When the Going Gets Tough, the Simple Ability To Write Coherent Thoughts Just Abandons Me Entirely

Some people have natural born talents. Some struggle with things that come very easily to others. I, however, feel like the abilities that sometimes come so naturally from me will occasionally just stop existing.

I'm speaking in particular about my ability to write.

It's a real shame when my capability to write multiple coherent sentences in a row absolutely abandons me, say, mid-paragraph.

I'm editing chapter four about abortion history. You know, the chapter that I complain about incessantly. Because I'm not happy with any of the numerous versions of it I have written, I'm going over all of them and picking and choosing what is necessary. Sarah Weddington sued to change the abortion laws in Texas, creating the case Roe v Wade which legalized abortion in America. When I was part way through explaining Weddington's oral arguments, I wrote this:

She continued in saying that pregnancy interrupts a woman's life: areas of education, body, employment, family, and other relationships are often sacrificed because of an unplanned pregnancy. Because it so drastically effects her life, it should be her fundamental right to decide whether or not she continues her pregnancy. She keeps going on and on, but I'm sick of writing about this. Is it necessary or can I just say it sucks? 

Oh, but it gets better. Next come's Joy Floyd's oral argument after Weddington. (He was arguing for Wade, the anti-abortion position):

Floyd’s argument is feeble at best. When I first listened to the arguments I was expecting an epic battle for some reason. Really, it was just a pretty woman giving an emotional and passionate plea for “all women” (I wonder how she knew all women agreed with her points) and Floyd just flopping around not making any sense. He played ping pong with the justices arguing whether or not it’s a moot point because Roe delivered her baby already. “It’s a moot point,” “no it’s not, it’s for the good of all women,” “it’s a moot point,” “no it’s not, it’s for the good of all women,” “it’s a moot point,” “you’re stupid,” ect. After a while, he finally brings up the question of when life begins and whether or not abortion is murder. They just tell him that the beginning of life cannot be determined (see chapter two) and he gives it up. 

Ahem. Using verbs such as "flopping" and "played ping pong" is not advised when writing about a Supreme Court Case. Not to mention creating your own dialogue, inserting random parenthetical thoughts that could be considered an insult toward feminists, and this killer last paragraph:

The oral arguments of Roe v Wade are pretty surprising. Weddington gives a passionate plea for women’s rights and goes on about how a pregnancy restricts her freedoms. I can’t help but picture Floyd as an awkward teenage boy who wants to be anywhere but there. 

Ok, that's all. I just needed to humble myself.

3 Down, 4 to Go!

I've been editing my heart out and fingers off. My deadline is Saturday, and I've finished three chapters with four more to go.

Of my completed chapters, I have 12,899 words, 33 printed pages, or 51 paperback book pages. That's just three of my nine chapters, so it's looking like this book will be around 150 pages. That's exactly the range I wanted it to be!

What is a good book size for you? Do you like nonfiction books to be around 150 pages, or longer, or shorter? Let me know what you think. I can't promise I'll make changes because of your request, my goal is content over size. However, I'm curious to hear your thoughts.

This is how diligent I am. Except I sit on the floor and my hair doesn't look like that and I use a laptop, not a desktop. 

Introducing: Pop Quizzes!

As I've been researching, I've been really surprised by some information that I've found. There are so many little-known facts that make a huge impact upon the abortion issue. I thought this would be an interesting way to see if these things are as little known as I expected and for you to learn a bit too. (And to hold me accountable to looking up stuff and continuing research.) I'm thinking I will update the pop quiz every two weeks, but I'll see how it goes and adjust it from there. 

So, without further ado, here is our first question: what are the two definitions of the word "conception"? In the pro-life movement, you hear people say "life begins at conception" all the time. But when is conception? No cheating--don't look it up! At least until after you've answered. When the poll closes in two weeks I'll write a post explaining the answer and introducing another question. 

Take a guess! Don't feel shy. No one will know who you are, there's no shame in getting it wrong. This morning I probably would have too. Please choose two answers and only two answers. Enjoy! 

Freedom of Choice, Forced Abortions

Warning: extremely graphic photo below. 

In America, abortion is seen as a lovely thing that allows people to choose when they have children. They can plan out their families, their lives wont be interrupted by untimely babies, and women are no longer constrained by the inconveniences of pregnancy.

In China, abortion is entirely something different. It's worlds apart.

Because of fears of overpopulation, China has developed a one-child policy. In 1979 China adopted the policy that allowed couples to only have one child, and penalized those who had a second. This has brought on all sorts of problems, problems that we can only wait to see how they will play out in the future. One of the biggest examples is gendercide; because of the culture's emphasis on having boys and the liability it is to have a daughter, many couples abort or abandon their daughters until they can have a boy. This has created a distorted sex ratio that will leave 50 million Chinese men without wives.

The horrors of the one-child policy seem to be catching America's attention more and more. Recently, a photo from June 3, 2012 was released of a woman named Feng Jianmei. She was beaten and dragged into a car by Family Planning Officials. They demanded RMB 40,000 (about 6,300 American dollars), but when her family could not supply the money they forced her to abort her seven month old baby.

After the forced abortion, they laid the body next to her in bed.

This is hard to stomach. How sick that something people fight tooth and nail to defend in our country is the cause of so much suffering and injustice in another? 

LifeSiteNews article, Bryan Kemper's article, original picture, Petition to Stop Forced Abortion in China, All Girls Allowed. 

Post. (Part Two)

Yesterday I edited chapter 1, today I got 2/3s of the way through chapter 2. Tomorrow I have the entire day to work on it, so my goal is to finish two, edit three, and start four tomorrow. 

Things have been going remarkably well lately. I feel so blessed. God is providing me with not only the patients to sit still for hours on end, but the ability to make quick decisions and fast changes and move on. I hate editing because I struggle so much with that, but lately I've been flying through it. It feels so good, especially after how tough last week was! 

My goal is to get my book to proof readers soon, hence the crazed editing right now. If anyone knows of a good way I can print in bulk (preferably inexpensively and quickly), then please let me know in the comments! 

Goodnight, dear reader. You are loved and not forgotten! 

(P.S. The title of this post still shows my inability to think of good titles.) 

Post.

Look at me,  I'm a party animal. 

This past week I had my highschool graduation party. The French family does not take the topic of graduation parties lightly, so I spent a whole lot of time cooking and cleaning and doing other such homely tasks as spray painting a twister board on my lawn and eating cookie dough.

This week I am attempting an entire book edit in a week. I have a looming deadline of the end of June, which is shortened by a family vacation, so I'm trying to get everything ready for proof readers by... Friday. Originally my list of things to do included rewriting a chapter, researching and outlining and drafting and editing (at least once) my two last chapters, and editing the remaining six. However, due to said graduation party and a pathetic spout of discouragement, I'm only managing to somewhat-research and outline the two chapters, edit the chapter I wanted to rewrite (which is much smarter and I feel dumb for not just doing that in the beginning), and edit the remaining six. All. Of. That. To. Say. :

This week is so much editing.

I'm off to my editing cave, I'll try to crawl out at some point and let you know how I'm doing. Or write about my feelings or a movie or an article I just read or how pathetic I feel when I write to much. Right now I'm feeling good, I just finished editing chapter 1! Solid start. Now back to work.

(The title of this post shows my inability to think of good titles.)

((Photo credit to Mrs. Huntington.))

When I Want to Burn Everything I've Ever Written

You know what I hate? Spending hours writing, then at the end of the day deciding all of what you wrote needed to be trashed. It's all worthless. It can't be used, and salvaging it would take as long as it took to write. Monkeys could have sat at a computer and typed random letters, and come up with something better than this.

It's on this kind of day I want to stand on my roof and scream for the entire world to hear,

"IT'S NOT WORTH IT!"

However, like every other day like this that I've experienced, it usually means I just need to move on. Copy and paste the 4,205 words of nonsense and an entire week of work to a file of such passages, and work on something else. I wonder if actually printing the pages and burning it would help me feel better. I bet on a good day I could think of some nice way to conclude this post with something meaningful that would make me feel better, but nothing's coming to me. So I conclude with the wise words of April Ludgate: "hard work never pays off."

New Ministry: And Then There Were None

One of my favorite things about the pro-life movement is the diversity with in it. Abortion is a massive topic that touches every area of life--health, law, industries, economy, religion, the list is endless. Because it is not any one topic, there are hundreds of pro-life organizations and ministries that work on fighting abortion in all different ways. Many accuse the pro-life movement of only caring about the fetuses but kicking the mothers' to the curb. I've seen that to be entirely untrue. Many, if not most pro-life groups focus on the mother. This can mean teaching the truth about abortion, urging women to choose life, helping them in practical ways through their pregnancy, helping them after the baby is born, helping them if they choose adoption, and supporting women who have had abortions.

However, there seems to be a new aspect of abortion that seems rather untouched by ministries. That is, until now.

Abby Johnson was a Planned Parenthood clinic director for 8 years. She began as a volunteer clinic escort, then worked her way up until she ran an abortion clinic. Then one day, she was helping an abortionist perform an abortion. The abortionist wanted to use an ultrasound in order to see what he was doing inside of the woman, and Abby was the one performing the ultrasound. She was shocked by what she saw--not a clump of tissue, but a baby, fighting to stay away from the harmful abortion instruments.

With the help of people praying outside of her clinic during the first 40 Days for Life campaign, she quit her job. Despite the financial difficulties, the lawsuits from Planned Parenthood, the embarrassment of leaving her friends and coworkers to begin working with the "enemy," she walked away.

She later wrote a book titled Unplanned that tells the entire story--from the Planned Parenthood booth at the volunteer fair in college to her praying with 40 Days for Life outside of her old clinic for the first time.

Now for the exciting news: God is using Abby's experience working for Planned Parenthood and dodging bullets trying to get out. In a month she is beginning a new pro-life ministry that tackles ground we've never touched before: a ministry to help clinic workers emotionally, spiritually, legally, and financially. They will provide legal protection from attorneys, funds necessary to quit their jobs and still provide for their families until they find a new job, emotional support, and spiritual counselors to help them on the road to healing.

If you say you're pro-life, you need to be pro-all life. Including the lives (both material and eternal) of clinic workers, abortionists, men and women who suffer from past abortions, and pro-choice advocates. As well as the young, the old, those of a different race than your own, the handicapped, the depressed, the orphans, and the widows. It's a tall order. I'm excited the horizons are expanding for the pro-life movement and a new group of people will be reached.

Life and Death and Apollo 13

I'm really becoming a fan of finding places in our culture where human life is valuable.

I'm a little behind on things, but I only saw Apollo 13 for the first time a few weeks ago. Anyways, it was great, and one thing in particular really struck me. When it looked as if Apollo 13 wouldn't be able to land back on earth, the entire world was captivated by the story. People put their normal lives on hold, gathered around their televisions, and prayed for these lives that hung in the balance. For three lives. Yet how often do we not care about far more than three lives that are hanging in the balance? While it's discouraging sometimes when people don't care about stopping the thousands of deaths each day from abortion, it's refreshing to see the world care about the lives of these three men.