Why A CHRISTMAS CAROL Sings

Inspiration, ,

A Christmas Carol Sings to Me because I Long to Decode its Secret. Why does this story grasp my heart and refuse to let go, no matter how many times I experience it? How has it continued to hold that same power for so long over a vast audience? What did Charles Dickens do that keeps us returning again and again? Let me venture some guesses.

A Christmas Carol Sings because of Ebenezer Scrooge. Charles Dickens created a character we are unable to resist. Ebenezer commands us to revisit the dark chill of his “money-changing hole” with astonishing regularity. We simply cannot get enough of him, or the twisting and twisted trail he leads us along.

A Christmas Carol Sings because it is a Ghost Story. Things that go bump in the night abound. Literally, as Jacob Marley’s chain of miser’s sins clanks toward Scrooge’s cold, barren rooms. On film, I personally favor the Alastair Sim version. The gloomy black and white images and ominous soundtrack most accurately evoke the mood of the book for me, while Ebenezer’s angry scowl draws us all into dread and melancholy.

A Christmas Carol Sings because there is some Ebenezer in most of us. Not because we hoard and hover over our worldly goods, or grumble, “Humbug this, humbug that,” for all to hear. But because, as surely as Scrooge carries his poisonous, punishing temper everywhere, he carries wounds as well, and so do we.

A Christmas Carol Sings because those Wounds are to our Hearts. As was true for Scrooge, hurts are inflicted on us in our tenderest places, usually when we’re very young. Hot cinders of malice, neglect, unkindness, or worse are dropped, one by one, singing a hollow that begs  to be filled by love, which is in turn denied or simply unavailable.

A Christmas Carol Sings because we struggle mightily with our own ghosts. Some of you may not be haunted in this way nor have suffered wounds to the heart. If this is true, I rejoice for you. Still, I suspect that, more often than not, we bear up bravely beneath our injuries and scar them over as best we can.

A Christmas Carol Sings because Ebenezer Offers Us Choices. He exemplifies the  capacity within us to live afflicted, or to heal. Before the spirits visit him, he vividly embodies the former choice and its accompanying  bitterness. Afterward, he shows us another way to go, but action will be required, as in all Redemption stories. This is one of those for sure, and the required action is love in its working verb form.

A Christmas Carol Sings because it Reminds us of a Crucial Truth. One prescription for healing our wounds is to love, deeply and consistently as possible, given our flawed human natures. if we  listen, we may hear the still, small voices within us echo the goodness of that intention.And, like A Christmas Carol, those voices sing.

Meanwhile… Charles Dickens, Ebenezer, Tiny Tim, and I wish each of you a beloved and loving New Year.

Alice Orr – www.aliceorrbooks.com

Alice Orr’s Christmas story A Vacancy at the Inn – Riverton Road Romantic Suspense Series Book 3 – is available on Amazon HERE. Enjoy!

A Time of Fear & Loving – Riverton Road Romantic Suspense Series Book 5 – is available HERE.  Praise for A Time of Fear & Loving. “Alice Orr is the queen of ramped-up stakes and page-turning suspense.” “Warning. Don’t read before bed. You won’t want to sleep.” “The tension in this novel is through the roof.” “I never want an Alice Orr book to end.” “The best one yet!” “Budding romance sizzles in the background until it ignites with passion.”

Look for all of Alice’s books HERE.

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Present Perfect Survive-Thrive Secret #1

Motivation, ,

Persist Till You Prevail. We’ve seen many of us fall by the wayside. We’re called Creatives. Yet, we struggle to create the mindset that will keep our bodies and spirits from sliding off the path which gives us joy and satisfaction. The challenge is to Persist. The goal is to Prevail.

I Have Persisted. Over boulders in my way. Under bridges where trolls lurk at every turn.  Am I boasting? You betcha, though God and a great support network had a lot to do with it. Plus maybe my rat-dog stubbornly stupid refusal to give up.

Alice’s Survive and Thrive Secrets. Five rules for life’s risky road were planted deep in me by Grandma when I was young, and I’ve nurtured them some since. I share those seeds in my next few posts. The overall message being Persist Till You Prevail.Grandma and Alice at Two and a Half

What Do I Mean by Prevail? Do I mean fame and fortune? Don’t turn those puppies away if they scratch at your door, but they’re not my thesis here. To Prevail is what my top-line title states and my bottom-line belief dictates. Survive and Thrive. Get past whatever you encounter. Don’t expect easy. Survive to Thrive and tell about it, because we must always share good news.

What Do I Mean by Thrive? Muster the strength to pick up your life, and celebrate your very existence. You made it this far, battered and bruised maybe, but still Present. That, like me not being crushed by boulders or devoured by trolls, is a miracle.

Present Perfect. So, here’s Survive and Thrive Secret #1. Be the Best You Can Be in the Present. The best you can be, not the best there ever was, or the best expected by whomever’s been flogging your psyche for almost ever. Your ma, your pa, Saint Francis. I expect of you, only the best that you can manage to be on any given day in any given moment. You should expect the same.

The Best You/I/We Can Manage is Good Enough. Better than good enough. Your Personal Any Morning Best. That’s a diamond, my friend, subject to polishing perhaps, but worth a fortunate fortune all the same.

In the Interests of Full Disclosure. My own consciousness lost the gist of that last paragraph for a while. The concrete of forgetfulness paved my path, honed it into hobble-stones that delivered a direct hit to my psyche more than once. A cautionary tale you must remember when tempted to overlook the glint of the jewel you already are, or misjudge it not glinty enough.

Be Gentle with Yourself (And so the Exercise Begins). Identify goals that are Realistic for You. Not for whomever you’re alleged to be less whatever than. Realistic/Doable/Workable Goals for You. Be compassionate. Cutting somebody a break begins at home.

Brainstorm Those Compassionate-with-Yourself Goals. Get someone who really loves you to join in, or make it a solo storm. A bottle of wine could help, or a pot of strong tea if you prefer. Make mine cabernet sauvignon, please.

Write Them Suckers Down. Do not edit. Don’t say, “That’s stupid,” or “This won’t work.” Remember the psyche-floggers I mentioned earlier? These dismissive self-critiques are echoes of her/his/their voice. Ignore it. Write down every syllable. Then leave the list alone for a bit, maybe even a day or two.

The Cooler Consideration. Again, do not edit. Guided by self-compassion, prioritize Your Realistic Goals. Start easy, not with the biggest thunderclap on your brainstormed list. Now, make a new list from the new sequence you’ve created.

Print That List in a Large Font. Hang it everywhere you hang. Your laptop lip, the fridge door. Do not laminate. Periodic tweaking, always in self-compassion mode, is encouraged.

Go After Those Goals at Psyche-Sensitive Speed. You are Present Perfect now, Lovey (as Grandma used to call me). Survive and Thrive Secret Number One is done and done.

Alice Orr – www.aliceorrbooks.com

A Wrong Way Home – Alice Orr’s Riverton Road Romantic Suspense Series Book 1 – is a FREE eBook HERE. Enjoy!A Wrong Way Home

A Time of Fear & Loving – Riverton Road Romantic Suspense Series Book 5 – is available HERE.  Praise for A Time of Fear & Loving. “Alice Orr is the queen of ramped-up stakes and page-turning suspense.” “Warning. Don’t read before bed. You won’t want to sleep.” “The tension in this novel is through the roof.” “I never want an Alice Orr book to end.” “The best one yet!” “Budding romance sizzles in the background until it ignites with passion.”

Look for all of Alice’s books HERE.

https://www.facebook.com/aliceorrwriter/
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Scoreboard Status Writers’ Style

Motivation, ,

Scoreboard Status Writers’ Style. Have you ever heard this ponderous question? “If a tree falls in the forest, and no one is there to hear, is there any sound?” Well, let’s ponder this one. “If your book falls into the marketplace, and nobody notices, are you still a real writer?”

 That doozy has been frying in my brainpan for some time now, and I’m not alone. More and more of us are deciding to quit the writing game. We not only consider ourselves losers there, we’ve concluded that we aren’t even up on the scoreboard.

We toil long and hard and believe we’re writing strong stories, but don’t sell many books. We don’t make much money either. What we thought of as a writing career is behaving more like a writing hobby. And, the IRS may be about to make that hobby status official.

Been there. Am there now. The only book sales I’m sure of are the copies I send to reviewers, because good reviews are supposed to make all the difference. My reviews are stellar, and no difference has been made.

Many authors report a similar experience. Their reviewers are generous, enthusiastic, even ecstatic. Still, sales figures don’t budge enough to get them even into the minor leagues. We’re playing pickup ball on the sandlots of scribes.

Before we start sputtering over the obvious injustice – let’s sprint this sporty metaphor back to the scoreboard concept. Who is up there in lights anyway? Whose numbers soar high, then higher still, over and over again?

The “Why?” of the above questions is in the last phrase, “over and over again.” These are repeat performers, repeat big sales performers, like our beloved Stephen King. Their identities repeat as well. The same bestseller names sell best, as I said, over and over again.

They are the superstars. According to a recent Sunday New York Times article, once you’re a superstar, you stay a superstar. Everybody knows your name. You’re a proven, recognizable commodity, and readers feel most confident buying a brand name. Plus, there are only so many superstar slots on the board, and those are pretty much filled.

 I succumbed to the blues notes of that tune several months ago. I stopped writing anything other than the occasional blog post and a regular column. Then I read the Sunday Times article, felt the truth of it, and somehow that turned me around. “WTF am I doing?” I shouted.

After I stopped writing, I became a less satisfied person. Anyone in my family will bear witness to this. So, started writing again. I picked up my novel-in-progress, shoved Patrice, my beleaguered heroine, into hot water, and turned up the temp.

Then, one morning, after a subsequent writing session, something happened. I was standing in my bedroom listening to a conversation between two people who only exist in my head. Patrice and John, my hero, were saying things entirely new to me. And, guess what? It felt great.

So, to hell with the scoreboard. Whether or not the marketplace acknowledges the presence of my stories in its midst, I am still a real writer. How about you?

Alice Orr – www.aliceorrbooks.comA Wrong Way Home

 A Wrong Way Home – Alice Orr’s Riverton Road Romantic Suspense Series Book 1 is a FREE eBook HERE. Enjoy!A Time Of Fear & Loving book cover art

A Time of Fear & Loving – Riverton Road Romantic Suspense Series Book 5 – is available HERE. Praise for A Time of Fear & Loving: “Alice Orr is the queen of ramped-up stakes and page-turning suspense.” “Warning. Don’t read before bed. You won’t want to sleep.” “The tension in this novel is through the roof.” “I never want an Alice Orr book to end.” “The best one yet!” “Budding romance sizzles in the background until it ignites with passion.”

Look for all of Alice’s books HERE.

https://www.facebook.com/aliceorrwriter
http://twitter.com/AliceOrrBooks/
http://goodreads.com/aliceorr/
http://pinterest.com/aliceorrwriter/