Emotion

Today when I was writing, I decided to listen to soundtracks. It's a common occurrence for me to come up with ideas via this route. The way the sounds make me feel will strike up an image in my mind, and then I can write about it.

It's amazing to me how the sound or the smell of something will produce an idea or a feeling. When you really think about it, the human mind is full of memories, and viewpoints.

Here's a really strange one for you. Every time I think of sneezing, I think of sitting in the backseat of the car with my mom and dad, pulling up to an old grocery store in my hometown, called Lammer's Food Fest. I can see the exact point on the road we are at. I couldn't really tell you why all this comes to my mind in a split second at the mention of sneezing, but it does. Perhaps I sneezed when I came to that point in the road. Maybe the giant "L" as the logo for Lammer's is shaped like a big nose and thus makes me think of big honkers sneezing. Haha...I don't know.

So when I listen to music, a multitude of memories pull together in my mind out of nothing. I think it's really neat to hear of C.S. Lewis putting together The Chronicles of Narnia all by starting with the image of a faun carrying packages by a lamp-post. That idea really carried off didn't it? :)

Creativity

I really admire people with a high sense of creativity. It really takes a lot these days to come up with a truly unique idea. I'm amazed by the amount of remakes and sequels there are in the movie theaters these days. And when you look at the line-up on TV, it's easy to tell that they have run out of ideas.

Sometimes I just stare out the window while my husband is driving the car and think of anything that I can. My goal is to think of things that people never thought before. If I can think of an idea and know that it was truly mine, it gives me a great sense of accomplishment.

In a way it kind of reminds me of when I was a little kid. One day I was strolling around by our mammoth-sized willow trees and a similar thought occurred to me. I thought about how everything I say has been said before by at least one other person in the world. The thought consumed me and made me so frustrated. In the midst of my angst I started jabbering the most strange sounds I'd ever made, just as an attempt to say at least one sequence of noises that had never been uttered before. Weird, right? Yes. But to me, it meant defeating the idea that everything has already been done.

My goal in writing is to do something that hasn't already been done. When I read, I don't want to read about things I already intricately know. Take me somewhere I never knew existed. Reveal to me characters that I will never be graced with the opportunity to meet. Make me aware of who I could be, what courage is, how beautiful the ordinary is, and how complex this life is. Give me creativity.

A Quick Update on My Novel

Yesterday I didn't write a whole lot, but I came forward in leaps and bounds in my ideas and plot twists.  I got a lot of help from my husband again.  I really don't know what I would do without him.  He forces me to not have writer's block!

I'm going to be picking up some books from the library on Wednesday so I can do some research  about the setting and formalities of certain things that are included in my book.

I've been working on re-writing my beginning so the first thousand words are out of this world.  I realized my beginning was too boring and wouldn't really give the reader any idea of where the book is going.  So I have included my best writing styles, (action, dialogue, emotion, awesome setting, foreshadowing...) and it is going well.  I have no idea how long this book is going to be.  The way we keep adding more and more complications to it, I'd say it will be pretty long, but you never know.  I need to figure out how many book pages are the equivalent of one Microsoft Word page.

Another little update on my life is that I can now read eBooks on my laptop.  I downloaded free software called Adobe Digital Editions, and I can download library books on there which is pretty cool.  I'm reading more than I ever have now that I'm writing a novel, because it's how I get full of creativity, and it helps me to see what I like about other authors and what I can do to better my writing.

I guess that's about it for now.  Back to writing!  And just in case I don't write another post for a while, I hope you all have a great Christmas!

My Book is Coming Along

The Prologue and the First Chapter are completed, and my husband is my editor for now.  We found some typos and I have corrected them, I've re-written paragraphs quite a few times and added in new twists and ideas.  I'm really excited with where it is going...I already know the ending.  My husband helped me with the idea for that.  Again, it's really exciting, and I will say that it is a Christian book about marriage, and it has fantasy elements that I liken unto Alice in Wonderland, but with a Karen Kingsbury type of flair to it all. :) 

That's all for now!  I have to retain my secrets...

The Unseen, Almost Co-Author (Drum roll please...) = My Great Husband!

If you knew my husband at all, you'd know he hates to write.  He sits down to write something and can't think of what to say.  It takes him a good two hours to write a couple pages of a letter.  Sometimes that's just how people are.  There really aren't that many people that actually do enjoy writing.

But, man, has he got some good ideas!  The best twists in my story have come from the mind of my husband.  He takes some of the corny ideas I have and make them into heart-pounding action, unexpected twists, and takes away all resemblance to overly-done same-plot every time Christian Romance novels. 

He tells me what he thinks would make a good turn of events or another thickening of the plot, and I most of the time disagree and say "Oh that would never work", but then I think about it and I find myself gasping, "How genius!  You're so imaginative!"  (Then I bow in humble adoration of the all-wise, mighty husband)  Just kidding.  But yes, he is good. 

We then continue our discussion and elaborate on the idea together, I give him ideas, and he takes off and hands me back some more ideas.  We go like his for a while until we figure we have covered that whole section and I realize that I know exactly what needs to be written and just how to do it.

I absolutely adore his ideas and as a team we have come up with some great ideas for my novel.  I wasn't sure how I wanted to end my story and now I have come up with an idea that I am actually thrilled about!  What would I do without my husband?  When we got married I realized how different we are, and I wondered why God would put us together, because we seem so opposite and have completely different hobbies and interests.  But over time, I have come to realize that God knew we would be perfect for each other, because we shape each other into a perfect balance of both of our worlds.

From the Random Question part of Blogger Profile...It didn't fit ! 400 characters is tooo short.

(The question was something like "The children are waiting.  Tell them a story about the frog with the wig.)  here is my quick answer which didn't fit in the box they allowed for on my profile...

Once upon a time, in a magical land of mischief and mayhem, there lived an evil witch who turned people into frogs.  One day, she came across a silly little jester entertaining some peasant children just outside the royal court, when she decided to make a show of her own.  She said a few unrecognizable chants, and "Poof!"  The little fellow turned into a frog.  He leaped away as fast as his slimy looking green legs could carry him.  He rested by a pond, but all he could notice in his reflection was how bald he had become!  He had loved his luscious blonde locks, and his face was quite often green with face paint anyways...but oh no! - not the hair!  He quickly sheared a large cat whilst it slept, and sewed together a fancy wig.  He lived happily ever after, as long as he had his wig placed upon his green little head.  The end.

Why I Write

Ever since Elementary School it has been my dream to write, and to have people read it.  I love the feeling of people reading something tangible that came from my mind, and actually enjoying it.

I remember my favorite thing in Kindergarten being a blank white journal with clear pages, in which we drew a picture and a single sentence about what we drew.  Of course, we could hardly write in Kindergarten so the teacher would translate our scribbles.  And in second grade, we wrote books, drew pictures, and bound them ourselves with copy paper, cardboard, fabric, and tape.  Not exactly professional, but very fun.  We entered them in a contest.  I didn't win, but I think it was due to my procrastination and sloppy drawings.

I remember writing a story about the tooth fairy, and a dragon in school.  I won 4th place in a state-wide essay contest for agriculture in Wisconsin, back in 4th grade.  If I had won 3rd I would have traveled to Madison for another contest.  Oh well.  Agriculture wasn't really my thing anyways.  I didn't know anything about farming.  I researched everything I wrote down.  Guess it paid off though, hey?

After Elementary School, I tended to keep all of my writing for myself, thinking that nobody would enjoy it.  After reading Harry Potter among other well-written books, I figured anything I wrote could never match up or even come close to the eloquence and imagination that these writers possessed.  Therefore, I locked my love of writing deep into a chamber of my heart, never thinking I would share it with anyone.

But, after becoming a born-again Christian when I was about 15, I realized that my whole life should be dedicated to God in any way possible, and that whatever gifts God had given me, I should use them, even if I am not the same as Rebecca St. James, or Nancy Leigh DeMoss, or Karen Kingsbury.  I am Carmen, and I am precious in God's sight, and a willing vessel of whatever He has planned for my life.

I was home schooled throughout high school, and I mostly took care of my elderly parents, or daydreamed about my then-boyfriend, now-husband, Zachary.  I didn't devote any time to writing besides recording notes from my devotional reading, journaling, or writing poems and letters for Zach.  I also played violin quite a bit, and I played for Zach's Junior Church class a couple of times, and before the congregation at my own small-town Baptist church.

After we got married when I turned 18, I got pregnant a month later, and really didn't do a whole lot during that time in my life besides try to get through the day.

But finally, after having our son, Ethan, I started to think about what I am really doing with my life, and how I can serve God with my talents.  I realized I wanted to write for His glory, and use my creativity in a positive way.  I started planning my first book.  Some of the notes I already had written out, that gathered dust in my closet.  I had the idea for the book back when I was home schooled, but added in most of the major twists after I got married.

I saw a need for more Christian books that aren't just about the amish, or cheesy romance.  I didn't want to write something that would be too Hallmark-y.  Real life isn't always a pocketful of daisies. I wanted to write a book that I would be happy to read.

Something with the adventure and creativity of Harry Potter, or Narnia, but with the exciting romance of Twilight, but without all the witchcraft and vampires.  Something clean that the whole family can read, without cussing or in-depth information about the intimacy between husband and wife.  I love fantasy books, and new worlds.  I hope to bring that kind of excitement to my books that seems to be missing in most streamline Christian books.

My hope is that through my writing, I might be able to show readers that a book doesn't have to defy God in any way, shape, or form in order to be an enjoyable read.  I even hope that by my writing I can touch people's lives by showing them the ways of God through my character's actions and motives.  I dream that my life could bring some light into people's lives, touching them with the redeeming love of Jesus Christ.  He is the only reason I write, and I pray that He will move you in your life as well as mine, to reach people through whatever gift He gives you.  To God belongs all the glory, I am just an instrument in His hand.