Out on a Limb

in

  I’m finally back on my novel project. Took a short break in February and focused on editing the short stories for my next ebook, which will hopefully release in May! Truly though, there’s nothing better than just sitting down and pounding out a novel.

Still, this one scares me a bit. I’m approaching some subjects I’ve never seen addressed novels I’ve read, things relating to health and such. But what can I say? I have to write the story I believe God’s called me to write.

Feels like I’m going out on a limb, but it beats sitting on it.

 

For Him,

Sarah Elisabeth

 

If I Were...

in

If I were a month, I’d be September

If I were a day of the week, I’d be Sunday

If I were a time of day, I’d be early evening

If I were a sea animal, I’d be a dolphin

If I were a direction, I’d be central

If I were a piece of furniture, I'd be a desk

If I were a liquid, I'd be hot chocolate

If I were a gemstone, I'd be a diamond

If I were a tree, I’d be a pine

If I were a tool, I'd be a hammer

If I were a flower, I'd be a rose

If I were a kind of weather, I’d be a cool autumn day

If I were a musical instrument, I'd be a guitar

If I were a color, I'd be pink

If I were an emotion, I’d be all of them at once

If I were a fruit, I’d be a strawberry

If I were a sound, I’d be a song

If I were a car, I'd be a pickup truck

If I were a food, I’d be beef

If I were a place, I’d be home

If I were a fabric, I'd be cotton

If I were a taste, I’d be sweet

If I were a scent, I’d be tea rose

If I were an animal, I’d be a dog

If I were an object, I'd be a laptop

If I were a body part, I’d be hand

If I were a facial expression, I’d be a smile

If I were a pair of shoes, I’d be cowboy boots

 

What would you be?

Go ahead and try it on your blog—or in the comments. Be sure to let me know so I can check your answers out!

For Him,

Sarah Elisabeth

BTS—Behind the Scenes of an Indie Film Shoot

in

  Filmmaking is hard work. Hard as writing a novel, building a website, or resisting chocolate cake. But with some difficult tasks come fun times you can’t get any other way. In filmmaking that includes the production phase, the time of being on the set, behind the scenes, managing (or creating) chaos. At least that’s what I tried to do (or not do) as second assistant director on Dallas Christian Filmmakers’ YouTube interactive film project this past January. What I really needed was someone to follow me around and pick up my clipboard when I set it down. More on that later.

Day One

I stayed outside the shooting rooms, echoing “Quiet on the set, please!” for those of us hanging out in the hall, waiting to be useful. Someone asked what my “title” was.

“Second Assistant Director,” I replied. “In other words, a glorified PA.”

My friend Elaine, a Production Assistant, said, “Hey, don’t be talking down PAs.”

Adam, another PA, added, “And that’s Pa to you.”

 

The location was way cool. We shot in the historic Ambassador Hotel. It has the oldest elevator in Texas and it can take you six stories to explore each floor. Well, we didn’t do that exactly since a few people live there.

End of Day Two, after “That’s a wrap!”

It all started when I wanted to take my friend, Aimee, to the rooftop via the maintenance elevator. Then I grabbed Jessica and before we made it to the end of the hall, word had spread, and I now had a group.

Kyra scared me to death when she sat on the edge of the roof. I was terrified, and having a blast at the same time. Nice, huh?

Back on the second floor, we needed to finish packing up. But then someone asked if we’d been to the basement yet. The basement? No way could we miss out on that.

The Ambassador is one of the best buildings I’ve been in, and the creepiest. You just don’t want to be on any floor, walk the six flights of steps or ride the maintenance elevator alone. So by the time we went to the basement, we were ready to spook each other. It’s the place where even when someone knows you’re behind them, you can grab them and make them jump.

 

Yes, the roof and basement adventures were awesome.

Oh and my clipboard? Yes, I laid it down to round up PAs to help serve pizza and drinks, run upstairs for cups, and eat before the kids got the last piece. Wherever I laid it down that final time is where it remains to this day, as far as I know.

Fun stuff.

 

For Him,

Sarah Elisabeth

 

The Journey of a Thousand Miles Begins with a Word

in

Caffeine-free peppermint tea. Soothing Psalms music. I’m in another world. I began my novel draft on schedule, January 18, 2012. Actually, I handwrote the first scene a few days before that because I knew I’d lose it otherwise. That unexpected scene set the course for the chapter and introduced an interesting subplot I have no idea what to do with. But that’s okay. I have about three others I’m clueless about as well. I love fiction.

Going down south for three days to visit family put me 4500 words behind my goal (1500 a day). I’m almost caught up, the grand total now just over 11,000. But what I didn’t expect on the trip was to sit on the couch in our condo at Piney Shores and watch two hours of Extreme Makeover (Home Edition) with my eighteen-year-old nephew. Probably the one clean show on TV we both could stand to watch. It had to be a God-thing, because one episode inspired a strong subplot in my novel I had had no idea would come until, literally, the words showed up on my screen. Not until the next day did I realize it tied in perfectly with another character I didn’t know until a character I did know introduced us.

Don’t worry—it’s not clear in my mind either. But I just thank the Lord for allowing this time in my life to write a novel.

 

For Him,

Sarah Elisabeth