Aha! Moment #1 Selah's 5th Birthday Plan Fiasco

My daughter, Selah, will be turning five on the 22nd and I will host her party on the 26th. My intentions were to give her a small, girl only dress up party at a local boutique, then call it a day. However, now I have twice the girls, more than a handful of adults. The store cannot accomodate all these people.
My wallet can't accomodate all these people.
My home can't accomododate all these people.
My chest is tight. An imaginary stress line is strangling me or at least trying to sever my head from body. Time is running out. And pretty soon the party goers parents will get tired of my changing plans.
This is not what I planned.

All I want to do is have some fun.

Aha!

All I wanted my book to do was have fun. Create a wacky character, who gets herself in some serious trouble and watch her scramble out of it. And learn a few things about my self and my relationship with God along the way. Nothing too fancy. Nothing too contrived.

But just like this party I have overplanned this book.
At this point I don't give a flying flip about what's supposed to be christian fiction.
I've read enough of everyone's expert opinion and written enough muddle of my own.
I've read enough books that poorly represent what I want in a book and have written enough muddle of my own.
I want to have fun. That's all.
So I pulled out the letter Chucky P wrote me. I reread the part where he wanted me to have more fun with my writing.

Aha!

And that's what I'm gon' do.

Selah's party will be great no matter what I decide.
And this book...Chris, this book must have Reverend Pugh in it.
And so it will. Aha!

Writing to see what the end gon' be,
Dee

Miracle, Plotting & Diary of a Glad Black Woman

I won a free movie ticket at my christian author friend Tia McCollor's Heart of Devotion Book Release Party. I used it this week to see Diary of a Mad Black Woman(click title to direct you to the movie site.)

While I watched the movie, I thought about my book. No--To tell the truth, I've been replotting my book for the past week. Old and new author friends have helped me along with this. I thank you. Anyway...

I'm watching this movie and trying to parallel my novel to this screenplay. Does anyone else do that besides me? While I do this, I realize there are some things that my novel needs like: a big opening scene, an event for my climax and a universal conflict to pull my black moment together and raise the stakes of this story. By the time I left the movie I was more energized about my story, than how gorgeous Shemar Moore is--even with the beard, dried up cornrows, and the work clothes. I want creep you out by putting his pic on this site. You all know my weakness or rather my aesthetic love for beautiful formed men. Yes. there is a thin holy line between lust and art gazing. And yes. I know the difference. Just don't tell my boyfriend about Jason Momoa. You know what I'm saying. (By the way everyone pray for my sweety pie. He is in the hospital for a respiratory infection and flu. He's in Ohio and I'm in Atlanta, so imagine my frustration.)

Back to the point of this post...

I go home tweek some things and yes, realize that my premise needs to change a bit to make this story coherent. Refusing to throw my novel notebook in the trash I prayed for Miracle. No. Not a Miracle. Miracle, the movie with Kurt Russel speaking very Wisconsinee. (Yes. I love Kurt, too.) This movie exemplified unifying theme and using big events to drive the plot. It was on HBO yesterday.

Hallelujah!!

Now I'm a Glad Black Woman. At least for now until I send my changes to my writing cronies for them to tell me to stop this nonsense and write some something, anything, soon.

Pray for me, my G-man, and all the men I cited here today. Tyler Perry, you rock!!

Writing to see what the end gon' be,
Dee

Relevant Writing & Minimum Wage

According to the Associate Press(click the title above to read more) Congress did not approve an increase in the minimum wage. "The GOP-controlled Senate defeated a labor-backed increase in the $5.15 wage floor on Monday, saying it would only hurt the entry-level workers it was designed to help."

Whatever that means...

At Sunday school this past Sunday one of my classmates asked me a question he's been wanting to ask, since this year's presidential election: how can I--a christian--be a Democrat?

My answer was providential and sweet. I didn't want to rock the boat at the church. And I didn't want to say that because as a black woman I am offended by Republican politics. That's a discussion for my personal blog-deestewart.blogspot.com.

Anyway...I say to this friend of mind. "That as a christian I can't judge people based on a sin that society wants to spotlight. We all fall short, so we all are gay/lesbian/abortion having sinners. Whether we participate in this activity or not. No sin is greater. No sin is more deplorable. I don't believe as a christian that you can unite government and religion in that way. It's pharisee-like."

The discussion was closed. Everyone smiled. And I didn't care what they said about me at their homes. As I am the only black, single, disabled mother amongst the crew. I am separate, but equal regardless of the statement I made.

So how does this affect my writing?

I read an article about stakes and conflict on faith in fiction blog last week and it changed my whole view about what I want to do as a fiction writer. As a journalist for christian press I discuss the world through my eyes and how it relates to my struggle as a christian woman. Yet, until then did I realize that I should also write about the same discussion in fiction.

See. I wanted to write something fluffy and cute that any women would want to buy and hopefully, through the jokes and catch phrases they would learn a little bit about God.

After reading Dave's article, watching another East Coast/West Coast rap "Game" rivalry shatter my hopes of a black-on-black crimeless future, and now reading this minimum wage issue in the Washington Post I am convicted and glad that I changed my premise. I changed my story from a sweet romance between a black preacher and a gospel diva into a story about faith and race. The haves and the have nots in this christian counter culture.

If we say we are christian, then why is the most segregated and prejudiced day of the week on Sunday? If we say we are christian, then why didn't we vote in November for Senators would have vote to increase the minimum wage as gas prices continue to soar? If we really care about America's freedom, then why don't we free the poor and the sick in this country? If we say we care about American's future, then why do we want to cut Head Start and Medicaid? If we say we are a God-fearing country, then why is the Ten Commandments and issue in the courthouse?

We say one thing and mean another. We are wolves in sheep clothing.

We write fluff instead of the truth.

We become the tax collector and the money changers.

Christ died for us, but didn't rise for weak minded writing. What say you?


Writing to see what the end gon' be,

Dee

Good Morning, Davidae

Jason Momoa 

An excerpt...

To the body, the day begins and ends the same, but the soul exists to know and praise the difference.

Around 6:00 am in my dreams the Lord met me. One minute he was Ben Affleck(not the superstar, but my nightdream boyfriend) and then he changed to Jason Momoa(not the incredibly gorgeous Hawaiian actor, but my daydream boyfriend)--neither of these men are my fiance mind you. But for a minute I don't think that my dream boy switches are absurd. It feels like the most casual occurence in the world. And then it strikes me.

I was late!

God knew my brain would trigger the moment I saw Momoa. If you're a girly girl like me I think your brain will trigger too, if this man popped up in your dreams all Willy Nilly. But it hit me again, while brushing my teeth and tiptoeing through the house, hoping not to disturb my daughter, Selah.

I laugh. The Lord has a sense of humor.

But what's rich about this illumination is the fact that for the first time I understood that the Lord knows what to do to get my juices flowing. He knows who I am.

Usually he sends the Holy Spirit to whisper to me, while I'm joking with Ben,"Good Morning, Davidae."

But not today. And I am too happy to wonder why.

I read a few pages of Mariette in Ectsasy and laughed--again, not at the book, but at myself.

I love beautiful things: people, planets, words...
I love the way they place on the page and how they sound when read aloud.
I love pleasant surprises like Jason Momoa and Mariette in Ecstasy.
I love my Lord's morning love notes that he only sends to me.
I love feeling a part of a great big, beautiful, Momoa-inspiring world.

May you find The Lord flirting with you this day.

Writing to see what the end gon' be,
Dee

Inciting Incidents in Blue Abstract

Yesterday after I dropped my daughter off at PreK I received a gift from God.

My mind has been in blue funk for the past week, because my latest story idea has no structure or at least that's how I felt about it. So anyway... I was feeling very anxious, because I promised myself I would fulfill this dream if noonwe reads this novel, but me.

You know?

So, I'm driving back home. The sky is a sweet periwinkle blue with a few white foam scribbles scattering in this areal blue sea. And then I see it Mars. It's huge, but not read just as blue as the sky and outlined by the fuzzy scribbles in the sky. NASA says that

The 2005-2006 apparition of Mars will be one of the most favorable of the twenty first century for two reasons: Mars will be close to Earth, and. it will be above the celestial equator in our sky

.

For me it says that God is still great.
God is still good,
And wanting to write for him is more than just about the five people who will read my work, but the millions in the heavens who await its release.
I feel good.
I feel like I've found the inciting incident that I was looking for.
Hopefully, Peaches can take it from here.
Go outside and give the Lord some praise today and see it for yourself.

Writing to see what the end gon' be,
Dee

The Most Influential Black Spiritual Leaders

Click on this title and it will link you to an interesting article from belief.net regarding who they think are the most influential Black Spiritual Leaders of are time?

I do not agree with the list. Some people are not mentioned. Do you agree?

Inciting Incidents/Dialogue/"Imitation of Life"

An excerpt from my novel...

“No! Today’s sermon didn’t set me off; Craig’s proposal to that heartless wench is what turned me every shade of wrong,” my mouth misspoke, but told the truth and shamed the devil inside me.

I had an interesting discovery today. I write/think/speak in Turner Vision.

What is Turner Vision-seeing the world as a classic movie.

As I fumble, stumble, and erase my story's first premise I find myself trying to recover some of it just to keep this spunky, stormy novel beginning/grandiose opening scene idea that just want let me go.

Last year, I interviewed Eden author, Olympia Vernon and she told me that her character's haunted her until she put their stories down on paper, and after completion they released her mind.

Although, I do believe in spirits and exorcisms(read my short, "Sugar Rum Halloween", I don't want any thing, but the holy spirit guiding my thoughts.

Yet, I understand Olympia's urgent urgency about her stories. I just wished I could find some other fuel besides "Imitation of Life" and anything else on Turner Movie Classics station with Lana Turner or Dorothy Dandridge starring in it.

And then it hit me...God made this way and so my writing will be this ridiculously sultry way.

Writing to see what the end gon' be,
Dee