Five Minute Friday: Enough

Well, it's Friday again and I get to play along the The Gypsy Mama for Five Minute Friday.  I write five minutes, unedited, on the topic.  Here goes:

I've spent most of my life with too much: too much food, too many clothes, too many things. One of the things I remember most about my grandparents is how much they managed to do with what little they had. I'm beginning to realize that one of my biggest problems is that I have too much, and no place to put it.

God promised he would supply my needs, but I insist upon fulfilling my wants, too. Funny thing is: I don't want as much as I used to. I'm tired of the things; they weary me. I'm ready to be satisfied with enough.

That means having to purge the “too much” to pare down to enough. I thought it would be tiring, but it's actually energizing.

So, here I go, Lord, trusting you to supply enough and asking for your help the break the “want” addiction. With You, nothing is impossible.

Check out other authors' musings on enough at

Five Minute Friday: Story

Well, here's the latest Five Minute Friday attempt at writing for five minutes--unedited, unvarnished.  Today's topic is

Story


I have a story I've been working on for a number of years.  I really like the plot.  I really, really like the characters.  Maybe that's the problem.  Maybe I like them a little too much.  Maybe they're all in black hats and white hats.

Who is like that?

Have I ever known anyone who was, in every single circumstance, entirely noble and good?  Of course not.

So why am I writing my characters that way?  Why is my hero noble and perfect and . . .

Oh.

Perfect.


So, there's part of the problem.  There is no problem, no inner conflict.  The exterior conflict--the plot--is just window dressing for the real story:  the inner conflict of the characters.  That's the part that rocks the reader, the element that resonates, haunts, inspires.

And my hero, as much as I like him, doesn't do any of those things.  He could.  After all, he's come through so much in his personal life, none of which was his fault.  Would he not have stumbled along the way?  What would he have done?

What is his story?

Sigh.

Please excuse me.  There's someone I need to get to know again.  Warts and all.

End Story


So, there it is.  Check out other musings on "story" over with Lisa-Jo Baker's Gypsy Mama.