Three Kinds of People

 Three Kinds of People?

I’m a writer. I appreciate editors. 

Don't leave. This post isn't about writing. It's about living.

In the world of writing, we have different sorts of editors who look over manuscripts. A developmental editor or content editor makes sure the author is accurate, consistent, and keeps the story moving forward.  We even have editors who help in making sure the language of our text is clear and easy to understand. 

Of course, there are those editors who pick at punctuation and spelling. Go figure.

I’m working on a novel. I have poured through it several times. I try to polish it as best as I can before anyone else reads it. I look forward to getting into the hands of an agent or publisher. But I know that is only the beginning. 

Once accepted, a publishing house will assign my work to an editor. This week I was thinking about how editors make my writing better. Stronger. 

The thought occurred to me that everyone could use an editor.

I keep this on my desk...
a good reminder to edit.

Wouldn’t it be great if every person had a little editor on his or her shoulder? Someone to stop us before we say something we’d later regret or at least delete the comment before it reached another person’s ears?

Here are a few ways an editor on our shoulder might help…in writers terms:

Tone or Voice. I remember my mother telling me, “Don’t speak to me in that tone of voice, young lady!” Think about it. An editor on my shoulder could have saved me from being grounded.

Relevancy. You’re at a party and want to fit in with the new crowd of people you’re meeting. You start to tell a joke. The only joke you know. It would be great to have that little editor on your shoulder shove something in your face before you open your mouth and offend everyone.  Or perhaps…some of those folks are talking about a basketball game and you jump in telling them about your high school winning streak playing cards with your grandma at the senior center. An editor on your shoulder could have slapped you up the side of the head.

Jargon. An editor on your shoulder might stop you from speaking in those technical terms you use in your job at NASA at a party. Boring! An editor could suggest a better way to communicate your love of space. Something like, “Did you taste the dip? It is out of this world!” Or “I’m over the moon with this band!” Well, maybe not. But you get the idea.

Concise Language. You’re sitting at dinner and someone asks how your day went. A little editor on your shoulder might stop you from boring your family (or guests) with a thirty- minute story detailing how you unjammed the copy machine at work and then had to refill the paper tray.  Unjam? Refill? Copy machine? Four words max.

Maybe if we all had a little editor on our shoulders, we would get along better with those around us, avoid hurt feelings, and maybe even avoid everything from fights on the playground to wars in the world.  

What do you think?

Finding Your Way

Finding Your Way Around Town

This is a very special week for me. My mother and second oldest grandchild flew in  from Ohio. 

My Sweet Mama &
My Sweet Grandson, Spencer

For Spencer it will be a whirlwind visit, he’s been out on the boat with Mike, is getting in a round or two of golf  (One with his Uncle Ronnie) and spending significant time basking in the Florida sunshine. And…he cooked a wonderful spaghetti dinner for us!

It’s February. Enjoy it all, Spencer!

It will not be a whirlwind visit for my mother. You could say it is more of a shopping trip. 

Mom is planning a move back to the Sunshine state. Although she is welcome to stay with us, her plan is to find a place of her own. A home nearby. She has friends not too far from where we live. That’s a plus. And she has always liked Inverness…at least as she drove through it from her home in Lutz to her house in Dunnellon. 

Now it is time for her to get the lay of the land here. It takes a bit. When we lived just north of Tampa, in a then small berg called Lutz, to get to Dunnellon, we drove north on US Highway 41. Okay. But the highway is also Florida State Route 44 for a stretch through Inverness. Then, just out of the heart of town, the two split up again. State Route 44 continues west and US 41 continues north.

 And then there’s Gospel Island Road. Gospel Island Road turns north off State Route 44 then curves west then south to meander into the town of Inverness where you come to a light to turn north on 41/44 before they split again. 

Okay, you have my permission to skip all of that. 

When my mom moved to Fairfield, Ohio, she was a bit unsure of the roads there, as well. 

I told her not to worry. “All roads lead to Route 4,” I said. It was a good rule of thumb.

Of course, even Fairfield has grown since then. Now, in our new Florida town I’m saying, “Don’t worry, all roads will eventually get you to 44 or 41 somehow or another. 

The point is this: When anyone moves, it takes a while to get used to the setting, find the stores, and learn the streets. 

But Remember: The sun still rises in the east and sets in the west.

And if you need it, there is this always this foolproof MAP from the New Living Translation of the Bible: 

"Seek His will in all you do, and He will show you

which path to take."

 

 

 

Choose Wisely

 Choose Wisely

This week Mike celebrated his birthday. The man made it tough for me by buying three of his own gifts. I’m serious. He ordered what he wanted, paid for everything, and had the items delivered. He then handed the presents over to me to wrap.

What’s the fun in that?

I figure he didn’t trust I would get him something he liked. 

He was wrong. 

Several weeks ago, we watched Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. If you are familiar with the movie, the Nazis are searching for the Holy Grail, purportedly the cup from which Jesus Christ drank at the Last Supper.

In the movie (part of which was filmed in Jordon at a place known as Petra, by the way) Jones and the Nazis make it into a room filled with goblets of all shapes and sizes and made of everything from gold, silver, and precious stones to a simple clay cup.

A picture of the carved rock temple of El-Khazneh of Petra
(No I wasn't there...this is from my Bible)

The Last Crusader guarding the Holy Grail warns the intruders they must choose wisely. When the Nazi drinks from the jewel encrusted goblet instead of gaining eternal life, he is cursed and wastes away before the viewers eyes. The Last Crusader quietly says, “He chose poorly.” 

True. There is only one way to eternal life. It is not from drinking from a certain goblet. (Message me if you want to know more.)

So…What does all this have to do with Mike’s birthday? 

As I said, a couple of days before his birthday, Mike handed me the three gifts he purchased for himself so I could wrap them. I added a couple of gifts of my own choosing as well as a small used jigsaw puzzle someone slipped into the book exchange box at the end of our driveway.

I arranged all of the gifts on a table. I did my best to disguise what each present held. They were different shapes and sizes but all wrapped in coordinating paper. 

"Choose wisely," I told him.

I reminded him of the movie we recently viewed. I also told him he could not pick up nor touch any of the wrapped gifts. He could only describe or point to the one he wanted.

Mike “chose wisely” on his first go. A gift certificate to our favorite restaurant in Inverness, Stumpknockers on the Square. When he opened the used jigsaw puzzle, I said, in my best Crusader monotone, “...you chose... poorly.”

"Uh-oh...You chose... poorly."

The man may have tried his best to buy his own gifts, but our little celebration after breakfast was fun. AND as it turned out, he liked everything I bought for him by myself. 

Maybe I can be trusted to buy for you, Mike! Happy Birthday and live knowing you are loved. 

 

On Blogging

 A Blog Post for Wednesday

As I craft this post, it is Tuesday. Tuesday evening. My blog post comes out on Wednesday.

Assuming I have it written by then. 

I know there are a few people out there who craft a post EVERY DAY. Not me. I often struggle with what to write each Wednesday and frequently wait until the last minute to capture my thoughts on paper. 

Why? My once-a -week blog isn’t the focus of my life…or even my writing.

Blogging is a tool. For me, it is a pathway to both discipline and discovery as a writer. It is also a social presence to bring potential readers into my world as an author.

Being an author is only one facet of who I am. I am so much more.

·      I am my mother’s daughter. 

·      I am Mike’s wife. His partner in life.

·      I am both a mother and mother-in-law.

·      I am a grandmother. 

·      I am a child of God.

But yes…I am a writer. And an author. The difference? 

Writers Write. Authors Publish.

Recent short story in
February's Peddler's Post

When I started on this journey, I looked for ways to connect with other writers as well as readers. I looked for opportunities and tools to hone my writing skills. Blogging offers that and more on a consistent basis. 

Writing. Revising. Editing. You get the idea.

 

Writing to publish takes hard work and self-discipline. 

The weekly discipline of crafting a blog post is part of that ongoing work. 

It is more than pouring words out on paper. More than a diary with an audience of one. 

Every time I write and hopefully publish a book, story, or blog post, I am honing my skills. I am searching for “word illustrations."

 

When I began the blogging journey, I had no clue what a blog was, much less how to start writing one. I read information on the internet by Jeff Goins about blogging. I learned I needed a theme.

 

Since my goal was to write and publish a novel, I called my blog “A Novel Creation.” Those first few posts were accounts of what I was learning about crafting a novel and the world of publication.

Over time, the blog morphed into a more personal view of what I was learning about writing. Then after my husband, Tom, died in a bicycle accident in 2014, I merely muddled through the motions of writing. I kept the blog going as I shared my heart.

 

 I moved to Kosovo in 2017 to teach fourth graders in an American School. My blog served as a way to share my new life with my friends and family in the United States.

 Through those posts, I came to realize I am A Novel Creation. I am.

I am created in the image of God. 

Now I write articles, short stories, novels, and…every Wednesday…a blog post. 

How about you? What are you writing?