One more dawn, One more day...

To those of you, who, like me, are participating in the mad, crazy, utterly insane, wonderful, exciting, ride known as National Novel Writing Month; we many, we happy many, we band of brothers (and sisters,) - to completely butcher those immortal words - you know what I am referring to. The ride is nearly over. The battle will be decided when we discover tomorrow at midnight who has finished, and who has fallen. I can not be at this moment, completely sure which group I will fall into, I admit, but I am hoping that I can be among those who are triumphant at the finish line.

The author of every great story - the Author of The Great Story - knows the outcome, though. I'm sure of that. Every good and perfect gift comes down from the Father of Lights, and I know that I could not write without the inspiration which comes from God. Consequently, I can not take full credit for any of work, because everything is from God - down to my inhalation and exhalation - my very life is His.

In another set of immortal words (or at least, I know they are to some :)) :
Tomorrow we'll discover
What our God in Heaven has in store!
One more dawn
One more day
One day more!

May He be your light and your guide and you strive for your destination, whatever it may be.
In Christ's love,
~C. R. P.

The Path of the Wind - Excerpt

The dew hung heavy on the Willows, and the earth was dark and damp beneath them, as the eastern sky changed gradually from black, to gray, to purple, to the palest pink, behind the little house. The cocks had not yet begun their chorus of crowing, but the landscape was now becoming nearly visible as dawn stretched her night-stiffened fingers across the rim of the world. The moon still hung, dimly, in the west, as if waiting to bid a soft good-bye to the sun as it rose. The anticipation of what the sunrise would reveal thrilled within the girl’s body as she stood near the north wall of her family’s home, looking toward the horizon, across the moor toward the sea. Her eyes had seen the sight before, but today would mark the beginning of a new year in her life. She drew her plaid closer around herself to keep off the brisk wind blowing in from the moor and gave a happy shiver. She knew that the hot food that would be in her stomach before half an hour was past would chase away any lingering traces of the chilly spring mist which circled around her feet and pulled playfully at the corners of her cloak.
Like a spectator who has money riding on his favorite racehorse, Catrìona kept her eyes fixed upon the east. The dawn had shaken off her slumber and was now beginning to stir. The pale pink was changing to a soft yellow, which become clearer as it spread further overhead. Catrìona thought to herself that the roosters must have overslept this morn, for the day was not far off, and there had still been not a sound of movement from her own family’s coop. Then, even though she was expecting it, the sound came to her so suddenly that it made her start and nearly turn; but her head alone turned slightly, for at that very second, her eyes were irresistibly caught and held by the final victory of the sun. He burst from his hiding place, seemed to catch the dawn in his warm embrace, and swept her across the threshold of the new day.

A Praise

Today Daddy got the brakes working in the car! Yay, praise God! And thank you Daddy! I watched, so I have sort of an idea of what to if what happened, happens again...:P
Anyway, the line was rusted, and on Tuesday, when I braked rather hard, it sprung a leak.

Speaking of Tuesday, I went to my first ever NaNo Write-In, at the Akron library. Nancy, Eva and I went and Mr. Thorn met us there. Altogether 9 people attended, again being my first one, I don't know whether that'sa typical crowd, or what, but the atmosphere was very conducive to writing. :)

End of Week Three - NaNo Update

Yesterday I passed the 30,000 word mark in my NaNo novel, and that is an exciting thing for me! 30,000, seems to be such a meaningful number on my way to 50k. More than half way, it's kind of like..."It's all downhill from here." The plotline is (more-or-less :P) in place and rolling, and with 30,000 words written, I just have to try to hang on for the rest of the ride! :)

Epic Audio

A few of my favorites:

Globus:


Zack Hemsey:


Patrick Doyle:


Hans Zimmer:

You're mistaken, I write rather slowly...

If my adventures during National Novel Writing Month are any indication, I will never pursue a career as a swimmer...or even swimming as a hobby, for that matter! I'd drown before I made it half way, or have to get pulled out halfway because I couldn't resurface. But then again, there is always the chance that if my lungs are strong enough, and I can hold my breath long enough, I will eventually touch bottom on the opposite side where the ground slopes back up to the shore, back into the air and the light, and my struggle, if I do survive, will distinguish me in my own eyes as someone who did not give up even when I was behind...yeah, I'm writing a NaNo pep talk, aren't I? But why not, sometimes it takes smacking myself in the face to make me realize something...literally on occasion.

So the update is, I am feeling the bottom right about now with my toenails...ju-u-ust barely, it's down there, just out of reach at the moment, but close enough that I have hope of a sudden upward tilt to it. I reached 20k on Sunday the 14, and if I can write 3k, or at least 2, by the end of Monday, that will reduce the gap between me and being caught up down to some 2 or 3k, which is refreshing prospect after my mad race on November 30, 2008 when I wrote some 5k in an evening to finish in time.

Okay...so forget the beginning of that last paragraph. It was a rabbit trail. The real update, is that I'm hopeful. And I hope you are too, if you've set sail on this grand adventure. I wish you a strong Easterly wind in your sails, and clear skies and bright stars to guide you to your journey's end. God bless you!

Caleb Pieplow on Aesop...otherwise know as...

"Untitled Retelling in First Person of The Tortoise and the Hare."
Or...something like.

Okay, so I anticipated being somewhat bored today, and so I took along my good friend, Rob Roy, by Sir Walter Scott, who has been a very faithful companion since, July, I'd say, and my notebook to add any thoughts I had for my upcoming NaNo novel.
Let it be known that I rarely reread my own writing...bad form, yes, I've only recently begun realizing what a good idea it is to come back and read my work later after the initial satisfaction of putting the words on the page has passed, and I can look at the piece in more of a objective light.
All this to say, there was a short story nestled in between a list of themes from 'The Necklace,' and a set of paragraphs exhibiting two different settings of a similar scene, namely a suitor calling on a young lady. I knew the story was there, I had leafed through it many times since I wrote it last August as I was working through "Windows to the World," a Christian literature appreciation curriculum. But I had never read it over again. Really having nothing better to do, I stopped on that page and started reading. Knowing that it was an animal story, and that it was in first person, I was honestly expecting it to be...well, a little hokey.
I was pleasantly surprised! The writing style was for the most part pretty snappy, there were only a couple of omitted letters, the dialog wasn't terrible, and the main character's squirrelish mannerisms didn't come off as cartoon-ish and overdone as I was afraid of.
Okay, enough of that. Here it is. Let me know what you think and if it is in fact hokey, and I just can't see it...:)



"Here we go again."
The disgust in Priscilla Mole's voice was evident, and try as I might to resist it, it also came through in my voice:
"Is there nothing else he can talk about?"
"Obviously there isn't," She snorted, and, taking her child by the paw, disappeared into her tunnel. I stood for a moment, reflectively staring at the empty patch of grass in front of me that had just been vacated, before turning back to the crowd of fawners and scoffers - there were plenty of both in this stretch of border forest - surrounding the hare.
Maxwell was the happy owner of the most overblown ego I had ever seen, and took any chance he got to flash it before us all. The only parts of him that I found noteworthy were his long, muscular legs. He was fast, but we all knew it, and had heard it so many times, none of us were likely to forget his speed. I scampered up the bark of an elm and out under a low limb above the group and listened.
"...And who do you think made it back first?" Max asked rhetorically, eyes tracing the line of the crowd.
"You did, didn't you, Max?" chirped out a sprite of a rabbit girl, apparently before she realized it, for she immediately covered her mouth and turned, big-eyed to her friends.
I rolled my eyes, already tired of it.
"Right, sweetie!" He threw an exaggerated wink in the direction of the girl, and she and her friends hid their faces and giggled.
Mine wasn't the only sigh of exasperation to escape, I was glad to hear.
"I've never been beaten, here or in the meadow!" Max boasted.
It was true, but it stung. I felt my tail arching involuntarily over my back. A hedghog, undoubtedly the bravest I'd ever seen, piped up from the fringes of the crowd.
"The right animal hasn't shown up yet!"
There was a smattering of affirming chuckles, nods and hoots of agreement, but Max silenced them with his next statement.
"A lot you know about it, Kev," he waved a derisive paw in the offending creature's direction before sticking out the other and sweeping the assembled animals with it, "I'll bet I could beat any one of you, any day of the week. Come on, who's up for it?"
Again, his eyes were sweeping - sweeping from face to face, reveling in his moment.
"I'll race you."
The voice shattered the moment and Max rounded on the speaker, only to gape in astonishment. Terrence the Tortoise emerged laboriously from the crowd. Max stood speechless for a full minute, before bursting out laughing. When he had suitably regained his composure he asked incredulously:
"Are you serious? I mean - no offense, but I could run circles around you all the way!"
Terrence gave his slow smile and nodded.
"I suppose so, but save your talk for your victory celebration. You challenged, I accepted. Shall we race?"
Max laughed again, still apparently not believing this turn of events.
"All right, Terrence. I hate to do this to you, but - yes! Let's race!"
Terrence smiled again and there was a strange, knowing look in his eyes.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

I'll type the rest, including the famous race, tomorrow. I need to get up early in the morning. :)