Writing Journal

Okay, I'm not really writing anything new, per se.
Nor am I editing anything I have (or anyone else has) written, either.

I sort of took it upon myself to put together an Easter program, based off of a Sunday School lesson from Easter 2008.  That lesson consisted of our ward's Sunday School teachers taking turns reading from Bruce R. McConkie's final General Conference address, "The Purifying Power of Gethsemane."  The narration was spliced by the class singing hymns about the Atonement.  Unfortunately, Lucy* has my journal entry from that day so I don't even know if I noted all the hymns we sang.

I've been working on it for a couple of weeks.  The other day, I asked our ward music coordinator if she had talked to the bishop about an Easter program; she hadn't, so I shared with her that I was working on something that combined narration and music.  She said she suspects it will be a welcome suggestion. 

Thus far, I have the narration in 12 segments and 11 hymns in use.  I did a dry run the other day, using audio, and found it to be a little long.  So I combined two of the shorter hymns and cut a couple of verses from another.  I've made a few minor cuts to the narration, but it's hard to do that as a trial run as I don't know at what the time marks are for the cuts.  To cut some more of the time, I'm hoping to try what it sounds like with the choir coming in behind the narrator at one point.

To keep things spirited, I've been working on a couple of arrangements for some of the other hymns.  By which I mean changing who sings which lines, not changing the music or the lyrics in the slightest.  I'm really looking forward to hearing how everything sounds outside of my head, even if it's not the same and even if it changes.  Maybe someone from the choir will have an idea of how to better assign parts.

The next big step, which I'm hoping to do this weekend, is to actually decide which hymn goes where.
Once I've got everything set, I'll post it as a page, probably on both this blog and my main blog.  Not only would it make a rather long post (although I seem to be good at making those) but it's also less likely to get lost in the postings.

*(my comatose first generation laptop)

Writing Journal

This isn't so much an update as to what I have (not) been writing.
I haven't even been working on editing Family Lies.

I realized something the other day, about how I write poetry.  Most of it is inspired by people, most often how I feel or what I think about them.  But I don't necessarily write poems about people.  I've found that a lot of my poems are directed to people. 

Think Jim Croce

'Cause every time I tried to tell you
The words just came out wrong
So I'll have to say I love [or hate] you in a song

Reading Journal

A Thousand Bayonets by Joel Mark Harris


My rating: 4 of 5 stars


First of all, I would like to apologize for the time lapse between receiving the book from a goodreads giveaway and providing a review.

This is not my usual genre, but this book was nice. It really grabbed me in the middle, but I had to set it aside for a couple of days and I couldn't remember which "bad guy" was which. Also, I thought the language was a little cruder than it really needed to be. I agree with the other reviewer who mentioned the "John [verb]" formula. This story would have been a lot better had the writing not been so generic.
Even so, I'll probably read it again.

As a side note, Wiltore and Lewis remind me a little of Lassiter and O'Hara from the tv show "Psych."




View all my reviews

I think it may be time to sign up for another goodreads giveaway.  Now that I'm not slated to read anything heavy, like Paradise Lost or the Catechism of the Catholic Church.   I've started reading the book my dad published just before Thanksgiving.  It follows the cinematic career of Linda Blair, the little girl from the Exorcist.  Let's just say I wish he had given me a chance to read it before he sent it off to the publisher....

Reading Journal

Winter Lights: A Season in Poems & Quilts by Anna Grossnickle Hines


My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I've never seen quilts in this light before. The pictures are wonderful, and I'm so glad the grocery store had this in their bargain bin. The photography and quilting skills help me appreciate art in all it's forms. I plan on reading this book to any children I care for.

Personally not a fan of the poetry, but I don't hold that against the book.


Seriously.  Find this book.  If you've got kids in your life, buy it.  If you've got a quilter in your life, share it.  If not, just check it out.  I promise you won't regret it.

Reading Journal

I've hardly touched Family Lies.

I finished O! Pioneers last night, and found myself trying hard to figure out the relationship between Alexandra and Frank.  I've read the book a few times before, but this was really the first time I had thought about what goes on between these two.  And it may be a few more times before I understand it.

When I finished Old Border Road, I picked up A Thousand Bayonets.  I feel as though my reaction to it is common in the reading world.  I started off tentative about liking it and slowly made my way through the beginning.  Then, one night, I couldn't sleep.  So I read.  And I read deep into Christmas Eve morning with this book, getting wrapped in the plot.  It had finally started to move!  It wasn't earth-shattering to the point where I couldn't put it down (most books aren't), but it was better than I thought.

I can tell I'm nearing the end of something self-or-locally published, though, as the editorial stuff is starting to weaken.  One page has three consecutive paragraphs on the page starting with "John [verb]ed..."  But considering I got it for free, I like it better than the other one I won from goodreads.