September 2013 (Facebook Compilation)

September 1

Had to update my bio on the SCBWI website. Included on-the-fly invented one-liners for each of my novels (in v-a-r-i-o-u-s stages of development. #5 doesn’t even start growing till November).

“My novels are all on the speculative-fiction spectrum:

1. Lindorm King: A crippled shepherdess allies with a lindorm (dragon-sized snake) to escape from her abusive stepmother.

2. Lindorm Queen: The former shepherdess learns more about the magical knife left to her, and her role, with the lindorm, in thwarting the magical enemy that seeks to destroy their kingdom.

3. Shadow Swan: A 17-year-old honors student finds himself in another world over Christmas break, and ends up bringing home the princess he disenchanted, just in time for the spring semester.

4. The daughter of a successful cancer-researcher must try and heal a dying mob boss and decide what her relationship is to each of his three dynamic sons.

5. Stolen: A piano-scholarship university student finds herself in another world, needing to learn a new system of survival that works long enough to find her kidnapped infant and return home.”

I tried to make them intriguing and indicative of feel and content (e.g. #4 is a sort of romance, I think).

 

September 3

E, finishing up school: How do you say… B-i-t-c-h?
Me: What are you reading?
E: Oops. *P*-i-t-c-h.

Kim Eames: Oh, the heart attack that comes when kids ask something off-kilter like that.

Joshua Kugler: He could have been reading about dog breeding…
Me: He was in an English book put out by a religious publisher. Unlikely they’d be discussing breeding, even if it wasn’t 2nd grade.  Because of the goats and rabbits they already discuss breeding more casually than most of their peers are comfortable with.

Brooke Bonett: Lol.

~ ~ ~

New article up at Wyn: Is it Bad For Christians to feel Bad?

Western Christian culture has a special fondness for positivity and a suspicious unease about “negative” emotions. But does this actually reflect the Bible?

September 5

This is so SO great people! I wish everybody could learn this stuff!

If you are trying to help a friend heal from trauma, you need three key qualities: empathy, patience, and encouragement.
When the time comes, this is a conversation I would like to have with my son about how he looks at women.
natepyle.com|By Nate Pyle

 

September 6

E: This is the first time ever I cook for myself!

Amy Jane Helmericks's photo.
Rachel Feldhaus: How old is he?
Sarah Arnold: Oatmeal or noodles?
Teena Helmericks: That’s great, Elisha. Grandma is proud of you. Knowing how to cook is as important a skill for you as for your sisters.
Me: Elisha is 7.  He wanted oatmeal for Bfast, I told him it was time for him to learn how to make it himself (since I was making something different.)
September 10
ComicMix's photo.
September 11

Wow. And yay. And yes.

I am used to issuing tips and advice for persons who suffer from depression. I haven’t really described my own lately, because I thought it would be too painful. But since I’ve had a few good days …
thereseborchardblog.com
September 14

Melody found a vole nest, Teena. Jay talked to the kids about leaving the grown ups (biters) alone and let them play with the kits.

In the house. Iris was *very* intrigued.

Amy Jane Helmericks's photo.
September 18

Totally me.

If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like in my head (a few brave souls have wondered that aloud), here’s a good example.

A few weeks ago I went to the salon to get my hair cut. One of the little lifehack-y things I do is to think carefully about what luxuries I’d most enjoy, so that when Joe or my parents ask what I want for Christmas or my birthday, I can give them a list…
conversiondiary.com
September 21

So Jay asked me to YouTube this and decide if it’s something I can do, so we can do the testing ourselves.

I’m already experienced at giving shots and sewing (gaping flesh) wounds closed, so I suppose this is a reasonable progression.

Sometimes I think we’re weird. Sometimes I think we’re kind-of amazing.

A real short simple video on how to draw blood from a goat to things like CAE and CL testing. This draw went smooth but sometimes it can be difficult.
September 26

E, putting away clothes: Pants! Glorious pants!

I really need to teach him how to do his own laundry so he’s not waiting on me. :}

 

September 27

Writings from Dr. Philip Monroe on trauma, complex trauma, counseling, and recovery.
wynmag.com
Insights from Esad Boskailo, a Bosnian doctor who survived 6 concentration camps and is now a psychiatrist in the US helping victims with trauma recovery
wynmag.com
September 30

I think (as a writer) that perfectionism and writing go together better than most things.

That is, everything else you do, you just DO (or don’t because you know it won’t be perfect). With writing, everything you do is part of the process, and you can always remind yourself that “Now isn’t forever.” It is a fabulous step away from crippling perfectionism without surrendering that important part of you that desires excellence.

The familiar mantra, “real writing is re-writing” can remind us the great freedom we have as writers: we are not bound to what we first see. This trains us in the great freedom available in the rest of life as well, a freedom to explore and experiment and remember/realize that LIFE isn’t a finished product either!