Balance.

One of the very best things in my life right now is my writing group. And I almost didn't join it.

When Janice Hardy first floated the idea of creating a group for writers to form critique groups, I dithered about joining. I worried about the time commitment, about sharing my story with total strangers, about agreeing to read stories written by people who might not be bothered by things that bothered me. (At the time, I was thinking language and adult content, not grammar. These days, I've discovered grammar is more of a problem...which probably means I'm a grammar nazi in a bad way.) My writing buddy said she was joining, so my dithering tipped into sending Janice an email.

I'm so glad I did. I love the group. I've learned many fantastic things from them, and, like most things involving humans, not just writing. Vanessa has become my personal hero. That poor girl has had her story straight-up trashed. Several times. We've shredded her openings into Garfield's curtains. And every single month, she brings a new opening. A better opening. Her latest had some lines that left me breathless. Poetic, epic fantasy, with a bleak feel to it...and her indomitable spirit shines through.

I actually hadn't meant to bring that up, but Vanessa deserves recognition, so it got mentioned. Anyway.

The mixed blessing of a writing group is that you get multiple people's opinions on your work. And since I like everybody to say, "This is good" before I'll accept it's good, this can get...interesting. I've got one line that three people liked and two people didn't. I like it, and the majority likes it, so I'll probably keep it. But then there's the line that only one person commented on, and he didn't like it. So now what? Do I follow the maxim "murder your darlings"? (The unfortunately phrased maxim?) Delete it because it doesn't seem to be working as designed? Or do I shrug off the criticism and keep on truckin'?

Arrogance versus humility. My own vision versus teachability. How do these balance?

I can't be a pushover and change everything objected to, ever. I am the one writing the story. I am the one who knows what I mean to say.

I can't be a stiff-necked fool and ignore advice I don't like. (Well, I can, but it's a bad idea.)

I've been challenged to come up with solutions for lazy writing, like knocking out a guard with a blackjack. Apparently, that would kill him in real life, which means either he's dead in fake life or I knock him out differently. After quite a long time and talking to people who know how to incapacitate people, I knocked him out differently. This, because of my excellent writing group, who refused to suspend disbelief and let me off with laziness.

And I've been challenged to consider my work with detachment, to weigh the criticism against my inner vision and determine whether my "clever" line is worth keeping.

I still don't know. I dunno, I guess I'll hang onto it for now and see if it passes muster on further edits. For now, I will balance my inner editor and my outer editors on a tightrope over the Niger.

There may be crocodiles below.

Favorite Movies Tag

1: List favorite movies (in any format that you like and the movies do not have to be in order).

2: Post James’ video tribute (above) somewhere in your post.

(This video is very neat and a tribute to James’ favorite movies; I've seen most of these, but The Matrix and a few other clips were unfamiliar.

3: “Tag” other bloggers (optional).

So. Favorites. I don't know how to add pictures, so I'll just go with titles. In the order in which I think of them, they are:

1. LOTR trilogy. Because they were BRILLIANT. When they were first released, I was considered too young to handle them. (Probably a very accurate assessment, to be honest.) When I was finally allowed to watch them, my younger sister and I watched all of them about nine times in a row. ALL OF THEM. That's about nine hours, folks. We could quote whole scenes with the actors.

2. The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, and Prince Caspian, the new movies. (I wasn't crazy about Voyage of the Dawn Treader.) Prince Caspian especially, because Reepicheep was hilarious and Edmund was seriously cool. "You are a mouse!" "You people have no imagination!"

3. Gunga Din, starring Cary Grant and Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. I watched that movie about twelve times, and I'd still watch it again. A dashing adventure story, riffing off Kipling's excellent poem, with funny moments and suspense and a really funny scene involving a punch bowl.

4. The Bachelor and the Bobbysoxer. Cary Grant, Myrna Loy, and Shirley Temple. This movie...oh this movie. Shirley Temple develops a crush on Grant's character, which results in a situation that doesn't look great for him. So her sister the judge (Loy) orders Grant to date Shirley until her crush wears off. Brilliant movie.

5. How to Steal a Million, Audrey Hepburn and Peter O'Toole. Okay, this one is a caper film, which means the bad guys get away. Which means I shouldn't like it. However, it's very very funny, and in its defense, Hepburn is trying to move her father away from crime, and technically, she's not committing a crime because....Go watch the movie.

6. Pride and Prejudice, starring Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle. Pretty sure that's enough said.

7. The Avengers. I could watch this movie so so many times.

8. The Secret of Kells. This is an animated movie drawn in a style that evokes 12 century manuscripts, set in Ireland. Though the elements of Irish mysticism aren't cool, the movie is gorgeous, and the voice acting...Irish accents. I love Irish accents. The storyline isn't particularly complex, but it's well done.

9. Life is Beautiful. Italian movie set during WW2, about a Jewish man winning his wife, and then protecting his son through a concentration camp. I laughed, I cried...it moved me, Bob.

10. The Indiana Jones trilogy, especially The Last Crusade! Harrison Ford battling Nazis; what's not to like??

Honorable Mentions, because I'm supposed to limit myself to 10, but I like lots of movies: the Horatio Hornblower series, and Master and Commander, The Patriot (though I can only watch that about once per year, because blood is distressing), Cinderella Man...can I make that number 11? I loved that movie; I just can't handle it often because, again, blood. Anything Disney.

Okay, call it quits. Let's tag people.

1. Clara

2. Molly

3. Christie

4. Ken

5. Emma

On "Same Love".

I like Macklemore. He's a young rapper with three songs currently beating about the airwaves. I don't typically care for rap, but his music is infectious, fun, and not headache-inducing. I don't listen to him much, because he's definitely not a Christian, but some of the worldviews he expresses in his songs stick with me.

"Thrift Store" was the first. In that swaggering song, he talks of buying crazy stuff for cheap, and using it to create a unique style in a cookie-cutter world. Instead of paying $50 for a t-shirt that six other people are wearing, he buys lots of used stuff for less than $20 and stands out from the crowd. I'm one of ten. I'm well acquainted with thrift stores. So yeah, I can get down with that!

"Can't Hold Us" is the second. Catchy dance tune; the only lines I understand are the chorus and a line about "speed like a great white shark on shark week", which is rattled off at breathless pace.

But the one I've been thinking about most is "Same Love." Unlike the other two, it's soft, almost a ballad. His rap is almost a monologue. And its message is pro-gay. I'm a Christian. I'm strongly anti-gay. I have to be, because God is. But some of the thoughts Macklemore raises are worth considering.

He speaks of stereotypes: boys who love "unmanly things", like art or music, are sometimes labeled as gay. It's used derogatorily, it's called a decision, a label, a predisposition. He speaks of the persecution of the gays: children bullied for their preferences, homosexuals committing suicide, hateful comments, discrimination, churches preaching against gays. His passion on the subject comes through clearly. And I can see his point.

Bullying and persecution are wrong, under any circumstances and for whatever reason.

However. Homosexuality is wrong, under any circumstances and for whatever reason. It is perversion of God's law. It is sin.

So as a Christian, what do I do with this song? Why do I still like this song? Because of the chorus.

"And I can't change/even if I tried/even if I wanted to." Does Macklemore have any idea how close he comes to truth? I wonder, does he realize the profundity of those lines? We CAN'T change! We can't pull ourselves out of homosexuality or habitual lying or lust or greed or cowardice! We can change behaviors, but we can't change hearts! Often, we can't even change behaviors!

This song breaks my heart. It reveals such compassion for the hurting, and it reveals an inability to change what many acknowledge is wrong behavior. But it stops short of showing ultimate love. It doesn't mention the Great Cure. We can't change. But God can change us. We don't need to bully or persecute homosexuality, any more than any other sin. We can declare that yes, it is sin, and we can stand firm on that Biblical principle. But we can also extend grace, we can extend a little mitigation. Being gay doesn't disqualify you from the love of God. It doesn't mean you can't ever change, it doesn't put you beyond the reach of Divine Power. Being gay estranges you from God. So does lying. So does getting angry. So does being disrespectful to your parents. But because He is God, He can bridge the gap and wipe away the stains.

He can change. He can help us try. He can make us want to.