What’s Up Wednesday
What’s Up Wednesday is a meme created by Jaime Morrow and Erin Funk to help writers and readers keep up with their blog friends, and anyone else who may wonder what it is that writers do with their lives. It simply involves answering four questions:
What I’m Reading
Currently, I’m reading WHAT EVERY CHRISTIAN NEEDS TO KNOW ABOUT THE QUR’AN by my friend and former academic mentor, Dr. James R. White. The book is a goldmine of information, both for the Christian who wants to understand what their Muslim friends/neighbors believe (and how to talk to them about those things), and for the Muslim who wants to know how a very well-informed Christian sees their faith. James has really done his homework. He’s spent the last 7 or 8 years studying Islam (including reading the hadith and learning Arabic), reading books by top Islamic scholars, and also engaging in public, moderated debates with the top Muslim apologists. This book is the result of all this work. It’s not written with an axe to grind, but with genuine love and respect for the Muslim people–even if it is, for the most part, a work of Christian apologetics. For those who are neither Christian nor Muslim, the book may still be of interest to understand the issues, and perhaps get some perspective on current affairs.
I’m looking forward to reading Gary Corby’s latest Ancient Greek mystery, SACRED GAMES. If you’ve seen my reviews of THE PERICLES COMMISSION and THE IONIA SANCTION, you’ll know how much I enjoy this series. The third of Nicolaos’ adventures came out yesterday, and Amazon says they’ve shipped my book, so it should be here in the next few days (yay Amazon Prime!).
What I’m Writing
Blog articles, for the most part! The second part of Doctor Who series 7 started while I was doing the A-to-Z Blogging Challenge, and I could never easily incorporate reviews of the episodes into my blog schedule for the month. So, over the last week or so, I’ve been playing catch-up. And what a truly awesome season of Doctor Who this has been. Worthy of the show’s 50th Anniversary. That means I haven’t moved much further with the WIP, and I don’t feel bad about that, but I really do need to push on with the revisions.
I’ve also been sorely tempted to go back to a project that I finished a number of years ago, but needs a lot of work. It’s more of a historical/sort-of alternate world NA novel (yes, NA, not YA), but I like the world, the characters, and the general story (though it needs some tweaking). I have some shiny new ideas to address too, so we’ll see about that.
What Inspires Me Right Now
The fact that I have enough writing ideas rattling around in my head to keep me going for a long time. One of my main concerns, should I ever become a full-time writer, is what if I run out of ideas? So far, it doesn’t look like that would be an issue. Not that I’m planning on quitting my day job anytime soon!
What Else I’ve Been Up To
Life. With a full-time job and a family, there’s never a shortage of things to do (though not everything is worth blogging about). I don’t think I’ve been bored for the last 20+ years, and I can’t see that changing.
What’s been going on in your life?
I <3 Amazon Prime. I also use it far too much. 🙂
I actually own What Every Christian Needs To Know About The Qur'an, but I've never gotten around to reading it. Hmm…I'm going to have to give it another look.
I think with all the money I’m saving on shipping with Amazon Prime, it’s paid for itself. Not to mention the shows/movies I get to see for free.
I’ve seen at least one person say WHAT EVERY CHRISTIAN… is a bit too “academic.” As one who reads (and has read) a lot of academic theology, this book really isn’t. There are endnotes, and there is attention to detail, and a lot of research. But I call that doing things properly, and having respect for Muslims by trying to be accurate in how you represent their sacred text and their beliefs. If you want to know about Islam–and particularly the Qur’an–but don’t have the time (or inclination) to read a lot of books by Islamic scholars, this is the place to go.
Ah, shiny new ideas… So tempting! I have a whole pile of them waiting for me too, and I can’t wait to dive in. I just wish this revision would end so I can actually get to them. I suppose that’s great motivation, right? Like you, I don’t think I will ever run out of ideas, so that’s nice to know!
Part of me wants to set the WIP aside to work on something else, but I’m not ready to do that. If I get really stuck with the revisions, I might. But the revisions are going okay at the moment, so I need to stick with it, despite my brain getting distracted by SNIs… 🙂
I’m doing a bit of note making and planning for a fantasy WiP I wrote some extracts for at University. I’m fancying a change of genre for NaNo 2013. 🙂
You’ve got me intrigued on Ancient Greek mysteries. I’m going to have to nosy around on your reviews!
Gary Corby’s books are such good fun. I guess they would be considered cozies, if you could call solving murders in 3rd Century BC Athens “cozy”! Gary’s really done his research with the setting and the surrounding historical events. But you don’t need to be into ancient history to appreciate the stories. I strongly recommend them. 🙂
Colin– long time no “see”! Wow, this book about the Muslim faith sounds fascinating. I think we progress as a society when we try to understand the faith others hold. Very interesting. And I can’t wait to see what you think of that Dr Who Finale. It left me wanting more.
Hello, Katharine! Long time no “see” indeed! Even from the point of view of evangelism, or even debate, it shows respect for those to whom you’re speaking when you demonstrate that you’ve taken the time to understand their perspective. You don’t build bridges with straw men. 🙂
As for my thoughts on the Who finale… here they are! I’d love to know what you thought! 🙂
Yeah – a family never leaves you with any boredom! I love it!
Also, yay for ideas! I don’t have to worry about that either – especially because my children want me to write their story ideas too!
Especially with six kids aged 9 to 19, there’s plenty to do! 🙂 They all seem to enjoy writing stories as well… don’t know where they get that from. 😉
Oooh, you’re diving into NA huh? Good luck! Let us know how it goes 😀
As I said, the novel’s already written–but it needs work. I’ve learned a lot in the years since, so I’m sure much of the work will be a re-write. The main characters are all in college, so it would certainly fit NA. I enjoy writing YA, but I certainly don’t feel tied to it. 🙂
I miss having Amazon Prime! That 2-day shipping is awesome!
I’m going to have to read your reviews. I just caught up on the 2nd half of Dr. Who too, and I was pleasantly surprised. I can’t express how generally frustrated I’ve been with Moffat’s run of the show, especially since I really like Matt Smith’s Doctor, but this 2nd half of the season was not bad! (And I cannot WAIT to see Ten again in the 50th Anniversary special. He is my favorite!)
Btw, did you get to see Star Trek? Did your daughter enjoy the Benedict Cumberbatch screen time? (I’m a fan too. 😉 )
RE: your comments on my post – No, I haven’t read On Writing, though I’ve been meaning to! Will definitely check that out (and yes, I’m a pantser, no question). I hope you get to read The 5th Wave soon too. It’s a fast read and very engaging.
In some cases, I’ve received books NEXT DAY from Amazon Prime. That’s a $13 saving!
I’ve probably said it a million times, but Moffat’s writing was infinitely better when he wasn’t show-running too. And I think his episodes this season have benefited from the fact that he didn’t write as many of them. I think he should definitely keep Mark Gatiss, Neil Cross, Stephen Thompson, and Neil Gaiman on his writers roster for next year.
All my Who Reviews are scattered over the past week or so. Feel free to add your thoughts! Judging from the finale, we might get to see my favorite Doctor (the Second) in the 50th Anniversary Special. 🙂
I haven’t seen the new Star Trek movie yet, but my daughter did, and came home a complete mess of Star-Trek-Benedict-Cumberbatch squee. 🙂
Okay, this is a reminder that I really need to check out some Dr. Who. Kind of like my TBR list, I also have a To Be Watched list and Dr. Who is on there. TV is usually what ends up being shoved aside in the middle of all the busyness though. I also have an older NA project I’d love to return to sometime. I’m not sure when that will happen, but I hope you get the chance to work on yours!
Yes, you definitely need to check out some Doctor Who, Erin! Spend the Summer getting into Who, and then you’ll be set for the 50th Anniversary Special on November 23rd. 🙂
I just need more hours in the day, or be better at managing the hours I have, so I can do all the writing I want to do. *sigh*…
Ooh, one of my goals for the summer is to catch up on Doctor Who! I’m a whole season behind. I’d love to be caught up in time for the anniversary special.
Good luck with your NA! I love historical!
That’s certainly a good way to spend the summer, Jessica! The season finale was such awesome television, I wish you well avoiding spoilers. 🙂
The NA has to take a back seat to the WIP right now. Once the WIP is revised and edited, then the fight will be on for what project I work on next. 🙂
Another Doctor Who fan!
I love that show so much it’s insane. I am currently playing catch-up and I agree – this season is great. It’s so much better than the last one and wow. I’m always amazed at what Moffat and all of the other writers of DW come up with each episode.
Good luck with writing!
Yes!! Another Whovian!!! We are closer to world domination [cue laugh like the Master]… 😀
When you’ve caught up, I encourage you to go through my Who Reviews for the season and share your thoughts. I’d be interested to see your comments, Raven.
Thanks for the well-wishes. 🙂
Oops, I tried to comment but I think it never went through! The book sounds interesting–I’ve read articles and essays that were trying to do something like that, but they were uninformed and generally pretty awful, and it was kind of disastrous.
My husband adores Dr. Who, and every now and then I’ll watch with him. He’s actually not a huge fan of this season so far! (Although he’s not all caught up in his viewing, I don’t think.) I’ll have to show him your articles.
I’m glad your comment made it this time, Kelly!
If there’s one thing this book is *not*, that’s uninformed. James is very thorough and respectful in his approach to Islam. He doesn’t pull punches in his critiques, but he’s fair and honest, quoting the Qur’an, noting counter-arguments, and paying attention to the varieties of opinion within Islamic scholarly circles. His forthright but respectful approach to Islam has actually earned him the friendship of some of his Muslim debate opponents.
As one might expect with a 50-year-old show, there’s a lot of room for disagreement about “best” and “worst” Doctor Who episodes. There have been seasons I thought weak that others have loved. This season has been good (IMO), especially since Clara came on board. Your husband’s free to disagree if he wants–have him share his thoughts on the blog! 🙂
I tried to write NA, but right now NA fantasy is still a tough sell, so now it’s turned into YA. Aging my MC a year or two younger didn’t really impact the story at all, so I figured it’d be easier if I end up having to query it in the future. Good luck revisiting your project!