Well, maybe not follies. Imagine, if you will, a time and place where the big, bad dog jumps back and forth with the vacuum cleaner, barking, and having a puppy fit over the very home appliance which cleans up her hair that has been shed like sprinkles from cupcakes. Goldie is such a goof. I’m not sure why she does that, she just does. Lexie has always ignored it as part of life on Raabe Ranch. We are nearly finished autumnizing our home. It looks nice if I must say so myself. Bright and happy. I like that.
I had a come to Jesus moment; a revelation; an incredible idea. I’m going to outline the rest of my chapters by scenes, to write with the six steps for scenes Sam told me about last Thursday. Multiple related scenes can make up a chapter. I think it’ll make it a lot easier to keep track of what I’m doing. While it’s great to believe you can just sit down and write on the fly, it’s really hard to resolve all the issues, keep the tense the same, even keep track of who does what to who (whom?), and why they did it. It’s a lot more complicated than it looks. And writers cannot let that intimidate them. The stories we need to tell also need telling.
Now, that said, I cannot imagine what drives Stephen King to write some of the frightful stuff he writes. I cannot imagine if he himself has inner demons in need of release, or it he just thinks of these things and keeps track of his nightmares. What do you think? I know he has many, many fans. I prefer not to have the bejesus scared out of me. (Or is it BeJesus?) Whichever, I think you get my drift.
This time last year, I honestly pictured myself at book signings, talking to people, sharing merch, and having people ask me when another book would be coming out. It is a powerful thought to hold. And I still expect it to happen someday. I do believe age gives me the confidence needed to do this. I still have some things to learn to make it successful. I’m already a patient person, and I know God will get me there when He thinks I’m ready. I trust in His will, seriously.
COVID has taught us a lot of things. I’m tired of the disruptions being blamed on it. Some of the political strife is intensified because people’s spirits are in a shambles. You add racial tensions, and it’s out of control. I read a powerful article in the past month, stating it’s an insult to Rosa Parks, MLK, and all the others to say there is not racial equality. After all, it is illegal to discriminate against a person of color, a different religion, sexual preference, gender, and the disabled. If you say there is no racial equality, you insult Rosa Parks, MLK, and everyone who fought so hard to get the laws changed, and some who died trying. Don’t belittle their life’s work. Think about that. BTW. It was written by a black woman.
Of course, I have music playing in the background while I write. I am able to write while listening to singing, some folks cannot. Of course, I listen subconsciously to the stories being told in the music. My favorite songwriters are the storytellers. The stories they tell, whether they be happy or sad, funny or serious, unique or shared by many, all help us express our feelings about the very same circumstances. I’d like to think I might be able to write the lyrics to a song someday. Just to try it. I took piano lessons a century or two ago. No, I don’t have confidence to sing in front of people. Or my dogs. I have no idea if I’m any good or not – the Choir nun used to make us sing in a high falsetto in Church, so it kind of ruined us for regular singing. We called her Sister Lulu.
I want to thank you for reading today, you know how I appreciate it. It will be unusually hot today in Nebraska, hope it’s done once Sunday is over. Hopefully, we’ll both have successful ventures today. I hope you accomplish all you want to. We purposefully rose early today so we would have enough time to get more done. It’s on track to be a great day of accomplishment. Hope yours is too! Be safe, courteous, and kind. If we all do that every day, the mood of our towns, cities, states and nation could start to calm down. It’s worth all of us working on. See you all tomorrow!
Kathy Raabe 