Bloody Jack Winner...

All the entries had fun answers, so I put all four in a hat and my daughter drew the winning name.

And the Winner is...

"Here Kitty"

Please contact me via email with your address and I'll get the book mailed out to you.

Congratulations!

Bloody Jack Book Giveaway

OK Jackaroos, if ye be wantin' to win the Bloody Jack book in paperback or hardback, this be yer last chance...

Ye have until 8pm EST on 7/31/11 and then I be drawin' the winner. Click here to sign up. Ye better hurry or the ship'll be leavin' ya!

Signed Affectionately, 

Jacky Faber

Ship's Girl Boy

Published in Pockets!

My first article has been published in Pockets! How exciting! They sent me some advanced copies and I was doing the happy dance. Just had to share.

The article is called "What Can I Do?" and it is about how my daughter, age 10 then, accomplished her own "Walk for Haiti" to raise money for earthquake victims. She's an inspiration to me and I'm glad I was able to share her story. I hope it inspires others to get involved!

 
Pockets is a Christian children's magazine put out by The Upper Room.

POV -- Who's on 1st and 3rd?

Writing Exercise: Try different Points of View (POV). Take a section of your writing and re-write it in a different POV. Which works better for the piece?
 

Before doing this exercise I read:

How to Choose a Point of View by Ginny Wiehardt

Point of view is the perspective from which a story is told. We may choose to tell our story in

• first person, using "I" or "we";
• third person ("he," "she," "it"), which can be limited or omniscient

As a writer, you must think strategically to choose the point of view that will allow you to most effectively develop your characters and tell your story.

How To Start Writing in the Third Person by Ginny Wiehardt

Here's my response.

First Person:

I stood out, way out, on the baseball field. I was one of those kids daydreaming out on left field. Our tee ball team was called the Yellow Jackets and we wore yellow baseball hats and yellow shirts with black lettering. The other kids were excited to be on the team. They shouted, “Sting like a bee!” I didn’t. Out on the field, I was more interested in dandelions than the ball. I prayed the ball would not come my way because I knew I would not catch it. I was afraid it might hit me.

Third Person:
Little Dawn Horner stood out in left field, where her coach told her go. She looked the part of tee ball player with her clean yellow shirt and cap. The front said Yellow Jackets in black lettering, but she wasn’t a Yellow Jacket. She was more like a honey bee. That’s where her mind was right now, down in the clover and dandelions at her feet. They were more interesting than this game. Occasionally she looked up and prayed that ball would not come her way. If it did, she knew she would duck, afraid it might hit her. She would not catch it.


Thoughts -- I like the Third Person better. It has more of a story-telling feel to it. I felt able to be more flexible and creative. 

What do you think? Do you have a POV preference in your writing?

 

Capturing a Moment - Gettysburg & Camping

This past weekend we went camping in Gettysburg, PA and we went to the Eisenhower Farm. I've captured my weekend in the following bullets.

Campsite,  Campfire Pizza,  Abe and Dawn

Capturing the Campground:

*Hubby forgot the pork ribs, milk and OJ at home. I razzed him a bit for that.

*Two little girls stopped on the stone path, hugged each other for balance, and switched flip flops. The one girl sprung up and down testing her new flops. She nodded her approval and they continued walking.

*A scrawny gray squirrel began building a nest in a tree above a neighboring site. It bit off leafy twigs, some larger than itself, and took them back to the nest, shoving each one in place. The bundle shook in spurts. After about 10 minutes of work, the squirrel laid down on a bare branch to rest, legs hanging down. (That's how I felt too in the 95 degree heat!)

*The girls rented 4-wheeled peddle cars. They peddled their hearts out for the allotted ½ hour of joy and came back happy and sweaty.

*A shallow creek edged the back of the campground. Small crayfish hid in the warm water under silt and stones. We tried to wade out, but with almost every step, a crayfish would jet away. There were so many that we got out for fear of stepping on one or having one nibble our toes.

*It was Christmas in July at the campground. I wore my "You'll Shoot Your Eye Out" Christmas Story t-shirt in honor of it.

Capturing Gettysburg Nat'l Park and Eisenhower Farm:

*Our bus drive to Eisenhower Farm had a sarcastic sense of humor. He started off by asking us if we wanted to hear the dumbest park questions ever asked. Of course we said yes. Here are some of them:

How long is this 2-hour tour?
During the Civil War, did the soldiers use the monuments to hide behind?
What does the park service do with the monuments during the winter?
How come all the battles were fought on nat'l park land?

*Eisenhower farm – The Eisenhower’s were very down-to-earth Americans. Their house was pretty modest. They liked to entertain. Ike painted, golfed, and raised Angus beef cows. They liked the rolling PA farmland and were happy to call the farm home after all those years of traveling. 

Mamie's father retired a millionaire at the age of 37, but Ike and Mamie never lived extravagantly. They lived humbly in retirement. Mamie clipped coupons and they dined on TV trays on the sun porch. Though a 5 Star General and President, you got the impression from his home and farm that Ike was a well-grounded, ordinary person who lived life to the fullest.

*At the Eisenhower's Show Barn, we stopped to fill out the Junior Park Ranger booklet. The park volunteer had mercy on us. She gave our daughter many of the answers, as well as as a water-drenched paper towel to cool her down. My daughter said, "Mom, it's so hot, there is sweat on my upper lip!" Yep, we probably picked THE hottest day of the year to site see, but it was still fun.

Where have your gone this summer? Share one of your "Captured Moments"!