A whole lotta shaking going on...

Ps. 55: 19 God shall hear, and afflict them, even he that abideth of old. Selah. Because they have no changes, therefore they fear not God.
***

Change...

Like sands through the hourglass...so are the days of our lives. I like that. But did you notice sand in an hourglass never changes? Never. The poor grains are caught up in a bottle on the brink of suffocation and all you can do is turn it upside down to get a different perspective of the granules, but they’re the same granules, same sand.

Can you imagine a life without change? I know a lot of people think change is a horrible aspect of their lives that they wish would just stop happening. Can you imagine a child without a changed diaper? A child who never made it past one?

Life is all about change and when it happens, you either embrace it, or get left behind in a stagnate mode, a funk where you become timid and anti-social almost unable to function in the world.

Last week we began f2k. It was the old site, our old rooms, our old fellowship. Then something happened. As with many site’s, it began its descent and people were having problems logging in, unable to post, they were frantically trying to gain access only to find, there was no access to be had.

So Bob Hembree, creator of f2k, created an entire NEW f2k site. It was in the works for a while but he wanted to run it through the testing phases before he used it. Well guess what happened last week? He placed the New F2K Social site up and we all had to migrate to the site or be left behind. (sounds like a book)

We marched into the social scene and started posting, we scrambled along like a herd of cattle being led into a pen. We migrated and changed. Tweaks were made, friends were requested, ‘like’s were going up like fireworks and we settled into our new digs like a butt in wet sand.

The new site is like facebook and it can be quite a frenzied day when you see numerous posts, trying to read and take it all in. I stick to my room. It keeps me out of trouble. You know how you have friends on FB, well on this site of 490 students, they friend request you. Go ahead, friend request me, I try to accept, but it doesn’t work. Glitches are inevitable too. I’m not trying to win a popularity contest which is what it feels like. Do all these people REALLY want to be my friend or just rack up their friends quota?

Imagine if on facebook, you had hundreds of friends all posting, and not one of them ‘hidden’. Kinda crazy, yes?

I’m open to change. Just ask me what happened eight years ago when the most massive change of my life happened. I didn’t hide from it, cower to it, run from it, I instead embraced it. And look at me now! All the better for the change.

F2k has taken on the change and the students are embracing it. It’s what writers do. We embrace change.

Freaky Friday

Some of the best lessons we ever learn are learned from past mistakes. The error of the past is the wisdom and success of the future.
Dale E. Turner
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Ever have ‘one of those days’ ??? Well it seems here lately, I’ve had a few of those days, right in a row.

Nothing bad or anything, just crazy kind of weird?  I’m a person of routine. I like my routine, try to stick to my routine and when something comes up at the last minute, it kind of throws me off kilter. Not to mention the wind hampering outside activities.

As writer’s we remain private people. We want to share our stories but not our lives, right? Write! I’m always sharing my story; the good the bad and the downright ugly. Go ahead, ask me a question and I’ll be bluntly honest.

This is what we need to do as writer’s penning a novel. We can’t skirt around an issue that a character is having; we need to tackle a situation head on. Change is part of the inevitable with our story, so be sure to give said character a lot of bumps to maneuver over, hills to climb, and situations that he/she can get out of, or at least die trying.

Parts of us will flow into our characters. Pieces of our past will be sifted into the novel or short story. We can’t abandon the fact of all we know and have gained in our life, maybe even things that are not in our lives, we as writers can touch on.  Writing about killing someone for instance, would be a hard situation for me to write, but the good news is, I’ve read enough of King and Koontz to know how it is done.

I think Koontz is an avid fan of weaponry. He can give gripping detail down to the last pin of a revolver or handgun. He can enhance a weapon, even if it can’t be enhanced logically, he can make the weapon become a plausible piece of artillery. And that said piece, will be integral in the story (or not) but the man knows how to delve into the deepest darkest part of the human psyche.

As a writer I can’t dance around an issue because I don’t know it. This is where the research of any weapons, cars, places is essential to bringing your story into the hands of your readers. If you research and literally know your stuff, the reader can visualize the scene more clearly thus giving your story a reality, bringing it to life.

Freaky Fridays can happen anywhere to anyone...change is inevitable, and life happens.
Why not make some lemonade? :)

Freaky Funny Friday

With Freaky Funny Friday I try to bring a smile to the board. Everyone needs a smile in their life otherwise life might look too serious. Keep smiling and enjoy your day! TGIF~ joni

A writer died and was given the option of going to heaven or hell.
She decided to check out each place first. As the writer descended into the fiery pits, she saw row upon row of writers chained to their desks in a steaming sweatshop. As they worked, they were repeatedly whipped with thorny lashes.
"Oh my," said the writer. "Let me see heaven now."
A few moments later, as she ascended into heaven, she saw rows of writers, chained to their desks in a steaming sweatshop. As they worked, they, too, were whipped with thorny lashes.
"Wait a minute," said the writer. "This is just as bad as hell!"
"Oh no, it's not," replied an unseen voice. "Here, your work gets published."

There was once a young man who, in his youth, professed his desire to become a great writer.
When asked to define great, he said, "I want to write stuff that the whole world will read, stuff that people will react to on a truly emotional level, stuff that will make them scream, cry, howl in pain and anger!"
He now works for Microsoft writing error messages.

How many mystery writers does it take to screw in a light bulb?
Two. One to screw it almost all the way in, and the other to give it a surprising twist at the end.


Ode to the Spell Check ~~author unknown

Eye halve a spelling chequer

It cam with my pea sea

It plainly marques four my revue

Miss steaks eye kin knot sea.

Eye strike a key and type a word

And weight four it two say

Weather eye am wrong oar write

It shows me strait a weigh.

As soon as a mist ache is maid

It nose bee fore two long

And eye can put the error rite

Its rare lea ever wrong.

Eye have run this poem threw it

I am shore your pleased two no

Its letter perfect awl the weigh

My chequer tolled me sew!