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New Babies, BBQs and Friends
This post is much like my life…eclectic.
One of my favorite roles in life is that of Auntie. It’s like granny practice. Very early Friday morning, just a few hours after the close of my youngest daughter’s eleventh birthday, my new nephew was born. And he is soooo cute!
Each year we celebrate our youngest daughter’s birthday with a family barbeque. It’s a chance to spend time with friends, enjoy some not-so-good-for-you food and take in some sunshine. We’ve done this since she was quite little, and each year the rain takes a break for the party.
It’s become tradition to serve dirt pudding. Usually, I fill a couple flowerpots (specially reserved for pudding) and stick in a sprig of artificial flowers and a few gummy worms. This year I tried something different. They’re not as cute as the flowerpots, but the little dishes sure make it easier when close to thirty kids come at you wanting chocolate.
Click here for recipeAnother yearly tradition on the Nelson farm…the broken lawnmower. No matter how hard we try to be prepared, we can never anticipate what will bust. The other issue here is our not-so-much drainage. By the time we can drive a mower through the yard, the grass is knee-high. With only two hours until our guests arrival, my husband announced that there would be no revival of the rider that day.
I pulled the OLD push mower from the garage, hoping to at least chop down a patch of grass. I had to start by using zip-ties to hold the handle up. The throttle broke off many years ago, so it only has one speed. That lever you’re suppose to hold next to the handle, that piece that you let go of to stop the engine, it’s long gone. When the handle broke off during my oldest son’s turn at mowing, he had to reach way down and push the mower into a tall clump of grass to make the machine stop.
We borrowed a friend’s push mower. Wow. Did you know those things practically drive themselves?
The yard is still a jungle, but we did get that patch where we placed the BBQ and a few chairs. All those kiddos thought the tall grass was awesome. They played for hours out there.
All in all, it was wonderful!
How did you spend your weekend?
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Conference Season – Part 4 – My Book Therapy Retreats
Kimberly Buckner is here to share her experiences with the My Book Therapy Retreats. She’s not only an amazing writer and critique partner, she’s also a dear friend.
I was in my third year of writing with purpose when I found the edge of my ability. I’d been to conferences, local chapter meetings, read blogs. I’d heard the rules.
Show don’t tell.Use deep point of view.
Don’t head hop.
I had a pretty good idea of what to do, but couldn’t figure out how.
Then I joined My Book Therapy.
I arrived at Storycrafters, leaning on the guarantee that if I came with an idea, I would leave with a story.
Fourteen of us gathered in a quiet retreat center north of Minneapolis as Susan May Warren handed us the pieces of plot. I think we all know that a good plot has many layers. But Susie was able to show me what those layers actually are and how to build them. Over the two-day
period, she broke out character development, story structure, and scene structure.Susie taught each topic, dissembling the how into digestible portions. Then, there was time to actually try it as she came around and guided us forward individually. She helped with all
those things that everyone else seemed to get, but I just couldn’t sort out. I left a little overwhelmed, but with more tools and the knowledge to use them, right in time for NaNoWriMo.Over the next few months, my story grew. It was incredible to watch the plot emerge and
the characters changed as they were meant to.In February, I had my new story ready in time for Deep Thinkers, the second retreat in the MBT series. My writing had hit a new level, and I wanted to continue to improve. Deep Thinkers focused on the emotional development of the characters through the plot. This retreat definitely went through more technique than I could implement all at once, but slowly as I digested the knowledge, it sank in. Once again, the one-on-one time to talk about my specific strengths and weaknesses, to brainstorm, and to look at my personal work, was so
valuable.I came home with yet another roadmap, this time to write the second plane of my novel, and to take the plot points and make them impact my character, and hopefully my reader, to their core.
Now, the non-technical assets I gained? Aside from a few extra pounds from great food…cohorts. I’d call them friends but they’re more than that. In this solitary endeavor, it is refreshing to spend time with those who share a passion for story. I have gained brainstorming
buddies, encouragers, really a community of co-laborers. We keep in touch, spur each other on, and celebrate the milestones as they come.
So, am I there yet? Not by a long shot. But the MBT retreats showed me the how-to of good novel-writing. The small group and intense focus on craft have been the greatest assets I’ve found yet for my writing journey.
Kimberly Buckner is the charter president of ACFW – Arkansas chapter and continues to serve in this roll. She’s been a member of the Association of Christian Fiction Writers for four years and has had the wonderful opportunity to attend this conference each year, where she enjoys not being the only person who hears voices in her head, and tries valliantly not to gawk at her favorite novelists. She’s also a member of My Book Therapy, an educational forum for writers, and it was following a retreat with MBT that her second manuscript semi-finaled in the national ACFW Genesis contest and won the national Touched By Love contest. She has written several articles for her company’s newsletter, and the ARMM newsletter, and the MBT E-zine.Conference Season – Part 2 – ACFW
Conference Season – Part 3 – Inland Northwest Christian Writers Conference
And still to come…
May 4 – Christina Tarabochia – Oregon Christian Writers Summer Coaching Conference
May 11 – Karen Barnett – Mount Hermon
May 18 – Jodie Bailey – Blue Ridge
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Is it Worth the Time to Write?
My days are full.
I homeschool my younger two kiddos while trying to keep up with the school schedule for my high school kiddos. Afternoons are filled with sports, often four kids in four different activities. We live on a small farm with a horse, twelve sheep, a pig, two steers, two dogs, three cats and a guinea pig. This time of year the lawn always needs mowed and the lawn mower always needs fixed. The house…well, we don’t have a housekeeper and it shows. I could go on, but I believe you understand.
I’m swamped.
Is it even possible for a busy mom to find success in publishing?
Don’t count me out. Writing isn’t my hobby.
Most of us have a passion, something that’s part of who we are. Honestly, I believe that we all do, but my husband insists I’m mistaken. If you’re a runner (beyond my understanding), you run. If you’re a hunter, you hunt. If you’re an artist, you find time to create.
I AM a writer.
During seasons of our lives, such as when our kiddos are small, these passions may have to be modified. But modified doesn’t equal removed. Yes, sleep is important, but so is not losing who we are, that unique spark that God gave us.
Each day there are sacrifices I make to write. I work very hard to be sure the sacrifices are my own and not my children or my husband’s. That’s not always possible. When I leave town for a conference, they must take over. It’s a gift they give to me.
I’m not involved with a lot of church activities. A lunch with a friend is a very rare treat. When my kids are off having their own lives, I strap my fingers to the keyboard rather than take a nap or watch a film.
There are crumbs on my counter, no towels in the upstairs bathroom, the flowers in the vase are dead and no, that’s not a blanket over the television, that’s dust.
And I’m happy.
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People Watching
My oldest daughter and I were able to join kids and moms from our homeschool group for a field trip to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. The students studied Romeo and Juliet and were fully prepared to understand the play. After the curtains closed, we went to the lobby where one of the actors came out to answer questions. As the kids listened, I walked to a tall window and took in the view.
Ashland is a magical place, designed for people watching. As I watched an elderly couple walking together, I took note of how he tipped his head toward her and the way they navigated the brick walkway. They disappeared and my attention was drawn to a leaf-bare tree. I imagined how my protagonist would sketch the long reach of branches, and how she’d desire the supplies to add color to the background.
That’s when another couple walked by below the window. This young couple looked familiar and on my second glance I realized they were a prominent pair from the play we’d just seen. As the young woman came closer, I saw a cigarette in her hand. She took a long drag as she passed a white sign with bright red lettering, NO SMOKING.
Ten feet further and she tossed the butt toward a grate.
Only twenty minutes earlier she’d been someone else.
How often are we like that actress? Do we perform out in the world only to remove our masks at home for our families?
Well, that’s just something I was thinking about. Those of you who keep popping in here to read my random rambles are real troopers. Thanks!
