I celebrated a big event that we’ll talk about soon by helping serve lunch to the Good Neighbor Meal participants. Our guests come from a wide variety of backgrounds, as do our volunteers. Today I’m going with a blog that is mainly photos. Because if you are looking at the photos, you will see that our nation is not as badly damaged in the race relations department as some would like us to believe.
I’ll put it simply: we had just about every ethnic group represented today in the serving line. Strangely enough, nobody once mentioned race. But gravy, chicken, green beans, smiling guests, pots and pans, and God’s love and our need to serve were all topics.
I am so proud to know these people, and to be associated with them in these good acts, that I sometimes tremble a bit.
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I have a favor to ask of my readers: would you kindly share this blog with your friends, family, and colleagues? We hit a million views in 2014, and while the readership continues a nice growth trend, it could be a lot better. Just hit the Facebook like button, share it on your timeline, tweet the blog with a link, and tell that person at the next desk that there’s this lunatic who writes about all sorts of stuff that they might like.
I appreciate your help. When we hit 2,000,000 readers I will give away something cool to a drawing from the subscribers (that’s the box on the right toward the top) who have helped promote this mess. No used sheets, probably not honey, more likely gift cards. Be a part of it. I’ll update from time to time where we’re at in the count. Thanks.
My friends and colleagues, I come to you in search of prayer this evening.
My dear friend Larry’s daughter, Jayne, has been diagnosed with cancer in the last 36 hours.
I am humbly asking all of you to pray as hard as you can. Engage your friends to pray. Please spread the word. Tweet it, Facebook it, blog it, ask your church to aim healing prayers at her and her family.
She is a dear girl whom I have met and love as a niece.
Thank you in advance for lifting her up in prayer.
We’ll get right down to the mugshot first. This is Michelle, and she’s driving the blog today:
Michelle Lim
I’ve known Michelle for years. She’s not just funny, but she’s brilliant as well. I’ve brainstormed with her on books and it’s a total blast (she’ll have to tell you that inside info later on, but no investigation by law enforcement thus far…) She’s also fun to just hang out with, as she’s a strange woman who writes. I am a strange man who writes. We are kindred spirits.
Today I’m turning the ranch over to her so she can talk to you about something very cool that happens in November, and a book she’s written to help you do just that one, singular task.
Ladies and gentlemen, give her a hearty welcome and read on. Michelle, It’s all yours.
3 Tips to Spark a Novel in 30 Days – Campfire Style.
Have you ever gone camping or trekking through the wilderness? If so, chances are you’ve had to start a fire. One of the most basic survival techniques becomes essential when left to your own devices in the wild.
To start it is essential to pick the right kind of materials. Dead tree wood is easier to ignite than the wood from a living tree. Small tree shavings or a scrap of paper can help the sparks ignite into flame. Flint produces sparks more quickly and eases the whole process.
Just as starting a fire requires certain materials and flint (if you aren’t amazing at rubbing sticks together), Idea Sparking a novel in 30 days requires the right materials and something to facilitate the sparking.
Writers who challenge themselves with the thirty-day novel have entered the writing wilderness and need to spark a story out of only what surrounds them. Idea Sparking: 30 Idea Sparks to Write a Novel in a Month is designed to help writers in the writing wilderness come out with a finished novel.
3 Tips to Spark a Novel in 30 Days:
1. Pack the right materials. Getting ready for NaNoWriMo, or the thirty-day novel journey takes purposeful planning. Pack all of the best snacks (some healthy ones for sure), get a water bottle (stay hydrated), and have a resource that gets your ideas flowing to propel you forward each day of the journey.
2. Gather a Support Team. Find encouragers to inspire you along the way. Someone who will keep you accountable for your goals, someone who will praise your efforts, someone who will watch your kids, someone who will cook dinner, and someone who believes in you no matter what. This team is super important if you plan to success. Let them be there for you. Lean on them. Return the favor next time.
3. Pack Flint. The flint is simply a resource that gets your ideas flowing and helps you to stay on track each day of the journey. It provides the spark that catches fire in your ideas and makes them come to life on the page.
Idea Sparking: 30 Idea Sparks to Write a Novel in a Month accompanies an author on a thirty-day novel journey. Daily idea prompts assist authors in finding the inspiration to write. With personal experience insights and goal setting reflections, this book is the perfect resource for the writer who wants to write a novel in a month, or the author looking for a resource for their everyday writing journey. What you will find in this incredible resource:
*A weekly inspirational focus to get you ready to write
*Daily Idea Sparks to spark your creativity and get you writing
*Mini writing craft tips that enhance your writing
*Daily Mid-day Milestones with thought-provoking questions to improve writing habits
*Weekly Check-Ups to retune your process to set you up for success
Have you ever done NaNoWriMo or written a thirty-day novel? What did you find the most helpful?
Author Michelle Lim is the Brainstorming/Huddle Coach with My Book Therapy Press and the Midwest Zone Director for American Christian Fiction Writers. Michelle’s Genesis winning romantic suspense is represented with Books & Such Literary Agency. Michelle’s New Release – Idea Sparking: 30 Idea Sparks to Write a Novel in a Month releases October 27th. Since her nonfiction book release, Idea Sparking: How To Brainstorm Conflict In Your Novel, through public speaking and online chats Michelle helps writers discover the revolutionary power of brainstorming to bring new life to their stories.
So, if that’s not enough, here’s some more about her:
I would like to announce that effective immediately I am without literary representation. I am striking out on my own. I am acting as my own agent. If it works for so many others, perhaps God will bless me as well.
I am not currently seeking an agent, but would gladly chat with you if you are an agent interested in me.
If you are a publisher, editor, or someone in need of top-shelf graffiti with semicolons, contact me directly, as I ‘m not bound by any previous negotiations and have a free hand with my novels (yes, plural.)
That is all. Have a blessed day.
Joe
I do want to remind you all to play nice with others and refrain from speculation and comment. If you wish to send me a message, put it in the comments, subject “message” and I’ll see it and delete it without publishing it.
Today’s blog will be brief. You should not set the bail for a crime for any reasons other than to make sure the suspect appears in court, and to prevent further heinous acts.
I’m speaking about the woman who ran down the crowd at the homecoming parade. She is being hit with bail in the millions (so far.) Is she a flight risk? No. Is she a menace behind the wheel? Yes. Is she seriously mentally ill? Apparently.
The proper solution is not to set a high bail for her, but to commit her to a mental institution for diagnosis/treatment. She’s not likely to charter a jet and grab her passport to flee to Belize. She might drive again. That’s bad. But that’s what speedy trials are for, not bail. If she did something, throw the book, lock her up after conviction, and be done with it for a long time.
Bail is often abused in this country. It is a surety to make sure you show up in court. The example of police officers arrested for manslaughter in the death of a prisoner is a great example. In Baltimore they made the bail much higher for those officers than required to “send a message.” Normally, people with jobs, families, and a stake in clearing their reputation would be given minimal bail or remanded on their own recognizance. Punitive bail is abuse of the system.
I don’t advocate ramming your car into a crowd for a drunken moment. But I’m equally sure that I don’t approve of political bail. Banana republics do that to keep their political enemies imprisoned.
That is all.
Drop by on the 29th (yes, this week!) for a guest blogger’s fine work. You won’t regret it.
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I have a favor to ask of my readers: would you kindly share this blog with your friends, family, and colleagues? We hit a million views in 2014, and while the readership continues a nice growth trend, it could be a lot better. Just hit the Facebook like button, share it on your timeline, tweet the blog with a link, and tell that person at the next desk that there’s this lunatic who writes about all sorts of stuff that they might like.
I appreciate your help. When we hit 2,000,000 readers I will give away something cool to a drawing from the subscribers (that’s the box on the right toward the top) who have helped promote this mess. No used sheets, probably not honey, more likely gift cards. Be a part of it. I’ll update from time to time where we’re at in the count. Thanks.
