Why did the world not stop?

My coffee cup rises to hide my tear stained face as the car goes by. I suppose I could have chosen to keep my grief inside on the couch but my home is already too full of strewn tissues and tear stained pillows. This morning I mourn outside. I refuse to let my grief shelter me from the world. Well today I do. Maybe not yesterday and maybe not tomorrow but today I choose to move.

The slight breeze cools the tears as they fall, refreshing my hot puffy eyes. The bird's relentless worship takes no notice of my sobs, or do they? The traffic regularly and with routine drives by without notice of the one of the porch having one of the more intense few days of her life.

How does the world continue when I know there are so many people this very minute feeling so intensely? How does it keep moving when so many of us are forced to stop by the load of pain given to us by this hurting world? Does it not know that we hurt? We feel like we can't go on? Why did the world not stop?

Sadly, it our pain is not new to the world, it is only new to us. This moment, this pain is only new to me.

 I am both offended and yet comforted by the fact that the world is continuing  Offended that it has not stopped the very second my heart burst with the pain of losing such a dear friend  and then I realize if it stopped completely the pain would consume me. The breeze would have to stop and my tears would continue to burn my eyes instead of refresh them. The birds' worship would stop and I would not be reminded between sobs that there is a  creator. The heaviness of my pain would not be broken into by the bird songs  reminding me that there is something bigger, someone bigger that has got me in this. The world kept going for a reason.

Pain happens. Pain hurts and it is all too real. But the world continues and what at first appears like a big cosmic slap in the face turns out to be the therapeutic rhythm of a world that knows pain but keeps moving so we are not consumed by the pain. Our creator has chosen to help us move through the tragic parts of life by keeping His world going.

I almost missed that today as I hid behind my coffee mug. I almost stayed in the despair but the breeze, the birds and the traffic as observed from my front porch, told me different.  Yes our pain is real and it is devastating but God has ordered this world to keep moving so we do not get consumed by it all together.

I will continue to be in pain for a while, I will continue to cry and sob and wonder, but God will continue to minister to me through his people and world doing very ordinary things in extraordinary ways. I am thankful for this rhythm.


Dani, I already miss you reading my blogs, I miss your comments, I miss your smile and I miss your heart. Your  death has stopped my world and it will not be the same without you. But I will continue to move forward with your friendship etched my heart to work and live in a hurting world, because everyone needs to know they count. I hope you know that now my dear friend.
Allie

Choosing an Audience: Turtle Back Publishing News #8

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Turtle Back Publishing

Choosing an Audience. Most stores I converse with about my book ask the same questions. Who is this book written for?  Who is the intended audience? Age, gender, culture, situation, and topics all play a huge part in determining to whom you should be targeting in the stores. Valid questions for marketing  but is it really necessary to know your audience for the writing process itself? I know in previous newsletters I have suggested you write only for yourself, and I am still standing by that. If you begin your process of writing just for the sake of impressing others your writing will lack passion and sincerity. The readers will see through your scheme to appease them and in the end fail to engage with your book.  BUT if you are serious about putting your book out for publication then you must (unless you are okay with your books not selling or being noticed) you must engage in the process of knowing your audience in your writing process as well. I would suggest to any writers to write their story with only themselves in mind at first. Then after your first few drafts when the characters are more fully developed and plot lines make sense then turn to the point of view of the readers, and edit your story accordingly.            In terms of story, the only audience I have in mind is me. I’m very much aware that I can’t please everyone when it comes to story, so I might as well try to please myself. But in terms of communication with the reader, I am very aware of the audience.                 Readers can’t hear my tone of voice or watch my expressions; a sheet of white paper and a series of little black marks is all they have                   – and via that sheet of paper and series of little black marks I need to convey an entire universe, I need to make characters who breath. I can’t do that without bearing the audience in mind."  - Celine Kiernan     In the end your book is about communicating with a reader. If you do not speak their language you will fail to communicate, it is that simple. Write with the story in mind, revise with the audience in view. Write on my friends! Allie     We want to hear from you! Be sure to send us questions or ideas you have and we will try to include those in our upcoming newsletters. Remember these newsletters are only for those who sign up for it, so share this newsletter with a friend, family member or colleague so they can sign up as well.     Turtle Back Publishing is owned and operated by the MacPhail family, Turtle Back Publishing is a total family operation. From the initial conception of a book all way to the marketing and distribution, Turtle Back Publishing is proud of every book they publish. "A children's story that can only be enjoyed by children is not a good children's story in the slightest." C.S Lewis

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Why writers need discipline. Turtle Back News #7

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Turtle Back Publishing

Why writers need discipline Discipline: for most this word brings a strong reaction. Images of a  Drill Sargent barking commands, leaving no option but to obey or face consequences. How does writing require discipline? Does writing not depend upon a person's inspired mind to create new worlds and share new ideas with their readers?  How can one possibly force creativity into a place of discipline? The very idea seems counter-intuitive. Most writers fear if they force their writing, it will become stale and lack a genuine voice. Is it even possible to write with inspiration within the parameters of discipline? I think the question to ask instead should be, how to allow discipline to inspire your writing? Because lets face it, if you don't sit down to put words to paper, you aren't writing, no matter how inspired you may feel.  In order to achieve this, the word discipline needs a new tone, a newer meaning. Discipline needs to stop being a method to force yourself  into doing that what is difficult. Discipline, for a writer needs to become a method through which  a space is formed. A space where you allow yourself to put that which has taken shape in your mind onto paper in a readable manner.    "You need three things to become a successful novelist: talent, luck and discipline. Discipline is the one element of those three things that you can control, and so that is the one that you have to focus on controlling, and you just have to hope and trust in the other two."  — Michael Chabon   Discipline is essential in the writing process. The more I write the more I am convinced of this. Discipline in writing means, identifying  your distractions and eliminating things that while important do not need to be that minutes priority. Discipline is protecting your space by  carving out time in your schedule to write, no matter what. Discipline is sitting with a blank paper knowing it it will only get filled one word at a time, then taking the risk to write the first word. Discipline is taking the time to edit, rethink, rewrite, throw away and start over. Discipline is getting feedback when the last thing you want to hear is that your writing could be improved. Discipline allows your words to form into something beautiful, from the raw material in your head. Most writers have "real" lives that sadly demand our attention more than our writing does. Discipline for those of us, who have to push hard to find the time to write is essential most of all. Too many things become more important  and while I believe that writing is not the total purpose for myself on this planet, I also believe that is essential enough to ensure I have the time to do so.   Guard your time, and do not be afraid to become more disciplined. Write on my friends!     We want to hear from you! Be sure to send us questions or ideas you have and we will try to include those in our upcoming newsletters. Remember these newsletters are only for those who sign up for it, so share this newsletter with a friend, family member or colleague so they can sign up as well.     Turtle Back Publishing is owned and operated by the MacPhail family, Turtle Back Publishing is a total family operation. From the initial conception of a book all way to the marketing and distribution, Turtle Back Publishing is proud of every book they publish.

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