Write Your Family Legacy

There are a few things to carefully avoid in writing. Personally, I believe there are always exceptions to every rule. Remember that it's best to feel the "spirit of the law" rather than the "letter of the law." I have read many wonderful books that had one or two of these things, and I thoroughly enjoyed them.

AVOID:
1. Opening a book with weather
2. Using a verb other than "said" for dialogue unless needed such as: "shouted," "whispered," or "whimpered"
3. Using an adverb to modify "said": Show, Don't Tell!
4. Using "suddenly" too much
5. Using exclamation points often

Like I said, there are exceptions to every rule. How about a mystery that begins with a howling wind with thunder and lighting? How about those who love to say "expostulate" instead of saying, "said." It actually means the same thing but if it feels good to you, then do it.

Happy writing, and if you need any help, just e-mail me and I'll give suggestions if I can. Your children will be grateful once they're grown. They'll want to know their heritage, what their ancestors stood for, what they believed in. Make your family legacy something your children will remember, something they will be proud of.

The courtship of my parents was an unusual one. My mother's girlfriend told her that she was being way too picky and her expectations were too high. My mother was an accomplished pianist and a spiritual person with certain standards for a husband and first impressions were important to her. Her girlfriend said that she knew a good-looking twenty-nine year-old farmer that lived in southern Idaho who she could write to. My mother told me that through letters she was able to get to know my father's soul, the inner person, and his innermost feelings. They wrote for several months and gradually fell in love. After realizing their feelings for one another, they decided it was time to meet. The day they met was at a dance and my mother told me that when he walked through the doors and their eyes met, her heart leapt within her and a joy filled her soul, telling her that he was the man she had been writing to.

Since they lived a day's drive from one another, it was difficult to meet. The second time they met, he proposed. The third time they met was on their wedding day.

And they lived happily ever after!

I guess letter writing worked pretty well for my parents. When I asked them to pose for this photo, I didn't realize how eager my father was until he grinned, put his arm around her waist, and pulled her close. What a kiss! She seems to enjoy it.

Sarah felt an urgent warning deep inside her, but could not figure out why. She had just walked in the door after doing a little shopping and set her bags on the table. As she put the groceries away, she felt the same uncomfortable feeling once again. She wondered if she was just tired, and that was the problem. Ignoring it, she continued putting away the packages in the cupboard.

Once again she felt a strange sense of depression that seemed to overwhelm her. Sarah always relied on her senses, especially because of her handicap. Some people called it Woman's Intuition, but deep inside she believed it came from something greater.

She went to the kitchen closet, pulled out a broom, and grasped it tightly between both hands. Sarah sensed that someone was in her home, an intruder of some sort. She walked slowly toward the living room and looked in every corner. She could see no one.

Slowly she began to climb the stairs to her bedroom, clutching the broom so tightly that her knuckles turned white. As she ascended the staircase with caution, she watched the entrance at the top of the stairs. When she put her right foot on the top step, it creaked under the pressure. She paused on the last step and looked about. She stood still, watching and waiting for an inclination what to do next.

Her bedroom! That was it. The intruder was in her bedroom. Sarah took a deep breath, and then continued toward her room. Adrenaline pumped through her veins with each step she took. She could feel her heart pounding against her ribs as she moved into the opening of the door.

Sarah tightened her grip on the broom as she quickly scanned her bedroom. No one was in sight. Was it just her imagination? No, she had always listened to her premonitions before and it hadn't failed her yet. She believed that her inspirations were a special gift, especially because of her handicap.

Whether day or night, she could tell when one of her children needed her. In the night, she would awaken with a feeling that her baby was awake and hungry, and she would enter her infant's room and discover she was right. Right now, the children were safe. They were with their grandmother so Sarah could do a little shopping.

As Sarah's eyes searched the room, she sensed a presence in her home. She slowly walked toward her bed. She knelt down on the floor. She carefully lifted the ruffled trim and peeked under her bed. Her eyes widened. She gasped. Acting quickly, she took her broom with a firm grip and began whacking back and forth under her bed.

As quickly as he could, the man rolled out from under the bed. Sarah instantly got to her feet and began whacking him as hard as she could, over and over again on his backside, his shoulders and head. The intruder got to his feet and tried to grab the broom from her hand, but she was too quick. As she pummeled him, he tried to fend off the attacking broom by putting his hands and arms over his neck and head, but it was useless.

The intruder groaned when he could not stop her and finally turned and ran out the door, down the steps, through the living room and out the front door. But Sarah was not about to let him go so easily. She followed close behind, whacking him as she ran, giving him one blow after another against his back and head. Chasing him down the street, she beat him with all the strength she had. When she became exhausted, she stopped the chase, and let him flee.

Sarah had used all the strength in her body that she possessed and now she felt as if she would collapse. As she watched the man disappear down the street, she wondered why he had tried to take advantage of her. Sarah knew that was why he had come. Was it because she was deaf? She could not speak, so perhaps the intruder thought she was helpless. He could have seen her at one of the dances.

Sarah was a beautiful woman with black hair and large blue eyes, five-foot-five inches tall, and quite slender. She loved dancing and had been complimented many times for her gracefulness on the dance floor. Many wondered how she could dance so gracefully as if floating in mid-air, not missing a step.

She not only could feel the vibration of the music, but she also felt the earth tremble when a train was two or three miles away. And she let everyone know about it. Sarah had always been a graceful child. When she was young, townsfolk would toss coins in the lake just to watch her dive after them because she was such a graceful diver and swimmer.

Sarah's deafness never seemed to stop her from living life and doing what she loved best. She had not always been deaf. In 1845, when she was only one year old, her parents packed up and boarded a ship from England to America. It took six weeks to cross the ocean and she became very sick. Her fever was so high that they almost lost her. After they arrived in St. Louis, her parents noticed that something was wrong because she was not responding to them. So her father shot a gun in the air. She didn't respond to the sound.

Now she was happily married with four children. Sarah looked at her mangled broom and half the straw was gone. What straw was left looked battered and worn from the beatings it had given. Her palms were red and swollen from holding the broom so tightly. Her arms were sore and aching from the whacking she had given the intruder but she was grateful that she had listened to the inspiration given her.

A smile crossed her lips as she thought about the intruder. He must have thought she was an easy victim but was sadly mistaken. She thought about the situation and then silently thanked God for protecting her and letting her sense trouble in her home.