Here is more advice for writers from one of today’s great fiction writers, Daniel Silva. In this brief talk, Daniel Silva shares with us how approaches the plot and character development. I hope you learn as much as me from this wonderful author.
Quote for Today – December 19, 2017
If you want happiness for a year, inherit a fortune. If you want happiness for a lifetime, help someone else. ~ Confucius
Quote for Today – December 18, 2017
Each and every one of you has the power, the will and the capacity to make a difference in the world in which you live in. ~ Harry Belafonte
I’m Happy I Met You
Chapter 11
Nick, his mom and dad, and Mary sat in the second pew on the right hand side of Saint Anthony’s Catholic Church. One woman sat in the pew in front of them. There was no one else in church. In the aisle in front of the altar was the casket with a white pall draped over it. The casket held the body of Johnny Balboni. Off to the right of the altar stood a large white candle. It was the Easter candle and used for all funeral masses during the year. The Easter candle was lit and its flame danced. There were candles on each side of the altar, both were lit.
The priest and two altar servers came out of the side of the altar and began mass. Johnny’s mass took fourth-five minutes. The burial service would talk place after mass in the Catholic cemetary behind the church. Nick and his parents and Mary left church after mass and walked to the cemetary. They followed the woman who sat in front of them.
The five mourners stood around an open and empty grave. A stand next to the grave awaited the casket. Nick was standing near the woman who sat in front of him in church. He said, “Did you know Johnny?”
The woman turned around and looked at Nick, “Yes, I knew Johnny. I’m his sister Josephine.”
Nick shook her hand and said, “I’m so sorry for your loss. He was such a good guy.
“What’s your name?” Asked Josephine.
“It’s Nick, Nick Moretti. This is my mom and dad, and this is Mary, she goes to school with me.”
Josephine nodded and said, “Thank you all for coming. Johnny didn’t have many friends. I didn’t think anyone would come.”
She turned back to Nick, “So you’re Nick Moretti. Johnny told me he was teaching you calculus. Sometimes he made stories up. I wasn’t sure if it was true or not.”
“It was true, Josephine. Without his help I would have been lost. I did really well on the math portion of the SATs because of Johnny’s help.”
Josephine smiled and hugged Nick, “I’m happy I met you. When Johnny was telling me the story it was the first time in years he seemed alive. He told me he was going to teach you everything he knew. It’s too bad he didn’t have a chance. He was a brilliant man.”
The conversation was interrupted by the arrival of the casket and priest. The priest recited prayers and the graveside burial service was soon over. Nick placed his right hand palm down on the casket and said, “Thank you, Johnny. I promise I’ll do my best and never quit.”
Mary stood by Nick and put her arm around him. Nick whispered, “Thank you, Mary.”
“You will make Johnny proud, Nick. I know you will. I just know it,” said Mary with a strong sense of conviction in her voice.
Nick’s mom and dad were waiting in the car. Nick and Mary walked to the car holding hands.
Later that night at dinner, Nick’s Mom said, “Mary’s mom, Louise, is a signal mom, right?”
Nick nodded.
“Why don’t you invite Mary and her mom over for Christmas Eve dinner with us. We’ll have plenty of food. Uncle Tony will be here, he’s single and maybe I can play matchmaker. They’re both about the same age.”
Nick’s dad said, “You enjoy playing matchmaker. If Tony and Louise get together it will be your best Christmas present.”
Nick’s mom laughed, “I don’t like to see lonely people. The world needs to be filled with happiness.”
Nick said, “It’s a great idea. I’m going to call Mary right after dinner. I hope they’ll accept.”
Nick’s mom said, “I have a feeling Mary will convince Louise to come to dinner.”
Laura and Stella started laughing. Laura said, “You have a serious crush on Mary. Admit it.”
“We’re only friends,” said Nick.
“Right,” said Stella.
Will Mary and her mom accept the invitation to the Christmas Eve dinner? Will Uncle Tony and Louise like each other? The Christmas story continues.
Is It Time To Wake Up?
We can sleep walk through life. It’s easy when we don’t pay attention to life as it comes toward in the present moment. When we wake up, we see life as it is. It isn’t always pleasant. When we experience life, we experience it’s joy and sadness. We experience love and pain. We experience hope and despair. It’s all part of life. In this brief YouTube video Anthony DeMello challenges us to wake up. Get inspired.
One Door Closes – Another Opens
Chapter 10
Nick heard a knock on his door, followed by his mom’s voice, “Nick, time to get up. It’s Tuesday. Dad made a run to Rosen’s and bought fresh bagels.”
“Okay, Mom, I’ll be down in 15 minutes,” said Nick. He looked at his iPhone, it was 6:15 a.m. Usually his mom didn’t get him up until 6:30. It didn’t matter, he wasn’t sleeping anyway. He decided he would make an appointment to talk with his school counselor about college and what colleges might offer him a full scholarship. He remembered his dad telling him one, “You miss one hundred percent of the shots you don’t take.”
Nick showered, shaved what little he had to shave, dressed, and went downstairs. His dad was sitting at the table reading the morning newspaper. His mom was making lunches for Laura and Stella.
Nick said, “Good morning, Dad and gave him a kiss on the cheek and hug.” He walked around the table and gave his mom a kiss on the cheek and hug, “Good morning, Mom.”
His mom and dad both returned the greeting. Nick looked over at his dad, “How did the Celtics do last night? Did they win?”
His dad put the paper down, he said, “They won in overtime. It was a thriller. I stayed up late to watch it. Johnson made a jump shot right before the buzzer and Celtics won 101 to 100.”
“I wish I saw it,” said Nick taking a plain bagel and the cream cheese.
Nick’s dad said, “We got you up a bit early for a reason, Nick.”
Nick stopped spreading the cream cheese on his bagel and said, “What’s wrong? Is gramma okay?”
Nick was referring to his mom’s mother. She was close to Nick. She was the only grandparent left for Nick and his sisters. The rest of his grandparents had died.
Nick’s dad used the Italian expression for grandmother and said, “Nonna’s okay. She went to the doctor yesterday and got a good report. Your mom and I were both happy with the news.”
“Well? What’s wrong? Why did you get me up early?” Said Nick, his voice as tight as a violin string.
Nick’s dad set aside the sports’ page and picked up the first section of the newspaper. He opened it up and turned through the pages. He folded the newspaper in half and handed it to Nick. He said, “It’s not good news, Nick. Johnny’s dead.”
Nick let out a gasp, then said, “No!” He took the newspaper from his dad, and on page four of the newspapers the obituaries were listed. Nick read the small headline,
Giovanni Luigi Balboni Dies at 87.
Below the headlines was the story.
Giovanni Luigi Balboni was found dead in his one room apartment after police were called by his sister, Josephine. The police believe Mr. Balboni died of natural causes, no foul play is suspected. Mr. Balboni was know as Johnny Balboni. John being the English equivalent of Giovanni. Mr. Balboni had a masters degree from MIT and worked at MIT for nearly 30 years until he was involved in a serious car accident. According to a New York Times article when Mr. Balboni was at the height of his career, the Times said, “Mr. Balboni is among the five top innovative scientists in the world. When he finishes his career, he may be remembered as the Italian Einstein. After Mr. Balboni’s tragic accident he stopped working and never fulfilled his promise. He is survived by one sister, Josephine. He will be buried Wednesday after a funeral mass at 10 a.m. at Saint Anthony’s Catholic Church on Center Street. Burial will be in the Catholic Cemetary.
Nick wiped his eyes with the back of his hands. His mom handed him a Kleenex. “Thanks, Mom. Can I go to the funeral?” He said.
“The three of us will go together. I’ll call the school and have you dismissed for the funeral at nine-thirty,” said his dad.
“Thanks, Dad. I really liked Johnny. He was always nice to me for as long as I remember. I never thought of him the way other people did. I only thought of him as Johnny. I only wish I got to know him the way I know him now earlier in my life,” said Nick.
“People look at the externals and never try to discover what is underneath what they see. Some of the people with the best clothes, biggest houses, and more money than they can use are people I wouldn’t want as friends. I never heard Johnny say a mean word toward anyone. Even when people insulted him, he never returned the insult, he went on his way,” said Nick’s dad.
“Too bad more people are not like Johnny,” said Nick.
“Nick, you’ve not eaten your bagel. I know it’s tough news this morning, but you have school. You’ll need your energy for your classes,” said Nick’s mom.
“I know, Mom. Can I wrap it up and eat it at school when I feel a bit better?” Asked Nick.
“Okay, but drink your orange juice, you’ll make me feel better,” said Nick’s mom.
Nick went to school and went through the motions. He was happy no teacher called on him. At lunch he sat by himself at a far corner of the school lunch room. He took his bagel out of his backpack, unwrapped it and placed it on the table in front of him. He held it in his right hand stared out the window toward the street.
“Can I sit with you, Nick?” Said a female voice.
Nick looked up and saw Mary Genovese. Mary was a senior, like Nick. She was smart, but very quiet, some would say shy. She always wore her dark brown hair in a ponytail and didn’t wear makeup, Nick always thought of her as cute. He said, “Sure, Mary. I’m afraid I won’t be much company.”
Mary smiled, she placed her plate with a bean and cheese tortilla on the table alongside her bottle of water. “I watched you in class today. You didn’t seem like yourself. It’s not that I stare at you or anything like that. You were different today. You usually raise your hand. Today, you didn’t. Most of the time you seemed to be in a different world. Want to talk about it?”
Nick put his bagel on top of his wrapper and said, “Johnny Balboni died. I really liked him. He was helping me with calculus. He didn’t seem sick when we met. He seemed just, I don’t know, just like Johnny.”
Mary said, “I heard. I liked Johnny. He’d did our lawn. Mom always invited him in for lunch after he cut the grass. He was such a gentleman.”
“I’m going to the funeral mass tomorrow with my mom and dad. It’s the least I can do,” said Nick.
“Can I go with you? My mom and dad are working and can’t go. But they wouldn’t mind if I went,” said Mary.
“I’d like that, said Nick.
A chapter closes in Nick’s life and another opens. Where will it lead?
Quote for Today – December 17, 2017
If you have any notion of where you are going, you will never get anywhere. – Joan Miro
Lee Child Shares His Writing Wisdom
A great writing tip from fiction writer, Lee Child. He tells us about research, and how he writes. I enjoy his Jack Reacher books. I grateful for his willingness to share from his writing experience. Keep on writing. Don’t quit. Write for the joy of writing. If fame and fortune follow, all the better for you.
It’s All About Family
Chapter 9
For the next two days, Nick left school and made his way to the alley. Each day, Johnny Balboni waited for him, sitting on cardboard, eating an apple, and offering one to Nick. Johnny worked with Nick on his calculus. Nick left Johnny feeling more and more confident about how he might score on the SATs. Nick took the SATs on Thursday.
On the night before Nick took the SATs, Nick’s dad told the family he got a call from the Recreation Department and he didn’t get the job. They told him, he was their second choice, but they chose someone who had more experience in that kind of work.
Nick’s spirits dropped. He hoped with his dad getting the job, he could quit working at Martini’s Deli and concentrate on school and running track in the spring. Both seemed nearly impossible to him. He was quiet during the meal. After dinner, he helped clear the table and returned to his bedroom to study for the SATs. After an hour, his dad knocked on his door. When his dad came into the room, he told Nick not to let his bad news bother him. His dad said he was sure something good would turn up. Nick smiled and half heartedly told his dad he believed him. Between his dad’s bad news and his anxiety about the test, Nick didn’t fall to sleep until nearly 3 in morning. His mom woke him up at six. By seven-thirty he had his backpack and was off to school. The SATs were at nine.
Nick felt pretty good after taking the SATs, but he knew it would take time to receive his scores, between two and three weeks. He worked on the weekends at Martini’s. He was now putting in more hours. He worked from four in the afternoon until ten at night on Friday, Saturday, and Sundays. Nick spent the rest of his free time studying.
It was Monday, Christmas was a week away. Nick walked down the alley as he did every day after school. He hoped to see Johnny. Nick hadn’t seen Johnny Balboni in two weeks. He missed him. But it was Johnny’s way to drift to different parts of the town. Nick wanted to thank him for helping him. Nick walked into his house. His mom was baking Christmas cookies, there were two plates filled with cookies, cooling on the table.
Nick said, “Hi mom.” Then he grabbed a cookie.
His mom, whose back was turned toward Nick, was peeking in the oven, said, “Hi Nick, only one cookie, don’t spoil your appetite.”
“Maybe I took two,” said Nick.
“No, it was only one. How was school?” His mom asked.
“It was okay.”
“Any news on the SATs?” Asked his mom.
“Not yet. They’ll send me an email when I can go online and look at my scores. Where’s dad, said Nick.
“He’s out. He’ll be back for dinner,” said his mom said.
Nick went into his room, he put his backpack on his bed, pulled out his laptop and took it to his desk. He opened his laptop, typed in his password that was the name of his favorite music group plus his birth year. He saw the number 4 on his email icon. He opened his email app and scanned through the unopened emails. There was the email from the College Board informing him his SAT scores were available online. There was a link to take Nick to the SAT site where he could find his scores.
Nick’s heart raced. He knew the lowest score was 400 and a perfect score on the combined exams was 1600. He also knew if he scored 1500 or higher, he was home free. He’d get a scholarship to any university in the country. He clicked on the link, filled in the identification information on the website, and saw his scores. His score for evidenced based reading and writing was 590. His math score was 701. He had a combined total of 1291. He knew this was well above the average scores of around a 1000, he wasn’t sure it was good enough to get him a full scholarship to college. His parents were adamant, he was not to take any loans to go to college and have a big bill when he finished.
Nick closed the computer and stared at the ceiling. He fell asleep. He only woke when his dad shook him, “Nick? Nick? Wake up.”
Nick opened his eyes, “I must have been exhausted. Thanks, dad.” Nick rubbed his eyes and sat up,
“Dinners ready. Freshen up. I’ll see you at the table,” said his dad giving Nick’s hair a tussle.
Laura said grace. Nick’s mom made a large lasagna. A picture of her lasagna covered with her homemade sauce and mozzarella cheese was worth a thousand words. She served Nick’s dad first with a generous piece. Then she went by age, Nick, followed by Laura, and then Stella. Nicks mom served herself last. No one ate until everyone was served.
Nick took a bite and said, “I got my SAT scores. They were terrible.”
“Terrible? What’s terrible? What’d you get?” Asked his dad.
“On the evidenced based reading and writing I got a 590 and on math I got a 701,” said Nick dejectedly.
“You’re kidding me, right? Eight hundred is perfect and you got a 701 in math? That’s awesome. Your total score was right near 1300, right?” Said his dad.
“I guess it’s good, but not good enough to be sure I’d get a free ride to any college,” said Nick.
“Don’t quit. Isn’t that what Johnny Balboni told you?” Said his dad.
“Yah. I guess. If I run track in the spring, maybe I’ll run good enough in the 800 meters to earn a track scholarship,” said Nick taking another bit of his lasagna.
Nick’s dad ignored Nick’s little pity party and said, “I have some news. I got the job at the Recreation Department. The person they wanted, turned it down. I’m okay with being their second choice. I’ll prove to them, I should have been their first choice. I start right after Christmas.”
Nick and his sister shouted and got up and went to their dad and hugged him. Nick’s mom, made the sign of the cross, thanked God, and cried.
When they sat back down, Nick’s dad said, “You don’t mind working for a few more weeks until I start getting paid, do you Nick?”
Nick said, “We’re family dad. Of course not.”
Will Nick get a scholarship to college? Will he have a chance to thank Johnny Balboni for helping him with his math?
What is Life Asking of You?
My life changed when I read Dr. Viktor Frankl’s Man’s Search For Meaning for the first time. Dr. Frankl’s work inspired my dissertation and changed how I viewed life. When my wife died, I turned to Frankl’s work and sought to find meaning in my personal tragedy. I found a path when I reread his book and focused on his words, “What is life asking of you?” I knew I had to answer the question if i was to move on. It is a question I pose to you, “What is life asking of you?”
