Incurable Disease of Writing

Welcome to the July 18, 2008 edition of Just Write. I’ve had a fantastic time visiting all the articles/blogs for this edition of Just Write. We have a diverse range of articles this week and I’m sure you’ll find something helpful, inspiring or just plain interesting. Enjoy and remember to let the blog owners we appreciate their efforts.

Book Reviews

Alessandra presents Book Review: Aberrations posted at Out of the Blue, saying, “My book review of “Aberrations” by Penelope Przekop.”

Jim Murdoch presents Under Control posted at The Truth About Lies, saying, “A review of ‘Under Control’ by Mark McNay”

Encouragement for Writers

Mark David Gerson presents The Voice of Your Muse: In the Moment posted at The Voice of Your Muse.

Freelance

Laurie Pawlik-Kienlen presents Example of a Successful Query to Reader’s Digest | Quips and Tips for Freelance Writers posted at Quips and Tips for Freelance Writers, saying, “Here’s the query letter that landed me my first assignment with Reader’s Digest. Each writer has his or her own way of writing query letters, but this format has served me well.”

Thursday Bram presents Fiction Contests: Worth Your While? posted at thursdaybram.com.

Poetry

Jim Murdoch presents In the beginning was the sound… (part one) posted at The Truth About Lies, saying, “The first of a two part discussion the the relationship between poetry and sound”

Publishing

Loren Christie presents Dude, Where Am I?: publishing posted at Dude, Where Am I?, saying, “I write because it gives me joy!”

Sourapple presents The Sour Apple: How to Get Published posted at The Sour Apple, saying, “An editor’s take on the best way to get your submissions in the door–and how to make sure we don’t throw them back out.”

Sourapple presents The Sour Apple: How to Get Published, Part II posted at The Sour Apple, saying, “Part II of an editor’s point of view on how to get your submissions in the door–and how to keep us from throwing it back out again.”

The Writing Life

Tracy Cooper-Posey presents You are your own help desk. Help! posted at Anchored Authors.

Isolde presents A Midsummer Check-In posted at The Life Uncommon.

Writing Mechanics

Amy Munnell presents Interview…with children’s author Gail Langer Karwoski posted at 3 Questions…and Answers, saying, “Prolific children’s author discusses research for children’s books and the author-illustrator relationship.”

Writing Projects/Prompts

isabella mori presents writing about madrid posted at change therapy, saying, “in this post, i am using a review order as a writing prompt.”

Brent Diggs presents A Writing Challenge for Funny Bloggers posted at The Ominous Comma, saying, “Are you up to the challenge?”

Writing Resources

Patrick Schwerdtfeger presents Social Media Intregration posted at Tactical Execution, saying, “Learn how to gain more exposure for your work by integrating your activity on various social media platforms including facebook, twitter and utterz.”

Writing Tips

Aaron Powell presents What I learned from writing a novel posted at Aaron Ross Powell.

otherdeb (Deb Wunder) presents The Dangling Conversation » “A, B, C, It’s Easy…” – Jackson Five, Part II – Journal-Keeping for Writers posted at The Dangling Conversation, saying, “This article is about how writers’ journalling needs are a bit different than those of other journal-keepers, and some tricks to meet those needs”

debergerac78 presents More Flubs posted at oDesk Insider, saying, “Another list of common writing gaffes pros would do well to avoid.”

Jett presents What’s in a Name? posted at Fishing with Crossbows: A Writer’s Blog, saying, “Advice and observations on the tedious task of titling a new work.”

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of Just Write using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Technorati tags: just write, blog carnival.

The highway overpass loomed ahead. My father continued, “The car can’t be hidden under the bridge too long or they’ll figure out where you went. You’re gonna have to jump out while we’re moving.”

It was time.

“Sometime, someplace, I know we’ll see each other again. Use your freedom well. Now!”

That single word launched me out the door. As it swung shut behind me, Dad screamed at Jen, “Go!” I stumbled into a run watching her bail-out. The Geo Aphid sped off.

* * *

Jen had sprawled on the street. I helped my kid-sister to her feet. She’d hurt herself, but the bleeding amounted to pink smears on the palms of her hands.

“C’mon, let’s hide.”

“Dave!” She whimpered my name, but followed.

We clambered over the rough, fist-sized stones that covered the slope. At the top, the slope met the girders that supported the road above us. I pulled off my t-shirt and cleared the I-beams of spider webs and bird droppings. We slumped on opposite girders, facing each other.

Jen’s wide eyes glinted shell-shocked madness. “We’ll save them! Whoever comes for us, if they’ll help us, we could get them out!”

“We don’t even know where they’ll be taken,” I grumbled.

“I’ll hack that off the Web!” She reached for anything to pull herself from calamity’s quicksand.

I was in no mood to do this. “You don’t have a com-vision, Sis.”

Tears welled-up in her eyes again. I didn’t want to start an argument, and I definitely didn’t want to shatter the kid’s hopes. “I want our family back too, Sis, but Rehabs are usually guarded.”

We’d do well just to avoid the peacekeepers who had to be looking for us. Who could Dad trust to help us? How would they get us out from under the bridge without anyone seeing? Where could they hide us from searching peacekeeping units? How would we even get food? The hum of a motor grew near and we both shrank back against cold steel. A car passed beneath.

I tried to turn the conversation to something else. “I hope Mom and Jeff are okay.”

Jen buried her face in her hands, her shoulders rocking with sobs.

Real smooth. Nice going, fool. “I’m sorry Sis. Like Dad said, we gotta have faith—” I kicked myself.

When her tears ran out, Jen scowled and whispered, “If we’re His children, why’s He doing this to us?”

I left her in silence. Like I could answer that. How could He even allow a world where belief in the Bible made one a terrorist? Ripping apart our family would teach, what? What kind of lesson was this? I finally thought about how parents treat children. “I think it’s like when we’re kids. Mom or Dad punished us, and made us try things we didn’t want to. Having fun or being happy all the time isn’t the most important thing. I guess God’s like that, too. Dad said we’re being taught something, remember?”

“Yeah. How to miss your mom, and worry if you’ll ever see her again,” she pouted.

Little sisters out there, I speak for big brothers everywhere when I ask, please don’t stick us with hard questions that you’ve already answered. Very annoying.

I dug my pack of Winterfresh Extra out of my jeans’ pocket and let the conversation die. We moped into a sullen silence, our hopes shredded by our thoughts.

Spattering raindrops came and went. So did tears. Minutes piled into hours. Tracking time became impossible. That made me think of my e-wallet with the broken watch function. I powered it up and clicked past the com-vision white and yellow homepages. I selected the picture frame feature. Jen and I passed it back and forth, watching our party vids. Jen’s driver’s license and Jeff’s twenty-first birthday last month. My high-school graduation party two years ago. Jeff and I moving into our first apartment . . . Bad idea. I pocketed the e-wallet. Our thoughts spiraled into deep gloom, leaving Jen to weep her way out, and again we sat in silence.

My gum had lost its Extra-long-time flavor for what must have been hours before I realized the building I’d been staring at was a church. The bridge cut off its steepled roof. The One State allowed only one kind of church. Dad told me about people who called themselves Christians, but believed the Bible to be myth, and equal to the Koran, Upanishads and Bhagavad-Gita. With no truth to argue over, 500 years of church splits healed overnight. They called themselves the One Church. No points for creativity, but I guess it represented their unity.

Dad said when he’d once asked a One Churcher how he knew that love was any better than hate. The man had said the answer’s in our heart. Dad then asked what was wrong with the hearts of criminals. There, next to the bridge, out in the open, people were being taught to find love in a broken heart. Here, forced to hide under the bridge, were children of the Heart Surgeon.

If I leaned down I could see a sliver of eastern sky. I began watching for dawn’s brush to paint the clouds. Pigeons roosting under the bridge started their morning cooing. Cool dampness raised goose bumps on the backs of my arms. Finally, my shivering grew worse than my t-shirt’s filth. I shook it out and put it back on.

Then the end came.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS:

What’s the Big Deal About Jesus?

“Christianity is good for you, but it’s not right for me. I think you ought to believe whatever makes you happy and gives you peace.”

“Christianity is the ‘right’ religion—isn’t that being naive?”

The label Christianity covers a broad range of people today. While over 2.1 billion people are statistically considered followers of Jesus Christ, polls by religious researcher George Barna have observed that only four percent of American Christians hold to a biblical worldview (that is, beliefs consistent with the Bible’s teachings), and just 51 percent of Christian clergy hold to such a view. As a result, even many who call themselves Christians have agreed with the quotes that appear above, asking if it is perhaps naïve to claim Christianity is the only way to God.

However, the above quotes are inconsistent with Christianity’s origins and founder. In this chapter we’ll briefly review how Christianity began, consider its early beliefs, introduce its founder, and investigate the reliability of the New Testament, which is part of the Bible.

A Firm Foundation

All of Christianity is built around one basic belief: the resurrection of its founder, Jesus of Nazareth. On Passover Friday around A.D. 30, Jesus was executed on a Roman cross on the accusation of conspiracy against the government. The Sanhedrin (Jewish leaders) had insisted that the Roman leader Pilate condemn Jesus, though Pilate had not found him guilty of any crimes worthy of death. After the crucifixion, death, and burial of Jesus in a tomb, the body disappeared three days later. Immediately this was followed by many “Jesus sightings” reported over the next 40 days. A social revolution began ten days later in Jerusalem, Israel, as over 3000 people joined the movement after a street message given by the apostle Peter (Acts 2). Christianity was off and running, and has been growing ever since.

Oxford University theologian Dr. Alister McGrath has noted,

The identity of Christianity is inextricably linked with the uniqueness of Christ, which is in turn grounded in the Resurrection and Incarnation.

How do we know Jesus came back to life? First, the 27 books of the New Testament are based upon this one event—the resurrection of Jesus. Despite the attacks of many, the writings of Christianity have been shown to have emerged during the first century with the courageous message that Jesus, a man executed by the government, was alive. This carried many implications about his life and death and beyond. What other motive did these writers have except that they truly believed all this had occurred?

In addition, many individuals of that day claimed to have encountered Jesus after his death. According to the Gospel writers and the missionary Paul, Jesus appeared a total of at least 12 times after his return from death:

The Post-Resurrection Appearances of Jesus Christ

# Sighting Source

1. Mary Magdalene–Mark 16:9; John 20:11-18

2. Women returning from the tomb–Matthew 28:9-10

3. Two men walking to Emmaus–Mark 16:12-13; Luke 24:13-32

4. Peter–Luke 24:34; 1 Corinthians 15:5

5. 10 disciples; two men from Emmaus–Luke 24:36-43; John 20:19-23

6. 11 disciples (including Thomas)–John 20:24-29

7. 7 disciples–John 21:1-24

8. 500 people at one time–1 Corinthians 15:6

9. James, the half-brother of Jesus–1 Corinthians 15:7

10. 11 disciples Matthew 28:16-20

11. 11 disciples before Jesus returned to heaven–Luke 24:50-53

12. Paul– Acts 9:3-6; 1 Corinthians 15:8

In just one of these sightings, over 500 people claimed to see Jesus alive after his death. Did you know that if each of those 500 people were to testify in court for only six minutes, including time for cross-examination, we would have an amazing 50 hours of firsthand testimony? Few other events from over 2000 years ago find this level of support. None offer the number of witnesses the resurrection does for a supernatural event.

Further, the changed lives of the early followers of Jesus supported their report that Jesus was alive. All but one of Jesus’ 11 followers died for his belief in the resurrection of Jesus. Hundreds—if not thousands—of other Christians suffered or died within the first century of Christianity for their beliefs as well. The killing of the first Christian martyr, Stephen, led to the persecution of the Jerusalem church, which eventually forced many Christians to flee the area for safety.

“Could you convince thousands of people in our own day that President Kennedy had resurrected from the dead? There’s no way…unless it really happened.”

The amazing phenomenon of Christianity’s growth also stands as a powerful testimony that this faith is based on a supernatural resurrection. How could a crucified Jew (Jesus), former tax collector (Matthew), Jesus-hater (Paul), and small town fishermen (including Peter) establish a movement that has resulted in the largest religion on Earth? How could this happen?

When Christianity began, the Roman Empire was the greatest government of the time. Yet 300 years later, the Roman Empire had crumbled, and Christianity was continuing to grow. This, in spite of its humble beginning as a grassroots network of individuals who witnessed that Jesus had come back to life. Even though the proclamation of Jesus’ teachings produced persecution of the greatest kind, Christianity continued to spread across the Roman Empire—all the way to the palace of Caesar in Rome, the world’s political and social capital.

Christianity 101

So Christianity originated from a group of Jesus-followers who spread the message that they had personally witnessed his three years of teaching and miracles, watched him die on a cross, and then personally met, saw, talked to, ate with, and received instructions from him after his resurrection from the dead. But what are the core beliefs of Christianity? There are six central elements of
traditional Christianity.

First, there is the common understanding of Jews and Christians that there is only one true God—who is infi nite, holy, loving, just, and true. In addition, Christians believe that in the nature (presence) of the one true God there exists three persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Christianity does not believe in three gods, but one. As Dr. Norman Geisler, bestselling author and cofounder of Southern Evangelical Seminary, has written,

The Trinity is not the belief that God is three personas and only one person at the same time and in the same sense. That would be a contradiction. Rather, it is the belief that there are three persons in one nature. This may be a mystery, but it is not a contradiction. That is, it may go beyond reason’s ability to comprehend completely, but it does not go against reason’s ability to apprehend consistently.
Further, the Trinity is not the belief that there are three natures in one nature or three essences in one essence. That would be a contradiction. Rather, Christians affirm that there are three persons in one essence…He is one in the sense of his essence but many in the sense of his persons. So there is no violation of the law of noncontradiction in the doctrine of the Trinity.

Traditional Christianity also accepts the 66 books of the Holy Bible as revelation from God, perfect and authoritative for all spiritual matters. While Roman Catholicism accepts the additional authority of the pope and church tradition, and Eastern Orthodoxy accepts church tradition as equal in authority to the Bible, the earliest traditional Christianity and later Protestant Christianity have been based solely on God’s written revelation through his apostles and prophets.

Third, Christians believe every person who has ever lived (with the exception of Jesus Christ) has been born a sinner separated from God. It is our sin nature that keeps us from knowing and experiencing God and creates a need for reconciliation through a means only God can provide.

Fourth, in his infinite love, God has provided the solution to the barrier between himself and humanity through Jesus Christ. The Bible teaches that the death of Jesus provides payment for our sins, and on the basis of our believing, he is our sinbearer and he will forgive us the moment we believe. All this is confirmed by Jesus’ resurrection from the dead—he has paid the penalty for sin and conquered death. In this way God offers a basis for a person to place his or her faith in Christ and to enter into a personal relationship with Jesus, in which he enters your life and you walk through life with his power and guidance.

Fifth, this rescue or salvation God offers through Jesus is based solely on what God has done rather than on what people do. In other words, salvation is a free gift based on God’s grace to us (unearned favor) rather than good works or deeds we can accomplish, though these will accompany a person once he or she becomes a Christian. One of the major points of contention during the Protestant Reformation resulted from the Roman Catholic Church’s unbiblical teaching
that God’s grace consists of humans cooperating with God’s grace to merit salvation, rather than receiving salvation in full as a gift on the basis of faith alone the moment a person believes.

Sixth, Christians believe in an eternal afterlife. God allows individuals the ability to choose or reject him, and after death, that decision is final. Those who have chosen to believe in Jesus will enjoy eternity with him in heaven, while those who decline will spend eternity in hell, separated from God. God will accept every person’s decision and not force him or her to change their mind. While all this may sound politically incorrect in our culture, it has stood as an essential component of Christian teaching from the earliest times. The choice we make here on earth will have eternal consequences.

Jesus: Founder and CEO of Christianity

Christian philosopher Dr. C. Stephen Evans points out that “it is an essential part of Christian faith that Jesus is God in a unique and exclusive way. It follows from this that all religions [that disagree] cannot be equally true.”7 Again, if different religions teach contradictory things about who God is, salvation, the afterlife, and
even Jesus, then one or another could be true, but they can’t all be true at the same time. What are the big super-signs that help us decide which religion is true? According to biblical Christianity, if Jesus claimed to be God and proved his claim by his resurrection, then he is God and Christianity is true. No other religious leader in history has claimed to be God and risen from the dead.

Further, there are at least seven concepts Jesus taught about himself that stand unique to Christianity. First, Jesus communicated that he fulfi lled biblical prophecy, given hundreds of years in advance, that he was the promised Messiah. He repeatedly claimed to be the person that God’s Messiah was predicted to be, and many scholars have created extensive lists of these prophetic connections. Here are some examples of prophecies Jesus fulfilled:

Prophecy–Old Testament Prophecy–New Testament Fulfillment

Born of a virgin– Isaiah 7:14– Matthew 1:18,25

Born in Bethlehem– Micah 5:2– Matthew 2:1

Preceded by a messenger– Isaiah 40:3– Matthew 3:1-2

Rejected by his own people– Isaiah 53:3– John 7:5; 7:48

Betrayed by a close friend– Isaiah 41:9– John 13:26-30

His side pierced– Zechariah 12:10– John 19:34

His death by crucifixion– Psalm 22:1,11-18– Luke 23:33; John 19:23-24

His resurrection– Psalm 16:10– Acts 13:34-37

Second, Jesus stands as a unique, unparalleled individual among the leaders of various world religions. He made predictions about the future that could only be made by someone who claimed to be God. Further, he noted in advance several of the things that would occur at the time of his death and resurrection. Unlike anyone else, he also promised to one day return to earth to set up his future kingdom.

The Seven “I Ams” of Jesus in John’s Gospel

 “I am the bread of life” (John 6:35,48; see also verse 51).

 “I am the light of the world” (John 8:12).

 “I am the gate for the sheep” (John 10:7; see also verse 9).

 “I am the good shepherd” (John 10:11,14).

 “I am the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25).

 “I am the way and the truth and the life” (John 14:6).

 “I am the true vine” (John 15:1; see also verse 5).

Further, Jesus is unique in his nature, being fully divine and fully human nature in one person. Jesus was born as a man without sin through a miraculous virgin birth. He challenged his own family, disciples, and even his enemies to prove him guilty of sin, but none could do so. Think of the reaction you would receive if you asked your parents, brothers, sisters, and friends, “Can any of you point to one sin I have committed?” Those closest to us know our faults. We all have them. Yet Jesus lived a perfect life free of sin.

As God’s divine son, Jesus performed miracles, healings, and exorcisms; fulfi lled Jewish prophecies; and accomplished his own resurrection. In these ways he affi rmed his divine nature, displaying power far beyond that of any person who has ever lived. Today people downplay the miracles, but they are documented in careful detail in the Bible, and even Jesus’ enemies did not deny his miracles. They weren’t able to. So they just claimed that he performed them with
the help of evil powers (Matthew 12:24).

The Exorcisms of Jesus

Exorcism– Source
1. Healed a demon-possessed man at Capernaum —Mark 1:21-28; Luke 4:31-37

2. Drove out demons and evil spirits Matthew 8:16-17; Mark 1:32-39; Luke 4:33-41
3. Healed the man possessed by demons at the Gadarenes– Matthew 8:28-34; Mark 5:1-20; Luke 8:26-39

4. Drove a demon out of a mute man, who then spoke– Matthew 9:32-34;
Mark 3:20-22

Christianity is also the only major religion whose founder sacrificed his life for the sins of those who would choose to believe in him. Jesus’ horrifi c death on the cross stood as proof of his statement that “the Son of Man [Jesus] did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

The Nature Miracles of Jesus

The Miracle—Source

1. Calming the wind and waves– Matthew 8:26; Mark 4:39; Luke 8:24

2. Walking on water– Matthew 14:25; Mark 6:48; John 6:19

3. Money in the fish’s mouth– Matthew 17:27

4. Withering of the fig tree– Matthew 21:19; Mark 11:14

5. Miraculous catch of fish– Luke 5:4-7

6. Turning water into wine– John 2:7-8

7. Second miraculous catch of fish– John 21:6

8. Feeding the 4000– Matthew 15:32-38; Mark 8:1-9

9. Feeding the 5000– Matthew 14:13-21; Mark 6:34-44; Luke 9:12-17; John 6:5-12

Sixth, as mentioned earlier, Jesus also rose from the dead. Those in his time could never account for his empty tomb and the disappearance of his body. Jesus’ followers spanned the known world testifying of his resurrection (his actual bodily appearing to them), teaching his words, and dying for their belief in him.

Finally, Jesus promises, at the end of time, to personally judge every person who ever lived. It would be eternally disappointing to have Jesus look at us, fairly judge us, and conclude, “I never knew you” (Matthew 7:23).

Christianity by the Book

Those who want to investigate the truthfulness of the original Christian message can look to a wealth of manuscript evidence regarding the transmission of the 27 books of the New Testament through the years. The New Testament manuscripts offer more supporting evidence than any other ancient book. Christians also accept the Jewish scriptures (the Old Testament) as part of their holy book, the Bible. Traditional Christianity believes in the inerrancy of Scripture, meaning the original words of the Bible’s books are without error and perfect in every way.

As a result, Bible translation, distribution, and teaching stand as important responsibilities within Christianity. The Bible is the most translated book in history, has been used as the script for the most-watched fi lm in history (the Jesus fi lm), and has enjoyed greater distribution than any book in the world. Over 100 million copies of the New Testament or Bible are sold every year worldwide.

Interesting Statistics About the Bible

The Bible was written over a period of 1600 years,

 by more than 40 authors of every sort—kings, peasants, fi shermen, poets, shepherds, government offi cials, teachers, and prophets—

 in three languages (Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek),

 on three continents—Asia, Africa, and Europe.11

What Makes Christianity Unique?

“Christianity isn’t about people in search of God, but rather God in search of
people.”—STEVE RUSSO

Many have suggested that Christianity is about having a personal relationship with Jesus, and not performing good works and following rituals. Religious movements throughout history ultimately hold to a signifi cantly different common thread—that certain actions or works are required to obtain a blissful afterlife. In Christianity, however, the key to reaching God here and now and dwelling with him for eternity is to receive and trust in a gift already provided by its founder, Jesus Christ. As the apostle Paul made clear to Christians at Ephesus, “God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.”

God’s gift of salvation also brings assurance. If Jesus’ righteous life and atoning death on the cross is the sole basis for God’s gift, then a Christian doesn’t have to worry about earning or losing that gift. Once the gift is received, it belongs to the Christian forever because it rests on what Jesus did—not what the Christian did or does in the past, present, or future.

Christianity in Summary

As we compare and contrast the beliefs of various religions throughout this book, we hope to make the distinctives of each one as clear as possible. Here, we summarize the key teachings of Christianity:

Belief– Basic Description

God– One God in three persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Holy Book– The 66 books of the Holy Bible are the authoritative
works of Christianity.

Sin– All people have sinned (except Jesus).

Jesus Christ– God’s perfect son, holy, resurrected, divine (second person of the Trinity) yet also fully human.

Salvation– Obtained only by God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ, not by human effort.

Afterlife– All people will enter heaven or hell upon death based on whether they have salvation in Jesus Christ. The Bible does not teach reincarnation, annihilation (ending of the soul), or the existence of purgatory.

Some people assume that biblical Christianity and Roman Catholicism are essentially similar. But is that the case? What differences exist? Are these differences really a big deal, or only minor details? Our next chapter will address these questions head-on.

Welcome to the July 11, 2008 edition of Just Write. I’m constantly surprised by the diversity of submissions this carnival receives and this week is no exception. We have some great advice, encouragement, tips and an outpouring of love for writing. Enjoy! As always, let the blog authors know we appreciate their efforts. Send them an email or leave a comment.

Book Reviews

Riley presents A Summer Affair by Elin Hilderbrand posted at All Rileyed Up.

Copywriting/Freelance

Raymond presents Best Locations To Blog With Free WiFi Internet Access posted at Money Blue Book.

Laurie Pawlik-Kienlen presents 10 Writing Tips From My Reader’s Digest Editor posted at Writing Quotations & Writing Tips, saying, “I’ve learned more from my Reader’s Digest editor than all my other editors combined - she’s amazing!”

Thursday Bram presents Green: The Newest Writing Niche posted at thursdaybram.com.

Encouragement for Writers

Chris Edgar presents To Be Creative, Step Outside The Survival Mindset posted at Purpose Power Coaching, saying, “Most of the time, it seems, what we do is oriented toward our survival and stability—making sure our basic needs are met, and that we maintain our lifestyles. Although this mindset is good at keeping us alive, it doesn’t do wonders for the creativity of our writing. When we’re focused on our wants and needs as we write, we tend to second-guess and compromise in our work. I suggest that doing something before writing that isn’t oriented toward our survival or impressing others — such as meditation — is a great way to keep ourselves “in the flow.”"

Mark David Gerson presents The Voice of Your Muse: You Can Write posted at The Voice of Your Muse, saying, “Close your eyes and remember.
Remember the stories you invented…
Remember wonder and imagination…
Remember make-believe…”

Love Affair With Words

Amy Munnell presents Interview…with novelist David L. Robbins posted at 3 Questions…and Answers, saying, “Novelist David L. Robbins discusses techniques for writing historical fiction that lives and breathes today.”

Yvaine presents At the train station posted at Starlit Whispers, saying, “I love words. I love riding trains. I love watching people. And most of all, I love writing. This short story is a mesh of these loves.”

Poetry

The Money Moose presents Bad Blog Haiku #5: The Challenges Of Writing posted at Blog Badly.

Publishing

Amy Munnell presents Waving the Flag…Americana Markets posted at 3 Questions…and Answers, saying, “Markets looking for all things small town, all things American.”

The Writing Life

Toni Tiu presents My ode to writing posted at Happy Nest.

Tracy Cooper-Posey presents The Hidden Class of Writer - Authors With Day Jobs posted at Anchored Authors.

Writers Coin presents The Lesson behind “Shitty First Drafts” posted at The Writer’s Coin, saying, “Shitty first drafts and the importance of editing to work through the inner critic”

Writing Mechanics

Jim Murdoch presents Do you break, jam or snip? posted at The Truth About Lies, saying, “A discussion of enjambment”

Tammi Metzler presents Get your free grammar and punctuation e-course! posted at Writeassociate’s Weblog, saying, “As a freelance copywriter and editor, I know how difficult it can be to concentrate on grammar and punctuation when you’re trying to write. That’s why I created a free grammar and punctuation e-course, which is made available through this blog post.”

Writing Projects/Prompts

Christina M. Rau presents Higher Education in Corporate America posted at The Unromancing Of Roma, saying, “Chapter 8 of the unpublishable novel The Unromancing of Roma”

Writing Resources

Amy Munnell presents A First Step to Published Success…12 Novel Contests posted at 3 Questions…and Answers, saying, “Why contests can lead to published success for your book.”

Writing Tips

Gargantua29 presents Ten Pitfalls of Fanfiction posted at Lucent Dusk: A Fanfiction Community, saying, “An articles discussing some of the most common mistakes found in fanfiction.”

Tip Diva presents Tip Diva | Top Ten Tips - Typing A Business Letter posted at Tip Diva, saying, “Writing a business letter is not like writing to your parents from summer camp. There are rules you must follow, especially when typing out your letter”

debergerac78 presents Becoming Competent - oDesk Insider posted at oDesk Insider, saying, “Three activities that writers–real writers–should do on a regular basis.”

Steve Osborne presents Writers: Don’t Just Look – Observe. Don’t Just Hear – Listen. posted at TheWritersBag.com, saying, “Steve Osborne, author of “Writing Tips for the Real World,” is a professional freelance writer and writing instructor with over 20 years of experience.”

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of just write using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Technorati tags: just write, blog carnival.

Welcome to the July 4, 2008 edition of Just Write. To those in the United States, Happy Independence Day! We have another carnival filled with excellent writing information. Enjoy the articles and as always, leave comments and let the blog owners know we appreciate their efforts.

Book Reviews

Jim Murdoch presents Andrew Philip: A Sampler posted at The Truth About Lies, saying, “A review of ‘Andrew Philip - A Sampler’, a short collection of poems by the Scottish poet”

Riley presents More Than It Hurts You by Darin Strauss posted at All Rileyed Up.

Mike King presents How to Write and Use a Book Review posted at Learn This, saying, “This article covers how to write a good book review and what things to look for in it to learn and then also how to effectively use that review to learn the most you can from the book.”

Cindy King presents Sunday Book Review - Mastering Online Marketing posted at Cindy King, saying, “Mastering Online Marketing starts off with a few of the principles in The E-Myth. There is a Business Mindset Self-Assessment Test and a Marketing Mindset Self-Assessment Test. At the end of each of these chapters a check list helps you to clearly identify your action plan. Your action items are business focused.”

Copywriting/Freelance

Laurie Pawlik-Kienlen presents Earning a Living as a Full-Time Freelance Writer posted at Writing Quotations & Writing Tips.

Encouragement for Writers

Isolde presents Uncommon Lives: Barbara Steinhauser posted at The Life Uncommon, saying, “Author Barbara Steinhauser shares her tips on how to keep writing in spite of challenges, hardships and road blocks”

Mark David Gerson presents The Voice of Your Muse: Writing Do’s and Don’t’s posted at The Voice of Your Muse.

Poetry

Byteful Project presents Ode to the Travelling Soul posted at Byteful Blog, saying, “I wrote this poem when I was “in the flow”. I dedicate this poem to all travelling souls, and therefore all people on this planet, for in this life there is no place that man can permanently rest his head.”

Publishing

Jim Murdoch presents Self Publishers Anonymous posted at The Truth About Lies, saying, “A consideration of self publishing.”

Writing Mechanics

Writers Coin presents On Finishing a Story posted at The Writer’s Coin, saying, “Writing a story is like flying a hot-air balloon — it’s fun, but it’s hard to find a place to land that you really like. Finishing a story is giving me a hard time right now.”

Writing Resources

Kerrie Flanagan presents Personal Essay Markets posted at The-Writing-Bug, saying, “Here is a list of personal essay markets to submit your work to.”

Writing Tips

Amy Munnell presents Everybody Wants to Touch Someone…Connecting with Your Audience posted at 3 Questions…and Answers, saying, “The need to connect is no more important to anyone than it is to a writer. We have to build connections to the people and the world around us to maintain our source of inspiration. We have to build connections to our creations, and through them, we build connections to our audiences.”

sophiesperana presents Writing: My Hows And Whys posted at I Love Anuschka, saying, “A post about simple writing tips for those who are yet to blog or write.”

Steve Osborne presents How to Beat the Empty Screen posted at TheWritersBag.com, saying, “Steve Osborne, author of “Writing Tips for the Real World,” is a professional freelance writer and writing instructor with over 20 years of experience.”

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of Just Write using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Technorati tags: just write, blog carnival.

Product Details

List Price: $14.99
Paperback: 244 pages
Publisher: BookSurge Publishing (March 5, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1419662392
ISBN-13: 978-1419662393

AND NOW…THE FIRST CHAPTER:

Chapter One

Fourth of July
July 4, 2005

“Men, happy Fourth of July. You can take it off when you are done with your shift,” I quipped.

“Thanks sir.”

“Now get out there and don’t forget, it is better to let a bad guy get away than to kill a civilian. Try not to start a fireworks show out there.” I smiled.

“Roger.”

Unfortunately, the fireworks display did come. LT Klemcke was commanding his tank in Charlie sector enjoying the dusk and the escape of the daily heat. Out of nowhere, LT Klemcke heard a loud crack and it felt like someone was pulling on his helmet. He looked to his loader for an explanation and the look on SPC Coddington’s face was one of surprise. They then found a piece of shrapnel on their tank and realized what had happened. An RPG had just struck their tank.

Immediately, LT Klemcke ordered the driver to move out and SGT Cardenas to scan to the south to the location where he thought the RPG came from. As he did so, SGT Cardenas spotted a man with an RPG running from behind a taxi to behind a wall.

“I got a guy with an RPG.” SGT Cardenas alerted his tank commander.

“Fire.” Came the response of LT Klemcke.

“COAX, On the way.” SGT Cardenas replied as he laid down machine gun fire trying to hit the RPG man.

“He is behind the wall.” SGT Cardenas said, “Switching to Heat.”

“Fire.” LT Klemcke replied.

With a massive blast the wall fell down. Not only that but the round skipped off the wall and hit a transformer that was behind the wall causing the transformer to explode. Sparks and fire shot into the air. LT Klemcke moved his tank into the area to further investigate.

Nothing. No bad guys. Another one had slipped away.

I decided to move out there to see if we could find any clues or if the people had any idea as to where this RPG shooter had come from. Moving to the scene I found the fallen wall, and the transformer spilling fire on the asphalt. People had started to gather in the alley.

I dismounted my tank and met SFC Gondek on the ground. He and a squad of infantry evacuated some casualties caused by the blast, nothing too serious. He and I went and interviewed those in the streets. Mohammed, my interpreter, spoke for me. But before we could ask questions, they demanded to know why we had blown up their transformer.

“Why you shoot for no reason?” a man asked in broken English. At this, I wanted to grab the guy and shake him, and ask him ‘do you really think we shoot for no reason?’ However, I maintained composure.

“There was a man with an RPG,” using hand gestures to depict the situation. “One of my tanks was shot at. Did you see anyone with an RPG in your area?”

There was a pause as if the guy was thinking about his response. Then through Mohammed, he said, “We don’t know.”

“You don’t know? How can you not know?”

“Was there anyone here that you did not know with an RPG?”

“We don’t know.”

Mohammed, got frustrated for me. His voice rose as he told them in Arabic. “Yes or No. There is no ‘I don’t know.’”

“I don’t know.”

“Mohammed turned to me, “Same s___, suhr, they say they don’t know anything.”

I could not understand it. There was something they were not telling me. I wasn’t going to beat a confession out of them. The American Justice system in Iraq would prevail, even if it was to the prolonged violence for these people. Why did these people not want to end the violence? Not want to turn in those who would bring destruction on their own people due to cross fires? I couldn’t understand it. Freedom from war was only a breath away. I couldn’t understand it. What in the world was keeping them from wanting to experience freedom?

I gave them a speech through Mohammed expressing my desire and my heartfelt prayer that they would experience freedom. I told them that we needed to work together and grip hands so that together we could defeat the insurgency and bring peace to this land. They smiled and agreed at the words, but I wondered what was going on in their hearts.

I turned to head back to my tank. Behind me a woman shrieked and a man came running at me as fast as he could. He held out a little girl not older than 10. She was bleeding and her breathing was labored. SFC Gondek took the girl in his arms and raced back to the Bradley. I radioed ahead.

“This is Apache 6, he have a dying little girl and we need to get her medical attention now. We are bypassing the clinic and taking her straight to the hospital. Tell battalion to let them know we are coming! This girl was hit by shrapnel from the firefight with the insurgent.”

“Roger that.”

As I rode back, I mulled all these things over in my mind. These people were in between a rock and a hard place. Many people would call the US for help and we responded to where a bomb was planted and blew it up. Unfortunately terrorists would often respond to that with a gangster style drive by shooting leaving the informant dead. Or we would arrest a terrorist, but due to insufficient evidence we would have to return him in three months to the population and he would seek his revenge. So although the Iraqi people wanted to be free, the cost of personal safety became too great. They had families to think about. And when a little girl would get hit by shrapnel in a firefight, there was one more reason not to trust the Americans. They had their lives to think about. And for them, better to live in fear than risk it all.

I began to understand and then I thought of my own life. Many times I find myself in the midst of the same quandary. I want to do what is right. I want to exhibit freedom in Christ. Yet, there are times where I find myself lingering on in my sinful nature. Can I give up safety and what I know for the risk of what God wants and desires for my life? Sin, although not God-honoring, can be comforting. For me, my secret sins provide me a release to escape life for a moment.

My sinful nature hates the light, so when I step into a confrontation of the Holy Spirit in my times alone with God there is a cleansing and a renewing of faith. There is a sense of clarity on life and everything is in order. However, I know that I become even weaker if I think I can grow stronger by willpower, or if I think I can handle my sinfulness by myself.

Jesus points this out in Luke 11:24-2-6, “When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first.”

My heart, when confronted with sin can repent and receive full cleansing. Yet, for me there is always an extreme battle as darkness tries to overwhelm the light. The enemy uses whatever he can to intimidate, to create doubt, to instill a sense of powerlessness in our lives. And there have been times where I have believed the lies and found myself worse off than when I began trying to get closer to God. The end result was losing the battle and falling further away from the Lord.

I don’t know if you have ever been there. I don’t know if you can relate to that, but I don’t think I am too different from you. I find that there really isn’t a super spiritual answer other than rely on others to hold me accountable so that I don’t find myself in the self-destructive habits of sin.

Ecclesiastes says, “Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken. (Ecclesiastes 4:12)”

The insurgents in Iraq threaten civilians and make them feel as if they have talked to everyone in the entire town, and if they even mention their name even to their neighbor, they will be killed. My prayer is that these Iraqi civilians would become a united front against the insurgency, because a cord of three strands is not easily broken.

In the same way, my prayer is that we as Christians would overcome fear that we are the only ones dealing with whatever sin that we are struggling with and unite. That we would look to our fellow believers in Christ and take a stand and lift each other up and defend each other from the grip of the enemy.

Are you in the depths of sin, chok-slammed by the enemy, feeling as though he has the upper hand and will not let you go? Are you afraid to tell anyone for fear that you may be hurt, or looked down upon, or face the consequence of your sin? Are you willing to step out of the darkness of fear and into the mercy of God?