Blue Notebook, Purple Fire

More Journal Notes from my Blue Notebook, July 1990-92

1. Began outlining possible re-telling of story of Samson. Mann wrote 4 volumes on Joseph & His Brothers. Gide wrote Saul. I shall tackle the interplay of forces (soverignty and free will, grace and desire) in the life of this amazing man of God.

Two issues in Samson's life:
1) How his self-determination inter-relates with God's sovereignty and purposes
2) How he develops false confidence in his own autonomy and self-sufficiency

2. Read/finished Gide's Pastoral Symphony last nite. The writing is so fine, so rich, so simple... and the story painted so realistically. Gide is a master. His ideas are so well woven into the fabric of the story... it all fits so nicely together.

An essay on Gide mentions that he paid for the publication of his first 23 books himself, and he sold very few of ANY of them. If nothing else, he learned how to write books.

3. Completed re-write of Terrorists Preying. Need to print, edit, get feedback. It feels good to complete a story I've worked hard on, but my happiness after New Color TV* was short-lived. Maybe it was premature (more re-working needed?) or simply a good feeling because I was "done with it."

Still reading Gide -- about him now... The focus of many is on his life and his message. What about his craftmanship? His ability to re-create realities, to build believable people in believable situations, is superb. I am inspired by this master.

Two other aspects of Gide's appeal for me:
1) He deals with ideas, not simply action. His characters all have depth -- rather, his heroes do, and he masterfully probes this depth via first person viewpoint.
2) He legitimizes 1st person viewpoint, and brings new methods of achieving story effects. Is this not the way we usually hear a good tale? It's told in first person or written this way in a letter or letters. Gide understands story telling.

4. Morning thoughts focus on Samson. He led Israel for 20 years. Virtually nothing is spoken of that portion of his life. Did he ever marry again? Did he do other incredible things? The record is silent. It would seem his years were filled with relationships with friends, family, action... What did he do with those 20 years? Regrets about first marriage? Where did he live? How did he "lead Israel"? What did he do with his time? Let's imagine... He helped people. He was not totally selfish. Was he a people person? Or did he prefer being a loner? Or mixture? What did he think about? Stories of Moses, Joshua, Gideon... He thought about God... He also thought about women. Must have been about 40 when he met Delilah. He'd seen her many times before. If she was married, he didn't pay attention. with her husband gone... or did he see her growing up? Was she a young beauty? Or a more matured woman? The chapter begins with Samson's visit to a prostitute. Is Delilah a loose woman as well?

FOOTNOTE
* The story New Color TV cited above later went on the win the five state 1991 Arrowhead Regional Fiction Competition under its revised title, The Breaking Point.