My space opera Brand & Bound is my pride and joy right now. LOL I'm proud of the fact I wrote the 100k piece in roughly thirty days. I'm proud that it's probably my strongest writing yet. Yet for half the time that I was writing it, I mourned the ending. I'd crafted a character ruled by honor, and in the end, he HAD to do the HONORABLE thing. So, it ended a bit tragically. The reaction I am getting as my dear friends critique this story is...well, volatile. LOL Granted, the piece needed an epilogue (I know, I know, Robin...it did! LOL)--so I finally wrote one. But the story ended the only way that Marco could have to retain his honor and integrity. No, it's not a happy slappy ending...but there is a book 2.
My point? Things in our lives so often do not happen the way we want them to. Case in point: getting a contract. If I'd had it *my* way, the thing would have been signed, sealed, and delivered, and I'd have money in the bank. God saw differently. And I'm so glad at least HE knows and guides my future, cuz if Ronie was in charge, I'd be in one heck of a mess.
Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.
"It will happen in God's timing." Yes, I know that's the truth. I know God has a plan for me and my writing. I KNOW this. So you would think it would be settled within me. Well, there's this little route from my head to my heart that seems...less traveled. LOL I struggle. Last week when I was doing my morning quiet time, I read 2 Cor 12:9-10 where Paul is talking about the thorn in his flesh. Do you know verse 9 says, "Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me." And in that instant, I heard God impress upon me that I'd been spending too much time at the wailing wall. He basically told me to stop asking Him to "fix things" and seek His grace to accept things and continue on. YEE-OUCH!! (I'm from Texas, y'all--I have a license to talk like that LOL). I realized I have been struggling against the very life God has ordained for me to have. The struggles are there to teach me. I no longer assume the bad times are an attack (although there have been plenty of those lately). I am confident my God knows the future. He has GOOD things planned for me. I'm not saying I have this "mastered." I don't. It's a day by day, minute-by-minute battle. I am learning to Let go, and let God.
So...I' keep writing. Whether I FEEL like it or not, I write. And besides getting Brand & Bound drafted into a proposal, I'm going to finish Midnight Zone. There. I said it. In public, even! LOL I'm even going to put a little ticker thing on the right hand side (as soon as I can figure out HOW. *grin*)
I challenge you to look at your life and ask yourself what things you're battling against that maybe God wants you to accept and move on. And what is there in your life that you're wanting changed, that maybe God has put there to teach you something? Are you like me--guilty of 2 Cor 12:9?? Accepting things...that brings The Serenity Prayer (and no, I'm not talking about the movie) to mind:
God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.
Amen.
--Reinhold Niebuhr
See ya on the flip side....
Great post, girl! All of it is so dead on. We persevere because we must, because God calls us to, for his glory. I think I finally understand what you meant by "stuck on stupid." LOL! Sometimes I'm just slow...
Hey there Speedy Gonzales,
I'm okay with sad endings if it totally makes sense. Chick-lit is like that--sometimes the girl doesn't WANT the guy. That's okay if it's been set up well.
Letting go and continuing on is a big struggle with me. I have this sense that I want to complete it, or fix it, or something before I can move on. But sometimes God asks me to just MOVE.
Camy
Well, I certainly needed this today. I'm glad you posted. It IS all about going on, pressing to do what God calls us to do...however, I sure wish He'd send me a road map sometimes because I'm often at ends on which way HE would have me go. SIGH.
Now about Brand & Bound...people, listen to me...I do NOT read in sci-fi genre, normally can't relate to it at all. But since Ronie's my cp and I love her, I began reading/critting her piece. In chapter 3 or so, I began to forget I was supposed to be critting. I got so wrapped up in these characters and the drama, that I would have to read chapters 2 or 3 times to actually crit it. Did the ending make me mad? Oh, you can not believe how angry. Sure, I understood WHY it had to end as it did, but had it been a book, I'd have hurled it clear across the room and not picked it up for days. Luckily, I have Ronie's phone number....after pouting and whining (my temper is NOT violatile, btw) she wrote an epilogue which doesn't change the ending to the story, but does, in fact, hint at more to come. In a way that totally would make me want to read the second book. So everyone pay attention....this book so rocks! It touched me deeply, even after the last page had been read. WHEN this is published, you simply MUST get this book...even if you HATE the sci-fi genre. It's worth it.
Very good post Ronie. :o)