I Just Might Try This
I’ve been considering having a go at National Novel Writing Month this November. From the site:
National Novel Writing Month is a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to novel writing. Participants begin writing November 1. The goal is to write a 175-page (50,000-word) novel by midnight, November 30.
Valuing enthusiasm and perseverance over painstaking craft, NaNoWriMo is a novel-writing program for everyone who has thought fleetingly about writing a novel but has been scared away by the time and effort involved.
Because of the limited writing window, the ONLY thing that matters in NaNoWriMo is output. It’s all about quantity, not quality. The kamikaze approach forces you to lower your expectations, take risks, and write on the fly.
Make no mistake: You will be writing a lot of crap. And that’s a good thing. By forcing yourself to write so intensely, you are giving yourself permission to make mistakes. To forgo the endless tweaking and editing and just create. To build without tearing down.
As you spend November writing, you can draw comfort from the fact that, all around the world, other National Novel Writing Month participants are going through the same joys and sorrows of producing the Great Frantic Novel. Wrimos meet throughout the month to offer encouragement, commiseration, and — when the thing is done — the kind of raucous celebrations that tend to frighten animals and small children.
In 2006, we had over 79,000 participants. Nearly 13,000 of them crossed the 50k finish line by the midnight deadline, entering into the annals of NaNoWriMo superstardom forever. They started the month as auto mechanics, out-of-work actors, and middle school English teachers. They walked away novelists.
When I used to write a lot for my job, I often found the only way to get something written was to close the door, strap myself into the chair, and write like a mad man for however long it took to get a draft out. Doing that for 30 days straight sounds like a death wish, but it might be fun.
Republican Debate?
Power Line thought the debate was at 8 pm Sunday, but it turns out it was at 7 am! Who knew? I agree with Scott Johnson: “I’m not sure why anyone would schedule a debate at 7:00 on a Sunday morning, unless the idea was to make sure hardly anyone would see it.”
I watched parts of it early Sunday on C-SPAN. I heard a lot that I like, and I think the Republicans have some strong candidates. Mitt Romney, when asked what was one of his most regrettable mistake, cited his support for abortion rights in Massachusetts when he was personally opposed to abortion. Mike Huckabee spoke strongly in support of the fair tax.
Best statement? Tom Tancredo, on his most regrettable mistake: “I have no doubt of what the greatest mistake in my life has been, and that is that it took me probably thirty years before I realized that Jesus Christ is my personal savior.”
Amen.
Censorship as a Form of Terrorism
Cambridge University Press was sued for libel in Britain by Sheikh Khalid Bin Mahfouz, who the American authors of Alms for Jihad: Charity and Terrorism in the Islamic World, Robert Collins and J. Millard Burr, described as associated with businesses and charities that financed acts of terrorism in the 1990s. Rather than try the case, Cambridge settled, agreeing to apologize to Mahfouz, destroy all remaining copies, pay damages and court costs, and ask approximately 200 libraries to return their copies. The total number printed was 1,500. Mahfouz has successfully sued or settled with different authors four times now.
You can read about it here:
Libel Suit Leads to Destruction of Books
Cambridge University Press’ apology
Erin O’Connor, writing at Critical Mass, has a good summary of the issue as well as information on other suits filed by Mahfouz.
In some ways, I fear tactics like this (censorship, intimidation) that slowly chip away at our basic freedoms (that I too often take for granted) more than I do those employed by terrorists.
Update: Please read Jeffrey Breinholt’s summary at Counterterrorism Blog of libel cases filed by Islamic organizations. (h/t: Stanley Kurtz at The Corner)
Keeping Up With the Joneses in Delhi
Emily Wax writes today in the Washington Post about a growing trend in India’s large cities — extravagant birthday parties for young children, complete with catered buffets, moon bounces, performers, and elephant rides. The parties are rivaling the extravagance of Indian weddings and are becoming a growth industry in and of themselves. And parents are attempting to outdo each other:
“The birthday party is the new wedding in India, and the sky is the limit,” said Rakesh Gupta, a party planner who has seen his business double in the past few years. “It’s a serious industry now, and people want to spend lavishly and outdo each other. People in India don’t like to save. They want to enjoy life and live for today after so many years of poverty and struggle.”
Sounds like the US to me.
I’ve been to a few lavish birthday parties for children here in the U.S., so I don’t think India has cornered the market on this, but it’s interesting to observe the parties as another example of the rise of India’s upper middle class. Wax also describes the dramatic gap between the rich and the poor in India, something that becomes more apparent to me every time I visit.
As for extravagant Indian weddings, mine (yes, I was married in Delhi) was a bit more modest: I didn’t get to ride in on a white horse. But I did get to wear a turban!
A Favorite Quote from John Stott
Earlier today I mistakenly attributed the post referred to below to the blog’s owner, Justin Taylor; instead, the author of the post was Tullian Tchividjian, who is guest blogging for Mr. Taylor this week. My apologies to both. And, please read Mr. Tchividjian’s explanation for his interesting name.
Justin Taylor Tullian Tchividjian at Between Two Worlds expresses his appreciation for the work of John Stott and provides a few of his favorite quotes.
For the past few years, I’ve subscribed to a mailing list that provides a daily quote from Stott’s writings. Over the course of a week or so, the quotes address a particular theme, such as “Politics and the State” and “Christianity, Religion and Culture”. Here is one of my recent favorites, filed under “Evangelism and Social Action”:
Evangelism is the major instrument of social change. For the gospel changes people, and changed people can change society. (Issues Facing Christians Today, London: Collins/Marshall Pickering, 1990, p. 71)
Justin Taylor also linked to an essay on Stott by the New York Times’ David Brooks a few years back that is a great description of the man and his work.
Sarcasm is One Thing . . .
Rudeness and hatred another. Michelle Malkin, Power Line, and Volunteer Opinion Journal (via Instapundit) cover the online left’s insane remarks about Chief Justice Roberts’ accident and hospitalization yesterday.
My prayers and concerns are with him and his family.
Christmas in July
My order from Desiring God’s recent “All Books for $5″ sale arrived yesterday. It includes
- Desiring God
- Don’t Waste Your Life
- When the Darkness Will Not Lift
- What Jesus Demands from the World
- God Is the Gospel
I will try to post my thoughts on a few of these as I read through them.
Japanese Knotweed, Part 2
Lifehacker writes of an article by the Nature Conservancy on invasive plants and how to fight them. The article isn’t really that helpful; its suggestions for combating the spread of invasives include replacing invasives with “non-invasive alternatives” (Hmm, maybe native plants? But, first gotta remove the little devils, and how to do that?); volunteering at your local park to help remove invasives (you are welcome to come volunteer at the small park in my backyard, thanks in advance); and, best of all, donating to the Nature Conservancy!
I suppose my chosen method of ripping the beasts out root and all and applying a good dose of glyphosate (just follow the directions on the label) is a little too aggressive.
Three Great ESV Bible Tools Added
I’ve added three tools, all based on the great web services provided by the ESV website, to this blog that each help the reader experience God’s word.
The first is a daily RSS feed of a verse from the ESV Bible, just below the search box on the right side. I learned of this feed from the ESV Bible Blog, which described Paul Klenk’s reasons for displaying the feed on his blog. Paul explains how the feature “sets the tone for all my other content”.
The second, also inspired by Paul’s blog, is a search box for the ESV. You can enter a book, chapter, and verse from the Bible, or keywords from a favorite verse, and the relevant verse(s) will appear in a new window. Thanks Paul!
The third feature is a WordPress plugin, written by Chris Roberts at Exploring the Mystery, that recognizes and formats Bible verses in blog posts. Chris provides a good description of how the plugin works, but as a quick example, by simply including a verse in a post, like Romans 10:9, the plugin will create a hyperlink to the verse at the ESV website. The plugin was easy to install, and Chris’ instructions are clear and easy to follow.
Toastmasters
I joined Toastmasters at work a little over a year ago. I’ve only given two speeches (don’t want to rush things you know) but along with table topics and evaluating fellow members’ speeches, I’ve learned a lot and have definitely become more comfortable in front of an audience.
Lifehack.org has a good post on why joining Toastmasters might be a good idea.