Wearing My Father's Coat

I’ve been thinking about coats today. Winter coats, rain coats, cute coats vs. useful coats. I snapped at my kids this morning about how they needed to take their coats to school. But, did I take mine? Nope. Did my mom always tell me to wear a coat? Yep. Did I listen? Nope.

When I left this morning to go to my weekly bible study, the heavens opened and the rain poured down on me. I shook like a dog when I got inside the church. I should have worn that coat.

We’re watching a Beth Moore DVD about the disciple John. Want to know what she talked about today? You got it – coats.

She told the story of an evangelist who had befriended a man in a nearby town and was trying to share the good news of Jesus with him. The man argued that he wanted no part of Christianity. He’d seen those Christians walking around in their fancy robes and performing all sorts of evils in Jesus’ name. The evangelist asked him a simple question. “Say I borrowed your coat. Then I went and robbed a bank. I escaped, but several people saw me from a distance and recognized your coat. When they came to arrest you, what would you say?” The man answered, “I would deny it.” The evangelist argued, "But they recognized you by your coat!" After much time had passed, the man came back to the evangelist and asked to learn more about Jesus. When he accepted Christ, he told the evangelist, “You wear your Father’s coat well.” Beth Moore asked us, “How are you wearing your Father’s coat? How well do they see the Father through you?”

All I could think of was, “I hate wearing coats.” Any time I can sneak out of the house without a coat, I do it. I think, “Oh, I don’t really need it. I won’t be outside that long. It will cover up my cute outfit. I’ll be fine without it.”

Is this how I think of my Father's "coat?" I’ll be fine without it? I don’t need it? I can do it on my own? Can I really do “life” on my own? Do I really want to? The Father’s coat could mean so many things. God offers to wrap me in love, forgiveness, holiness and joy. Why do I so often insist on doing it my own way – standing out in the cold and rain? Why do I push Him away?

I went home for a quick lunch before heading off to the coffee shop for my daily writing session. As I stepped out of the door, I paused. The rain still pattered on the sidewalk. I stepped back inside and made a beeline for the closet.

Now, where is that coat?

...And then...and then...

All writers have their pet words -- and I don't mean "fluffy" or "spot."

I recently discovered that, like a hamster running the same wheel day-in and day-out, that I keep re-using two words in my writing: "okay" and "then."

"Are you okay?" "Is it okay to go back in the house?", "Okay, I don't know what you are talking about, okay?"

Maybe it's because I was a teen during the 1980s. We used "okay" a lot, along with "anyway," "like" and the always useful "gag me with a spoon."

"Okay" is often a problem word for writers of historical fiction because it is modern vernacular. If you look online, you can find various stories of the origin of this word. Since my story takes place in 1906 it is okay for me to use "okay." But, it's NOT okay for me to overuse it. Since I use MSWord, I was able to use the search function to find every instance of the word. It was simple to replace some of these "okay"s with words like "fine," "safe", and "all right."

Okay, so I was in the process of doing this, and then I discover an even bigger problem. I am even worse about overusing the word "then." I tend to use it to show action.

This happened, then this happened, then this and then this!

I prefer writing dialogue, okay? Writing action scenes has been a learning process for me. But, when I searched for the word "then" in my manuscript I came up with over 80 hits. Yikes. Then I read through each one and noticed that I could almost always drop the word without harming the sentence. "Then" was unnecessary and only served to weaken the sentence. In other words then, the sentence was okay without it.

So my question for you, is "Okay, like what is YOUR pet word then?"

Friday Book Pick -- Sushi for One? by Camy Tang

Welcome to the weekend! For those of you looking for a few quiet reading hours over the weekend, I try to spend each Friday blog recommending a great read. I generally emphasize fiction titles with Christian themes.

Today's pick is Camy Tang's Sushi for One? I fell in love with Tang's writing after picking up Only Uni at the Mount Hermon Christian Writer's Conference (see previous Book Pick). I find it fascinating to be sumberged in the world of her Japanese-American characters. The main character, Lex Sakai, is everything that I'm not -- athletic, single-minded, Asian, unmarried, and part of an extremely nosy extended family. And yet, reading Sushi for One? I am pulled into the character in a way that I don't often experience. Camy Tang also never fails to find the humour in every situation -- and trust me -- her characters get into many, many humorous situations.

So, if you feel in need of a little romance - with a kick of Wasabi -- pick up Sushi for One? Even if you prefer hamburgers!

Nothing but good news...

I am way overdue for a blog update on my writing...

Here's the skinny!

• Guideposts Magazine has contacted me about printing my story "A Birthday Wish." This is a rewrite of one of my favorite blog posts. They are going to edit it down (way, way down) and hope to print it in their February issue. After looking around the bookstores in my town, I'm suspicious that this magazine (though in the top 30 selling magazines) is not commonly carried on newstands. So, if you want to see the column, catch it online or send in your subscription. I'll be sure to post a link when it comes online.
• If you were anywhere near my neighborhood, you might have heard happy shrieks last week. I finally reached my 60K word count goal on my work-in-process, Shaken. That doesn't mean that it is "done," but it gives me renewed hope that it will eventually get there.
• I've contacted a professional editor (NOT publisher) to help me make the story even better before sending it off to agents and publishers. I'll start working with her next week. Not every writer needs to do this, but I feel that it will help move me along in the right (write?) direction. I'm very eager to get started.

I've heard from many writers that there are weeks when you question why you are in the business. And then there are weeks when you say, "Oh, yeah..." The last few weeks have clearly been in the second category.

Thank you to everyone who has been supporting me with your kind words and prayers! I couldn't do this without you.

Karen