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September 6, 2016

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Why I Write

It’s Tuesday (which means it’s not Monday, in case you didn’t know), and so you may be asking yourself why a post by that neurotic, crazy person you accidentally followed that one time is showing up a day late.

Okay, full disclosure: I completely forgot I didn’t have a post ready to go for Monday, and so I woke up Sunday night in a cold sweat remembering that I had nothing to post on Monday, but I was too tired to lug out the computer, and so I just decided in a sweaty, panicky haze that I would post on Tuesday, and so here I am (yay for run-on sentences!).

This post was inspired by “Why Write” from the fabulous Alea (psh, I did not steal my blog post title from her at all, please don’t be absurd). Her post got me thinking, and this post is the result of that thinking (yay for weird sentences that are hard to read!).

(I’m about to be more vulnerable and honest than I’m comfortable with, and so please bear with me.)

SONY DSC

Why do I write? What am I hoping to gain from it?

Is it worth all the awkward conversations with people who want to know what I’m going to do with my life (e.g. Person: “So, Rosalie, what are your plans?” Me: “Well, right now I’m working on getting a manuscript ready to pitch to publishers next summer.” Person: “Ohhhhhhhh, that’s… interesting…?” OR: Person: “So, Rosalie, what do you write?” Me: “Speculative fiction… it’s basically science fiction and fantasy.” Person: “Oh. Huh. Fantasy, really?)?

Is it worth the hours spent on maps and character development and editing and subplots and rewrites and networking?

Is it worth the thought and heart and imagination?

Is it worth staying up late when I have to get up early?

Is it worth that punch to the gut when I get a rejection?

No, it’s not. Not if that’s all that writing is–just a time consuming, fun thing to do that might (might) get me semi-famous. If it is just about the stories or a hope of fame or money, it isn’t worth wasting another breath on it. I can stop here, delete Penprints from the internet, chuck my notebooks into the trash, and wipe my computer of all my stories and do something more meaningful, something worthy of my short time on earth.

But writing is not that, not to me.

Writing is my hobby and my passion and my worship and my gift and my ministry and my path.

Writing is how I relax. Some people like to scrapbook or collect things or bake or play with cars or hike or paint. I like to write. I enjoy it. I enjoy building worlds from nothing and drawing maps and researching things like the limits of the human body and writing dialogue that makes me laugh and wondering “what if…”. Writing is my hobby.

Writing is something that gets me excited, something that gets my spine tingling and fingers itching. I blurt out random bits of my stories to my sister. I show my maps to my brother. I scramble after a notebook like a rabbit on caffeine (Out of Time series reference, peeps) when I get a new idea. Writing is my biggest passion beside Christ.

Writing is quickly becoming one of my favorite ways to worship God. When I write, I’m drawn closer to God. I can see Him, and it puts awe in my bones. We talk about my ideas (which were all His first), and more and more I find myself writing for His glory, that He might be known and seen in what I write. When I write, I look at my God and praise Him. Sometimes, when I can’t express my love for Him any other way, I write. Writing is one of the ways I worship my Creator.

Writing comes fairly easily to me, but it’s not something I can keep. God gave me the ability and the passion, and I give it back to Him. It’s my offering to Him. It’s my first-fruits, my best and dearest, and it belongs to Him. Sometimes I feel like a kid whose dad gave her some paper and crayons, and she colored the paper and then gave it to her dad saying, “I made this for you!”. Writing is one of my gifts from God, and it’s one of my gifts back to God.

Writing is one of the ways I’m most adept at reaching others for Christ. God has used posts like When I Almost Died & What I Have to Say About It and 3 Ways to Glorify God in Your Writing to touch other people’s lives. Letters and stories are some of the ways God uses me most to bless others. Writing is one of my ministries.

Writing is what I feel called to do, at least right now. God has given me quite a few stories to write, and until I sense Him leading me to something else, I’m going to write them. I’m going to keep blogging on Penprints because I believe God has put me here for a reason. I’m called to serve my Christ, and for now, this is how I’m going to do it because this is the path I’ve been set on.

That is why I write.

What about you?

Writer’s, why do you write?

Non-writers, what are your gifts? What is a hobby of yours? What are some ways you worship God? What is one of your ministries?

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June 13, 2016

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Uh, This is Random

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Welcome to Penprints

As stated at the end of last week’s blog post, I have decided to change the name of this blog.

First of all, let it be known that I really struggle with keeping the same blog name for very long.

Second of all, be sure to load the pics in this email (you know who you are, email hermits) because there are stunning (stunning) visuals to go along with this momentous occasion.

Some of you may remember that when my blog began, I christened it Not All by My Lonesome. I think we can all agree that that was a weird, mouthful of a blog name. This is typically my reaction when I think back on the days of Not All by My Lonesome:

wut 1

So after a year of… that, I renamed the blog The Fox Hole because I’m mildly (okay not mildly, majorly) obsessed with foxes.

fox 2

Just look at this beauty!!! How can you not be obsessed????

(I plan to own my own fox one day. It shall be wonderful and glorious and I shall call it squishy and it will be my squishy.)

*ahem*

And so my blog has been The Fox Hole for over two years (yeah, this blog has been around three years; I try not to think about the early days of this blog… those were the Dark Days when I had no idea what I was doing, and those of you who weren’t around back then should be thankful that you weren’t around).

*ahem again*

The time has come, once again, to change the blog name, and this time, I think this is The One (yeah, sure I thought the same thing about the last two blog names, but I’m sure–as in positive, without a shadow of a doubt–that that won’t be the case this time… hehe, right?).

Penprints.

That’s right; I’m rechristening the ol’ blog Penprints.

So now onto the purpose of the post wait, what? Blog posts are supposed to have a purpose? I thought they were supposed to just be my meandering thoughts as they come to me… oops–why Penprints?

Now, I can hear some of you groaning and wailing, “Who even cares?” Others are crying out (*cough cough* I’m looking at you, Mom), “But The Fox Hole was such a cute name! And Penprints is… what does it even mean?”

To which I reply: “It’s unique and relates to writing. Sort of. Vaguely. In a roundabout, makes you think of pawprints and puppies, sort of way.”

And The Fox Hole has copyright stuffs–I could get a cease and desist order any time which would mean bye-bye meandering blog posts from Rosalie for all you lovely people (I know, we’d all be shedding some tears if that happened).

Also, check out this new header.

penprints 8

And another thing, since ya’ll go nuts all over social media talking about this blog (because you do, right? Right? RIGHT???), I have also taken the liberty of creating an official hashtag for Penprints. 

Get ready for it: #penprints (whoa. whoa. you did not see that coming. at all.).

#penprints 3

 

Why #penprints? Well, I wanted a hashtag for us all (haha, basically just me) to use on social media so that our discussion (because we’re gonna have lots of discussion, right? Right?? RIGHT??) can be easily tracked. And #penprints is the obvious choice because it’s the name of the blog. So, if any of you feel like sharing something from Penprints on any of your social medias, now you have #penprints to tag it with. :) (No, guys, I promise I’m not obsessed with this blog; like, what are you even talking about?)

There you have it.

Welcome to Penprints.

Now, you ask: “How do you feel about this new name, Rosalie?”

To which I reply:

pleased cat face

SO. What do you guys think? Penprints or The Fox Hole? And what do you think of the new header and such? Do you think blog renaming should be a thing? What are the names of your blogs?

P.S. – Guys. I used thirteen parenthetical statements in this blog post! That’s crazy!

P.P.S. – The next post you receive in your inbox will be from Penprints instead of The Fox Hole, just so you know. :)

P. P. P. S. – I just fired up a Facebook page; you should check it out because things are cool there.

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December 22, 2015

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How to Wrap a Gift (for the exceptionally challenged)

The days until Christmas have dwindled into single digits. People are running around like chickens with their heads cut off trying to get last minute shopping in. Children stalk the presents under the tree. Mothers angst over the big Christmas meal. Sweethearts kiss under the mistletoe. Blah, blah, blah.

This post isn’t about any of that.

I’ll do some real advent posts next year, but for 2015, this shall be the only Christmas post I write.

I think that this is an issue that a lot of people struggle with. I mean, there are those few out in the world who have this down and make the rest of us want to gag, but I think that this doesn’t come naturally to most of us. It’s a real, deep struggle.

I am, of course, talking about gift wrapping.

how to wrap a gift (for the exceptionally challenged)So, here is a four-step tutorial on how to wrap a Christmas gift, and because I am exceptionally challenged, this should be suitable even for even the most inept.

Step 1: Assemble your supplies

Find your wrapping paper. If you cannot locate any wrapping paper in the house, you must venture out of doors and buy some from the nearest store. Choosing the correct wrapping paper isn’t that big of a deal; all you have to do is make sure it’s pretty. However, I recommend paper with one side as a grid because this makes cutting a relatively straight line a world easier.

Find your scissors. This can be difficult. Pull out all of your drawers, and if you still are unable to locate them, dump the contents of the drawers on the floor in a fit of frustration. (It helps.) Even in a pinch, DO NOT USE KITCHEN SCISSORS UNDER ANY CIRCUMASTANCES. I cannot emphasize this enough. Using kitchen scissors will only elevate the already high risk of mental breakdown.

Find your tape. Don’t buy unproven, cutsy holiday tape. Even if it says it’s “specifically for” gift wrapping, don’t believe it. (It’s a trap!) If you already possess trustworthy holiday tape, go ahead and use that, but otherwise, buy some good old, clear scotch tape. For the inept, this is a must because you will most likely end up using obscene amounts of tape in an effort to wrap your gifts, and cute tape will make it look more like even more of a mess than it already is. For the advanced, use this holiday tape at your own risk.

Find your fine-tipped Sharpie. This is for labeling your gifts once they are wrapped. It is best to track this bad boy down at this time so that you can label your gifts as soon as they are wrapped. Use fat Sharpies at your own risk.

Pro-tip: never let your mom “borrow” any of your supplies as the odds of seeing those supplies ever again are extremely slim.

Step Two: Wrap the gift.

Pick the gift you wish to wrap first. Usually, it is best to start with something fairly simple like putting the gift in an Amazon shipping box. Find a flat surface to be your operating table. DO NOT USE A BED. This is the worst place to wrap gifts because beds usually an odd height and squishy which usually means lots of unwanted rips in your paper. I highly recommend the floor instead of a table because you will likely be sinking to the ground in a heap of tears at some point anyway.

With your supplies assembled and your gift chosen, you can begin wrapping the gift. Begin by unrolling a portion of your paper and placing the gift in the center. Practice wrapping the gift before you cut. Figure out how much paper you will need, and then cut the appropriate amount of paper with your scissors.

Start folding the paper around your box and tape as needed.

At this point, you will discover that you have too much paper, so find your scissors again and trim the paper.

Eat some chocolate and start folding the paper around your box and tape as needed.

At this point, you will realize that you trimmed too much paper and do not have enough to cover the box.

Drink some wine and start over.

After three tries, you have the right amount of paper cut. You’ll start folding your paper around your box, but when you reach for your tape, it is gone. Pin the box and the folded paper to your chest and feel around for the missing tape. Once you have rediscovered your tape, use your free hand and teeth to get a piece of the tape. During the struggle of getting a piece of tape, you have ripped your paper and dropped your box.

Cry for a while and start over.

After failing to wrap the box two more times, you have finally successfully (more-or-less) wrapped the box! Congratulations!

Step Three: Label the gift

Whip out your Sharpie and prepare to finish this! At this point, it has been two hours since you put the gift in the box and began wrapping. Now, you no longer remember what the gift is or who it is for.

Take some time to throw some things and cry, and then go through your gift inventory to see what is missing. Theoretically, the missing item will be the item in your box.

Wipe your eyes, steady your hand, and carefully write the recipient’s name and then your name on the paper. Do this SLOWLY. If you do end up making a mess of writing the recipient’s name, find some labels and put it over your mistake and try again.

Step Four: Repeat Steps One – Three as necessary.

There you have it!

This is generally how gift wrapping goes for me, and so I wanted to share my process with you all. :) :)

Merry Christmas!

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November 16, 2015

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To All the Brave Wrimos

To All the Brave Wrimos feature imageThis is for you brave Wrimos out there who are hammering away at your very own 50k (or more, if you’re one of Those).

We’re here at Day 16, just over the halfway hump. (Well, for you nocturnal writers, it’s still Day 15, but for all the rest of you, we’re in the early breaths of Day 16.)

Some of you are well beyond your goals, glorying at 40k or more. Congrats! You are officially insane and/or amazing. Ya’ll can stop reading now. This for the fairly normal peeps (fairly being the operative word).

Some of you are struggling, having fallen days behind because your Muse abandoned you when daylight dawned on Day 3. Or you lost your plot shortly after 10k. Or suddenly, your book is about some minor character you didn’t know existed until twenty pages in. Or you got a late start and are still playing catch-up, but the dog died and the baby is throwing up everywhere. Or your keyboard bid you farewell, and you’ve written the last 3k on your basic flip phone.

Regardless of the details, whatever has befallen is dragging you down. You’re wondering if it’s worth the stiff fingers and crusty eyes. You don’t know how much longer your body can operate on coffee and Cheetos. You’re thinking about changing careers so that you can synthesize pure, injectable caffeine. You’re thinking about quitting.

Don’t.

Please, don’t.

I’m here to tell you never give up, never surrender.

I did NaNo last year. I’ve been where you are. The stress of normal life compounded by the story that you’re fighting to get on paper. The days when you to bed two hours before you have to get up. The nights when you’ve got a load of homework, and still have to try to reach your word count. The afternoons when you’re falling asleep at work.

While I’m not slaying 50,000 words this month, I’m here, at 1:30 am, popping Hershey’s chocolate nuggets like they’re oxygen between gulps of my sparkling grape juice. I’ve already tanked down on all my gummy bears, and I’m in that weird half-light place that’s just before hysteria. I’m doing this as a show of solidarity and to tell you not to give up.

Regardless of the outcome, you’ve endeavored to do something that makes most people I know blanch with fear. If you write 120k or 20k this month, you wrote something. You tried. My point is, get an A for effort. Don’t write 20k because you give up. Write 20k because it’s the best you’ve got right now.

So what your plot wandered off? Rough drafts are supposed to be a time of discovery. When you lose your plot, you find new loves, new villains, new victories, new losses, new places.

Here’s what makes a breakneck rough draft fearless: revisions and editing can fix just about anything.

So, kill the character.

Make those two fall in love.

Have them lose that battle.

This the best time to bold and incomprehensible and wild.

So make it so.

Finish it.

Sincerely,

Rosalie, the girl in the fox hole

A Note to Followers: Some of you may have gathered that I’m not doing NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month, but who ever says the whole thing?) this year. For those of you hadn’t gathered thus: I’m not doing NaNoWriMo this year.

Time itself has been against me for a few months now, and if I did NaNo, well… the world would crumble around my ears. Trust me, I’m bummed. On the bummer scale, it’s like when Frodo got stabbed with a Morgul blade on Weathertop. Yeah, it’s that bad. I can feel the poison turning me into a wraith and everything.

Anyway, “normal” posts are returning to a fox hole near you.

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November 2, 2015

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#Called2Speak for the Lost

What makes you want to speak out?

Today I have the honor of participating in #Called2Speak Blog Hop which is promoting the dystopian novel, A Time to Speak by the fabulous Nadine Brandes (the awesome book two in the Out of Time series which released October 16 so you can go buy it now). On the #Called2Speak hop, we’re supposed to speak out about something we’re passionate about.

P.S. – there’s a giveaway at the end! :) :)

Hashtag-Called2Speak-5I thought about a bunch of different topics I could write about, but nothing knocked me off my feet. I’m passionate about a variety of things, but none of them… fit. I wasn’t called to speak about any of them.

Instead, after praying and more thinking, it turns out that I’m called to speak about something I’m not passionate about. I’m called to speak for the Lost.

Who are the Lost?

The Lost are those without Christ.

I’m called to speak for the Lost because I’m not the only one lacking a passion for them. In fact, I’d have to say that this dispassion is widespread and worsening day by day.

Honestly, I don’t really care about the Lost. Not truly. If I loved the Lost, I would share my Hope with them; I would share Christ with them. But I don’t. I act kind and convince myself that showing them Christ is more important, more effective, than telling them Who the Truth is. If I’m nice and smile, they’ll figure it out. No need for me to bring Him up and make things awkward. *shudder* We wouldn’t want that. No, no. I’ll stick to my sweetness and “glow,” and if they ask about Him – and I’m secretly hoping they won’t – I’ll figure something out. Yeah, this is a great plan. Osmosis all the way.

After twelve – almost thirteen – years of these genius tactics, I’ve lead a grand total of zero people to Christ. What, no applause?

The question is, am I going to throw away the next thirteen years “reaching” the Lost this way?

Now, some may think, “Come on. It’s not that big of a deal. If God wants them to get saved, they will eventually.”

Um, no. No matter how I slice it, according to Scripture, sharing the Gospel is a nonnegotiable.

In Matthew 28:19-20, Jesus told the disciples (and us), “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Step one in disciple-making: share the Gospel. But I’m not. I’m not obeying this command, which begs the question, how much do I love Christ? He said that if I love Him, I’ll obey His commands (John 14:15).

And then there’s Acts 1:8 which says: “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth.”

To witness is “to bear witness to; testify to; give or afford evidence of” according to the dictionary. If I’m God’s witness, I should be declaring His Gospel. But I’m not.

I find the worst part isn’t that I don’t love the Lost. I don’t think it’s even that I’m being disobedient. The worst part is that I don’t care that I don’t love Christ enough to obey this command or that I don’t truly want to see souls saved to Christ.

There’s something desperately wrong with my heart. I can rattle off a list of excuses. Just watch and see.

I’m not elegant when I talk.

I’m haven’t studied enough to accurately share the Gospel.

I’m not brave.

But ultimately, I don’t want to.

And that right there is so many different shades of weak and wrong.

God says, “For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.” – Matthew 10:20. That axes my whiny “I’m not elegant” excuse.

God says, “But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect.” – 1 Peter 3:15. This command throws my lazy “I haven’t studied” right out the window.

God says, “For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” – 2 Timothy 1:7. That demolished my whimpering “I’m not brave.” Because of Christ, I don’t have to be, shouldn’t be, afraid.

So, where is my love for the Lost? How do I get a passion for them?

It’s simple.

If I truly love my Lord, He will give me wild love for the Lost. There’s hope for me yet. He can overcome my weakness, and He can strip away the selfishness in my soul if I want Him to, if I ask Him to, if I let Him.

I don’t think I’m the only one who struggles with loving the Lost. I don’t think I’m the only one who has come up with a list longer than the Nile as to why I don’t, can’t, won’t share the Gospel.

But, friends, we’ve got to change.

This is not how it’s supposed to be.

I want to close with a quote from David Platt’s book Radical (which you can enter for a chance to win here): “Every saved person this side of heaven owes the Gospel to every lost person this side of hell.”

Tell me honestly. Do you love the Lost?

A Time to SpeakWhat happens when you live longer than you wanted to?

Parvin Blackwater wanted to die, but now she’s being called to be a leader. The only problem is, no one wants to follow.

The Council uses Jude’s Clock-matching invention to force “new-and-improved” Clocks on the public. Those who can’t afford one are packed into boxcars like cattle and used for the Council’s purposes.

Parvin and Hawke find themselves on a cargo ship of Radicals headed out to sea. What will the Council do to them? And why are people suddenly dying before their Clocks have zeroed-out?

Book Two in the “Out of Time” series.

Read about the first book, A Time to Die, here.

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To learn more about the author, Nadine, you can check out the interview I had with her last week and enter for a chance to win paperback copies of A Time to Die and Radical by David Platt, or you can visit her website.

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ALSO, what makes you want to speak out?  If you want to participate in the #Called2Speak Blog Hop, just write up a post about whatever you are passionate about, and tag it with #Called2Speak!

The Giveaway!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Okay, I’m not going to lie.  The awesomeness of this giveaway is severely stunted because my blog won’t show the Rafflecopter widget (blast you, blog vs rafflecopter feud!).  If you click on the link, you will discover an opportunity to win signed (SIGNED!!!!) copies of BOTH A Time to Die and A Time to Speak.  Guys, do it.  These books are twelve different kinds of incredible.

Now, to here is a list of all the other bloggers who have participated in the #Called2Speak Blog Hop so far.  Go ahead and check out what they’re passionate about by following the links below. :)

9.28.15 – Gretchen Engel
9.30.15 – Nadine Brandes
10.01.15 – Jason Joyner
10.05.15 – Gretchen Engel (part 2)
10.06.15 – Tricia Mingerink
10.08.15 – Gretchen Engel (Scriblerians)
10.09.15 – Emilie Hendryx
10.11.15 – Janeen Ippolito
10.12.15 – Zachary D Totah
10.14.15 – Brittany Valentine
10.15.15 – Andrew Swearingen
10.17.15 – Megan Besing
10.19.15 – Angel Roman
10.20.15 – Charles Franklin
10.21.15 – Lisa Godfrees
10.23.15 – Shantelle Hannu
10.27.15 – Natalie Walters
10.29.15 – The Artist Librarian
11.02.15 – Rosalie Valentine
11.17.15 – Amanda Fender

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