Tearing

I'd heard this quote before, but I finally read it in context on Sunday.

....Where God tears great gaps we should not try to fill them with human words.

They should remain open.

Our only comfort is the God of the resurrection, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ...

~Dietrich Bonhoeffer

God Is - by Doug Wilson

God Is: How Christianity Explains Everything by Douglas Wilson

A reply to Christopher Hitchens' God is not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything

A short, chapter-by-chapter response to Hitchens' book before their debates shown in Collision. It's an interesting look into organized thinking and gentlemanly, but firm, intense debate. ;-) It includes some good laughs...

Doug Wilson's responses are good for some mulling over, not just for arguing with an atheist. This portion really stuck with me--

"Sinners are guilty and all sinners must die. What the cross does is provide us with a way of dying, with resurrection as a promised consequence. Jesus did not die so that we might live. He died so that we might die; He lived so that we might live. This is our hope, and this is our glory. And God in His kindness has authorized His people to extend this offer--full of grace--to people like Christopher Hitchens."

Thanks for reading,
Miss Pickwickian

Young Girl Knitting - William Bouguereau 1825-1905

Working with Shakespeare

Thanks to Esmeralda and Polka Dot, I am retelling Romeo and Juliet is my screenplay project this month. This is giving me some unique challenges.

As I've mentioned, before I am a huge Shakespeare fan. Romeo and Juliet, however, is not my favorite play and West Side Story's retelling may have scarred me forever. ;-)

I just don't know what Shakespeare was trying to say with this play.

Is Romeo and Juliet's romance serious, even from the beginning? It seems so over the top. And Romeo and Juliet are the victims of the play--they do not drive a lot of the events like majority of Shakespeare's tragedies.

I feel like Shakespeare play retellings should stick with the message he was trying to communicate...but when I'm not sure what that was, I'm lost.

So, how do I cope with this? Could I mix two Shakespeare plays to spice things up and create something more original?

There are several similarities and contrasts in Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet that have always fascinated me. Could I combine these?
What if Romeo and Juliet were not the victims of the play, but truly drove some of the conflict?

I think my story is going to stray from many of the themes of Romeo and Juliet, but I hope I can still keep its essence. I also hope I can explore and borrow from Hamlet, which happens to be one of my favorite plays. ;-)

We'll see. I still have 9/10 to go in my script. I keep reminding myself this is an exercise and that it will not and would not be the next box office sellout. If I can keep my mood light while I am writing, the story will come much easier. And I can always edit, even major plot elements. Right?

Thanks for reading,
Miss Pickwickian

My Fail

The last week I have been sick, writing, neglecting this blog, and very uncreative feeling.

I got 14,000 words down on a non-fiction project. This project has a big deadline at the end of this week, and so the pressure and insanity are escalating. I will not go into my feelings on the manuscript because they would not be edifying. Instead we'll move on...

I have come to a realization that my biggest failure is almost continually in organization. This does not mean I'm a particularly unorganized person. My desk and bookshelves are extremely organized. It's more like a mental organization failure.

First off, I love way to many things...and when I love something I want to learn all about it and improve my own skills in the area. This is all well and good if you only like a few things, but when you have to obsess over everything related to everything, it get's pathetic. You end up being mildly mediocre at an impressive amount of oddities.

For example- I love words.

This means that I have to read inordinate amounts of fiction, history, poetry, letters, song lyrics, literary fiction, classics, screenplays, stage-plays, theology, teaching, etc, etc...

Oh yes, and it means I have to write about all those things too.

No worky.

Especially if you have forty sheep, work in a home business, obsess over music, help clean and organize a house, try to cultivate friendships, have a big family, adore all forms of art, and simply can't remember anything because you love to much stuff!

I can write in a day. But I haven't figured out how to write, clean the house, and get hay delivered in a day. I can spend time with friends in a day, but I haven't figured out how to spend time with friends, read a book, and work at home in a day.

My pathetic mental juggling abilities are most evident when I sit down to write. I have a two page squib on identity and I can't figure out where to start unless it's with a five-hundred page introduction on systematic theology.

I like to know stuff and learn more about it, but I haven't quite mastered getting it in order in my head.

I want think so things make sense.

Instead I try to organize something and I can't figure out how I can mention it without talking about every single thing it relates to.

I'm a big picture person without a good telescope.

This is why I love reading authors who can handle this properly! C.S. Lewis, Elisabeth Elliot, Doug Wilson, and so many other writers give me such a good example of clear thinking. They make clear thinking and arguing so obvious.

So, my new campaign is learning how to think and present ideas that make sense!

And part of that is going to be cutting and hacking at my interests and schedule so I can make the most important things get done and get done well.

Wow...Thanks for reading that unclear ramble.

Tomorrow I'll try to share some of my Script Frenzy idea, if that's any consolation.

Thanks for reading,
Miss Pickwickian

Becoming Familiar with Les Miserables

Les Miserables is for everyone. As far as musicals go, it is in a class of it's own. There is no way to explain it....except that Les Miz is a beautiful, beautiful story that includes sadness, but is ultimately a story about deep characters and good news.

"There is a flame that never dies."
Bracelet by Foxwise

One of the multiple prizes for the essay contest.

Les Miserables week is approaching and I hope some of you are working on your essays for the contest. :-)

If you aren't a Les Miz fan yet, you still have time. :-) Here are a few ways to learn about the story--

Victor Hugo's unabridged book is obviously the best way to go. :-) This is a serious time investment, but Hugo is an intriguing writer even when he's telling you about the history of the sewers of Paris for 40 pages.

If you start the book and find yourself getting lost...or if you're not ready for the time commitment...check out one of the below--

Focus on the Family has a very good dramatized audio adaption. It gives the wonderful overall flavor of the book and the central themes. It is washed over to be a little more family friendly...which does make it loose some of the actual power of the story for Fantine. Otherwise it is much truer to the book than movie versions. Brian Blessed does a wonderful job as Jean Valjean.

I think it's about $10. You can see it here on Amazon.

Liam Neeson and Geoffery Rush create interesting characters in the 1998 movie production, but, as far as I can see, the movie totally misses the central themes of the book. There are a few amazing moments, but they just don't follow-through. It's a good movie, but doesn't really give the truth about Victor Hugo's story.

I've seen older movie versions as well. Some followed the book a bit better, but for some reason Jean Valjean always has to hit Javert to get away which really bothers me.

The 10th Anniversary Dream Cast is my favorite musical recording and movie performance. However, it is abridged...so if your not familiar with the story you will have to fill in the gaps.

The 25th Anniversary Musical movie performance is probably the easiest to acquire. It's currently in most Redboxes and in Netflix. This is the unabridged musical and includes more acting than the 10th. It's very good, but at least Jean Valjean and Marius are far superior in the 10th Anniversary edition. (That may just be personal opinion...)

There are of course other very good musical recordings as well, but if you are unfamiliar with the story it's best to see who's singing to sort things out.

Wikipedia on the book here.

Wikipedia on the musical here.

Another avenue is to accost a Les Miz fan and asks them why it's so cool. Most of us are pretty eager to jump up and down and scream :-)

Let me know if you have other suggestions or questions.

Thanks for reading,
Miss Pickwickian

Giveaway Winner!

Congratulations Ashley!

You can contact me at pickwickian.forever(at)gmail(dot)com

Thank you all who participated and spread the word.

Special thanks to Bookish Charm. You are amazing!

Thanks for reading,
Miss Pickwickian