I'm enjoying this process. I'm having fun revising, adding lines, adding scenes, cutting dialogue that doesn't ring true to my character. Pausing and reflecting on her and what is happening to her and her friends. Using the writing voice God created me with.

Before the year is out, I urge you to take time away. It could be as simple as a drive an hour outside of town. Take that time. Pray. Reflect. Act. And if you are a writer, write!

Redecorate vs. Renovate

Redecorate vs. Renovate I have a screenplay I wrote that I’ve gotten great feedback on. It’s about suicide. I’m having difficulty getting anyone to say yes to it. Today I took a long, hard, critical look at it and I found what it needs. The only problem is, it doesn’t need to be redecorated, it needs to be renovated. You know those home improvement shows where they sand and stain or paint kitchen cabinets because they’re solid and only need surface work? That’s redecorate. That’s not this screenplay. My screenplay is like when they take a crowbar and rip the cabinets off the wall. Then they rip the drywall off and you’re left with the studs. You have to renovate, gut, the entire place. That’s where this screenplay is. It needs to be gutted down to the studs so I can put the best drywall and cabinets in. Life can be like that too. Don’t confuse a paint job with a need to do a total renovation. Put in the hard word and rip everything out. Then build in what is truly unique to you. Your writing and you as a person will be all the better for it.

What type of writer am I?

What kind of writer am I? 2020 is turning into an interesting year for me. I’ve written and submitted poetry and essays. Yet I’ve always considered myself a fiction writer. Time is a funny construct. It gives us room to shift and grow and change and be re-formed into something completely new. Time asks nothing from us but that it be used. And used well, until there is nothing left in the vessel of time but empty space. If you’d asked me three years ago what type of writing I do, I would have said, “YA SciFi and Horror, novels and screenplays”. I never would have said, “I’ve been exploring the depth of the kaleidoscope of color on the end of a grain of sand—in words and harmony through poetry.” I am still hard at work on my adult horror novel (another new thing for me), while I explore this new person I’ve become who pulls back the petals of a fresh rose to show the world the delicate workings within that brings life to the bees. 2020 People say it’s synonymous with perfect vision. I tend to not see perfection in anything (except Twinkies). Even nature throws a slight curve into the symmetry of a butterfly’s wings. I think 2020 is the beginning of near vision. And as I continue to dig deeper into my writing (I’m preparing to undertake a huge research project for a book), I am reminded to see beyond the first glance. Dive deep. Tell it true. And tell it with heart.

The King's Speech Movie Review

My goal is to see Christian writing raised to the level of academy award and national book award status (including Caldecott, Newberry, and Pulitzer).

From time to time I will be supplementing my blog with novel and book reviews. Here is today's review of a movie I saw last night.


Saw The King's Speech last night for two reasons: academy award nominations, and the recommendation of my best friend. I went to Cinebistro, and while the service was not up to par, it was a comfortable seating and viewing experience.

First off, I am a sci-fi, action movie type of girl. My video collection reads like a list of Marvel comics, so I was unsure how I was going to like The King's Speech, even with one of my favorite actresses-Helena Bonham Carter in the movie.

The King's Speech hooked me from the beginning. It didn't start off with a long prologue, it dove right into the conflict, the dilemma.

Watching Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush banter back and forth, I felt like they had spent most of their life looking for that one person who would understand them the most and found it in each other.

SPOILER ALERT--



The difficulties the King faced with his brother and his father surprised me. Monarchy aren't suppose to be like us-they aren't suppose to have siblings that pick on them, or fathers that bully them; or suffer abuse, and they certainly aren't suppose to be afraid of power-and yet they do.

One of the lines I loved in the movie is delivered by the King to Lionel Logue. He said all this time he never really knew the commoners; he knows as little about them as they do about him. This movie peels back that veil of aristocracy and shows us frailty, courage, and the power of a true friend.

My recommendation: A

Forgiveness

This weekend I had to forgive someone for something pretty important. My Christian friends were divided into two camps: forgive, or make the person suffer. I was shocked by the latter. May I speak openly today about this. Slight detour from my writing. Christ is the only reason believers are going to Heaven. His forgiveness of our sins. Our model prayer from Jesus even says "forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us." Jesus also stated if we don't forgive neither will our heavenly Father forgive us. Knowing the bible teaches this, why are some actions forgivable and others not? To not forgive is to live with festering hate and anger and machinations of revenge. I have had to forgive much in my life:
Abandonment, abuse, rapes.
I chose to forgive someone Saturday. Now he knows he has a long road ahead to earn back my trust but I was looking at Jesus' example and admonishment. I trust God so I did what I knew was the right thing. And for those of you Christians harboring festering, feelings of anger and hate- STOP IT. Let it go. Do you not know that hate and anger is from satan? Who is Lord in your life? Forget about what people will think or what other believers will say. Concern yourself with what Jesus will say. No matter what, He is the authority, the model, the hope of forgiveness.