by Roseanna White | May 8, 2017 | Word of the Week
No, that is not a picture of my dresser. I don’t think . . . 😉
So this is another one of those words that is a big part of our everyday language, but which has some surprisingly late additions to it!
As a noun, mess has been around since about 1300–as a word for “food for one meal.” It’s from the Latin, via the French, meaning literally “a course of food.” By 1530, it had been extended to the military use of “a communal place for eating” and then “the group of people eating.”
It wasn’t until the 1730s that it became “mixed food,” especially for animals. But that meaning is what led people to apply mess contemptuously to any “jumble or mix” of things in the 1820s, which quickly took on the metaphorical sense of “state of confusion” or “untidiness” (by 1850s).
The verb form largely mirrors the noun; first it meant “to serve up portions” or “take one’s meal,” extending into the metaphorical senses as the noun did. So in the 1850s we got make a mess, and mess with, as in “interfere with” is from 1903. Mess up, however, didn’t come along until 1933! Which is, of course, the one I wanted to use in my book and couldn’t, LOL.
A N N O U N C E M E N T S
First of all, don’t forget that I’ll be doing my next live chat tonight at 7 p.m. Eastern on my Facebook Page!
Next, as I was chatting with my friend on our writing retreat, she shared an idea I think I’ll start instituting–namely, pulling old articles from my archives and reposting them once a week or so, since I have nine years’ worth of ’em. I’ll probably do this on weeks when I don’t manage my three posts on M/W/T and will create “Fridays from the Archives.” Categories may vary, but it should be fun to revisit!
by Roseanna White | May 4, 2017 | Thoughtful Thursdays
Yesterday, I attended the funeral of my 103-year-old great-grandmother, who passed away over the weekend. And while I was teary-eyed and sniffly at it (which is for me the equivalent of outright crying), I didn’t leave the service feeling wrung out or devastated or, honestly, even sorrowful.
I left the service feeling uplifted. Inspired. Because this woman whose blood runs partially through my veins was amazing. Not the sort of amazing that claims material success or fame or awards-won or anything like that–the kind that crafted a family full of people who love. Who love her, who love each other, who saw through her unflagging example how to love their neighbors.
As I listened to the stories people shared about Maxine Higson Seward, I sat in awe of how this one small woman could love so much. So completely. So without question. And I knew that that was the kind of legacy God wants us to leave in this world. The kind we spend a lifetime building. The kind that we don’t pass along by creating something that lasts after us–books or statues or inscriptions on palace walls–but by teaching others to be the same way, who will in turn teach others, and so on.
And because I process emotions through writing, I of course then try to think of characters I’ve written that model the principles my Grandma Seward always lived out. And though there have been several small examples through the years and books, I realize that the series I’m working on right now, Shadows Over England, portray this selfless love in rather ironic ways.
Perhaps no one would expect me to dedicate books about thieves to my saintly grandmother, who gave, never stole. But I’m going to. Because what I love about this fictional family I’ve created is that, though they were misguided, they will sacrifice anything for each other. They will go out of their way to help each other, or others they deem “theirs.” They may not always know the Right Way to act, but they know why to act–for those they love. In so many ways, this rag-tag collection of orphans I’ve decided to write about demonstrate what family should, in my opinion, be. What my family is.
I’ve thought here and there over the years about what kind of legacy I’m building. I have my books, of course. All the millions of words I’ve typed and put out there. But more important is what I’m teaching my children about life and family and God and giving. About their hearts and their service and their example. More important is teaching them that by loving others, you build something bigger than you are.
I’m not the same sort of person Grandma Seward was. My life certainly isn’t the same type she lived. But if I and it are guided by the same principles, then I know it would make her–and my Lord and Savior–smile.
Whatever my profession, I can be His follower first.
Whatever else I am, I can be a dedicated mother.
Wherever I live, I can help my neighbors.
Wherever I go, I can point the Way to Him.
Whatever my feeling on a matter, I can demonstrate patience and love.
And whatever else I might do or not do in this world, whatever I might leave behind, I can say in all certainty, “I want to be like Grandma.” That doesn’t mean I’ll be sitting on the porch shelling beans and making them stretch–it means whatever I’m doing, I’m doing it for those I love and the God who gave them to me.
by Roseanna White | May 3, 2017 | Announcements, Book News, Remember When Wednesdays
First of all, thanks to everyone who commented or contacted me last week in regards to the question of “What book should I talk about in my next Facebook Live chat?” The majority of those who replied requested that our next stop be my biblical fiction, so I’ll go through those four titles in the order in which I wrote them, beginning with…
A Stray Drop of Blood! So next Monday, May 8, that’s the book I’ll be talking about. (My husband says, “Wow, lots to talk about with that one–you might need a two-hour special.” LOL. Don’t worry. I’m sure we can cover it all in the usual less-than-one.
Stray Drop is now in Kindle Unlimited, so if you haven’t read it but are part of that program, you’re doubly in luck! Since quite a few asked for links, here they are:
Now, on to the fun stuff. =) As many of you no doubt saw, I just got home from my 2017 writing retreat! As always, it was a lot of fun to hang out with my best friend/critique partner, Stephanie Morrill, and to just have days on end when I had to think of nothing but story. I arrived in KC on Thursday afternoon, we checked in to the gorgeous apartment we’d rented from HomeAway, and wasted no time in getting all set up.
Of course, we weren’t always at the table (though it made a great standing desk, actually), we also each had our spots on the couch.
Here are a few shots of our work space, the beautifully appointed apartment that made settling in for a weekend of “What, there’s an outside world?” so very easy. (Okay, so we left for food twice. And even took two walks!)
The ever important coffee machines deserved a picture unto themselves, of course…
I ended up with the master bedroom, solely because the other one wasn’t as close to the kitchen, and therefore Stephanie would not be so easily awakened by her crazy morning person roommate who insists upon getting up at 5:30, even when on “vacation”…
We had packed up and were ready to lock the doors behind us when we finally remembered to take a picture of US.
I’d love to give you the blow-by-blow of the retreat, but honestly, it’s pretty boring to report on, LOL. I did so many random Google searches that it occasionally made me laugh (Cockney rhyming slang, teas good for arthritis, how far X in London is from Y [about a hundred times–I’m becoming quite versed in London neighborhoods, which is just weird for this country girl], whether Rolex-founder Hans Wilsdorf had children, etc.), we paused occasionally to share interesting tidbits we were learning/questions we had, and Stephanie is especially awesome about started each meal/walk with the question of, “So where are you in the story now?”
The fellowship and dedicated time is always such a blessing. And it’s so rewarding to see those word counts tick up and up. I started the retreat with a mere 14,537 words in my manuscript (I’d hoped to be so much farther along!), but I ended it with a solid 57,908, which is half of this particular book. For those of you who don’t want to do math, that’s 43,381 words written in 3 full days and 2 travel days.
And I left off at the mid-point climax/twist, so a super fun scene to dive back into! When, of course, I get caught up on the stuff that got ignored while I was gone. (Including some not-fun stuff, like my great-grandmother finally passing away at 102. Funeral is today…)
So another successful retreat, and I came hope with lots of words for our Word of the Week spots, and plenty of things to feature on my Remember When posts too!
Roseanna M. White is a bestselling, Christy Award winning author who has long claimed that words are the air she breathes. When not writing fiction, she’s homeschooling her two kids, editing, designing book covers, and pretending her house will clean itself. Roseanna is the author of a slew of historical novels that span several continents and thousands of years. Spies and war and mayhem always seem to find their way into her books…to offset her real life, which is blessedly ordinary.