Pride and Prejudice

Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end; then stop.
                                                                                    --Lewis Carroll.


   I am proudly celebrating the above quote: I just finished editing my latest book.
  
   Sadly, the English language doesn't distinguish pride, the sinful attitude, from pride, the pleasure of doing a job well and knowing that you applied your divinely-granted skills aptly.

   Oh, the prejudice comes in about now: just like the proud grandparent, "Of course my grandkids are the smartest, kindest, and most handsome!" Likewise, the product of one's writing is seen with positive bias--that's why editors and discerning early readers are so deeply appreciated for their (honest!) feedback...if it's boring, I'll have a hard time telling, cuz it's my little baby and I just know that he's one superlative little feller!

   Now, the book has been flying off the shelves at national bookstores--well, okay, it hasn't actually been on the shelves, since I'm publishing it myself. That said, here's a sample, and it'll be on sale for $15 dollah, shipping included:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1TL0SUJDBKmR2p-lqaimC7bpBaqUvM5rrntdzSae0PhM/edit

   Remember, feedback is the true breakfast of champions...and I crave your input. Thnx!

Creativity, revisited

Creativity, revisited.

"...God, who gives life to the dead and calls into being that which does not exist." Rom. 4: 17.

**********

     To call something new into being is to imitate our Heavenly Father. Tonight, I am printing the first copies of my latest book: PROVERBS--Journeying to the Heart of God's Wisdom.
     I've been reading through the book of Proverbs several times a year for many years now. After reading that Billy Graham read a chapter a day of both Psalms and Proverbs, I thought that an excellent idea to emulate.
     While I have learned things both personally and regarding my business pursuits, Proverbs has so much in it that I have drafted a novel about the personification of wisdom.
     However, I decided to call into being a new work this year, based on Solomon's usage of the word "heart." Solomon uses this word, leb, some 94 times according to one source. The only other Old Testament writer to exceed Solomon's usage was his father, in the 150 chapters of the Psalms!

     In writing this book, I've learned a lot, and hope that my readers may derive fruit from my own pursuit of wisdom! May my puny efforts at creativity bring glory to our great Creator!


Link to sample:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1TL0SUJDBKmR2p-lqaimC7bpBaqUvM5rrntdzSae0PhM/edit

Discover something new every day.

Discover something new every day.


   Thanks, Daniel, for the link http://tinyurl.com/clwfas7 containing that quote. One of my past pursuits, which I intend to resume, was to challenge myself to write a poem a day. It has been said that despots particularly feared poets and playwrights, as their use of language bored holes through walls, leapt over fences, and crossed boundaries that could not be defended by armies of mere mortals.

   Yellow fire above
Fights cool breeze successfully
   Heliotherapy wins.

   (Guess what: I just sat outside, reading in the sunshine. Ahhh...definition of a very fine day!)


   I am fond of the discipline of the haiku--it squeezes out excess verbiage--something all (good) writers should appreciate, and which we fledgling writers aspire to. (Hmmm, does J. Joyce fit in the "good writer" category?)
  
   Black words, white paper
Truth is black and white. I hope.
   Better yet, I pray.



   "Behold, I make all things new."