All posts by David Todd

America, Writing

Everybody’s Busy

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American life is an incredible journey of rushing from one good activity to another. At least, that’s the whirlwind I’m in, and the one others are in based on my recent attempts at making contact. I suppose the greatness of America has something to do with it. We are blessed with incredible freedom and abundant wealth, both augmented by the world’s most advanced technology and relatively cheap transportation (even with gasoline at $3.559).

Because of that, we load up our lives running here and there: activities, trips, and travel–hopefully good things that will enhance our lives and the lives of those within our reach. That includes the whole world nowadays. So when a new, good activity comes up, it must be denied access to our schedule, or something else must give way, be it sleep or relaxation or whatever.

If an old friend from school days contacts you, offering re-acquaintance, what to drop to add that? If long lost relatives discover you, how do you work into the schedule time to build new relationships? If someone you mentored decades ago goes out of his way to find you and attempts correspondence, how will you respond? Interesting questions, for which I have no ready answer.

For me, what gives first is the mundane household chores: balancing the checkbook, paying the bills on time, planning next month’s finances, replacing a light bulb, replacing a broken lamp globe, sweeping the driveway, timely washing the dishes, filing the ridiculous number of papers all my activities seem to generate, etc. Next comes a shortening of quiet and devotional time, and leisure–avocations are not always leisure. Shortening may eventually become elimination.

For others, what gives might just be the new activity, for the comfort of current routine ultimately trumps change for most people.

Documenting America

Who Am I?

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Yes, who am I to think I can be a writer of an op-ed column? I have no credentials. I never took a political science course in college; never worked on a political campaign after some high school volunteering; never ran for office or even contemplated doing so; never covered government or political-economic-cultural issues for a media outlet. Well, I did function as a contract city engineer for eight years, but it was for a small city, with limited staff although with booming development. And, during that time, I did work on writing city ordinances (i.e. laws and regulations) and then worked to enforce them in my limited capacity. I did get to observe the roles of mayors, councilmen, planning commissioners, and city staff up close.

But, that is a far cry from national issues. So why should I think I can write the column “Documenting America” and self-syndicate it to newspapers? I’ve been thinking of this for almost five years, more recently as a platform-building activity for launching a writing career. But is this possible? Could I sell the column, and myself as the best person to write this?

The status is this:
1. I have developed the concept for the column: taking some document from America’s past; excerpting it; explaining it; showing its importance in America’s growth and development; and tying it to a current issue, if possible.

2. I have completed eighteen columns, and have a good handle on where the sources of documents are; what the copyright issues are; and how long it will take me to research, write, and polish a column. I’m sure I can produce it weekly.

3. I have to some extent researched the market, and have developed a marketing plan for selling it to newspapers, most likely smaller, weekly or daily papers, but never the big national ones. The actual marketing of the column awaits, so I don’t actually know if it will sell or not.

4. I have taken a number of the columns to two different writers critique groups, and received good feedback and suggestions for improvement. I’ve also workshopped one of the prototype columns at an on-line workshop, again with good feedback. To the same two real-life crit groups I have submitted a query letter to newspapers, and received help on how to make it better.

5. I have shown a few of the columns to people I would describe as my target audience, and received positive feedback: without exception they would like their newspaper to carry it and would read it.

It’s ready to go, and has been for close to a year. All that remains is to pick some newspapers, send them a query and some samples, and see if they will buy it.

So why haven’t I done it? Why haven’t I pulled the trigger? Fear, as I blogged about before, but also the thought that I have no standing on which to sell this column. Why would any newspaper buy it from me, hire me to fill ten to twelve column-inches every week?

This post is long enough right now. Possibly I’ll expand on this over the next couple of days. I’m off to find a couple more beta readers for the column.

Documenting America, Writing

September Writing Goals

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Given my personal workload, my writing goals in September will be modest, as they were in August.

1. Attend critique group once (it meets every two weeks), and present the next chapter in my work-in-progress novel.

2. Blog 10 to 12 times. I’d like to do more, but will settle for that.

3. Update my submissions log. I filed a few papers last night, and discovered I haven’t entered in my log the last several submissions I made. That may be important come tax time.

4. (If I finally decide to market it) Submit Documenting America to about twenty newspapers as a possible self-syndicated column.

5. Work on, and complete if possible, the proposal (with four sample chapters) for the Bible study requested by the editor.

6. Wait (patiently) for a response on the two projects I currently have out with an editor and agent.

7. Continue to work on my reading list, the writing help book and the next one, whatever it is.

Documenting America, Writing

The August Report

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As per my developing habit, I set some writing goals at the beginning of August, and will report on them now. Here’s how I did.

1. Complete the book proposal, requested by an editor, on the Elijah and Elisha Bible study, and mail it. I failed miserably on this. To turn in a proposal I had to convert my weekly handouts into book sample chapters, at least four. Plus, since I decided to add one chapter that preceded the study as taught, I started on this. But I became bogged down in writing this chapter, and didn’t finish it. I made fair progress for a couple of days, then decided to let it sit. Consequently, I didn’t work on any of the other sample chapters nor the proposal itself.

2. Complete the planning phase of my next two Bible studies. I don’t know if I can claim completing these, but I did work on them. The one on Israel becoming a nation is very close to being fully planned out. The one on Peter’s life is less so, but is fairly far along.

3. Complete the research I need before undertaking an on-line poetry workshop in September (may start in late August). It is a workshop I will lead at the Absolute Write poetry forum, with a limited scope. I began the research, but have very little completed. Since this is a volunteer thing, it will probably be low priority for this month. Still, having committed to leading it, I’d like to get it done.

4. Attend one critique group meeting; present the prototype for the Documenting America newspaper column. I did this. The group was very positive about the column, and gave some good suggestions for the query letter and the two sample columns I shared with them.

5. Read in some writing how-to books. I started this–one book, not “books”. It is one I picked up at a used book store, and appears to have been a high school text, though I’m not certain of that. I will likely finish this book in September and report on it.

6. Wait for the editor and agent to respond to the two proposals I have out right now. Ah, this was the easiest goal of all, waiting on an editor and an agent to get to my submitted material. As I blogged about this previously, I am waiting patiently, resisting the urge to contact the two, and trying to concentrate on new works-in-progress.

That’s it. I had relatively few goals for the month, as I knew I would miss time for our road trip and then helping people move. I accomplished those non-writing things, but still would have wished for a little more productivity in writing.

book reviews

Book Review: The Christians as the Romans Saw Them

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Today I finished reading The Christians as the Romans Saw Them, by Robert L. Wilken, 1984 Yale University Press, ISBN 0-300-03627-2. Make that Dr. Robert L. Wilken. He is a retired professor of Early and Medieval Christian History and Thought at the University of Virginia. I did not find a biography of Dr. Wilken. You can find a summary of the book contents here.

I would not add this to my list of favorite books, but I did find it useful. Wilkens took the writings of five Roman critics of Christianity during the first three hundred years after Christ: Pliney the Younger, Galen, Celsus, Porphyry, and Julian the Apostate. These men cover the years 110 AD to about 363 AD. Wilkens chose, rather than to survey the entire body of Christian criticism produced in this period, to focus on these five key critics. Each one represents a different era in the life of the church.

During Pliney’s time as governor of Bithinia, Christians were still a tiny minority in the overall empire. By the time of Julian, Christianity was the State religion, embraced by Constantine a few decades before. Of the five, only Julian was raised a Christian and so had personal knowledge of the religion. The others were mainly doing their criticism from study of Christian texts and observation (or reports) of how Christians lived.

I found the book difficult to read. Part of this was the editing. Paragraphs in the same chapter, presenting close to the same infomation, often did so without awareness that the other paragraph existed. It was as if the author wrote these paragraphs at different times, maybe working at the end of a chapter then at the beginning, inserting and deleting through the revision process, then forgot to delete something that was no longer needed. I especially noticed this in the chapters on Porphyry and Julian. In addition, this read more like a college textbook (which perhaps it was intended to be) than for casual reading.

One thing that struck m was now each of these critics became aware of Christians or thought of the need to be a critic of them. It was always because of the lives of Christians, not because of their writings. The Christians lived as a people apart, taking no part in government or politics, shunning the State religion, but otherwise living exemplary lives. In this I found a lesson for today.

Should you read this book? I cannot recommend it. And I probably would not have finished it except I almost always finish any book I start, and I thought it might be additional research to add to Doctor Luke’s Assistant. I don’t think I will add it to my permanet library. Anyone want it? Cost of postage, only.

miscellaneous, Writing

The Mother of all Tiredness

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Forgive me for not posting the last couple of days. I have been helping friends move. They had to be out of their house by tonight, and they have enough stuff for two houses. Their new place is much bigger, but due to their shampooing the carpets the night before the move, most things couldn’t be placed where they needed to go, to allow the carpet to dry. So the (way) over-sized garage is packed, the space under the deck is packed, the tiled areas (kitchen, breakfast nook), and the hardwood floor area (dining room) are jammed full of stuff.

We started Friday night, although they had already brought many things from a storage unit, so the garage already seemed fairly full. We hauled one load Friday night: my pick-up, his pick-up and 9-foot trailer, his dad’s pick-up, and their car. Saturday we began about 10:00 AM or a little later. We took three loads of those same vehicles plus one other small pick-up. By 9:00 PM we had the beds set up, and I left. Today, after church, we took one load while waiting for help to move the two upright pianos. That finally came, and we moved them on the trailer but in two trips. The extra help then disappeared, and we took one more load of two pick-ups and car. They have one more load of stuff to take out, which they will probably take tomorrow. The landlord can charge them an extra day if he likes, but I doubt he will.

Consequently, I’ve had no time to blog this weekend, no time to read, not much time to keep up with the writing sites I monitor on the Internet, etc. Plenty of aches and pains to keep me company right now. But tomorrow will be a day of rest. I have a few easy chores to do around the house, then will see what I can do for my writing career. At least I’ll post how I did on my August goals, and post some September goals.

technology woes

Crashed…and likely Fried

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I called the computer repair company today and got good news and bad news.

The good news is the hard drive is likely okay.

The bad news is the mother board has is likely about to die.

Which means either a new computer, something we haven’t budgeted for, or reversion to the old computer I got from my company, probably manufactured in 1999.

So maybe it wasn’t the trojan horses, viruses, and worms that killed it.

Fifty Thousand Screaming People, Screwtape's Good Advice, Writing

Learning to Wait

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You’d think I’d know about waiting by now, that somewhere in my 56 plus years on this planet the understanding that waiting is sometimes a requirement of life would have sunk in.

I still find it difficult, however, especially as I seek publication. On July 2nd I mailed my Screwtape’s Good Advice proposal to the editor who requested it. No word yet. On July 30th I e-mailed the proposal for In Front of Fifty Thousand Screaming People to the agent who requested it. No word yet.

Eight and four weeks are not long times for the publishing wheels to grind through the process, not by a long shot. It’s still difficult to wait, especially when these were requested after a face-to-face interview. Is no news good news? If they were looked at right away and were not rejected out of hand, if the editor and agent are mulling it over and comparing to other proposals in hand or maybe discussing them in committee or with other agents, then no news is good news. If, on the other hand, the proposal sits in the slush pile, despite specifically being requested, then I suppose no news is good news too.

It’s all in God’s timing, and up to His will through His servants, the editor and the agent. I just wish I could put them so far out of my mind that I could work on other works-in-progress.

America, Politics

Michelle says: It takes a family

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Yes, that was the underlying message of Michelle Obama last night at the Democratic party’s convention, to the delegates, staff, media, nation, and world: It takes a family to raise a child, and that family consisting of both a father and mother, and if it happens, cooperating siblings, all working on their own initiative, all dedicated to the task at hand, working diligently, loving totally.

I thought the tribute she paid to her dad was touching, how he worked at a “filtration plant”–by which I assume she means a water treatment plant, and how he continued to do so even after he was physically diminished by disease. He altered his routine, taking longer to get ready for work, so that he could continue to support his family, which he saw as his duty, so that his wife could be a stay-at-home mom. Michelle praised he mother for that, and seemed to feel having that mom at home was important to her upbringing.

The relationship between Michelle and her brother (didn’t catch his name) also seemed important, based on their dovetailing testimonies. She influenced him to stay with coaching, and he influenced her to pursue public service as opposed to a Big Law partnership. Any parent would be proud to have such children, and feel that they had done something right in their raising.

Look at what was absent in Michelle’s speech concerning the influences in her life: neighbors, neighborhood, extended family, government programs. She mentioned her neighborhood, the south side of Chicago, but did so in almost derogatory language. You got the sense that the neighborhood would have pulled her down if the family hadn’t propelled her up. It appears, from Michelle’s words, that the government had no influence at all, either positive or negative.

A last impression I got was the positive influence Michelle has on her husband and children. As stable and positive as her raising was, Barack’s was turbulent: absent father, mother who seemed unstable, frequent moves, raised by a racist grandmother, experimentation with mind-altering drugs. Maybe Michelle helped her husband settle down and end the wild days of his youth. She is likely having that same influence on their daughters.

So, thank you Michelle, for that positive message, exactly what this nation needs to hear today, and echoing that of Bob Dole in 1996: To raise a child, it doesn’t take a village; it takes a family.

By the way, Michelle, have you discussed this with Senator Clinton?

Health, technology woes

Crashed

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Yes, it finally happened to us. Our main computer, the one that is the server for our home network, crashed Friday night. On Thursday we had the virus/trojan horse problem, and on Friday the worst happened. A cousin was unable to help us via phone on Saturday morning, so I disconnected the offender and took it to the computer shop. After 3-4 day wait, we will see if anything is recoverable.

Actually, that computer is not loaded with data. Lynda does her stock trading from it, and has a few MS Word files she would like, but it’s not as big a problem as it would be with my computer, which has all my writing. Most of it I have backed up, either on my assigned computer at work or on off-site sources. I really need to put it on my jump drive. Oh, yes, all our downloaded photos are on Lynda’s computer, but we still have those on the camera cards, so nothing should be lost.

But I experienced another crash on Saturday, a physical problem. The day started well enough, after moving a few light boxes to my mother-in-law’s new apartment on Friday, I expected no extra tiredness. And Saturday started well. We had a strong rain/wind storm while I was balancing the checkbook and paying bills. And I worked on tightening a small, antique table Lynda picked up at a sale. We then took that computer in and went to buy our weekly groceries, all of which went well. We were supposed to load up a table in my pick-up and deliver it to m-i-l, but after napping first, I woke up and hurt all over. Both my shoulders, my knees, my wrists, and most fingers were extremely painful. No way was I going to lift a table into a pick-up. So the evening was spent doing little but reading, early to bed.

Might this have been a reaction to extra eating I did during the last part of the week, following my annual physical on Tuesday. That was a good report, with all blood work in line except sugar, and more than a token weight loss for the first time in a long time. By the end of the week my weight was up–a short-term gain that will disappear with a few good days of eating. Was it a food allergy? Or maybe just a reaction to two weeks of very light eating during greater-than-normal physical activity? I wish I knew.

Sunday was much better. I took my normal day of rest, attending church and Sunday school, doing little physical labor, foregoing my normal Sunday afternoon walk, and devoting some time to writing. By the end of the day I felt good, and still feel good this morning. Very strange, that reaction.