The Master's Gift

            I felt it necessary to give an introduction to this story as it may help (and I hope not hinder) why the story was written in the first place. The story below comes from my first attempt of trying to write like Max Lucado. He is a well-known Christian story teller known for writing Christian stories with a Christian moral. I've enjoyed reading his books with Easton. I hope you enjoy this story of a famous musician helping a little girl learn to believe in herself.

THE MASTER’S GIFT
            In a small village at the base of a beautiful mountain range lived Victor Borgon. Victor was a famous musician known throughout the surrounding land. Victor loved to travel to the neighboring towns to play his violin. All the townspeople loved to listen to Victor’s music. It was always so peaceful. It made them feel happy. Victor always said his music was for everyone to enjoy.
            Victor also loved to teach others how to play the violin. He freely gave of his time and talents to teach those interested in learning. Victor hand-crafted his own violins and gave them as gifts to those he taught. The craftsmanship was perfect in all aspects.
            Victor had one requirement for those he taught: the students must teach their new talent to someone else.
            One day as he was teaching a small group of children he noticed a little girl peek around the corner of a house. He beckoned to her but she hid herself and did not come. One boy had noticed this and said, “That’s my neighbor. She’s shy. You won’t want to teach her. She’s not good at anything.” The other children nodded in agreement.
            “My talents are for everyone to enjoy,” said Victor. “She is welcome to come and learn if she wishes. I’m sure she can make wonderful music.”
            “No, she’s too stupid to learn anything,” the boy said. The other children laughed. “She can’t even tie her own shoes without help.”
            “I have never taught a single person who has not learned to play beautiful music,” Victor responded cutting the children off in their laughter. “All it takes is a willing heart and an open mind coupled with practice.”
            Victor finished teaching and sent the children home to practice. As he closed his violin case he heard a noise from behind. Turning himself around he saw the little girl. She wore a tattered dress. Her black hair was unkempt and her cheeks were dirty. She didn’t look at Victor but stared at the ground.
            Victor smiled. He kneeled down and asked, “Do you want to learn to play the violin?”
            At first Victor was not sure if she understood him. She continued to stare at the ground with her hands clasped tight together. Then he saw the nearly imperceptible nod of her head.
            “What’s your name?” he asked.
            “Amelia,” she said.
            “That’s a beautiful name, Amelia. If you come back here tomorrow morning I will give you a gift.”
            Without even saying yes or no but with a giddy school girl grin she ran as fast as she could down the street and around the corner.
            He walked inside his shop and found his prized violin reserved for someone as special as Amelia. He tightened the strings, polished it until he could see his reflection in the wood, and tuned it to the perfect sound. He tied a red ribbon around the neck and placed a hand-written note between the strings. He laid it gently in its case.
The next morning upon opening his shop door Victor discovered the same children from yesterday waiting for him.
            “Good morning,” he said. “It’s a fine day to play the violin, don’t you agree?”
            The children looked at each other. One boy had a sly grin on his face. Then he spoke, “We heard you are going to teach Amelia how to play the violin. We don’t think you can. She’s not smart enough to learn.”
            “We shall see” was all Victor said. He grabbed his violin, tucked it under his chin, and began to play. The children sat and listened as they waited for Amelia.
            A few minutes later Amelia came around the corner. She looked the same as yesterday. She wore the same brown dress, the same untidy hair, and the same unwashed face. Seeing the children, she walked slowly to Victor’s shop. Her head was down but she was ready to bolt at a moment’s notice.
            Without saying a word Amelia approached Victor’s chair and sat down. Victor stopped playing. As he looked Amelia in the eyes he repeated yesterday’s question, “Do you want to learn to play the violin?”
            “Yes,” she whispered. “I want to learn from the master.”
            “In that case, follow me. I have a surprise for you.” She stood up and followed Victor into his shop. The children knew Victor was giving Amelia a violin. Only a broken violin would fit Amelia well, they thought.
            “Amelia,” he said. “I have for you a special violin. It is yours as long as you promise you’ll follow my every instruction. I expect a willing heart, an open mind, and lots of practice and you’ll become just like me. And you must teach someone else your new talent as I have taught you. Do you agree to my requirements?”
            Amelia nodded her head in agreement.
            Victor picked up the violin with the red bow and hand-written note and handed it to Amelia. Amelia took it in her hands. She had never received such a beautiful gift before. The violin was very beautiful.
            Between the strings she noticed a piece of paper. Curious, she looked at Victor, who only nodded as if he already knew her unspoken question was whether she should look at it or not.
            She removed the note and read:

Dear Amelia,
            The secret to playing excellent music is not in the violin. The violin by itself does not make music. The violin requires someone with a certain talent to play it. Only you can discover this talent for it is found within you. I can’t teach you to play unless you believe in yourself as I believe in you. Follow my every instruction and one day you will play beautiful music.

Sincerely,
            Victor Borgon

            Tears formed in her eyes as she finished the note. Gently, she put the violin down and rushed to embrace Victor. This time when she spoke it was with confidence, “Thank you Mr. Borgon. Thank you so much.”
            Amelia followed Victor’s instructions and years later she became a brilliant musician. She did follow in Victor’s steps and taught others to believe in themselves as Victor did for her.

The Tooth Fairy

I enjoy asking young kids questions. Since I happen to have a three year old myself I love asking him questions. I also have a four year old niece named AnnDee. This week we are together with her and my in-laws on vacation. We were on our way to the zoo and we started talking about the tooth fairy.

I asked my niece what the tooth fairy does with the tooth after she takes it. She said what she does is takes the tooth from underneath the pillow. Then she cuts the person's head off and then puts the tooth back in so that it can grow out again. It's that simple.

I thought that answer pretty intuitive for a four year old. And I found it rather hilarious. So the next time you wake up with a headache, just maybe the tooth fairy, during the night, cut your head off to put a new tooth inside.

I still have to ask the question -- What does the tooth fairy do with all of the teeth she collects?

Fresh Clothes and Fresh Catch

I came across this picture today. No, this is not a picture of my Southern neighbor's closeline.

Can you imagine the story in this picture?

Let's see - Man goes hunting. He catches some pheasants and two rabbits. Hmm?? Where should I put them to surprise the Missus? I know, let's hang them up on the clothesline to dry with her clean clothes. I'm sure the smell of dried rabbit smells good.

And what do you think she'll say when she sees the fowl and the rabbits? "Henry! What in tarnation are three birds and two rabbits doing on my clothesline? You know they don't belong there. Now go get them down and put them in the pot for supper." Did you hear that good Irish accent? You should have because this picture was taken in Northern Ireland.

Writing is like Exercising

As one of my 2010 goals is to lose 20 lbs it means going to the gym and working out. Jessica and I joined the YMCA a couple weeks ago as it is the only place close by with facilities for exercising, swimming, basketball, and soccer for the kids.

I am happy to say I've gone to the gym three times now in the last 1 1/2 weeks but unfortunately I still haven't lost any weight. I know muscle weighs more than fat but I'm pretty sure I'm not replacing that much fat with muscle yet.

As I was working out the other morning I was thinking about my latest writing project and writing in general. I recalled something I have read several times both in connection to writing and to other things. The key to becoming good at anything is constant practice. Remember the old saying "practice makes perfect." Takes a lot of practice to be perfect but if you practice enough there is a hope you'll at least become good at whatever you are practicing.

When I'm exercising and pumping iron I won't get huge muscles on my first trip to the gym (and as it turns out I won't lose weight either because I went a couple of times). If I want to build my muscles I need to constantly be working out and breaking down the muscle that then grows into stronger muscles.

Another example, and I hope my wife won't be upset as she is the next example. Nearly 3 years ago Jessica decided she really wanted to do a triathlon. She found a coach and started training. She already was and is an exceptional athlete (if you doubt go to her high school and see her school records still posted on the wall after 10 years). Her first event was actually a duathlon (bike and run only). She did really well on the bike but the run was her weakest point. I don't recall the specific details but recall it was about 2-3 miles and it took her some time to run it as she ran and walked it.

She could have quit then but she persisted. She kept training. Her first triathlon was several months later in Orem, UT. She did a phenomenal job. She's since participated in at least 3 more triathlon's and just last week she did her first half-marathon. What was impressive is she ran the entire way without stopping once to walk. That is an accomplishment! She has 3-4 triathlons she's planning on doing this year. She's probably in the best shape she's been in since we've been married. She's happy, feels good, and looks great!

Writing is very much the same. We have to exercise our writing skills daily to make them stronger. What writing skills should we exercise? Here are some basic skills every writer should master.

1. Vocabulary - Stephen King says you don't need to have an extensive vocabulary to be a good writer. In fact, sometimes using words like discombobulated and preambulate (word of the day) can be replaced with simplier words like "shaken" or "stroll." A writer must understand the audience's level of understanding. The best place I have found for improving vocubulary is http://dictionary.reference.com/.


2. Grammar - If you want to fail fast as a writer then have poor grammar. As a writer it's important to know the difference between nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, etc. You'll want to study prepositions and conjections. I find myself, as even I am a new writer and still exercising my talents, going back to the basics when working on sentence structure. There are a lot of resources here. I read Strunk and White's well-known book called The Elements of Style. It provides the reader easy to understand rules and examples. You can choose if you want to follow those rules or not. As a new writer best to follow the rules first and then improvise later.


3. Punctuation - This commonly trips up new writers not knowing if they should use a comma or a colon or a semi-colon when combining sentences. Practicing these elements will improve your writing as you learn to break your sentences where a break needs to be. The Strunk and White book again provides some guidance on this topic. There are numerous other places too. Another website I've used in the past is http://www.grammarbook.com/default.asp.

The only other advise I want to give in this already long blog posting is to read. Read often. Take a book wherever you go and you'll be surpised how much extra reading you can do. Also, look up audiobooks from your local library. Listening to audiobooks is a great way to exercise your talents as you'll learn what other successful authors are doing. I define successful has having a published book that you are reading or listening too. It doesn't mean the book is good and could have mistakes but as your exercise your skills you'll learn to find those errors and avoid them and also find the good and improve upon them.

Practice, practice, practice. There is no way to become a good writer if you don't practice writing every day.

Booger Hairs

Years ago when Jessica and I were first married she, or I should say Santa, gave me a nose hair trimmers in my stocking. For a long time I certainly didn't use it. I can't help it if I have nose hair. That's what happens when you get older hair starts to grow in odd places especially in your nose.

Anyway, I've had it for a long time and it's in my drawer with other grooming items. Well, Easton has seen it before and has wanted to use it. This morning as I was brushing my teeth he came in and said he needed to use it. I said, "Easton, you don't need to use it." Of course this was with half a mouth of runny toothpaste in my mouth.

He says, "Daddy, yes I do. I have booger hairs in my nose." It took me 5 minutes to clean up the toothpaste spray on the mirror. I laughed so hard. So he took the nose hair trimmer, turned it on, stuck it up his nose, and 2 seconds later pulls it out and says "Ouch, it pinched me."

We have kids to make us laugh as otherwise life may just be plain boring.

Grammar Girl

I came across a fantastic website the other day. Click here to go to it. The website has more than just good writing tips but it gives some great advice on other things as well. What I like most is the Grammar Girl portion. Every day there is a new tip regarding grammar and punctuation and language. It's designed to help any writer improve their skills.

I remember in my high school sophmore English class my teacher, Mr. Bowles, taught has several "dead" words. He called them "dead" words because he did not want to see them in our writing. One of the words I remember very well is the word "got." In fact it's the only word I remember being dead. I still remember burying the word in an official word funeral.

Today's lesson for Grammar Girl is all about the word "got" and should it really be used in English grammar? According to Grammar Girl it is okay to use this word if properly used. Here are some pointers from the website.

Again, this information is brought to you by Grammar Girl:

A reader named Sigrid felt that she should correct herself when she wrote, “Must get your book soon.” She writes, “I almost erased the word ‘get’ and replaced it with ‘purchase,’ but that sounded too formal; however, use of the word ‘get’ would make a great podcast. I’m often changing that word and substituting it for another, frequently some form of the verb ‘to be’ or ‘to have,’ in my clients’ manuscripts.” Sigrid is also wondering about how to use the verb “to get” in the past tense. Let’s get to the bottom of things.

When You Can Use “Get”
The quick answer to Sigrid’s question is that you don’t need to censor yourself when the word “get” crops up, and it’s probably best to stop correcting others unless they use a definitely illegal phrase (more on that later). “‘Get’ is good English” (1). It would be almost impossible to get through a day without saying “get.”

No style guide I checked bans the use of “get.” In fact, most authorities laud how useful the word is. The New Fowler's Modern English Usage provides a list of “natural uses in which it passes virtually unnoticed:

- get a job
- get my book for me
- get rich
- get one’s feet wet
- flattery will get you nowhere
- get going
- get the upper hand etc.” (2).

A search for “get” on Dictionary.com yields one group of meanings that is 63 items long (3). You can even use “get” instead of “be” in passive constructions if you want to put more emphasis on who did the action. The American Heritage Dictionary compares these two sentences: “The demonstrators were arrested” and “The demonstrators got arrested” (4). In the first sentence, using the verb “to be” implies that the police were the driving force behind the arrest. In the second sentence, using the verb “to get” places more emphasis on the demonstrators themselves.

Tenses of “Get”
Now let’s get to the question of tense. “Get” and “gets” are the present-tense forms of “to get,” as in “She gets mad at herself when she’s late.” The past tense is “got,” as in “She got mad.”
Now comes the tricky part: we have two choices when it comes to the past participle. A past participle is a word like “broken” in this sentence: “She has broken her wrist twice.” If you speak American English, you will use “gotten” as the past participle, as in “He has gotten the same gift three years in a row.” Users of British English, on the other hand, will say “got” (5): “He has got the same gift three years in a row.”

When You Might Choose Another Word Instead of “Get”
As we’ve already said, “get” is normal English, and there’s no need to substitute another word for it. However, if you’re writing a very formal paper, or know that someone in your audience will object to the word “get” for some reason, you can use more formal words such as “receive,” “purchase,” and “obtain.” It’s up to you to decide when to be formal. Sigrid decided correctly that it would sound overly stuffy to write this to a favorite author: “I must purchase your book.”

“Have Got”
Many listeners, including Sigrid, have been wondering if the phrase “have got” is acceptable English. Well, you have got to check out our previous episode on that topic. It’ll tell you that the answer is yes, you can use this expression, though it is considered informal.

Non-Standard Uses
Before we get going, you should get up to speed on which expressions are considered non-standard. Some colloquial or informal uses of “get” and “got” are controversial (6), and you wouldn’t want to write them unless you’re writing a character who speaks slang. For example, it would not be Standard English to say, “You got to try this” if you mean “You must try this” or “You have got to try this.” “You got to try this” would be acceptable only if you mean “You had the opportunity to try this.” Still, you will hear people use “got” in this manner.
Another common use of “got” that is not technically grammatically correct is the advertising slogan “Got milk?” Nevertheless, you’ll still hear takeoffs of this expression. At a recent dentist appointment, I saw a shirt that read “Got braces?”
Thus is the unholy power of advertising.

Summary
In this episode, we got friendly with the useful word “get.” You get to use it whenever you want, unless you must conform to formality.

References
1. Garner, B. Garner's Modern American Usage, 3rd Edition. New York: Oxford University Press, 2009, pp. 391-2.
2. Burchfield, R. W, ed. The New Fowler’s Modern English Usage. Third edition. New York: Oxford, 1996, pp. 329-30.
3. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/get. Accessed Jan 8, 2010.
4. American Heritage Guide to Contemporary Usage and Style. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2005, p. 206.
5. Garner, B. Garner's Modern American Usage, 3rd Edition. New York: Oxford University Press, 2009, pp. 391-2.
6. Burchfield, R. W, ed. The New Fowler’s Modern English Usage. Third edition. New York: Oxford, 1996, pp. 329-30.

City of Ember Books

This week I finished the 4th book of what I call the City of Ember books. I thought I would review all of them at the same time.

The City of Ember - The story starts with us learning about a city built underground. We gather through the story that the people in this city came here from long ago before a Great War devasted the earth. This city is called the City of Ember. The people were given all they would need to last around 150 years including electricity, although it was failing fast. The city was dying. Provided to the people of Ember was a box. This would would open after so many years; however, it was soon lost and forgotten. After about 200 years the box is found by Lina. Inside the box are instructions. Together her and her friend Doon solve the mystery of the cryptic message in the box and find the way out of Ember.

I enjoyed this book. It was entertaining and kept my attention. Doon and Lina learn how to overcome challenges and rise above them. While the people of Ember, including the mayor, denied anything was wrong, Doon and Lina continued looking for a way out of the city. It's a classic tail of good versus evil.

The People of Sparks - This book starts where the other book leaves off. Doon and Lina have sent a message down to Ember giving them the information they need to leave Ember. The people follow the message and leave Ember. Outside of Ember they find a huge world with new sounds like birds and new sights like blue sky and white clouds. As strangers in the world they begin walking not sure where they are going. They find a city they learn is called The City of Sparks. The people of Sparks take the Emberites in, let them live in a hotel called the Pioneer Hotel, and provide them food and work. Soon the people of Sparks become angry with the Emberites as they felt they weren't pulling their own rate. Eventually the two sides are led to an almost all out battle. If it wasn't for a fire that broke out at City Hall there would have been many people hurt or killed.

I liked this book more than Ember. The theme of this book is that in order to overcome evil you have to break the habit of evil and do something good instead. This act of kindness has to be strong enough that good feelings overcome the bad feelings. I enjoyed reading how the people of Ember began to learn how to do things on their own. It' a good story of how two different sets of people can work out differences to live in peace.

The Prophet of Yonwood - This story starts 300-350 years before the people of Ember leave the underground city. Nickie and her Aunt Crystal are heading to Greenhaven, the home where Crystal grandfather recently passed away. Days before they arrive a woman named Althea Tower has a vision of the end of the world. This vision leaves her left only mumbling and incoherent. The people of Yonwood try to understanding what Althea means when she does mumble words. As the people of Yonwood strive to rid their town of sinners and evil doing the people begin to forget what is really important. They are told no more singing, no loving dogs, and no lights. The last straw for Nickie is when the dogs are to be banished because the "Prophet" said "no dogs" it's enough. Together her and Crystal try to save the dogs and the people of Yonwood from this Prophet before it's too late. In the end Althea Tower is "awakened" and explains what she saw. She did see something of the future but it turns out the future they thought was only days from happening doesn't happen for another 80 years. Nickie, it turns out, is one of the people selected to inhabit the City of Ember. It was she who leaves a journal at the exit of the Ember cave where she hopes one day it will be found.

This was my least favorite book of the four. It's a story that seemed to more distract from what was given in the first two books. Yes, we learn a little more about why this underground city was built but we learned about that in the first two books. Yes, we find out that Nickie is one chosen to live in Ember at the beginning, but who cares. The book carries a heavy religious tone. I struggled with what the book was trying to teach me. Really, if you read the last chapter of this book you'll learn everything you want to learn. I recommend skipping this book and just going to the last book as this one only distracts from the story. I was happiest when the book ended.

The Diamond of Darkhold - The story of the people of Ember and Sparks continues in this fourth and last book. A roamer arrives in to town. Doon sees a book and together with Lina they trade matches to buy the book. They discover that there was something hidden waiting for the people of Ember to find it. Doon and Lina decide to venture back to Ember and try to find this treasure. After arriving at the entrance of Ember they find a way into the underground cave where Ember is. They learn it's not abandoned as they thought. A family named Troggs found the city and have moved in pillaging the things left behind. Doon is captured and is forced to plan his escape. Lina hurries back to Sparks to get help. Doon learns of a diamond found outside of the cave. He knows it's for the people of Ember. Doon plans his escape. As the Troggs sleep he makes his escape. He takes the diamond with him. Outside he finds Lina and together they search the place the original diamond was found. Inside they find hundreds of more diamonds. They learn later these diamonds are powered by solar power. They have discovered electricty.

I really enjoyed this book and it's a good way to end the story. Perhaps the story of the Emberites doesn't end here but it could. We can't help but be happy for the people of Sparks and their new electricity. While for hundreds of years the people of earth dwelt in darkness after the Great War, they soon learned Sparks lived in light. Soon the diamonds were traded for other goods providing for great properity in Sparks. It teaches us to be persistant in the search for truth.

The Christmas Wish

            It is Christmas Eve, the happiest time of the year in Santa’s workshop. The elves are working hard putting the last touches on baby dolls, toy fire engines, bouncing balls, and hundreds of other toys. Tiny hammers tingling blend with ringing bells. It is a beautiful Christmas orchestra. Elves’ voices sing out Christmas favorites like “Jingle Bells,” “Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer,” and “Santa Claus is coming to Town.” Sweet smells of cherry chocolates, mint truffles, and peanut brittle came from Mrs. Claus’s kitchen. Everyone is happy at this joyous and merry time of year.
            Everyone, that is, except Rupert. With haste, he closed the Senior Toy Maker’s door and sprinted down the hall. Tears stream down his face. He rushed past the toy doll factory; he tiptoed by the “Stuff-A-Bear” shop. He didn’t even stop to smell the apple pie cooking in the kitchen. Mr. Jolly, the Senior Toy Maker, just gave him terrible news. More tears poured from his eyes just thinking about it. He swallowed the lump forming in his throat. He scurried past the Elf Resource office, which is responsible for hiring new elves and, unfortunately, letting go old ones.
            At the same time, Sandra Triffet, assistant cook, was returning to the kitchen after giving Santa warm chocolate chip cookies when she heard two voices coming from Mr. Jolly’s office. Pausing at the door, she heard “job has been given to someone else…” and “please accept our sincere ap…” and you’ve worked hard for us….” There was silence, quiet padding of feet headed towards the door, and then the door knob turned. Sandra hid around the corner. She peeked around and saw Rupert’s tear-streaked face before he ran down the hall.
            Was he fired, she thought? She couldn’t believe it. Rupert is, or at least was, Santa’s favorite elf. She knew that many years ago Santa found Rupert abandoned in the cold North Pole. He adopted Rupert and ever since Rupert helped Santa deliver gifts on Christmas morning. She wondered who would join Santa in his sleigh now but more importantly she wondered what it would be like now in Santa’s workshop without Rupert. Not pausing another second, Sandra ran to the factory floor to tell the others.
            Bursting through the factory doors, she found the closest chair and stood on it. She wanted everyone to know what she had heard and seen. “Everyone, please stop working and listen to me,” she shouted. “I just saw Rupert leave Mr. Jolly’s office. He was crying. Rupert has been let go. I heard it. I watched him leave.”
            In just 10 seconds all of the Christmas joy vanished. No more singing, no more hammers tingling, and no more Christmas magic in the air. The conveyors screeched to a halt. Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.
            Elves began talking at once. “Rupert?” one asked. “Are you sure? He’s Santa’s favorite. Santa will not let him go. He’s too important.” The other elves nodded in agreement”.
            “I am sure,” answered Sandra. “I saw it myself. What are we going to do? We can’t let them get away with this. This is an outrage. We have to do something.”
            Heads nodded. “Yes,” someone shouted. “Let’s help Rupert. I’ll not work for Santa without Rupert.” Several elves hurried towards the factory doors determined to talk with Santa. Before they could leave Mr. Jolly and Santa Claus entered the factory. The elves stopped in their tracks glaring at Santa and Mr. Jolly.
            Mr. Jolly cleared his throat then spoke. “Ladies and gentlemen,” Mr. Jolly said. “Santa tells me you have stopped working. I see this is true. He also tells me you’ve been told Rupert has been fired.” Sandra fell back behind the others embarrassed to be indirectly pointed out. “I must explain what has happened. This is a difficult time for all of us. Rupert’s sudden leaving has left us with a problem.”
            “Yeah, please explain,” one elf whispered to another. “Go ahead and tell us about Rupert’s firing.”
            Rupert has urgent matters to attend to in the United States,” Mr. Jolly said. “Several years ago Rupert adopted a young, orphaned human boy. Yes, this is forbidden under elf law unless specifically approved by Santa. Rupert received Santa’s blessing. He saved this boy like Santa did for him. For the past several years Rupert has watched over this boy, provided for him, made sure he received the support he needed. This boy, you see, suffers from a rare form of leukemia.”
            The elves stood stunned as they heard this news. Mr. Jolly continued, “This morning Santa received news this boy will not live past Christmas unless a miracle occurs. The news came as a wish from this little boy. Using the powerful magic of Christmas this boy has wished for the miracle of life, to be healed of this terrible disease. Rupert has to be the miracle. As you know, elf law allows for an elf to take his human’s place in death only on Christmas Day. Rupert’s love for this boy makes it possible for him to do this. Is this not the true meaning of Christmas? Santa has released Rupert from his duties to be with this young boy.”
            Elves wiped tears from their eyes. Yes, they knew this was what was Christmas was about. Some fell to their knees humbled by Rupert’s example. Their best friend had reminded them that Christmas is not about the presents and the music and holiday food. Christmas is the time to give to others and not take for ourselves.
            “Now elves,” Santa said with a twinkle in his eyes. “Let us be joyous during this Season. Let us finish our work we have begun. And let us continue to bring peace and joy to this world for years to come. This is what Rupert would say if he was here. We won’t forget him but if we don’t deliver Christmas spirit to the little boys and girls then Rupert’s sacrifice is in vain.”
            The elves nodded in agreement. It is what Rupert would want. They jumped to their feet, wiped the tears from their eyes, and went to their work. Within seconds the sounds of Christmas reverberated in Santa’s workshop. Santa looked upon his elves and smiled. Once again Christmas had been saved.

My 2010 Goals

It was just the other day the topic of New Year resolutions came up. I said I didn't believe in resolutions because no one keeps them. How many people do you know that actually keep their resolutions? It has a negative connotation. Instead, I have made some goals for the New Year. Yes, not all goals are kept either but it sounds better when you say you didn't accomplish your goals.

Here are my goals for 2010:

1. Make this writing blog a success. A success for me right now would be 2 dozen people following the blog and contributing to it. I'd love to have help in my new path in writing.

2. Write a new short story once a week. So far I'm doing good with this goal. I have written two stories. I haven't put them out on the blog yet but I plan to. I figure if I could write one short story a week then I could have 40-50 by the end of the year (yes, as you can tell I've given myself some leeway for when I don't get a story out).

3. Lose 20 lbs. I'd love to get back in the shape I was 10 years ago after high school. That was back when I did work out for sports. I've sense stopped working out leaving my stomach protuding a bit too much. Plus my wonderful wife looks fantastic and if I'm not careful she may lose interest in me. I love you honey! She's preparing for a half marathon in a week and she has plans to do 4-5 triathlons this year. She's awesome!

4. Get something published. Back to the purpose of this blog. I read in a book recently (On Writing by Stephen King) that if you want to become a good writer you must do two things: 1. Read a lot. 2. Write a lot. Well, I love reading although I listen to most books now since I drive 40 minutes one way to work. And this blog is helping the writing (I hope). I'd like to get some of my short stories published. That would be awesome. Does anyone know a publisher?

5. Become interested in a new author. I'm a huge Clive Cussler fan and always will be. Mr. Cussler if you are out there reading this I'd love to meet you. Maybe that should become goal # 6. My Mom introduced me to some James Patterson books which I've enjoyed. Looking for another author to read. Any good suggestions?

6. Spend more time with my family. Now this will be a tough goal because I already leave for work by 7:30 am and am usually not home until 5:30 pm. This leaves just a few hours and with my goals of getting in shape and reading and writing more that takes additional time. So, like right now I am writing this at 10:00 pm with the kids to sleep I guess I'll have to make sacrifices. Going back to Mr. Cussler I read he started writing during the eveings while his wife, who was a nurse, was working.

Is six an unlucky number? I'm leaving my goals at six for now. It's a good even number.

Evening Readings with Easton

I have to laugh that my first book review post will be a book written for children but hey, it's a book. Every evening Easton and I climb into his bed to read a couple of books. Because he could read his whole library of books (which is large) and it would take hours to do so I limit him to just two books that I choose (isn't it great being a parent). Plus every 3 weeks we go to the library to find new books to read for three weeks. I'll admit that getting 5 books at the library and reading them every evening for 3 weeks gets a little old but I do it out of love for Easton and for reading. It's my time to be with Easton and I wouldn't change that or anything.



Back to the review. Several weeks ago we borrowed the book called The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Alex Sheffler. It's a fantastic journey through the deep dark wood with a little mouse. Along his journey he encounters several animals wanting to eat him. He scares them away by describing a dark, fearsome creature called the Gruffalo, which he of course made up. Eventually the mouse runs into a Gruffalo and again fools the Gruffalo into thinking he, the mouse, is the scariest creature in the deep dark wood.



This is a wonderful book with rhymes that just work. It'll make you laugh as you read the story. And if you enjoyed this one then I also recommend another one of hers called Charlie Cook's Favourite Book.



Thanks for reading. Please leave comments on your favorite children's book. Easton loves new books to read.

About Me

Welcome to the Orchard Writing Grove blog hosted by me, Scott Orchard. My number one goal for this blog is to boost my skills as a writer. I imagine this as a place to provide my greatest dreams, reveal my deepest fears, and overcome my greatest challenges. And I hope to have a lot of fun too.

I am an aspiring writer living right now in Summerville, SC. My home is Utah (please don't hold that against me as it is a wonderful place to live). I have a beautiful wife who supports me in this new endeavor. We've been married a short 6 1/2 years.

We have two wonderful children. Easton is 3 and was born in Utah while Mia is 1 and our Southern Belle born here in South Carolina. They keep us laughing and on our toes. I'm sure you'll hear lots about them in my blog and probably in my stories as they inspire me daily.

We also have a pet. No, it's not a dog (although we had a beagle named Boots but that's another story) or a cat. We have leopard gecko who's name is Gecko. Yes, we are original with names.

If you found this blog by accident or by mistake please introduce yourself, leave a comment, leave a tip, provide an idea, or tell a joke. I don't care as long as it is clean and uplifting. I believe strongly in positive reinforcement and constructive critisim.

Writing Tips

As an aspiring writer myself I believe in receiving help and giving help back. As I learn new tricks of the trade that work for me I will publish them here. If anyone has writing tips they wish to add they are welcome to send them to me for review. If I think they will benefit the group I will add them for all to see giving credit to that person who sent it to me.

Book Reviews

I love reading books. This section will include books I'm reading or listening to and what I think of the books. I'd love to receive your comments on books you are reading with title and author. I'm always looking for new authors to read but hesitate to just branch out without a very good recommendation.

Short Stories

This section will show all of my short stories I've written. You are free to read but please do not copy and post elsewhere. These are my stories and are owned by me and available for purchase for the right price, of course.