Skip to main content

A Nice Little Walk In The Woods


                It's Halloween. Tonight we turn the clocks back. Tonight is also the deadline I gave myself to get my first article done. It's about alcohol abuse. It's 4400 words long, with 51 endnotes and an two page appendix, which probably means that it's closer to 4600 words (10 pages.) I haven't read it in a couple days but I'm saying it's done. I made a list of a few magazine publishers who might consider it, but I'm beginning to think it's a chapter of a book. The problem with that is that I was hoping this was a quick project so that I could move on to the next.

        I did move on to the next, and finished a rough draft about hope. It's only 1131 words long at the moment. It needs lots of work, but at that length, there are more magazines that might accept it. While I'm getting enough distance to be objective about it, I've also been spending time over the past couple days casting about for something that could work for a second chapter of the book what was supposed to be an article. This is one of those reasons why writers don't like to have people know what they're reading. I have a book out of the library about violence, and I spent last night searching websites dealing with Halloween and horror stories, their monsters, and our fascination with the undead. It would be really nice if some sociologists would bother to do the research that I want to use, or, if it has been done, if I could find it.

                Tonight, however, thanks to the book on violence, I think I may be narrowing in on something. I've collected three titles to ask the library to find for me: Lust for Blood  by Jeffrey Kottler, Less than Human by David L. Smith, and The Lucifer Effect by Philip Zimbardo. Plus, I have copied and pasted a number of articles from the Web. A little light reading on a couple cheery topics, just to get me started. I'm beginning to feel as though this little wood that I wandered into is getting a little deep, a little dark, and a little scary. Just the thing for the 31st of October.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

"Especially to those who belong to the family of believers."

Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. (Gal 6:10)   “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.   By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:34-35)           Joshua grinned when he saw Rex standing by the door, studying something on the ground. "Hey, man! Are we ready to do this thing?"          Rex looked up. "Josh, I can't do it. We're still best buds, but I can't stand your fiancée."           I've met "Rex" many times. I've been Rex. Joshua (Jesus) loves the Church. He's not a fool. He knows the Church is far from perfect, but she is His chosen bride. The Rexes of this world, who think themselves His friend, turn away from her. "You don't need the Church to...
Post a Comment
Read more

Ssssssubmmissssssionnn

Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ . (Ephesians 5:21)             "Ssssssubmmisssssssionnn." Can't you just hear the serpent hissing this most horrible of words? If you listen to the serpent or the world, submission means groveling, allowing yourself to be abused, denying yourself your own humanity. Nothing could be worse than submission, could it?             Submission has never been a problem for me, as long as things are going the way I want them to. The rest of the time? Well, let's just say that while I don't know how to fight physically, I don't know how to not fight mentally. One of the fights I've been having with myself for years is about submission.             My first breakthrough took place on a trip to a bookstore. As I walked into the store, my thoughts were very clear. 1) I was goi...
Post a Comment
Read more

Shark Fins, Triple Dog Dares, Heroes, Villains and Sidekicks

Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12)            There's a scene in Jaws in which someone sees a shark fin and starts a panic. As   all the swimmers scramble to shore, boats surround the fin, which falls over to reveal two kids. With several guns pointed at them, one of the kids points at the other. The message is clear: it was his idea. In Christmas Story, there's a scene in which one kid "triple dog dares" another to do something stupid. Since it's a triple dog dare, well, what choice does the boy have? There doesn't seem to be any end to the trouble that peer pressure can cause. ...
Post a Comment
Read more