"Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by doing so some people have entertained angels without knowing it." - Hebrews 13:2



Monday, October 31, 2011

Tree Ents and Dune Dog Afternoon...

My Maple Tree - Photo by Loree Huebner


Like my Tree Ent? Yes, that tree is in my front yard. That maple is at least eighty years old, if not ninety. Boy if it could talk, the stories it could tell. We put that face up many years ago. I thought it would be a good picture for the blog since today is Halloween. Spooky, huh?
This week my post will be short, but I will be out and about visiting my favorite blogs as usual.
I’m still on vacation from my day job, but working hard through requested revisions. The revisions are going very well. The hard part has been revised, and the rest is tying in loose ends during the final read through. If it all works out, I’ll be talking about it on future blogs. I’ve learned a lot about revising in the past week with some gentle guidance from a professional with more experience.
Unfortunately, I have developed severe eye strain in my right eye. It hurts pretty bad and occasionally twitches uncontrollably. It's so silly when it happens, I look like I'm flirting...winky...winky...winky. I consider it a revision war wound. Too much computer time I guess. Anyone got any good remedies for eye strain? I know, I know—shut the computer off!
Anyone get snow over the weekend? I hear it got pretty bad out east. Stay safe. It seems way too early for snow. We had sunshine and some rain showers. Saturday, Eric and I took the dogs to the Indiana Dunes State Park, on the shores of Lake Michigan. I’m going to end this post with a few pictures that I thought I would share with you.
Don’t forget next week, Eric will be here with the History Corner along with my regular post.

And best wishes to all those NaNo-ers out there. I am not participating, but have set daily writing goals.
Have a great week!
Between you, me and the gatepost,
Loree

Lake Michigan - Photo by Loree Huebner


Southern tip of Lake Michigan  - Photo by Loree Huebner
If you look real close you can see Chicago in the distance



Chicago - (zoomed in) from the Indiana Dunes Lakeshore - Photo by Loree Huebner



Fly the Border Collie - doing her job - watching over me (the red speck on the shore)
and Pickles the Greyhound - from on top of a sand dune
She's a true hearding dog
Photo by Eric Huebner



Pickles the Greyhound thinking about running up dunes
Photo by Loree Huebner


Monday, October 24, 2011

Who You Are...

I’m taking vacation time. Funny how vacations get filled with “so much to do, so little time”…
I have a busy week scheduled. I’ll be unplugged for part of the week to finish a requested revision.
I’m going to visit with my daughters and watch my son row in a competition.
Of course, there is the last of the yard work to be done and the gutters to be cleaned out. No hiding, Eric.
I'll finish Rosslyn Elliott’s book, Fairer Than Morning…so far, really an awesome piece of work…beautifully written. I highly recommend.
I’ve also received another Versatile Blog Award this week (this makes three!! woo hoo!) from the lovely and talented author, K. Victoria Chase. Thank you, Tori! Please take some time to go over to her blog – Tori’s Lounge. She’s a beautiful lady and always has something interesting going on over there.
As I head into my revisions, I need some inspiration. When I feel this way, I turn to listening to a few songs that keep me humble, and remind me that it’s not about me or my writing…it’s about who I am, and who I’m writing for.
Last August, Eric took me to see The Casting Crowns. The concert was outstanding! They played it all. We were in the third row!



The Casting Crowns - Photo by Loree Huebner


Anyway, one of their songs has a special place in my heart. It got me through a difficult time several years ago.
Who Am I?
Where ever you are in your writing journey – writing your first manuscript, your first book sale, a rejection letter, revisions, line edits, getting a request for a partial, querying your dream agent, and so on...
Or on your life journey – health issues, love, marriage, school, raising kids, work, loss, rejection, promotion, joy, hope, separation from a loved one, and so on…
I want you to remember, who you are
I hope you find the inspiration you need or become one this week.
Between you, me and the gatepost,
Loree


Who Am I? – Casting Crowns

Who am I, that the Lord of all the earth
Would care to know my name
Would care to feel my hurt
Who am I, that the Bright and Morning Star
Would choose to light the way
For my ever wandering heart

Not because of who I am
But because of what You've done
Not because of what I've done
But because of who You are

I am a flower quickly fading
Here today and gone tomorrow
A wave tossed in the ocean
Vapor in the wind
Still You hear me when I'm calling
Lord, You catch me when I'm falling
And You've told me who I am
I am Yours, I am Yours

Who am I, that the eyes that see my sin
Would look on me with love and watch me rise again
Who am I, that the voice that calmed the sea
Would call out through the rain
And calm the storm in me

Not because of who I am
But because of what You've done
Not because of what I've done
But because of who You are

I am a flower quickly fading
Here today and gone tomorrow
A wave tossed in the ocean
Vapor in the wind
Still You hear me when I'm calling
Lord, You catch me when I'm falling
And You've told me who I am
I am Yours

Not because of who I am
But because of what You've done
Not because of what I've done
But because of who You are

I am a flower quickly fading
Here today and gone tomorrow
A wave tossed in the ocean
Vapor in the wind
Still You hear me when I'm calling
Lord, You catch me when I'm falling
And You've told me who I am
I am Yours

I am Yours
Whom shall I fear
Whom shall I fear
'Cause I am Yours
I am Yours


Monday, October 17, 2011

The Written Web We Weave – yeah, try to say that three times...

A Spider Web
Photo by Loree Huebner

Every time I see a beautiful spider’s web, I think about my favorite book when I was a child – Charlotte’s Web.
Charlotte was a writing spider. She wrote messages in her web to save her friend’s life. Anyway...there’s one part in the story where her friend, Wilbur the pig, thinks it looks easy to spin a web. He’s sure he can do it. He ties a string to his curly tail, climbs to the highest place in the barn he can find, and jumps.
Well of course, after a hard fall on his face, he figures out that it's not all that easy to spin a web.
Where am I going with this? Well, I recently overheard a conversation where the topic took a turnAnyone can write a book…it’s easy.” This line was spoken by someone who has never attempted the craft, and who has no intention of ever trying to write a book. My mind took the route of Wilbur’s vainglorious leap…wooo-boing-splat! I may have smiled.
When I think of writing, I think of the spider spinning her web…one precious line at a time. We connect each word, each sentence together to spin a story out of our imagination. We must take extra care while weaving each layer to the next strand. Too little thread, it’s weak. Too many threads, it breaks. Each thread must be crafted carefully in accordance with the grand design—just like the spider’s web.
At the time Wilbur made his proclamation that he could spin a web, he didn’t know the work, or the physical and mental effort that went into spinning a web - not to mention, it just wasn’t one of his God-given talents. I'm not giving Wilbur (I loved Wilbur) a bad rap here—in the end of the story he knew how hard Charlotte worked at her spinning, writing, and saving his life. He credits her:
“It is not often that someone comes along who is a true friend and a good writer.”
Ever encounter a Wilbur who thinks he can spin a web? Or that it’s easy to write a book?
I would love to hear from you.
Between you, me and the gatepost,
Loree


A Spider Web
Photo by Loree Huebner



Monday, October 10, 2011

The Mind's Eye

The American Heritage Dictionary defines the mind's eye as:
The ability to imagine or remember images or scenes.

Saturday, I was at the Indianapolis Zoo marveling at the giraffes when I noticed a young family approach the viewing area. The dad said to the four-year old, “Stand by the railing so I can get a picture of you with the baby giraffe.” After a hurried pose and picture, the family promptly moved on. Not one of them looked more than 10 seconds at the remarkable creatures. They have a picture to remember the giraffes, but did they really see them?

I guess I noticed this because when Hubby and I left for our road trip on Friday, I forgot to pick up my phone and camera from the coffee table. I was wishing I had my camera, but after the trip, I was so glad I didn’t take it. I captured the pictures and memories in my mind’s eye.

I’ve always been one to have the camera handy. Photography was an interest passed down from my dad. I take pictures all of the time. I guess I realized, while we're so busy taking pictures and getting the right shot, we’re also missing out.

Without my camera, I spent time at the zoo taking extra long looks at the animals. I stood 4 feet from a sleeping rhino and wanted to rub Lubriderm on his thick, cracked, wrinkled skin. I touched a shark. (If I had my camera, I would have been the one taking pictures of my family touching the sharks, I wouldn’t have done it). I observed three cheetahs napping together and found myself in amazement over their perfect, perfect, perfect spots and thick furry tails. I spent the time taking pictures through my mind’s eye. I remember the details so vividly. I also noticed my other senses working—my sense of smell, feeling the warm sun on my skin, and the crunching dry leaves under my feet. The sky was so blue!

I guess we're so rushed in this fast-paced world that we tend to do the “stand there and let me get a picture” and move on. We want to show that we’ve been there, done that.

It seems to me that our mind’s eye is one of the most important tools in writing. Writers are detail and quirk hunters. We tend to watch people more closely and pick up quickly on body language. Even though they say “a picture speaks a thousand words”—there’s a few “words” you won’t see if you don’t get the shot with your mind’s eye.

What do you think?

I would love to hear from you.

Between you, me and the gatepost,

Loree






Monday, October 3, 2011

The History Corner

Just a quick note here...Last week I won another Versatile Blog Award - this time from Marji Laine. Thank you Marji! I hope everyone will go over to her blog - Marji Laine Writer ~ Unravel the Mystery - and say hi. She has a beautiful blog, and I always leave feeling inspired.

Right now, I think we’ll just head over to the History Corner with my better half, Eric Huebner. His post this week is an interesting read. Hope you enjoy it!




Private Lars (Loree) with Frederick Douglass
Gettysburg, PA
Photo by Eric Huebner


The History Corner with Eric Huebner

As you may know, Loree and I are Civil War reenactors with the 9th Indiana Volunteers Company E. We were initially drawn to the regiment as they were from Northern Indiana, but as we learned more about the unit, their amazing record in battle made us truly admire these brave soldiers. In tribute to their service, Loree and I wrote an article titled Among the Bravest of the Brave, the Battle History of the 9th Indiana that was published last spring by the Indiana Historical Society. Of possibly more interest to this audience is the fact that author Ambrose Bierce was a member of the 9th Indiana.
    
Bierce witnessed terrible fighting during the Civil War and was shot in the head during the battle of Kennesaw Mountain, a bullet remaining lodged in his skull. He survived the ride back to a Federal hospital in Chattanooga on an open flat car in spite of the odds. When he returned home with his head wrapped in bandages, his relationship with his girlfriend ended badly, leaving him scarred emotionally and physically. These experiences set the tone for his writing career for which he became known as "Bitter Bierce."
    
Bierce wrote for several newspapers and he was one of the first columnists and editors for William Randolph Hearst. His other works ranged from short stories, many about the war or the macabre, to poems, and The Cynic's Word Book or The Devil's Dictionary. Examples from this piece are:
1. Alone, adj. In bad company
2. Bore, n.: A person who talks when you wish him to listen.
3. Politeness, n. The most acceptable hypocrisy
4. To be positive: To be mistaken at the top of one's voice
5. Year, n. A period of three hundred and sixty-five disappointments.
6. Lawyer, n. One skilled in circumvention of the law.
7. Bride, n. A woman with a fine prospect of happiness behind her.

Bierce's greatest work can be found in his short stories. The strange tale, Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge was possibly his best. A French film version of this story was shown as the final episode of The Twilight Zone and won first prize for Best Short Subject at the 1962 Cannes Film Festival. Author Kurt Vonnegut once stated that he considered Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge the greatest American short story and a work of flawless American genius."    

Be forwarned, his stories are not for the squeamish.

Here is a link to the text of that story: http://www.online-literature.com/bierce/175/
    
My personal favorite, however, is What I saw of Shiloh, the best, no holds barred description of a battle that I have ever read, better even than The Red Badge of Courage. This piece can be found at the same website. Please take a moment and read through a few of his pieces. I believe he was way ahead of his time.

Bierce's life ended in mystery. At the age of 71 he joined Pancho Villa's army and then disappeared without a trace. In 1989 there was a movie about this story titled Old Gringo with Ambrose Bierce played by Gregory Peck. Another movie came out in 2006 called Ambrose Bierce - Civil War Stories with Campbell Scott as Bierce.

Thanks for visiting the History Corner,

 Eric

   
If the Civil War, Bierce, or the 9th Indiana are of any interest to you, check out our facebook page (Eric is the administrator) and please hit "like
https://www.facebook.com/pages/9th-Indiana-Volunteer-Infantry-Company-E/169498509771944

 
Between you, me and the gatepost,
Loree