Alfred Hitchcock: "Only in the Anticipation"

"There is no terror in the bang, only in the anticipation of it."

~Alfred Hitchcock

    This is a pretty good point. Although having unforeseen surprises suddenly happen isn't bad, a lot of scenes are better off with the action being something the reader already knows is coming. It adds extra layers of emotion and suspense to a scene, and it also adds one of the unique things a person can only experience while reading: foresight.
    Lots of Alfred Hitchcock's films apply this method pretty well; one in particular. I don't want to give anything away since the scene is very important for the plot, but there's a part of a story where we see a "bang" coming, and there's a whole countdown scene in which we see a sympathetic minor character (who has absolutely no idea of the imminent disaster) in peril, and we watch him going along his way, taking his sweet time to get in a position where he'd be safe from the danger, and by the time the countdown finally reaches its end, the viewer's heart is pounding (well, mine was, at least).
    Dramatic irony has a lot to do with this kind of thing, with the reader/viewer knowing about the oncoming disaster without the character being aware of it. That makes any hesitation or dawdling on a character's part a cause for anxiety to the reader, and when a character actually comes close to discovering the threat, it's exciting (and sometimes frustrating, when the character almost gets the big picture but then loses it). The dramatic irony is key for prompting these emotions, stirring up anticipation of what's about to happen.
    Personally I think it also helps a lot to make the scene unpredictable, so that the situation could go either way. Because predictability is something we try to avoid at all times in writing, right? And if the main character is being threatened with death in the middle of the story, and it's not a genre where they could be brought back to life or something, it's kind of obvious that the hero is going to get out of their situation. But if it's a minor character being threatened with something that would take them out of the picture, or if the main character just risks losing something important but not absolutely vital, then there's a cause to be concerned because the loss can actually happen. An unpredictable situation like this is something that a reader wouldn't be able to guess on; a scene they would have to keep reading in order to find out if the "bang" really occurs.
    So this concept that Alfred Hitchcock (who's been called "the master of suspense") is talking about is really an interesting one to use in writing. Has anyone here watched any of Hitchcock's films before?

Psalm 59:17

 

"To You, O my Strength, I will sing praises; for God is my defense, the God of my mercy."

Psalm 59:17 (NKJ)

    It's cool how the psalmist refers to the Lord as his strength here--especially with a capital S. The Lord is a sure and reliable Protector, and He gives us enough strength to accomplish anything and everything that needs to be done. God's mercy itself is also something that He strengthens us with. Remembering how great His mercy is gives confidence and assurance that God cares, that He has great grace, and that He is (and always will be) with us. So the title of Strength definitely seems appropriate to give to the Lord, right? :)

Praying with Persistence

    In 1 Thessalonians 5:14-22, there's a list of things that Paul, the writer of the epistle, is encouraging believers to do, and one of those things is to "pray without ceasing" (verse 17, NKJ). This verse is incredibly short and therefore incredibly easy to memorize, though the exhortation itself isn't exactly a cakewalk. Praying without ceasing doesn't mean praying the same thing over and over again in one go, but at different times during the day, or for multiple days--and also, I think, praying for the same things a good number of times. Praying persistently like that is said to be a very effective way to make supplications.
    For one, praying with persistence is in and of itself an indication of importance and commitment. It shows that the matter being prayed about isn't something trivial or forgettable after one mentioning, but that it's a situation that really matters. Praying for a solution or answer to the matter on many occasions shows that it's important, and that it's worth giving attention and energy to.
    Secondly, persistent prayer can also help a person become even more committed to the cause of the prayer. Spending a lot of time with anything can make the person/activity/object more familiar and more valued. Putting a lot of work into something also stirs up more care for it. And on top of those things, prayer is something we do with God, and so spending time working on something with Him makes the situation and the act of prayer far more precious and memorable.
    Lastly, since prayer is also a way to give God control of things, praying more gives Him more of an influence in the matter. Continually giving the situation over to Him and asking for His guidance, His strength, and for His will to be done continually opens doors to having those things accomplished in the best way, His way.
    So on a final note, as long as the prayers being said are genuine and heartfelt (not long-winded and "for a pretense," as Christ criticized some for in Matthew 23:14, NKJ), and as long as it's prayed that the Lord's will is done, prayers are even more powerful when it's done many times, with diligent persistence.
    Isn't it a great blessing to be able to pray to the Lord on a matter multiple times? :)

"Micro Managing" While Writing is Like Sculpting

    You know how when a person is writing (usually a first draft or a rewrite) they can stop, go back a couple sentences, edit a paragraph slightly, and then go back to where they paused and start writing again? It's like having little bouts of micro management, making small revisions to the manuscript before it's even completed.
    That kind of resembles the process of sculpting with modeling clay, doesn't it? It could also be likened to sculpting with rock, of course, but personally I think the modeling clay kind of sculpting is more accurate. Because with  something hard like rock, the sculpting involves chipping things away with great care to form an image, and you can't add more rock onto it without some inconvenience, so major changes can't really be done over and over again. However, with something soft like modeling clay, you're using your hands to mold, remold, and sometimes carve in order to create something, and you can make additions and big adjustments without needing a new block.
    Which is more like what micro managing while writing a piece is usually like. Adding more sentences to make the scene more thorough, removing fluff that just clutters up space, replacing words with better-sounding ones, making little improvements. The gradual revisions that happen before the piece is actually done might not be as in-depth and complete as the actual revision stage, but they definitely improve the writing piece, especially over time.
    For one, it makes the manuscript look a little nicer; which is awesome not only because that makes it more fun to reread, but it can also make it less frustrating to edit later. Also, going back to rewrite portions of text also makes things a little more balanced; it keeps the manuscript from being full of paragraphs with identical lengths, and it ensures that an action which should take five sentences isn't condensed into one, or vice versa. The details get smoothed over a bit with this kind of writing, and consistency is kept up. Plus, writing like this is also something of a breather; it gives a short break from planning and jotting down new paragraphs one after another, without stopping up the creative juices.
    So overall, like sculpting, micro managing during the writing process brings small improvements that can do a lot of good in a manuscript.
    Do you agree? Do you micro manage while you write? Or do you wait until a set time to get to adjusting and reshaping the writing?

Psalm 57:10

 

"For Your mercy reaches unto the heavens, and Your truth unto the clouds."

Psalm 57:10 (NKJ)

    I really like the imagery of this verse. Because sometimes when a person just stops and looks up, when there's nothing else obstructing the view, the sheer massiveness of the sky and the tremendous distance between the ground and the clouds is mind-boggling.
    The loving mercy of the Lord is just the same way; it's amazing, wonderful, and it's so plenteous and vast that it could fill up the space between the ground and the heavens. Don't you agree? :)

Oswald Chambers: "Worry is Caused by Calculating without God"

Trying to map out a situation while one is worried
can seem a bit like this, right?

"All our fret and worry is caused by calculating without God."

~Oswald Chambers

 

    This is a really accurate way to think of it. Worrying about something involves a whole lot of thinking (or at least, a whole lot of thoughts); considering the bad things that can happen, and predicting what will possibly happen if things don't start changing. Meditations like this, unfortunately, can bring up a lot of negative conclusions, can't they? It's almost like plotting out a story, or multiple versions of a story, only doing it isn't satisfying or pleasant at all; it's depressing. Worrying is not fun, and it does indeed involve a lot of calculating that doesn't factor in God.
    The Lord doesn't want us stressing out like this. In Matthew 6:25 and Luke 12:2 (NKJ), Christ tells His disciples, "do not worry about your life." A couple verses later in Luke 12:25, He says that worrying doesn't accomplish anything (it can't add "one cubit" to a person's height); and as stated in numerous Psalms like Psalm 27:1, the Lord's reliability as one's light, salvation, and strength makes worrying unnecessary. 1 John 4:18 states that "perfect love" (like God's love for us) "casts out fear" (NKJ); and one of Christ's titles is "the Prince of Peace" (Isaiah 9:6). Without the Prince of Peace, without the Lord in our lives and His assurances given to us, there would undoubtedly be reason to worry about dilemmas.
    But we do have the Lord leading us in life; we do have a Savior. Trying to think out a serious problem without Him can only bring on stress and fear; but by exercising the gift of being able to factor in His promises and trust in Him, the need to worry dissolves. He preserves the faithful (Psalm 31:23), and with that kind of promise, we can be calm!
    This quote by Oswald Chambers summarizes that truth very neatly, don't you think? :) Do you also think of worrying as the result of incomplete calculation?

Writing Games: What Would They Take?

If an unforeseen disaster struck, what items would a certain character
take before running for the hills?

    There's a very classic writing prompt that basically goes like this: The house is on fire and you have five minutes to grab some important items before fleeing, so describe what you would take and why. It's good for describing objects and for prioritizing what's really important to a person, and with a little spin on this writing prompt, it could also be great for developing characters in a story-in-progress.
    If there was a sudden emergency at a character's home (it could be something like a fire or a tornado, or a need to go on the run before the hour is up), and they had five minutes to grab some items, what would they take? How long would it take them to get these things, and would they have any difficulty getting to items? If the house is on fire, going up into the attic or down into the basement would be highly dangerous, and if one item is locked in a combination safe, it might be better to leave that item and take four others instead.
    The prompt could be even more interesting if the character doesn't have a house though, like if they live at a campsite or if they're staying in a hotel room temporarily. This could make their ability to reach items easier and quicker, but it could also make leaving the area more difficult, and change their priorities. For example, someone staying at a hotel wouldn't have the space in a suitcase to fit a blanket or more than one spare set of clothes, and someone living on a mountain might need a lot more time for getting away from the area.
    So which character would you pick; the protagonist, antagonist, or a minor character? Which items would they choose? Would they actually pick the most important ones, or forget vital items they'll need? What are the character's priorities, and how prepared are they for the unexpected?

Hebrews 4:12

 

"For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart."

Hebrews 4:12 (NKJ)

    It's really neat how God's word is called "a discerner" here. Because not only does searching the Bible help us find a solution to a problem in life, but it helps us see the situation more clearly. In some instances, the advice of others and personal bias can give a blurry view of the right thing to do, and even narrow how many options there are; but the word of God cuts through that like a bright headlight shining through fog. God's word points out the vital principles and unchanging facts that explain the way things really are (whether or not a person really did do something deserving resentment, and why Option C is a more Christ-like thing to do).
    Looking through the Bible thoroughly lets us see the way the whole situation really is, and with that knowledge, it gives us a solution through showing us the Lord's thoughts and His heart on the matter.
    So discerner is really a wonderful way to describe the word of God; don't you think? :)

Mountains are Incredible

    Mountains are incredible.
    They're very majestic to look at, especially when you're up close to them. Thick, solid rock with ridges and carving-like crevices formed over time by wind and water, it's like a gigantic, natural sculpture. From far away, those chiseled crevices can hold snow that covers a mountain and makes it look like sugar or flour has been dusted on it; and when rain hits a mountain, water can run down like small streams.
    Then there's the very fact that mountains are huge. Isn't there just something about large and tall things that's impressive? The Empire State Building, Big Ben, the Great Wall of China; these landmarks are incredibly tall structures that make people below look like insects, but the mountains that are even taller than them are colossal, and they can make people below seem smaller than specks! Standing up close to a mountain as massive as this can make a person feel small, but it's a good kind of small, not a bad kind. Especially when one thinks about the Creator of the mountains. The same One who made us individually also formed each and every one of the towering mountains. That concept is really interesting and awesome to think about.
    Mountains are indeed one of the Lord's most incredible masterpieces of creation. Majestic, massive, and made by the One who made us.
    Have you ever been really close to a mountain, or on one? Have you ever climbed or taken a hike up a mountain?

One Step at a Time

Monitoring one's story's progress can be kind of like reading
a book and glancing at the edges to see what "percentage" of the pages
are left to read--only writing takes longer than reading.

    Waiting a very long time for a good book to be completed and ready to read can be very, very, very boring--especially when it's one's own book! In that situation, a writer gets to watch each tiny step forward, but also have an idea of how much more still needs to be done.
    Writing projects can be like that quite a lot, can't they?  Especially when it's a project as long as a novel. Writing is time-consuming; writing a chapter could take over an hour, and some scenes take numerous re-writes in order for that part of the story to turn out right. With a certain time requirement for writing just one part of the story, and other activities in life to pay attention to, the writing process can end up being taking little steps day by day for a long, long time. Compared to the plotting stage of writing, where one could have the whole story down within a week, it's like a snail's pace. And thinking about how many more chapters/scenes--and days--have to go by before one finally has their beautiful manuscript completed can really stink.
    But having a positive mindset about it can make things better--a lot better. It can even make the long wait pleasant.
    When one can end their day knowing that they've got one more chapter completed, they can think about how they're one step closer to the end than they were yesterday; and that tomorrow, they'll be yet another step closer, or even two! And when thinking about the big picture, counting all the hours it'll be taking to finish the first (or second, or third) draft can give an encouraging idea of how much time and attention is being given to this story, of how much more quality there's going to be in the end.
    So while going one step at a time might be slow, thinking about the positive factors of it can make the wait more tolerable, right? What do you think?

Matthew 19:26

 

"But Jesus looked at them and said to them 'With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.'"

Matthew 19:26 (NKJ)

    This fact isn't difficult to believe (the Lord did create an intricate universe out of nothing, after all), even in the middle of difficulties that don't seem to have any possible solutions. On the contrary, once a person is in the midst of such a sticky situation, the incredibleness of God's unmatched power can really branch out and give the fullest kind of hope to the person who puts their faith in Him. Because since God can do things that are impossible for humans to accomplish or even think of as an option (like making bread, manna, fall from the sky), there's always a solution to whatever problem we're in! There's always hope; there's always a way.
    Our God is an unstoppable and incredible God. Amen? :)

Reading Quickly, Slowly, and/or at a Normal Pace

    Some people have a very definitive reading speed, the average rate of time it usually takes them to read something. One particular person I know needs to renew her library books over and over and over again to finish them, and another person I know can read a novel over 500 pages long in a single day.
    But between reading quickly, slowly, or at a moderate speed, there isn't one particular rate that's superior to the others. Each one has their own qualities and benefits.
    Reading quickly is helpful in saving time and in satisfying curiosity. When you read quickly, you get the plot and the facts quicker, going multiple chapters at a time before you have to move on to another activity (like sleeping). Reading quickly also avoids the dreaded moments where one is forced to put the book down and wait for as long as a day to learn the answers to pressing questions--not only is this uncomfortable, but it can be a serious distraction from other things that need attention, like a classroom discussion. Generally, people who can read quickly can finish novels in a day, and go through a whole series within a week or two.
    Reading at a moderate speed combines the best of both worlds. When you read at a normal pace, you get the plot, you get the details, and you don't have to feel pressured to speed up or worry about missing tiny but vital moments. You can re-read beautiful lines, you can progress through a novel at a steady pace. It's a pleasant way to experience the adventure of the story or the information of a non-fiction book in good time.
    Finally, reading slowly is great for noticing all the details, using one's imagination to visualize scenes, and being able to process the information of the text. It's also good for studying. Without much concern for time, you could read something, try to picture every moment, hear every character's voice, consider what the characters are thinking and feeling, and even consider what might come next in response to the actions. People who like to read slowly can re-read not only a sentence, but a paragraph, and they might even go back to a previous chapter to make comparisons, or to just re-live favorite moments. Soaking in the details (especially the small ones) immerses a person in the story, and makes the reading experience very in-depth .
    So what about you? :) Do you usually read quickly, at a moderate pace, or slowly?

Anne Lamott: "Until They've Done It"

 

"Very few writers really know what they are doing until they've done it."

~Anne Lamott

    This quote is funny! And also very inspirational; a good phrase to remember when one's feeling doubts about a project. And personally, I think this marvelous quote can be applied to every part of the writing process, not just one.
    During the plotting of a story, a writer thinks up the basic ideas and tries to graph it all out, either in their mind or on paper. During this period, some ideas can sound too crazy or too random to work well, and it can be difficult every now and then to finding ways to connect two events in the story together ("now how does the main character get from their epiphany to the climax scene?"). There could be a whole lot of plot holes and unknown factors in this planning stage, like what a character is actually like when they're written, and this could make the story seem skeletal. But this is okay, because the plotting stage isn't the final result, but the launching pad for the next steps, the time to go crazy with "what ifs."
    Then there's the first draft stage of writing. While writing this draft, it can seem like everything's a mess in comparison to how beautiful it was while imagining it; but fortunately this isn't a disaster because the first draft is supposed to be that way! It's the draft meant for walking the grounds of the story for the first time, getting an insider's view of who the characters actually are, what the scenery is like, and which actions work well in the story. It's the discovery draft, and discovery expeditions can come across a couple unexpected finds before reaching what they were seeking in the first place.
    After the first draft is done, the rewrites (or the editing stage) can happen. And this might be even more difficult than the first draft, because now a writer has the task of bringing change to factors in the story that need improvement without changing things that were actually done well. But throughout this whole stage of the process, the question of "Which changes are the right ones?" is always there, and very pressing because no one wants to accidentally get rid of something good. Making those decisions can seem blind sometimes (a really frightening thought), but the revision stage is more than just taking things out; it's putting more things in, making additions. It's as much as a creative process as plotting the story and writing the first draft was, and this means that new awesome things can be created in the revisions.
    So in every area of writing, this quote by Anne Lamott can be applied and used to give encouragement. Do you agree? :)

Psalm 93:4

 

"The LORD on high is mightier than the noise of many waters, than the mighty waves of the sea."

Psalm 93: 4 (NKJ)

    God is incredible; stronger than anyone could imagine, able to do anything. He can (and has, in fact, as Matthew 8:24-26, Mark 4:37-39, and Luke 8:23-24 state) easily calm a raging storm.
    "The noise of many waters" and "the mighty waves of the sea" can be likened to fear, and the things in life that prompt fear, can't it? Because  the sound of water crashing against things close to a person, sloshing around their feet, and churning into powerful currents tumbling at them is frightening, and it threatens to damage anything it touches.
    But God is more powerful than the things that can make us afraid, just as He's greater than the oceans He created. He's far mightier than fear, able to conquer it, and this same God who's stronger than fear is willing to deliver us from it.
    And this in itself can strengthen us in hope; the Lord's invincible strength. It's so marvelous, isn't it?