Not Much for Today.

I don't have anything really intelligent to say. I missed posting yesterday because I was terribly sick. I have a fever, aches and a terrible head cold. I'm feel pretty bad this evening as well, but my brain in functioning enough to get a post done.

I hate that feeling, when my brain doesn't function properly. All I wanted to do yesterday was go to sleep. Usually, I get a lot of thinking done when I lie down. If I'm in the middle of a story, I go to sleep thinking about what is going to happen next. Sometimes bits a dialog will come to me and much of the time, I'll fall asleep with ideas in my mind that will turn into dreams in the night. I often wake up ready to jot things down.

Which leads me to my devotions. I don't pray at night. Sometimes, I'll say a quick prayer for someone I'm thinking about, but I don't pray long prayers while lying down. I do my devotions in the morning and I pray and/or talk to God all day long. But, if I have ideas for a story, I get up and type them all out, so I won't be distracted as I pray. I will often pray at my desk with a notepad window open, so I can quickly type ideas that come to mind or to do notes. I don't want any of that bothering me while I talk to the Lord. If I type it out quickly, I don't worry about forgetting a thought or errand I have to run, but then I can let it go and focus on my Lord.

I also use a computer program to read my Bible. Though, I do keep a physical Bible near by.

I had some things I wanted to get written yesterday, but I couldn't do it. So, I spent a few minutes writing it out today. I was so tickled by the ideas that I was able to get down tonight. I can't wait to show this new chapter to someone. It's for a current project that I won't be trying to get published, but I'm loving it.

Which leads me to a thought. I seemed to write in a linear fashion. I may have a whole story thought out. How it starts, what's going to happen in the middle. Conflict and even certain scenes might be floating in my head and short notes written down. But, I can only write it from the beginning straight through to the end.

From all the reading I've done, it seems that I'm in the minority. Or am I? I've read about people writing the ending first, or using the technique of writing exciting scenes ahead to get their creative juices flowing to write the middle stuff. I just can't see doing that.

I write all the way through, but will edit and revise with new material if the ending calls for props or certain elements to be foreshadowed in earlier chapters.

I'll end this post by saying that I am making a goal of having chapter five finished of my original novel, but the end of this month. I'm a goal setter and I need to do this. Maybe if I get more written, I'll be inspired to write more.

I've been holding off, because I was hoping to observe some activities at a youth conference coming up next week at my church. But, my husband and I have plans to celebrate our anniversary. So, I won't be able to go to the conference with my daughter. She'll just have to take pics and video with our digital camera like she did for winter camp. That really helped, but I was so hoping to be there and see what goes on and observe and take notes.

I didn't grow up in a Christian home, so I never did youth activities. I was in college by the time I was going to church regularly on my own. The story I'm working on centers around a group of kids, a couple mostly, that grew up together in a local new testament church. Going to activites together. I tell the story of the couple and how they met and didn't like each other and how they grew to the point where they end up engaged and are about to get married.

More on that another time :)