Becoming a Better Writer

I think I should blog more, here's why:

Copyblogger Brian Clark's 10 Steps to Becoming a Better Writer:

1. Write.
2. Write more.
3. Write even more.
4. Write even more than that.
5. Write when you don’t want to.
6. Write when you do.
7. Write when you have something to say.
8. Write when you don’t.
9. Write every day.
10.Keep writing.

Copyblogger has some great advice about blogging and writing in general.

Achy Breaky Heart

Did you know Billy Ray Cyrus has a new CD out? And that he was at our local WalMart today signing copies of said new CD? And that Aimee's friend's dad works for Disney as a producer? And that they invited us to go to the signing and meet Billy Ray? Well if you didn't know all this you do now.

Of course meeting "Hannah Montana's dad" is almost as good as meeting Hannah herself, so it was a fun opportunity for the girls and for me too.

Thursday Next

I just picked up the new Jasper Fforde book First among Sequels, A Thursday Next Novel. Looking forward to reading it in bed tonight. I'm a big fan of the imaginative world that Jasper Fforde creates, where people jump in and out of classic books.

Fforde's novels remind me of a C.S. Lewis anecdote I read recently, by E. R. Eddison:

...a writer's task, I maintained, was to lay bare the human heart, and this could not be done if he were continually taking refuge in the spinning of fanciful webs. Lewis retorted with a theory that, since the creator had seen fit to build a universe and set it in motion, it was the duty of the human artist to create as lavishly as possible in turn. The romancer, who invents a whole world, is worshipping God more effectively than the mere realist who analyses that which lies about him.

It's a Slow Summer for Blogging

Two books I bought today:

Orthodoxy by G.K. Chesterton

From the Library of C.S. Lewis, Selections from Writers Who Influenced His Spiritual Journey Compiled by James Stuart Bell

They spoke this to me:

A Book by Edgar Guest

“Now” - said a good book unto me -
“Open my pages and you shall see
Jewels of wisdom and treasures fine,
Gold and silver in every line,
And you may claim them if you but will
Open my pages and take your fill.

“Open my pages and run them o’er,
Take what you choose of my golden store.
Be you greedy, I shall not care -
All that you seize I shall gladly spare;
There is never a lock on my treasure doors,
Come - here are my jewels, make them yours!

“I am just a book on your mantel shelf,
But I can be part of your living self;
If only you’ll travel my pages through,
Then I will travel the world with you.
As two wines blended make better wine,
Blend your mind with these truths of mine.

“I’ll make you fitter to talk with men,
I’ll touch with silver the lines you pen,
I’ll lead you nearer the truth you seek,
I’ll strengthen you when your faith grows weak -
This place on your shelf is a prison cell,
Let me come into your mind to dwell!”

Kids in Church

I can't believe I haven't written a blog entry in two weeks. Well if I can't come up with something new to blog about, then I'll just "borrow" someone else's inspiration. Since it's Sunday, and I thought these were amusing here goes:
("borrowed" from Ben Worthington)

KIDS IN CHURCH
3-year-old Reese: "Our Father, Who does art in heaven, Harold is His name. Amen."

A little boy was overheard praying: "Lord, if you can't make me a better boy, don't worry about it. I'm having a real good time like I am."

After the christening of his baby brother in church, Jason sobbed all the way home in the back seat of the car. His father asked him three times what was wrong. Finally, the boy replied, "That preacher said he wanted us brought up in a Christian home, and I wanted to stay with you guys."

I had been teaching my three-year old daughter, Caitlin, the Lord's Prayer for several evenings at bedtime. She would repeat after me the lines from the prayer. Finally, she decided to go solo. I listened with pride as she carefully enunciated each word, right up to the end of the prayer: "Lead us not into temptation," she prayed, "but deliver us from E-mail."

One particular four-year-old prayed, "And forgive us our trash baskets, as we forgive those who put trash in our baskets."

A Sunday school teacher asked her children as they were on the way to church service, "And why is it necessary to be quiet in church?" One bright little girl replied, "Because people are sleeping."

Six-year-old Angie and her four-year-old brother, Joel, were sitting together in church. Joel giggled, sang, and talked out loud. Finally, his big sister had had enough. "You're not supposed to talk out loud in church." "Why? Who's going to stop me?" Joel asked. Angie pointed to the back of the church and said, "See those two men standing by the door? They're hushers."

A mother was preparing pancakes for her sons,Kevin 5, and Ryan 3. The boys began to argue over who would get the first pancake. Their mother saw the opportunity for a moral lesson. "If Jesus were sitting here, He would say, 'Let my brother have the first pancake, I can wait.' Kevin turned to his younger brother and said, "Ryan, you be Jesus!"

A father was at the beach with his children when the four-year-old son ran up to him, grabbed his hand, and led him to the shore where a seagull lay dead in the sand. "Daddy, what happened to him?" the son asked. "He died and went to Heaven," the Dad replied. The boy thought a moment and then said, "Did God throw him back down?"

A wife invited some people to dinner. At the table, she turned to their six-year-old daughter and said, "Would you like to say the blessing?" "I wouldn't know what to say," the girl replied. "Just say what you hear Mommy say," the wife answered. The daughter bowed her head and said, "Lord, why on earth did I invite all these people to dinner?"

Competitive Rose Gardening?

It's official, anyone can write a book about anything. I was browsing in Borders the other day and came across this gem of a title on the newly published hardcover table in the front of the bookstore:

OTHERWISE NORMAL PEOPLE: INSIDE THE THORNY WORLD OF COMPETITIVE ROSE GARDENING by Aurelia C. Scott

Huh? I'm sure there are some people for whom this is a topic worth spending $22.00 on, but I personally had to be convinced that the title wasn't a joke. Nope. It's for real. What's next, competitive door slamming?