Archive - November, 2009

I Lost

November 30, 2009 in General, Staff Posts, Writing and Publishing with 2 Comments

Ian David Philpot

Ian David Philpot

On the last day of NaNoWriMo 2009, Ian David Philpot looks on the positive side of things…even though he lost.

Today is November 30–the last day of this month–and I have officially lost NaNoWriMo. Two weeks ago, I wrote about how I had been faring in the program that pushes writers to get out 50,000 words in the month of November. Unfortunately, I have only written a couple thousand words since then. Resting just below 20,000 words, I am an official loser.

I have no problem admitting my inability. Between helping out with Relief to working 20-35 hours a week and fighting through the toughest semester yet, I wasn’t able to meet my goal. And I’m fine with that, because National Novel Writing Month was a success. I wrote more for that story than I have ever written for any one piece before. I’ve also got a great start to a novel.

I also have a better understanding of how to direct my energies in my future. My dreams of being a professional writer have officially met with the struggles of time and the two clearly do not mix well. Reconciling them may take a lifetime, but if that’s what it takes, I will do it.

My new goal is to have my current novel finished and peer reviewed before summer of next year. That way I can start preparing for NaNoWriMo 2010 much sooner. My next novel is going to be about a celebrity who leaves a long trail of clues in his movies about how he is a member of a mysterious society that carries the secret of the still existing lineage from Pope Joan. The title: The DiCaprio Code (copyright Ian David Philpot 2009). Oh, and you better believe I’m going to be using Write a Book in 30 Days next year. I clearly can not do it on my own. :)

***

Ian David Philpot, a Relief intern, is studying English at Northern Illinois University and spent one year in Columbia College Chicago’s Fiction Writing program. He writes fiction and poetry and music. Ian prefers black to white, vanilla to chocolate, and only eats yellow cake.

Issue 3.2 Pre-Sales Now Open

November 29, 2009 in Relief News with 1 Comment

Relief Issue 3.2

That’s right, step right on up, be the first on your block to have this razzy snazzy issue of Relief sent straight to your doorstep. The regular price for this issue will be $14.95 once we go to print (which could be any day now), but if you get in now, you pay only $11.97! Hit the Add to Cart Button RIGHT NOW!

Add to Cart

Story Weather

November 20, 2009 in Faith and Culture, General with 0 Comments

David Holper

David Holper

David Holper shares a winter reading list for the upcoming “season of reflection.”

Where I live on the far northern coast of California, the storms have begun—wet, windy,  powerful. Today, there’s a break in the weather, and as we rush my son to his last soccer game  of the season, we come down off the hill overlooking Humboldt Bay: the waves are so huge,  they are breaking over the southern jetty, which means that beyond, out where the Pacific is  fighting its perpetual battle with the land, the waves must be peaking at least 15 feet high—or more.

I love this season. The weather is wild, a little unpredictable. Knowing that, and having lived here off and on for over 30 years, I keep an umbrella in my car and one in my office to boot. It’s a perfect time to sit inside, build a fire, and enjoy time with my kids and my wife.

As I sit down to write after the game and the pizza party, I find myself browsing NPR’s website for inspiration, and my thought is perfectly echoed in Sting’s comments about his new album: “I think it’s the season of reflection,” Sting says. “You know, we seem to need the winter to reassess ourselves, to hibernate, if you like; to seek home, to seek comfort. Somewhere cozy: the church, the family home.”

My thoughts exactly.

Although what Sting doesn’t say—at least not here—is that it’s also the perfect time to read. And for me, at least, it’s always a good time to refresh my faith and challenge me to better understand the twenty centuries of believers who have trod this path before me. By this, I mean books that challenge me in my thoughts, in my belief, in my actions. So just in the spirit of sharing some titles I’ve enjoyed, I thought I’d offer a reading list for the winter. But, to be frank, it’s really more an invitation to everyone who stumbles over this blog to join the conversation about books on faith and the church that ignite the fires of our hearts and minds.

In no particular order, here’s my list. Happy winter nights reading!

C. S. Lewis The Great Divorce

Malcolm Muggeridge A Third Testament (a great book I recently read that introduces the reader to the likes of Augustine, Blake, Pascal, Bonhoefer, Kierkegaard, and Dostoevsky)

Fyodor Dostoevsky Crime and Punishment and The Brother Karamazov

Timothy Keller The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism

Donald Miller Blue Like Jazz

Anne Lamott Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith (and the other books that follow in her faith series)

Ravi Zakarias The Real Face of Atheism

Dietrich Bonhoeffer The Cost of Discipleship

John Eldredge Waking the Dead: The Glory of a Heart Fully Alive

***

David Holper has worked as taxi driver, fisherman, dishwasher, bus driver, soldier, house painter, bike mechanic, bike courier, and teacher. With all that useful experience and a couple of degrees, he has published a book of poetry called 64 Questions (March Street Press), as well numerous other poems in literary journals including Relief. He lives in Eureka, California, which is far enough from the madness of civilization that he can get some writing done. Another thing that helps is that his three children continually ask him to make up stories, and he is learning the art of doing that well for them.

NaNoWriMo Virgin

November 19, 2009 in Staff Posts, Writing and Publishing with 2 Comments

Ian David Philpot

Ian David Philpot

Ian David Philpot brings you up to speed on his first time participating in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month — NaNoWriMo.org).

Twenty days ago, I was happy.  I had just chosen my topic for  NaNoWriMo, and I felt that I could find a way to stretch it into 50,000 words (the minimum number of words needed to “win”).  I knew that it was going to be tough, and I tried to mentally prepare for the adventure.

I read through the forums and planned on going to my area’s Kick-off/Write-in event on the first day.  I was very pumped.

When I arrived at the Kick-off/Write-in, I found I was the first person there.  Over the course of about an hour and a half, I met six other writers–all women between 18 and 40.  As each person joined, everyone introduced themselves and we shared what kind of novels each person was writing.  That’s when a clear distinction was made: I was not only the solitary male but also the only person writing for a general readership.

I know this is a generalization of the women I met, but they were pretty much all writing young adult novels about girls for girls.  Don’t get me wrong, there is absolutely nothing wrong with that, I just found it very difficult to relate with them.  (Especially the one about a girl who talks to mermaids.)

It was a good feeling on that first day to have fellow writers around, but I struggled to build solidarity because of my subject matter.  My first few days reflected a good word count because I almost felt like I had a group that I belonged to.  As I kept thinking about how alone I was in the writing process, my ability to keep my word count up and I quickly fell behind the 1,667 word/day average that would bring me to 50,000 by November 30.

As of today, November 19, I’m only at 14,512 when I should be closing in on 30,000.  I’m going to keep writing and hope that I make it there on time.

If you’d like to see what I’m writing about and keep up on my progress, click here.

***

Ian David Philpot, a Relief intern, is studying English at Northern Illinois University and spent one year in Columbia College Chicago’s Fiction Writing program. He writes fiction and poetry, and can also list off eighteen elements from the periodic table and occasionally does not eat meat.

Ian David Philpot, Relief‘s intern and Blog Master, is studying English at Northern Illinois University and spent one year in Columbia College Chicago’s Fiction Writing program. He writes fiction, poetry, and music as often as he can.  Ian loves Italian ice and gelato.

Photo Haiku Wednesday 11.18.09

November 18, 2009 in Staff Posts, Writing and Publishing with 8 Comments

Photo Haiku Wednesday 11.18.2009

Photo courtesy of Michelle Pendergrass.

Directions:
1. Enjoy.
2. Write a haiku inspired by what you see.
3. Post the haiku in the comments for bonus points.
4. Put the haiku on your twitter with #PHW (Photo Haiku Wednesday) in your tweet for SUPER bonus points.

Al bonus points are awarded via @ReliefJournal on Twitter.

Page 1 of 3123»