Remember Them

Today was a lovely day for me, not too busy, not too slow, but with enough time for me to come up with more developments to my new novel idea. But sixty-nine years ago, it was probably the worst day in the lives of many, many people.

Can you imagine what it was like sixty-nine years ago, when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor? Can you imagine being a little girl in Pearl Harbor, waking up to the sound of a Japanese attack squad? Wouldn't that be the worst experience in the world? There was nothing lovely about that day. There was only death, fear, and shock.

The first detection of the raid that two Army operators in Oahu had was at 7:15am that day. Their report was disregarded, because the officer in charge thought the planes were American B-17 planes, expected in from the U.S. west coast. At 7:53, the first Japanese assault wave commenced their attack. The raid lasted about two hours, ending around 9:45am.



Eight battleships were damaged, and five were sunk. America lost three light cruisers, three destroyers, and three smaller vessels. 188 aircraft were shot down. In very little time, America lost 2,335 servicemen and 68 civilians, and 1,178 of her people were left wounded.

This attack led America into World War II. I wonder what would have happened if we'd stayed out of the war? Isn't it amazing to think about what could have been? It's almost frightening, isn't it? It would make an interesting Parallel Universe story.

Just take a moment, and remember all the young men, the old men, the children, women, and sons, the mothers, husbands, aunts and uncles, cousins, sisters, friends, that lost their lives sixty-nine years ago.

For just a moment, remember them.

For more information on Pearl Harbor, here are some rather neat links. Thanks for reading!

History Matters
The History Place
Eyewitness History
Naval History and Heritage
Oread Daily

Dreaming Up A Story

I'm not one to put all my faith in dreams. However, I will put my faith into the dream that inspires a new story.

I dreamed about this character, who named himself Hero. Ironically, he really did just stroll through my dream, completely fleshed out and fantastic. He's on par with Badger, my NaNo MC. He's this Slovakian boy, newly arrived in America after the death of his parents. As time goes by, it becomes apparent that Hero is not just a boy. He's the person destined to save the world.

I've written out an outline, and an idea of the story I dreamed. I just love it when the story appears in my head like this, with a character that totally excites me and is so completely real. I love it when a story materializes without a struggle. Instead of peeling the story out of my bones, it oozes out of my pores and dances in my fingertips, singing, "Write me, write me!"

How often do you dream a story? This is the second time it's happened to me. My advice, for certain sure, is this: Keep a notebook with you at all times, writers! Inspiration strikes at all times, and sometimes the best things happen when you just wake up.

Also, today is St. Nicholas day. We put out our shoes last night, and this morning St. Nicholas came and put candy and chocolate in our shoes, and one little gift. I got lovely little hair diamonds in my shoe. It was a most welcome gift. I had decided I was going to buy them for myself for Midnight Mass, but St. Nicholas anticipated me, and bought them for me instead. I'm going to wear them for Christmas.

Merry Christmas, writer friends! God bless, and Happy St. Nicholas Day!

Working With Wonder

Work is work is work, right?

Not always. I have a job I love. Not many people can boast of that. But I do. I have a job that MAKES you dream, imagine, pretend, and act like a kid all the time. It's the best. I get to work with wonder, and inspire others with wonder.

One of the things that's so funny about what I do, is that I can never give myself too long a break. For instance, I finished my NaNo novel, and I felt... hollow. It was almost as though I'd carved out my heart and soul and left myself completely drained. In order to fill myself back up again, I started on other projects. I'm working on my two other novels, The Key Keeper, and Whisper Mansion, and several short stories that I'm writing for submissions. I just love it.

The thing about being a writer is that you are basically your own boss. It's good, and at the same time, it's bad. I mean, you have to make sure you schedule yourself. You can't take off time all the time, because you'll never get anything done. You can't just say, "I'll write an hour each week, and that's all," because, unless you are a genius, you'll never perfect your skill, and you won't get much done, anyway. You have to schedule yourself. This is a part of the business I'm still trying to perfect, myself.

You have to be dedicated. It does absolutely no good to say, "I'm a writer," and then do nothing but research, research, research, without any pen-to-papering going on. Research is important, but you can't let yourself stray into the realms on internetism. You have to keep your focus.

You have to love it. If you're writing purely from intent to become rich and famous, you're not going to make it. Your writing is going to be shallow and quick, with no time taken to the ebb and flow of cadence, and no care taken to revise and edit repetitive words. Writing comes from the heart. Write the absolute best you can, and you'll be a success.