An Explorer's View of Life... and Death

Did you know Barry?

He was a blogger, a connection, friend to many. He shared his life journey, stories about his beloved dog Lindsay, and, more recently, his experiences with cancer. He was honest, warm, realistic, hopeful.

I'm heartbroken by that word, was. I've learned that Barry died yesterday.

He was my dad's age. The same sweet kind of man, with a parallel story of cancer.

Barry had been a voice of comfort as I dealt with my dad's struggle; even as he struggled on his own, Barry offered me support and hope.

News of his loss has me snuffling and crying and heaving. Because Barry's gone, so sad on its own, and it reminds me so sharply that my dad is gone. That hurts.

My thoughts and prayers are with Barry's family. He will be missed.

I hope Barry and my dad are in the same wing of the same place, that they might cross paths. They'd be friends, I know, and that would just be really cool.

To see a bit of Barry's legacy, visit his blog.

Pseudo-Sabbatical

I've made the decision to temporarily suspend posts here at Something She Wrote.

Today I got word that my grandmother is in the hospital with a potentially serious condition, and one of my uncles passed away this morning. All this follows closely on the heels of a hospital stay for someone of great importance in my life. Combined with everything mentioned in today's earlier post, I'm a bit overwhelmed.

I'm going to take a break from all things intrawebs. I've got to regroup and wrap my head around the things that have been happening. I'll miss our online connection and your feedback, and I'll miss reading your blog posts, too.

But I won't be gone indefinitely; just for a few days or so. I wish you all the best with your writing, and everything else, in the meantime. I'll be back soon.

And thanks for your support and prayers.
Janna

Working on the WIP

I'm pleased I've been able to put some effort into my Work In Progress of late. Though it's still sporadic, and not nearly as much time as I'd like, I'm making headway.

For awhile there I was discouraged; I wasn't sure I liked the direction the story was heading. It just didn't feel right. You see, I thought the main character's wife was going to abandon him, leading to issues and events that would severely test his Christian faith. But I was struggling with writing her character. I couldn't see her playing out in my head, or figure out how to make her scenario believable.

And then it hit me I was handling the plot wrong. Abandonment isn't the way to go, because it delves into issues I don't want to handle. I just can't wrap my head around them, explore them deeply enough to write about them well.

But what I can do is create a "perfect" marriage and family life between the main character and his wife (and their young daughter) . . . and then alter it drastically by an accidental death. Now we're talking. I can write this with emotion and articulation. I'm excited about the challenge of endearing the reader to the wife... and causing them to feel the same heartbreak my main character will after her death, helping them understand the test of faith when his life is in shambles...

I've decided on the working title Life After Death.

Such a shift in plot meant I had to scrap the work I'd done previously, though it only accumulated to three chapters. I did save the good stuff in another file, should the characterizations come in handy another time... but I started rewriting from the beginning last week, and I'm pleased with my progress. The picture is clearer, the way seems to be paved. Here I go!

How about your WIP? What are you working on right now, this week?