Nov 01, 2016

I am not always able to finish a weblog (chapter) in this series every day. This series takes longer to write than past weblogs when I was doing commentaries. Sometimes I find it necessary to “sleep on it” overnight and then return to it with new eyes the next morning.

This series has one thing in common with past studies. I still have to wait for inspiration and revelation. So sometimes I have to wait for revelation before I may continue a series.

At times I am interrupted by telephone calls or visitors, and the weblogs just have to wait their turn. It’s the nature of things here at the office.

I do plan to write my own “Cliff Notes” to help you understand some of the background of what I am currently writing. I often use a character to quote something from history or to use words and phrases that someone wrote or said many years ago. I think that a chapter-by-chapter explanation of these things would be helpful to many of you.

I am formatting Light from the Crack as I go, and putting it into book form. So far I have written 115 pages in that format, so it is already about the size of an average spiral-bound book in my arsenal. I still have a few chapters to go before reaching the end of this story. No doubt there will be sequels and perhaps even prequels. Theoretically, I could write an entire novel from the perspective of any number of the characters introduced in the current novel.

Such material would give a character’s background—sort of a “how did he get here?” story. Each of the disciples in the current story all have their own story, challenges, development, etc. before joining the fellowship after Joseph finished teaching. I can only give a little background for a few of them in the first book, and I have done this in a progressive way, a little at a time.

These are some of the thoughts that I have pondered in recent weeks. The point is that I have no lack of material to write about. It’s just a question about how many novels should I write in the series. I assume that all of them will be connected in some way to the first (current) novel.

Meanwhile, of course, I will continue to write Bible commentaries, but at a slowed pace. The FFI’s are currently studying Haggai. I think that Hosea will be next, though I can never be sure ahead of time. My biggest problem is that there is too much to write and never enough time. Your problem, I suppose, is that I can write faster than you can read. But I’m trying to resolve that problem by slowing down my typing speed to 50 words a minute. My normal speed is 105. Back in my typesetting days, I used to go at 110, but now my fingers are getting old.