Open Mic Wednesday 8/25/10
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
It’s Open Mic Wednesday. What’s on your mind?
A very happy fifteenth birthday to my only niece, Michaela!
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Books by Kaye Dacus
Novel in Progress
Follow the Heart*
Book 1 of The Great Exhibition Series
Due May 1, 2012
first draft completion goal date: 01/31/12
*working title
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Middle Tennessee Christian Writers
First, happy birthday Michaela!
What’s on my mind? I have a list of things I know I need to do before I leave for ACFW. One of those is shop for an outfit for the banquet. Suggestions?
It’s dressy to semi-formal, so something a little fancier than what you’d wear to church would be appropriate. (If you can afford to buy something specifically for it, Dress Barn has great semi-formal dresses/tops/jackets that are perfect.)
Very happy birthday to your neice..nice cake.
I wish it were real instead of just a photo I pulled from some bakery’s website and doctored with her name!
What’s on my mind? The book I finished reading last night, Charles Martin’s THE MOUNTAIN BETWEEN US. This was my first Charles Martin book. What an incredible story of wilderness survival, love, and healing. The stakes for these characters, Ben and Ashley, are so off the scale, emotionally and physically, I could hardly put this book down.
Anyone else a Charles Martin fan? Add my name to the roll!
I’ve never even heard of Charles Martin. Sounds interesting.
I zipped into the library this morning and checked out another of his books, WHEN CRICKETS CRY, and doggonit if I haven’t been sucked in already. I must not let this happen. I have my own writing to do this week. Time to practice self control.
Kaye, if you read any of his books, I’d love to know what you think. I want to own my own copy of MOUNTAIN, to read again. It’s the story of wilderness survival, and the story of what real love looks like. A journey from brokenness to healing.
And happy birthday Michaela!
Happy Birthday Michaela!!
The cake is Awesome!
Not much is on my mind. I just want some sleep!!! I was up late last night, playing games and watching movie with my sister in law and cousin. (My cousin leaves Friday for college, I’m going to miss her SO much!)
Oh and i just got Surrender The Heart from my friend, Its SO good! Have any of you read it yet?
Last night we watched the Last Song. Its a great movie! It was SO sad!!! I cried….
For some reason, I’ve been feeling the need to sleep between 10 and 12 hours every night for the past month or so. It’s really wreaking havoc with my ability to get much of anything done during the day.
But it sounds like y’all had a lot of fun!
You too? This is so weird. I’m not getting that much sleep, but I am so unusually tired lately, like walking around the grocery store this morning feeling like I was dragging an anchor behind me. I just might try getting an extra hour or two tonight and hope that helps. Sweet dreams!
Here’s a question that’s been on my mind, due to a discussion on a writers’ e-mail loop I’m on . . .
Is it “good enough” that Christian films and books present the gospel, even if they’re mediocre when it comes to craft (acting, directing, script, storyline, craft of writing, plot, character development, etc.)? Should we spend our time and money viewing and promoting films and books that are “Christian” in nature but aren’t necessarily “good”? Or should we hold “Christian” movies and books to the same standards as general market films and books and be honest enough to say when something isn’t well made/well written?
That’s a tough one, because it can be so subjective in both books and movies. I have a friend who will NOT watch anything with a certain actor in it. In her mind, because he is in it, it’s no good. I, personally, have loved everything I’ve ever SEEN with this actor in it. I’m not a fan of melodramatic books and movies (sorry Nicholas Sparks fans), but they’re wildly popular and in the eyes of MOST, very well-done. I’ll admit, “Facing the Giants” wasn’t the greatest film ever made, but it moved me to tears and changed me just a little, inside, when he had those kids doing drills and they were achieving more than they ever thought possible. God can use the best, or the worst. We just have to let Him.
I think we need to set our standards higher than the world since we serve the God that created creativity. Usually when I hear “well, it’s Christian so it’s good enough” that means “I don’t want to put the work in to make it really good but Christians can’t criticize me for substandard work.”
Great topic! I definitely think Christian artists should try to produce the best pieces possible. I don’t think we can always compare them directly to non-Christian books or movies. Not because the standards should be lower or higher, but simply because the reasons for creating won’t necessarily be the same. Will a Christian filmmaker spend millions on special effects? Probably not because that’s not the point.
What’s on my mind is the devotional I’ll be giving on Saturday at the MTCW mini-conference and how it’s not written yet. I’m planning to try and knock it out tonight. I have ideas but nothing that seems good to me.
Will Johnathan Clements be staying for lunch? If he is, I have a joke to include in the devotional if he is because without him there it won’t be as funny.
Yes, he is planning to stay for lunch.
No, it is not good enough.
The analogy that comes to mind is a Christian singer. The lyrics may be inspirational and the melody may lyrical, but if the singer doesn’t have the right voice, it’s a bad experience. Especially with films, the craft must be top-notch. We are such a visual culture that bad editing or poor character development can really affect the impact of the film, no matter how inspirational/Christian the message. In my opinion, “Letters to God” was a film with a great message but incomplete delivery.
Hmm- what’s on my mind? Thinking about how fast my son is growing up. Today was his first day of Kindergarten. I need to really treasure the moments God gives us- big and
small.
Got Love Remains in the mail yesterday and thanks to over an hour and a half spent at Auto zone waiting for a part for my mom’s car, got quite a bit read and just finished it today. Going back through it to write down a thought or two and then will review it on a few sites as promised!
Enjoyed it very much!