Indecision is driving me NUTS right now re writing my novel...one voice says leave it alone, don't overthink it.  On the other hand, I can visualize so many possible scenarios.

I think I may have written myself into a corner by making the MCs too close.  They have a wonderful summer spending a lot of time together, and perhaps a summer love affair that fades with fall might add interest.  They can always reconnect after college, maybe after other relationships failing.

However, as it stands now, they have a history of being friends when they were younger, and in my mind you don't just have a summer fling in that case.  Falling in love with a friend is certainly possible, and in fact the best relationships start out as friendships. However, to me you don't even start such a romance without some degree of confidence that it will lead to something lasting. I'd have to make less of their earlier friendship.

Any thoughts?

My friend Wendy Sue wrote this description of the storm that blew through the Dallas-Fort Worth area the other night and I thought it was so perfect I decided to share it!


The wind has been howling for hours, shoving the leaves around in the massive, thick tree across the street, beating the tall bushes outside my windows until their branches slap the panes. I find the sound endless, peaceful, calming. I don't think I've spoken a word aloud for several hours. Funny to think about that. Tropical storm Bill attacked Dallas like an arrow hitting a bullseye, moving slowly, slowly through its whirling meterological dance way, way, way up in the sky. Rain fell torrentially, as the sewers raced madly to keep up with the endless flow of water that threatened to overrun them and, in many cases, did. As I drove through the area today, one appointment to the next, the rain hit the windshield in huge drops for a mile or so and then would stop, as if it were considering its next move. The next minute, I'd be back in a downpour. 

Once back home again, tired tired tired, I would hear random thuds and banging sounds outside. When awake, I would anxiously go from the front door to the back, occasionally stepping out barefooted to rescue a drowning potted plant or a runaway hutch for my garden hose.

For a while now--I don't know how long--I slept on Big Red, I watched a little TV---all that remains is the wind, as the long, long tail of the storm makes one more circular pass over us, like a massive, unseen monster that imprints itself at will and then ambles away without fear. Perhaps it will rain again. I just don't know. This is a very strange area I live in, way down south, so near the Gulf of Mexico.

Allow me a few journal-type musings here.  My keyboard has been relatively silent lately while I search for inspiration.  Nothing definite here, but I'm zeroing in on some insights about my niche as a writer.  It's a constant process of introspection; maybe those of you who aren't writers will be interested.

My writer friends, many of whom are at their best with fantasy and poetry, have been immensely inspirational in developing my own voice.  That said, I'm constantly more and more sure of my place.  I love it whenever I can express my faith.  Yet I've also been told that I may be at my best with romantic/erotic prose, which is gratifying (although I certainly don't write anything that includes B&D to the extent of much erotic fiction these days, and I like to build gentle, loving relationships as a background for sex).

My passion for music is such that I can't help but make it important to my characters (even more so as I develop what little musical talent I have).  I also can't help but include references to particular songs to create an ambiance (too much, sometimes, so that I've had to agonize over which and how many songs to include, and editing them out is painful).  Unfortunately, I've painted myself into a corner right now, as I can no further tap the character who is truly an amazing musician, and his kids aren't musically inclined, etc.  I'm hoping to come up with a character I'll love as much and who'll inspire me as much!

You may see some nonfiction from me such as music reviews in the future, too.  One of my music courses involved seeing performances and writing reviews, and my reviews got great grades.

In short, there's so much potential, and I'm sure pursuing these possibilities will soon offer as much inspiration as I can handle!  And, happy writing to all of you out there!  I'm also looking forward to some great poems and fiction from you.

Regards, Jen

Luminous

Your eyes are the Fourth of July

Your smile the light of day

But the light in your heart

Is much brighter by far

And it leaves me dazed

And completely amazed

Just to glimpse one tiny ray. 

You’re luminescent, incandescent, brilliantly bright

But I know all about the fire behind the light

Let me warm myself beside it

Always want to reignite it

Light my way and stay within my sight.

When the Lord said, “Let there be light,”

He had you in mind for me.

A constellation, no doubt

With my own North Star.

Your glow defined

The dark corners of my mind

And set my spirit free.

Yes, Life's Quite an Adventure

(My response to a challenge to compose a poem from song titles of a single band, in this case one of my favorites, Yes.)

If you take a (roundabout) route

To the (heart of the sunrise)

And find yourself on the (south side of the sky)

(Yours is no disgrace).
(I’ve seen all good people) lose their way

And when they ask directions

Get only a (long distance runaround).

You may even find a kindred spirit

To accompany you on that road

And you won’t be the (owner of a lonely heart)

Because (love will find a way) somehow;

It always does.

If not, (hold on.)

Whatever happens, surely at the end of the journey

We’ll have (wondrous stories) to tell.

(And you and I) will drink and laugh

And tell all our tales

Like (starship troopers)

Returned from adventures on distant worlds.

The First Time

We were finally alone together

When you played that song for me.

I knew you knew exactly what you were doing

But I let the music weave its spell.

Sorcery, indeed!

We danced and we talked

But soon we were doing neither.

You took me in your arms and kissed me.

It stirred my soul so much it would be frightening

If I didn’t also sense such kindness in you.

You whispered in my ear, “Let’s not stop this time”

And I said, “I don’t want to.”

We shed our clothes and when you were standing

Naked before me,

You seemed the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen.

You looked so adorable, young and shy for a moment

And a little half-smile flickered across your face

But almost as soon as it came,

The shy, vulnerable look was gone.

In its place was pure desire.

You eased me back onto the bed,

Or did I pull you down with me?

It made no difference.

We were surrendering to each other.

What do I remember most about what happened next?

I remember your heat, your beautiful hands

With their subtle, loving touch,

Your unique and wonderful scent,

That extremely sexy voice.

I remember you already seemed to know perfectly how to love me.

You were so sweet and unselfish I lost myself in pleasing you.

The magic, the chemistry, were there for sure.

I had no idea the first time with a new lover

Could be so extraordinary.

Of all the times we’ve made love,

None was more special than that time

You seduced me with music.

But that alone was not aphrodisiac enough,

And in the end--all you really needed was to be who you are.

What in the World?

Cities transformed into war zones

Like some third-world police state.

People hating, mistrusting,

Misunderstanding each other

Based on class. 

Or race. 

Or religion.

Elders mistreated and disrespected.

Children going hungry and uneducated,

Bundles of wasted potential.

Politicians promoting their puritanical notions.

Telling others whom they can love and marry.

Trying to keep women in “their place.”

Petty partisan bickering

So that nothing constructive gets done.

Corruption.

Abroad, more of the conflicts

that have been smoldering and flaring for centuries.

Barbarism.

Unspeakable atrocities in the name of country or God.

Innocents in harm’s way.

Those trying to spread the story

Captured and murdered

In the most gruesome, horrendous fashion imaginable.

Corporations and governments

Indifferent to the damage they do,

Only caring about the bottom line.

Again, corruption.

Our problems are interconnected with the world’s.

Won’t it ever end?

I wish there were more I could do.

I can only throw words at it

And hope and pray that enough people

Come to their senses

And work for transformation.

Yet each good and innocent soul

Lost to the insanity of this world

Is not forever lost.

It is a light that will never be extinguished.

It is now one of many stars in the heavens

And their combined light will prevail.

Yellow Umbrella

Out on the street on a rainy day

A woman with a yellow umbrella caught my eye.

She’ll never know how the sight affected me

How cheery and jaunty it looked

Amid the gloom,

The fog on my car windows,

And the rain streaming down on them.

Please, please never let me be

One of those insufferably boring,

Eminently forgettable

Black-umbrella people.

A red one would be nice,

But I’m going to buy myself

The brightest yellow one I can find.