Hey, all you writers out there, I have a favor to ask! I need to be in a writing/critique group, and I’m not sure where to start. I would be happy to either join one that already exists or start a new one.
I’m kind of out in the boonies of Sanpete, Utah, so I can’t meet in person very often. Most correspondence would have to take place online. I mainly write LDS nonfiction, so it would be good if it were an LDS group that can help me keep doctrine pure, but most of what I have so far is memoir type stuff anyway. I have done a tiny bit of fiction, but not much. Are you in a writing group that needs another writer? Do you know other LDS writers that are looking for a critique group? Please let me know! Either comment or email me. I know there are a lot of opportunities for writers living near the city, but it’s hard for me to get up to Salt Lake or Utah county, so your help would be appreciated!
I live in a mansion. There are so many rooms, and so many doors, that it would take more than a lifetime to explore what is in them all. From one room, I can explore the sciences, and watch the progression of the stars and planets. I can chart the known universe and discover things that it has taken mankind centuries to understand. From another, I can learn the religions of the world, make connections with things divine, and come to a deeper understanding of why people are the way they are. From another, I can become my own symphony, and follow the practices of the master composers. I can perfect the principles they have learned and carry them on to new levels. There is a room in my house where I can practice medicine and learn how the human body works. In this room, I can also learn how to strengthen the powers within my own body through exercise, activity, proper nutrition and rest. In one of the larger wings of my mansion, I can enter a fantastic world with creatures and people that most people only meet in dreams and movies. I can converse with them, and in essence, leave the world entirely through time machines and spaceships. I have rooms that bare the perfect resemblance of locations all around the globe. I have been to Egypt, China, South America, and Africa without having to leave my home. In my favorite room, I have met the Savior and His prophets. I have come to know God, and converse with Him regularly. I have met Adam, Enoch, Abraham, and John the Baptist. I have met the reformers and those who took part in the great restoration of the Gospel. I have visited many of the rooms in my mansion, and plan to visit many more.
My house is small, and my means are meager. But in every room, there are books.
Do you ever get so involved in a story that you feel like shouting at the characters: “IF YOU WOULD JUST…” with a list of things they could say or do that would really help? Do you ever feel like you would like to write a novel, but don’t want to do the work? Have you ever read a novel where you can strongly influence the outcome of the story? Do you enjoy mysteries, and wish you could participate in actually solving the mystery rather than just reading about other people solving them?
The Synergetic Novel is a new approach to fiction. The idea is that the administrators write the novel, but you – YOU get to suggest what the characters do. You can adopt a character and make suggestions for the choices that character makes. Much deeper than a choose your own adventure book, since your choices are limited only by the context of the story and your own imagination. You can read more detail about how it works at What is the Synergetic Novel?
You can also use comments to discuss what is happening, solve mysteries within the story, and interact with other participants.
Participation doesn’t take much time – just enough time to read the latest entry and thirty seconds to drop a note of what your character should do next. If you want to get more involved, participate in discussions and help search the Internet for other clues.
It was a very dull day at at the bookstore as I leaned against the counter, chin in hands, waiting for something to happen. One of my coworkers stood only a few feet away, bored as I was. “So,” I said, trying to break the monotony, “What should I do to revolutionize the course of the world today?” He thought a moment. “Got any bombs? You could always blow up an important building somewhere.” “That’s true. But I don’t have any bombs. Besides, that’s a bad thing, and there are plenty of bad things going on all the time. I need to find something good to do.” “That’s true,” he replied. Then we both fell back into silence.
I began thinking more about our conversation. What could one do to revolutionize the course of the world? What about the universe? Could one person effect the destiny of the universe? There have been many people who have changed the course of life on this planet; Thomas Edison invented the light bulb. George Washington led a revolutionary war that led to the foundation of what might be considered the most powerful nation in world history. But did those things change the destiny of the universe? It occurred to me that the person who best fit that description would have to be Jesus Christ. Not only did he save the destiny of every person who would ever live, but He provided a way for us to become like His Father. Now there’s a new approach to the question. If I have potential to become like my Father in Heaven, then certainly I have power to effect the destiny of the universe.
So I guess the next question would have to be, what can I do today to best effect that progress? Of course, a response as broad as “live the gospel” wasn’t really a sufficient, since I had been striving to do that my whole life. Then I realized that I was in the process of beginning one of the major aspects of the perfecting process. I was about to get married in the temple. I decided that maybe the best thing I could do to work toward that goal would be to strengthen my relationship with Jenni. How could I do that? That question is easy. I could be kind and loving to her. I looked around the store. Everything was quiet, normal, ordinary. Customers came in and left. Employees straightened bookshelves or stood patiently waiting for something to happen. I had a date with Jenni scheduled for that night. I decided that tonight I would change the course of the universe - I would show love and kindness towards her.
If someone had asked me in grade school what my dad did, I would probably have told them that my dad is a fisherman. I didn’t know what he did for work, but I did know that he was a fisherman in his free time. It was his favorite pastime, and he was really good at it. He didn’t much go for worm fishing, and he certainly was never big on plopping the line in the water and sitting back waiting for the line to pull. Dad was a fly fisher.
He loved fishing the rivers, outsmarting the fish using strategy and skill rather than passive chance. With fly fishing on a river, the fisher must cast the line upstream, getting the fly to float unsuspectingly over the best part of the fishing hole. Dad also tied his own flies. This was itself quite a skill, as it took the most precise thread-work. He had a cool fly-tying kit, as well as materials for making flies, such as threads, feathers, animal fur, or whatever was necessary for the desired effect. The idea is to emulate as close as possible the look of a real fly. I remember him making Cadiss flies, Mayflies, and even ants and grasshoppers.
He still fly-fishes and makes his own flies today.
I remember one particular fishing trip when I was young where we Read the rest…
If you have ever performed in a talent show, concert, or recital, you know how much stress it can be. And if it’s scary for adults, imagine how terribly frightening it must be for a child. They take piano lessons, practice their little hearts out, and then do what few adults will agree to do – perform. That’s the subject of Alison McGhee’s picture book, Song of Middle C, illustrated by Scott Menchin, and published by Candlewick Press. It is about a little girl preparing for her first piano recital. The poor kid works her heart out committing the music to memory, and prepares in every way she can imagine, including bowing in front of the mirror and wearing her lucky underwear! Then when she gets up to play, she freezes – the whole piece erased from her mind. She sweats, she worries, and she nearly panics. Perhaps the story would have come to a rough ending if the girl didn’t have such a fantastic piano teacher, who taught her to not be concerned about length of time, to recognize the value of middle C, and to use her imagination. With these tools, the little girl finds that the music itself can carry her through – even if the music she plays isn’t the music she planned!
One of the unique things about this book is that it goes into the more enjoyable parts of music. Rather than simply following the typical pattern of ‘learn your sheet music and then play it right,’ Alison McGhee illustrates the value and power of improvisation, and how music itself can be the guide in deciding how to play and what to play. This is a great lesson to learn - and the earlier a person can learn it the better, because when your memory fails you on stage, your emotions are still in tact (though seared slightly!), and can guide you to still make beautiful music. Music is a thing of the heart, andSong of Middle C demonstrates that well. Song of Middle C is a fun read, and a must have for parents with young children in piano lessons. It will help them prepare for their own recital, and teach them the power of music itself when guided by the imagination.
Even Lunch Bucket, who is only three years old, loves the book, and insisted after our first reading of it that she needs her own pair of lucky pannies!
We know from the scriptures that “the preaching of the word had a great tendency to lead the people to do that which was just—yea, it had had more powerful effect upon the minds of the people than the sword, or anything else, which had happened unto them…” but what about when even that is not enough? When Alma went to preach the gospel to the Zoramites, he had great success. But when all was said and done, there was still great wickedness among the people. So Alma changed his approach slightly. What did he do?
Alma 35:15-16
“Now Alma, being grieved for the iniquity of his people, yea for the wars, and the bloodsheds, and the contentions which were among them; and having been to declare the word, or sent to declare the word, among all the people in every city; and seeing that the hearts of the people began to wax hard, and that they began to be offended because of the strictness of the word, his heart was exceedingly sorrowful.
“Therefore, he caused that his sons should be gathered together, that he might give unto them every one his charge, separately, concerning the things pertaining unto righteousness. And we have an account of his commandments, which he gave unto them according to his own record.”
He went to his sons and taught them. He went back to the Read the rest…
I don’t know if playing music by ear is a gift that can be inherited, but if it is, I can’t take full credit for what I have learned. I have a long ancestral line of musicians, including trumpeters, harmonica players, singers, band leaders, songwriters, whistlers, and of course, piano players. My Grandpa Hathaway played the piano by ear. I never asked him what kind of technique he used to learn what he played, but I have vivid memories of watching his fingers dance across the keys as the sounds of Beautiful Dreamer and Memories filled my grandparents’ living room. Their house always had a classic, well-cared for style, with curio-cabinets and intricate mementos of their lives and era. The piano was situated in the tightest corner of their beautiful living room, with only enough room for the piano and a player, but the music carried throughout the whole house. Not only did Grandpa teach himself to play that piano, he essentially put the thing together himself – at least after taking it completely apart. When he and Grandma bought it, they wanted to put it in the downstairs living room, but their stairway was too narrow for a full-size piano. So Grandpa disassembled the whole thing – with every key removed, and took it down into the living room in pieces. Grandma hassled him that he would never be able to get the thing back together, but he did, and it is still there today. I suppose that piano will stay with the house forever. We had a piano in our living room, too, though we didn’t have to take it apart to get it there. I was fourteen when I decided I was going to really learn to play the piano, and that year Grandma and Grandpa Hathaway came for Thanksgiving Dinner. During those contented hours between the feast and the serving of pie, I found myself Read the rest…
Okay, so obviously the most ideal way to get an education in most fields is to go to college, and for many jobs out, it is required. But let’s face it, there are so many fields out there. If you’re like me, you have so many interests that it is impossible for you to get a college education in all of your interests.
Also, many people are not in a position to go to college at the moment.
Here are a few ideas for getting an education outside of the school system:
Internet Sources:
The Internet has an endless supply of phenomenal information in thousands of fields. You’ve just got to know where to look for it. Here are a few sites I like – (maybe not Ph.D material, but interesting stuff nonetheless):
http://google.com - good ol’ Google search. You can learn just about anything with that… *
http://www.youtube.com/edu – you know about Youtube. Well, this is a branch of Youtube that specializes in good educational material. Not just anyone can get stuff on here, so it’s a big step up from regular Youtube, and it’s a fun source of learning in all kinds of fields.
http://www.ted.com/ - again, not a place to earn a degree, but if you want to get excited about learning, this is a fun place to go. TED is a collection of fascinating lectures (yes, lectures CAN be fascinating!) that give an interesting perspective on various fields.
http://www.openculture.com/2007/07/freeonlinecourses.html– if you prefer getting your information from reputable colleges, here’s a directory of podcasts that are done by colleges such as Stanford, Harvard, Yale, etc. Just putter around the site to find the subject you’re looking for.
Books
Check the Thrift Stores: As soon as a book becomes obsolete (by college standards that can mean the book has been published for a year and a half and now the photos in the book need to be reorganized), the thrift stores such as D.I. fill up with college textbooks. After I paid nearly $100 for an astronomy book in college, I found a stack of twenty of them at D.I. the next semester for two bucks a piece. Ugh… but that’s good for people who are wanting an education outside of school.
Libraries: They’re still around, believe it or not. In this “Google any question” era that we live in, this is easy to forget. Pick a topic, go to the library, and read all you can on the subject.
School libraries: Most school libraries are open to the public. You may not be able to check things out without a student card, but you can read what you want while you’re there, and if you take your digital camera, you can get instant copies of pages you want to read more about.
This is NOT a comprehensive list. Fill us in! What ways have you found for educating yourself on different topics?
* Clearly there is a lot of junk out there, and one of the great purposes of education is to train you to recognize credibility and bias. You need to learn to check the sources on information. Just because it sounds legit, or the information is worded in an educated manner doesn’t mean the content is of any real value. The best lies are coated in great disguises. So check your sources!
How many times have you read first Nephi? If you are like me, you’ve probably read it at least twice as many times as you’ve read any other book in the Book of Mormon. Thank heaven Nephi does such a great job in his first book. But then what happens? You’re reading along, having a wonderful spiritual experience. You’ve finally gotten back into the habit of reading the Book of Mormon every day. You’re so proud… er… uh, pleased with yourself. Then all of a sudden you read a verse that says:
“…kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers; they shall bow down to thee with their faces towards the earth, and lick up the dust of thy feet…”
“Uh, okay…” you think to yourself, “I’ll just file that away into the back of my brain and get back to the good stuff.” So you continue reading. It doesn’t take you long to figure out that the strange Hebrew poetic writing doesn’t go away. It lasts till the end of the chapter, then continues on to the next, and the next, and the next. Before you know it, you’ve lost your daily habit and you’re hating yourself for not being able to work through the Isaiah barrier.
Sound familiar?
Let’s explore some ideas for getting through the Isaiah barrier without too many permanent scars.
Take it in stride. Don’t expect yourself to race through it at the pace you’ve been going. It’s not traditional English prose. It’s not even traditional Hebrew prose. It’s okay if your scripture study is only a few verses instead of a whole chapter. Better to read smaller chunks than no chunks
Get a commentary – I’m not talking about FARMS or Hugh Nibley. They can sometimes be as daunting as Isaiah himself. Just get the Church Publication: Religion 302, Old Testament Student Manual 1 Kings–Malachi. That is the Church’s old testament institute manual for the second half of the old testament. It’s very simple and clear, and believe it or not, it makes Isaiah easy to understand! (I bet you thought that was impossible - au contraire!) Give it a try. By the way, it’s also available to read online for free: http://ldsces.org/inst_manuals/ot-in-2/manualindex.asp
Pray. Pray hard. You’ll need all the help you can get, and who can help you better than the real author!
Rewrite it. Okay, so this is a little more involved, and may take some help from tip 2, but give it a try. Re-write each verse in plain English. It’s not interpreting and rewriting the scriptures for publication, it’s putting it in your own words to help you get a grip on what’s going on. Plus it’s kind of fun.
Get out the maps. Better yet, jump on the computer and goof around on Google Earth (did you know that’s a free download? It’s much cooler than Google maps, too. Trust me) and punch in locations as you come across them. Isaiah’s a real geography buff, and mentions places a lot. Sometimes seeing it visually can help a lot.
Find scriptural commentary on Isaiah. Isaiah is such a popular topic in the scriptures (especially in the Book of Mormon), that a lot of the verses are mentioned by other prophets and expounded in detail.
If all else fails, skip it. Oh my heck, did I really just say that? Yeah. It’s a last resort, but if it’s a choice between losing your scripture habit and skipping the chapters, just skip them. If you get really good at your habit, you’ll come back in the future. The Isaiah chapters are more or less done by the end of 2 Nephi 24, so just jump to 2 Nephi 25.
Well, that’s about all I know. Any more ideas? How do you work your way through Isaiah? Any tips for the rest of us?
And now, behold, I say unto you, that ye ought to search these things. Yea, a commandment I give unto you that ye search these things diligently; for great are the wordsofIsaiah
Hey, all you writers out there, I have a favor to ask! I need to be in a writing/critique group, and I’m not sure where to start. I would be happy to either join one that already exists or start a new one.
Jenni and I do a podcast together. Check it out!
