Living at Warp Speed

“Women love adventure of all sorts…  We were made to be part of a great adventure.  An adventure that is shared.  We do not want the adventure merely for adventure’s sake but for what it requires of us for others. ” — from Captivating by John & Stasi Eldredge

When I was 18 years old, my friend Tina made an observation about me.  She said, “Sarah, you aren’t happy unless you’re going warp speed!”  Truer words have rarely been spoken about me!  I am currently headed into the busiest season of my life.  When I realized that I was “overbooking” my life, I stopped and asked God to tell me what my priorities should be.  He gave me three: my job, my missions, and my writing.  Some other day we’ll discuss the first two…

Writing is a new priority.  I’ve always been a scribbler.  A journaler.  (Is that a word?)  My mom used to teasingly call me “John Boy” because I was always writing.  (Those of you who have seen The Waltons will get that.)  I majored in English in college and found that my love for words was deeper than I had realized.  My Senior year I was required to take a creative writing class as a Senior Seminar.  The only thing being offered that semester was Screenwriting and so I signed up for it.  By the end of the term, I had earned an A- on a feature length (two-hours) screenplay.  My prof suggested that I try to sell it, but I wasn’t as happy with it as he was and so I put it in a shoebox, wrapped the shoebox with packing tape, and stuck it in my closet.

Finally, last October, I pulled the shoebox out of the closet.  I dusted the lid, cut the tape off, and started adapting my original screenplay into a novel.  Not just any kind of novel.  A Christian novel.  The kind I like and believe in and enjoy reading.  By February of this year, I was 16,000 words into the rewrite.  I checked my email one day and found a request for a columnist for Christian Fiction Online Magazine.  On a whim, I sent a sample article to editor-in-chief, Michelle Sutton.  I never believed that she’d really be impressed with my work…  But on April 1, my first article will run in my new column.  (YAY!)

In December, I got a call from my mother.  She is a 6th grade Language Arts teacher in a public school in the Northwestern part of North Carolina.  She wanted me to begin a series of seminars for the 6th grade Academically Gifted students at her school.  At the time I didn’t hesitate.  I went up and kicked it off with a great lesson.  But since then I’ve seen that it’s next to impossible to take the amount of time off work that is required for me to really do it right.  I started wracking my brain and trying to decide how I could supplement the few in-class visits that I’m able to make.  And then I realized that I’ve got a brand spanking new blog that I can use!  So, alas, beginning Friday, I will be using my Friday posts to do a bloginar (is that a word?) on screenwriting.  Even though the lessons are technically “for” the 6th graders, feel free to leave comments and ask questions.

And finally, thanks to everybody who came by on “opening day” and gave me such a warm welcome!  Old friends, it was lovely to see you!  New acquaintances, it was nice to meet you!  Come back by anytime!