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~ A random repository of how-to-write and geekery, with an occasional snippet of accidental wisdom.

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Tag Archives: nanowrimo

NaNoWriMo: The Gentlemen Adventurers’ Society

03 Thursday Nov 2016

Posted by erinkenobi2893 in Living Life with Passion, Story Dynamics, Uncategorized

≈ 33 Comments

Tags

doctor who, nanowrimo, nanowrimo november 2016, novels, selay'uu (sort of), steampunk, story dynamics, the gentlemen adventurers' society, writing

This November, ill-advised or not, I am participating in NaNoWriMo. Since I am currently waiting for my next class (6:30 to 9:10 pm, I am gonna die if I don’t get out early), I thought I might as well take the time to introduce you to my project and the two main characters.

The Gentlemen Adventurers’ Society is a historical fantasy (pssst, it’s steampunk) novel set in the later years of the Victorian era and follows the adventures of Maeghan LeClere and James Pennon as they try to avert the annexation of a small German princedom by the growing empire of Kaiser Wilhelm I (I haven’t technically fact-checked it yet, fact-checking can wait until the end of NaNo!), an event which might catapult the world with its growing system of alliances into a vicious war (as in, World War I, if it started early.)

Maeghan is a young American woman, orphaned and out to make her way in the world, even if it’s an ultimately unremarkable one. She’s very good at organization, but balks at the idea of being put in charge of things. (I think we already know how we’re going to force some character development, guys.) She’s never done anything notable in her life, but that’s about to change.

James is English nobility–a youngest son, insignificant by birth, practically penniless, and yet too determined a personality to fade into mediocrity or to take a minor government position. Intelligent (perhaps too intelligent for his own good) and with a startling streak of fire in his character, he’s never failed to get anything he’s ever fought for, but he doesn’t quite live in the real world; he’s been sheltered his entire life. He’s never been burned before, and while he knows on a cognitive level that he could get hurt, he hasn’t quite realized it on an emotional one. He’s also a bit oblivious to when people are hitting on him, and it’s a rather unpleasant shock for him to be reminded that some people consider him a marriage prospect. His worst fear–the secret fear that he himself isn’t even really aware of–is failure.

James is a member of the mysterious, prestigious organization known as “The Gentlemen Adventurers’ Society,” a group for upper-class people (men and with some restrictions, women) who don’t settle down easily. Occasionally, they will provide some services–guides, detectives, scientists, students and so forth–on the condition that whatever payment is made is made to the Society, in the place of dues (and the surplus goes to make up pensions for some members who, like James, are sophisticated enough to belong but who don’t have livings of their own.)

Maeghan is travelling to Europe, by coincidence aboard the same airship as James. Working together, they manage to save the airship, and James invites Maeghan to join the Society as his protege. (Don’t look at me like that. Read it and weep, romance fans–there’s not really going to be any in this book.)

However, that’s really only the beginning for the two of them.

Hopefully you all enjoy my recaps of their misadventures throughout the month.

(Rosalie, did I mention that James is redecorating the mind palace for Christmas? Already? And the Doctor is aiding and abetting. Those two are terrible. It was a bad idea to have the Doctor and Charley stand in for James and Maeghan, since they get up to twice as much trouble after discovering their sympathies.)

Gallery

Camp Nanowrimo: Art Dump

05 Sunday Jul 2015

Posted by erinkenobi2893 in Artwork, Living Life with Passion, Uncategorized

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

artwork, avengers, camp nanowrimo, camp nanowrimo july 2015, captain america, cats, doctor who, dogs, jack harkness is licking all over the doctor because he can, marvel, nanowrimo, national novel writing month, original fiction, star wars

This gallery contains 11 photos.

  Hello, everyone! This year, in an attempt to be witty, I decided to rebel for this month’s Camp Nanowrimo. …

Continue reading →

Making Humor Work

05 Wednesday Nov 2014

Posted by erinkenobi2893 in Living Life with Passion, Story Dynamics, Uncategorized

≈ 14 Comments

Tags

brian jacques, c.s. lewis, captain america: the first avenger, creative writing, cressida cowell, editing, harping on an eyesore syndrome, how to train your dragon, humor, john flanagan, kung fu panda, looney tunes: back in action, marvel, marvel superheroes, nanowrimo, nanowrimo 2014, national novel writing month, oocs, out of character syndrome, perelandra, ranger's apprentice, redwall, spontaneous expedient character defamation syndrome, star wars, story dynamics, the avengers, the chronicles of narnia, the lego movie, the space trilogy, who framed roger rabbit, writing

I know, I know, it’s been forever. :-S Sorry about the long hiatus. I really have no excuse.

On to the post…


I don’t like some animated movies.

Yeah, I know. BIG surprise. But seriously, I don’t. Why?

Because the humor doesn’t work. Well, at least not for me. (My dad tends to laugh in these movies, so maybe it’s really a subjective thing…? Anyway, I don’t find them awfully funny.) Who Framed Roger Rabbit is probably the best example of this. The humor doesn’t work. (And who among us wasn’t completely mentally scarred by that stupid movie in early childhood, anyway?!) It’s a mixture of slapstick, poking fun at the characters, and innuendo. Even without the innuendo, to me it would be offensive. I much prefer the wry humor Halt uses in the Ranger’s Apprentice books. And the fun word-play and occasional mild slapstick that appears in the Redwall books.

When a movie does that, I like to call it Harping On An Eyesore Syndrome.

Some movies are, to me, a mix of playful and painful. Normally the ones that are the least painful also have the most heart, probably because they’re the ones that the filmmakers either 1) actually love or 2) know what they’re doing with.

In Kung Fu Panda, I found myself actually laughing at some of the gags, though some of them still got a blank stare from me. Brave and Tangled, the same, though I think Tangled really takes itself a bit too seriously. (Come on, Disney! You can’t have it both ways. Either keep your trademark irreverent humor, or make a “serious movie”.) Cars… do not even get me started on this movie.

The Lego Movie? I thought it would be totally stupid, but win.

How To Train Your Dragon? Absolute win.

Loony Tunes: Back in Action? Okay movie. Not my favorite. It was a blatant rip-off of spy movies and Indiana Jones, but unlike The Lego Movie, it didn’t click. I think it was trying to do too much.

Prince of Egypt? Okay, some of the humor slipped up, but mostly it was good.

So, why does some humor work but other humor doesn’t?

I think that there are a number of factors.

First of all, does the movie have “heart”? What do I mean by this? Well, in my opinion, I think this means are the characters really relatable? They can’t be just punching bags (unlike Jar Jar Binks… seriously, guys, the reason you and/or other people hate on him? It’s because he has no character development. He’s a talking, walking cardboard-or-rubber-or-both stand-up. And yes, that was pun intended.)

This leads well into my first point. The humor must be acknowledged by the characters. They must reply realistically to it, whether it’s in hurt, gamely taking the hit, or pretending not to respond while inwardly being cut deeply by the jab, even if it wasn’t intended to be insulting.

Secondly, if the humor helps to acknowledge a point of the plot, so much the better. It helps it mesh better with the rest of the story, and doesn’t poke out like an eyesore.

Some of the humor in movies like Kung Fu Panda and Captain America: The First Avenger is like this. It acknowledges the pure sucking-ness of the main character before they become awesome. However, it should never be overdone, because then instead of being humorous, the result is laughable. They make too light of a matter that’s all too serious for the main character and lose the audience while they’re at it. (The First Avenger did a marvelous job using this type of humor; it made us want to both laugh and cry at the same time. Perfection.)

Thirdly, humor can be a character’s lifeline. Rather than going stark raving insane… um, was that an unintentional Avengers pun? Never mind. Anyway. Rather than losing it, entirely and permanently, they can deal with it by making a joke. Some of these jokes are sad, but some can be pretty darn witty. (The First Avenger again. Also How To Train Your Dragon–though that’s more sarcasm than actual humor–and Kung Fu Panda, which also made me want to cry in parts.)

Finally, sometimes the characters will just make a joke unintentionally, or crack one on the aside, to keep a plot moving, so the audience doesn’t get bored. (The First Avenger. Par excellence.) My absolute favorite line in Perelandra is when Dr. Ransom slips up:

In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, here goes–I mean, Amen!

So, bottom line?


1. Humor can help keep characters sane.

2. Humor meshes well if it’s used to acknowledge something (as in lampshading a plot oversight and making it into a joke) in most cases, but don’t overdo it. (Cars. ‘Nough said.)

3. Do not poke fun at your main characters for no reason, or you may end up sacrificing character development and making your entire book into a bad joke.

4. Absolutely no spontaneous expedient character defamation or out of character syndrome. Because that is not funny. Most of the time, not even in what is referred to as “crackfic.”

5. Some characters are just pretty darn funny (like Halt, Major Montgomery, Bucky, Cap, Arven, Gobber, Gonff, Edmund Pevensie, Dr. Elwin Ransom, and Sir Percy Blakeney) without even trying.

So, that’s my post on humor and how to and how not to use it. Good luck, Nanoers. 😉

Thanks for reading, God bless, and have a great day. 😀

Gordimer’s Law Now Has An Antithesis!

10 Friday Oct 2014

Posted by erinkenobi2893 in Living Life with Passion

≈ 16 Comments

Tags

gordimer's law, humor, internet, life, nanowrimo, nanowrimo 2014, national novel writing month

I was bored on Nanowrimo.

So were a lot of other people.

We were all waiting for the site wipe, which is supposed to happen October 1st but still has not yet occurred.

Anyway, we discovered the antithesis to Gordimer’s Law!

Gordimer’s law states that any discussion on the Internet that goes on long enough will eventually break down into people calling each other Nazis. (I’m not kidding.)

Its antithesis (I would suggest Remidrog’s Law for a name) states that:

Any discussion on the Internet in which the contributors are bored enough will resolve itself into either tea parties or rolelay. (Or both.)

Enjoy the madness! 😛

Archivist of Selay’uu’s Journal: Internship In Camelot

03 Sunday Aug 2014

Posted by erinkenobi2893 in Living Life with Passion, Tales from Selay'uu, Tales of a Wandering Bard, Uncategorized

≈ 13 Comments

Tags

archives, archivist, bbc merlin, c.s. lewis, camelot, camp nanowrimo, camp nanowrimo july 2014, desks, editing, editor, kysherin, muse, nanowrimo, national novel writing month, paperwork, selay'uu, star wars, the chronicles of narnia

It has taken me a while to write, once more, and I apologize. I have had college to apply for, and Nanowrimo (which, by the way, I WON! 😀 ) to finish, and job applications to work on. Fortunately, there is a “schedule” function on WordPress, and I have lots of random things handy to post. My drafts folder is like my mind; full of partially-completed work, and extremely cluttered and mixed-up.

Once again, I find myself wondering just how my life got this crazy. And I respond to it in exactly the same way as always: I mull over the question for a while, then I decide it’s all Kysherin’s fault. And when I look in the mirror and see my reflection–messy chestnut/auburn curls, dark eyes, square jawline–I decide it’s really not worth it to try and look more impressive. Or put on makeup. I don’t understand why most girls my age wear it.

This morning, I was looking at my books again–my personal books, not the ones in the library/archives–and found a proposal I had begun only recently, but had also recently forgotten. It was a proposal for me to visit Camelot and explore my new-found magical abilities and study with Merlin, Alice, and Gaius. Unfortunately, it had gotten rather crinkled (paper tends to do that when it is lying on a shelf under Anakin’s rock collection–why it was on my shelf may some day be explained–or not…) in its time in hiatus. I groaned and got out a new sheet of paper, picking up Anakin’s rock collection and shoving it under the leg of my desk. Perhaps I should explain. My desk is rather old-fashioned. It is large, with several drawers, full to the brim with stuff. Most of it is orderly (my pens, pencils, mechanical pencils, mechanical pencil refill leads and erasers, vinyl erasers, etc. are sorted in a valet tray in one drawer,) but the one largest drawer–which, by rights, should contain electronics, but instead holds a bunch of old three-ring-binders, each shedding pieces of plastic from their covers, which are held together with duct tape and most of which are mislabeled–is decidedly untidy. I should get around to overhauling it some time. Anyway, my desk is very old. In fact, it’s an exact duplicate of one my father brought home when he was switching jobs when I was very small (just without the same contents.) It is dark, mahogany-colored wood, but the stain and varnish are wearing off in places, and if you scratch the varnish with your fingernail it starts to flake off in an unpleasant-feeling powder. The “legs” of the desk, which, I suspect, have been extended upwards to accommodate my father’s height (he’s a tall man, and I take after him,) are mostly drawers, and the desk is clearly designed to go right up against a wall (I should get Jay to help me with that…) but there is a space in between the bottom drawer on the “leg” and the actual foot of the desk, that rests on the floor. It was covered by a piece of wood, originally, but due to mishandling by the movers and mistreatment by us kids, the pins or staples holding the cover in place gave way, leaving me with a compartment that I can hide things in by pulling the piece of wood off, shove stuff I want to hide into, and then push the pins lightly back into their holes. It’s very convenient.

Anyway, so I pushed Anakin’s rock collection into my hidden compartment (which was, at the moment, empty, though much of the time it’s as full of random stuff as a first draft that needs editing, or a G.A. Henty novel sprung up, grown wild, and gone to seed.) and found two pieces of loose paper and went to work, copying my proposal neatly out twice and completing it. I thought about email, but something of this importance required El’ye’s permission (I still have not figured out why), and she didn’t like modern innovations, though Merlin would have been comfortable with a simple email with the proposal attached. Immortality necessitates being very adaptable, I believe. Which is a bit of a paradox, since I think El’ye is at least a pretender to immortality.

Anyway, after checking my drafts over, I went to my window (living in a tower is quite delightful, by the way, though the people on laundry duty always complain about the stairs) and shouted for Kilgarrah. He was not very happy at being shouted for, and still more annoyed about carrying my mail (“I am not a mail horse, young recorder!”), but as I am on good terms with Merlin (who is currently spending what remains of the summer in Camelot), he condescended to carry my message to the young warlock with a bad grace. That done, I whistled for Glimfeather, who came much more briskly and cheerfully than Kilgarrah had. I was politer to him than I had been with the dragon (Kilgarrah doesn’t like me much, and the feeling is mutual; the dragon is too self-centered and survival-centered and Machiavellian for my taste), and Glimfeather kindly agreed to carry my message to El’ye. So far, so good.

With a much heavier heart, I returned to my piles upon piles of paperwork. At least, hopefully, by the end of the summer I would be serving an internship in Camelot for the term (though I would be in and out of the Selay’uu chateau all the time.) I can hardly wait!

First Meeting

15 Tuesday Jul 2014

Posted by erinkenobi2893 in Living Life with Passion, Story Dynamics, Tales from Selay'uu, Tales of a Wandering Bard, Uncategorized

≈ 10 Comments

Tags

angels' reflections, camp nanowrimo, camp nanowrimo april 2014, characters, creative writing, jay wallace, nanowrimo, nanowrimo 2013, novels, selay'uu (sort of), stories in progress, story dynamics, writer, writing

Recently, I received a prompt on the Nanowrimo forums, that sounded too good to pass up to me, and I thought the readers of my blog would also like to see it!

Enjoy!

Prompt: How did you first meet your main character? How did you come up with the character?

I first met Jay Wallace when I was washing dishes. Granted, I was pretty annoyed with my Dad at the time–after all, washing dishes is a job that was relegated to my younger brother and later my younger sister after I started college–but that’s not really a true block to inspiration. So there I was, with suds on my hands, when in saunters a young man five or six years my junior. He’s dark haired, with hazel eyes that are exceptionally clear and piercing, high cheekbones, a somewhat prominent, straight nose, firm mouth… He’s smallish, slender, slight build, looks underfed, is wearing a ragged shirt and a tattered pair of pants that barely reach down to his calves, is barefoot, and over everything else is a threadbare, worn, yet still presentable and thick woolen cloak with no hood and an attached capelet. “I’m going to be in the resistance, won’t I?” he asks, and then I realize I’m cheating–he is the Elayatar incarnation of Obi-Wan Kenobi, but then, who needs to know that? After all, he’ll soon be a character all his own.

Jay Wallace is one of the two main protagonists of the novel Angels’ Reflections. You can read about this novel on my Novels page, or on the Camp Nanowrimo website.

April 2013 (Book 1: The Broken Dream)

July 2013 (Book 2: The Child of the Promise)

April 2014 (Book 3: All Roads Lead Here)

Bound to the Flame, Chapter V, Part II

13 Sunday Jul 2014

Posted by erinkenobi2893 in Bound to the Flame, Living Life with Passion, Story Dynamics, Tales of a Wandering Bard, Uncategorized

≈ 10 Comments

Tags

bound to the flame, camp nanowrimo, camp nanowrimo july 2014, college, confusing nonsense, insanity, john flanagan, life, nanowrimo, national novel writing month, philosophy, rambling musings, ranger's apprentice, secret life, small rants, stories in progress, story dynamics

It’s been awhile–sorry about that. I had college applications, Iris moving, and Nanowrimo to worry about. (I’m behind on my novel, but this will take only a few minutes so I AM NOT WORRYING ABOUT IT. Studiously. :-P)

In other news, I read the first book of the Ranger’s Apprentice series by John Flanagan, The Ruins of Gorlan, and I LOVED it. The humor in the book was very unexpected, and the main character respects his mentor… I can’t think of anything morally objectionable in the book. (On the downside, there was one extraneous plot point that was not as well incorporated as it might be, but I’ll leave that until I can do a proper book review.) I won’t keep you any longer. Enjoy the chapter! 🙂

Warnings: Lots and lots of philosophy, maybe a little theory. Nothing too strenuous, unless you don’t like exercising your brain. ;-P

Bound to the Flame

Chapter V

Part II

Rowan fell silent again. Margery bit her lip. “Some of my father’s men were defending our coasts against Sea Raiders last winter, and two of them failed to report back in, and were presumed lost. They finally turned up in the springtime. One of them had lost a leg and two fingers. The other one had stayed with him all winter, helping him to survive and nursing him back to health. But when they came back, both of them had changed. The injured man was morose; the other was tired and worn-down. It took the combined efforts of all the men-at-arms as well as my father and brothers to get them back on their proverbial feet. Neither of them was ever quite the same, though.” Margery paused, looking sidelong at Rowan, unsure of how to continue. Without looking at her, Rowan slowly guided Obsidian onwards.

“And you’re trying to figure out if there’s some subtle way of helping me.” Rowan said. “You pity me.” He paused for a moment, biting his cheek. “I’m sorry. I’m afraid that, as far as this goes, this is the best way that you can help.” He sighed. “Activity helps, even if I’m exhausted and sore for hours afterwards.” There was a long time in which they simply rode in silence.

“It’s so quiet here,” Margery said, after a while. Rowan looked up.

“It is,” he said, without offering any explanation. Margery tilted her head on one side.

“Are they setting a trap for us, do you think?”

“Unlikely. I don’t feel any warning that might indicate on. If the silence troubles you, though, what about a walking song? Our enemies are nowhere nearby, I think, and there is no one to hear us.”

“All right…” Margery said. “You sing.” Rowan chuckled.

“Very well.”

“O’er the hills and far away

Out from a rising sun

From my door I heard Mother say,

‘I pray that soon back you’ll come.’

Among the woodlands dark and gray

While leaves all fall around

And squirrels among campfire ashes play

There comes the marching sound.

“O’er the plains so wide and far

O’er the moors so dreary

While at night a shooting star

Falls at our feet weary.

By the cliffsides steep and high

Marching to a song

When the morning dawn draws nigh

Again we pass along.

“O’er the mountains at break of day

When we rise to travel on,

In the dawning cold and gray,

We march over that browning lawn.

In the rain and in the spray

Flying from a stormy sea

Marching far, far away

We’ll come flying homeward free.

“O’er the hills and far away

Into a setting sun

Until the darkness ends the day

And stars now out have come.

O’er the fells and low green tors

Turning fast to gray,

Far from home and hearth and door

We march, far, far, away.”

                Rowan had a good voice, clear and strong, but at the same time soft and melodious; it was almost subdued, but it made the glades reverberate with sound, the earth beneath them trembling in unison with the melody. For a long while after the song had concluded, they rode along in affable silence. At last, contrary to all Margery’s expectations, Rowan broke it.

“Margery, if we are to be able to continue to evade our enemy, there is something that I must do.”

“Then do it,” Margery said, shrugging, not quite comprehending.

“No…” Rowan said. “What I meant is, I would like to—I should ask your permission first.”

“Why?” Margery asked.

“Well, if we are to remain undetected… I need to mute your presence and ground the loose magic that has gathered around you.” Margery gave him a blank gaze. “You can be sensed by magic,” Rowan explained. “But it’s harder for whoever might sense you to do if there isn’t loose magic pooled around you.”

“I don’t understand,” Margery said.

“Well,” Rowan began, apparently trying to think out the best way to explain it, “loose magic—magic that has been already drawn from the warp—”

“Start at the beginning, please,” Margery said. “You’ve explained elemental magic, but not this branch of theory.” Rowan inclined his head.

“Very well. This has to do more with the origins of magic than with the theory of magic,” he said. “Most magic remains hidden, like the warp threads under the weft of a tapestry, holding together the tapestry of life on this world. You can think of the visible world as the weft threads—magic holds them together, just like warp. Magic can be drawn up out of the warp in order to be used. But magic can not be used up, like material goods can. It simply returns to its energy phase. It tries to get back into the warp, but it takes effort or time—even both in some cases—to return. Naturally, it always seeks the path of least resistance—and living things, especially people with an innate magical talent, are like bridges straight to the warp. Thus, ‘loose’ magic tends to gather around magic users, and other living things. The easier a Wielder can connect with the warp, the more magic will tend to pool around them. Most naturally-gifted wizards have the ability to sense large ‘drifts’ of loose magic, which means that they could potentially sense all living things around them. So, if we want to go unnoticed, the wisest course would be to ‘dim’ our presence by returning the loose magic that has gathered around us to the warp.”

Margery shrugged. “Well, go ahead. You didn’t have to ask permission for that. I’m not a magic user, anyway.”

“I don’t like the idea of doing it without asking,” Rowan said. “Just… be warned. This may make you feel vulnerable, tired, weak, perhaps even ill. Everyone can sense magic on some level or other; potentially anyone could become a Wielder, but it would take time and energy. You have a slight magical ability, and that could exacerbate the effect.” Margery shrugged again.

“Well, forewarned is forearmed, I guess. Go ahead.”

Margery had expected to feel any of the sensations Rowan had described—or perhaps she hadn’t known what to expect—but she certainly had not expected the strange draining sensation that flowed through her and left her limbs feeling heavy and her head slightly dizzy. She focused on relaxing and not fighting the dizzy feeling, taking deep breaths. As the off-balanced sensation passed, Margery gave a sigh of relief.

“You responded well,” Rowan said encouragingly. He seemed dimmed, muted, diminished somehow—though it was not in his physical appearance. As far as looks went, he was just a fraction paler than before; that was all. “I may have to repeat this, periodically. Loose magic tends to build up, over time. It makes spell-casting easier. I only grounded enough so that we can blend in with nature.”

“This is more complex than I ever imagined,” Margery murmured. Rowan offered her a sympathetic look.

“Most things are that way,” he remarked. “They seem simple on the surface, but look deeper and they’re inescapably complex, yet beautifully simple at the same time.”

“Can you teach me?” Margery asked, suddenly, impulsively.

“I don’t think so,” Rowan replied pensively. “You’re more intuitive; you use magic instinctively, if at all. I don’t think I could teach you to use it in the way I do, and certainly not in this short a time. Not with any degree of safety. It takes a lifetime to learn properly. Magic is not a plaything; it’s a tool, and like all tools it can be dangerous if abused, or misused. It should not be used by the unskilled. Ever.” Margery bowed her head, chastened. “However,” Rowan continued, I can teach you more about it and help you to understand the gift.” Margery looked at him, grateful.

“Please,” she said softly. Rowan gazed on ahead, thoughtful.

“If you wanted to become a Wielder and were really, honestly serious about it, you could become a scholar, focusing on knowledge, discovery, and research. You would need to find a partner who specialized in focused or applied Wielding, to work with, of course, but wisdom and those who seek it are sorely needed.” Margery smiled. Rowan turned toward her, an unrecognized expression twinkling in tawny hazel eyes. “Besides, there’s another reason why I can’t teach you more than just theory.”

“What would that be?” Margery asked, ducking under a tree branch as she rode.

“Whatever would your parents say?” Rowan asked. Margery suddenly realized what the sly twinkle in the young man’s eyes was—mischief. She moved to swat him, but Rowan moved much more quickly. She missed him completely as he swiftly ducked. “There are some things you should know beforehand,” Rowan said, turning serious. “There are certain laws which should be followed, when it comes to magic. These are not merely the laws of Ertraia, but the laws of righteous Wielders everywhere. Some laws are punishable by imprisonment; others by banishment, or instant death. To seek refuge in Ertraia is to put yourself under Ertraia’s justice. First of all, magic should never be used to take a life by any means, except in the defense of life. There are certain prayers and meditations that should be undertaken subsequent to the taking of a life in self-defense. Attempting to summon spirits is most certainly forbidden. If one of the saints speaks to you in a dream or vision, that’s a different thing entirely; but you must be cautious and examine the message of such a dream, analyzing it to decide if it truly comes from God or His saints. There is almost nothing in the world that is more dangerous than a magician under the influence of a demon; you must guard yourself carefully against the mental interference of such evil forces. Magic can not defend against evil spirits; only reverent prayer can do that. Using magic to compel someone against their free will is also forbidden. Magic should never be used for personal gain. Changing the appearance—the accidents, or circumstances—of some object is possible, but only our Lord—” he bowed his head, respectfully—“can change their substance or essence. To attempt to do so would be blasphemy. It is not permissible to attempt to create life, though imitating it is allowed, under certain dire circumstances. Only God can create life, give it and take it. Saving lives, however, is most certainly permissible and praiseworthy. Creating a bond with someone and then throwing them aside without a thought is unthinkable; bonds should not be created in the first place, unless it is absolutely necessary. Bonding with an animal and then forcing it off on its own is punishable by a fine. Courting dreams and visions is not necessarily culpable, but it is generally considered to be a stupid thing to do, as it can leave you open to suggestion by outside forces that might not be benign. Some forms of knowledge are better left alone; we do not believe that the enemy is best fought with his own weapons. That makes us worse than him, because we actually know better, and yet we still allow ourselves to be provoked. Not his own, no, but with equal and opposite ones.”

Margery looked solemnly at Rowan. “So, the gift comes with responsibilities.”

“As all true gifts do,” Rowan nodded solemnly. “All true gifts are given to us so that we may serve others. We are nothing on our own. It is folly to take our gifts for granted, though this is more a matter for personal guidance, rather than for the law. We walk similar lines in magic that we do in our everyday lives. We fall in similar ways; we make similar errors. The punishments are more severe because a rogue magician can cause more harm than an average man in the same plight. The only man who might cause more damage would be one in a position of power or influence. The more we are entrusted with, the higher the expectations. We must be on our guard at all times so that our power does not corrupt us, and take safeguards against greed.” Margery nodded, seriously.

“So, are all the stories about magic true? Not the ones that say all magicians are evil, of course, but the stories about what magic can do.”

“Some of them, but probably not all,” Rowan said. “Even magic has its rules and its limitations. And there are things that should not be attempted, not merely because they can cause physical harm, but because they are morally destructive to the Wielder as well.”

“What about the stories where someone is healed of a wound that should have been fatal?” Margery asked.

“Those are more likely to be true,” Rowan replied, looking down. Margery could not help it; her eyes were drawn to the ugly old scar on one cheek. How had that come about, if…? “Ertraia’s healers are the best in Scotland,” Rowan carried on, “perhaps the best in the world. Normal wounds are easy enough to heal. Magical wounds—those dealt by direct magical means—are more difficult. Some of our healers have traveled abroad to heal the wounds dealt in war and to aid the sick, but due to the persecution of magic users and other knowledge that seems to them of magic, they have had to keep their true abilities secret, and they have grown rarer. Some of our healers have gone out and never returned, and no word came back to us of their fate. We can only hope that they yet live, and are safe and well.”

“What’s the difference—I mean, how do you tell which magic is dark and which is light?”

“No. Don’t say ‘dark’ or ‘light,’” Rowan said. “Perhaps they are, as you use them, mere metaphors, but they are not quite perfect. To use ‘light’ to imply ‘good’ and ‘dark’ to imply ‘evil’ is not quite accurate. We must remember that they are mere metaphors and not innately good or evil of themselves. Darkness predates sin; it is not evil of itself. Even the light, in this broken world of ours, is flawed. Only the Light of Christ shines perfect. Furthermore, some people use ‘light’ to equate truth, and ‘dark’ for ignorance. But this is flawed as well; truth alone, on its own, without the light of grace and divine revelation, can point people in the wrong direction. A few scattered truths do not add up to a full picture. Truth can be colored by perspective, and twisted to the selfish ends of men. Reason unguided by faith can lead down a dark path indeed. Light illuminates, but it does not always guide.” Rowan fell silent; Margery sat, overawed, perfectly still in her saddle. Rowan cocked his head to one side. “What was the question again?”

Margery couldn’t help but laugh. With his philosophical dissertation, he had obviously forgotten entirely about the question that had prompted it. “I asked how I could tell the good from the bad. Or, maybe, a right use of magic from a wrong one?”

“Much the same way as you can tell a good action from a bad one on a purely ordinary level,” Rowan said. “If either the end or the action is not morally permissible on a completely material, natural, and spiritual standpoint, you can be sure it’s wrong no matter the means, ordinary or magical. Natural law. Conscience. Both apply in any situation.”

“By natural law, you mean the moral guidelines ingrained into us, almost instinct?” Margery clarified.

“Exactly.”

They continued to travel, Margery struggling to remember as much philosophy as she could, until nightfall.

Liebster Award: Once again…

09 Wednesday Jul 2014

Posted by erinkenobi2893 in Living Life with Passion, Story Dynamics, Uncategorized

≈ 54 Comments

Tags

a wind in the door, award, camp nanowrimo july 2014, insanity, j.r.r. tolkien, life, long rants, madeleine l'engle, nanowrimo, national novel writing month, secret life, small rants, star wars

liebster-award

Once again, I have been nominated for a Liebster award, this time by Proverbs31teen, over at The World of the Writer. (See, I finally did it! For the fourth time in the history of this blog, actually!) You can read about the previous Liebster nominations here and here.

liebsterawardrules

And now, to answer the questions…

  1. Why did you start your blog? Has your reason changed since then? I started this blog mainly for the sake of sharing my writing and connecting with other writers. I occasionally use this blog to vent, but yes, this is primarily a writing blog still.
  2. How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a would chuck could chuck wood? (No fair Googling!!! There’s a real answer, though.) The same amount of woodchucks Chuck Norris would chuck, if Chuck Norris was chucking woodchucks. (My brother told me this years ago.) 😛 But really, though, as much wood a woodchuck cared to chuck, I suppose. 😛
  3. If you could travel to any fictional world, which one would you go to? Probably to either Middle-Earth or Narnia. I wouldn’t want to land in the middle of the Empire era, were I to go to the galaxy far, far away. I love democracy far too much. 😛
  4. If you could meet with any person (real, past or present) for coffee, who would you meet with? Ooooh… Does it have to be just one!? I definitely would want to meet Washington, Lincoln and Jefferson. Perhaps Napoleon Bonaparte, I don’t know. And now we get to the lesser known historical figures. I would like to meet Gabriel Garcia Moreno (president of Ecuador from 1859-1865 and 1861-1875), because the man was a genius (he actually balanced a horrible budget and helped to move Ecuador from dictatorship to democracy, among other things!), Jacques Cathelineau (you guys all know about my obsession with the Vendee rebellion by now, probably,) because he was an amazing leader, and Jose Luis Escriva. (If you don’t know about Jose Luis, then you need to go look him up, RIGHT NOW!!!)
  5. If you could meet with any fictional character, who would you want to meet? Martin the Warrior and the Murry family (from A Wrinkle in Time and its sequels.)
  6. Which country do you (or would you) most want to visit? It’s a tie between the UK, New Zealand, Mexico, and Russia. (Though, if I had to choose, I probably wouldn’t go to Russia.)
  7. Mountains, desert, or beach? Mountains. That was easy. 😛
  8. What’s your favorite genre to read? To write in? To read, I love family dramas, mystery, adventure, suspense, historical fiction, fantasy, science fiction, speculative fiction, and dystopian best. I don’t care much for romance, especially romance with no side plots. To write, I have mostly written sci-fi and fantasy so far, with dystopian flavor and the occasional magic. I’m testing out suspense, though, with a little mystery on the side.
  9. What’s your all-time favorite movie? Oh, War of the Vendee, hands down. With Courageous and Fireproof a close second and third.
  10. What is your favorite movie quote? Book quote? Movies: “‘You brought the girls?’ ‘Yes! Er, was that wrong?'” (Gru and Nefario, Despicable Me), “So this is how liberty dies–with thunderous applause.” (Padme Amidala, Revenge of the Sith. Have not seen the movie, but still love the quote.) Books: “So do all who live to see such times, Frodo Baggins, but that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that has been given us.” (Gandalf, The Lord of the Rings.)
  11. Which name would you rather have: (for girls) Gertrude or Beatrice, and (for guys) Ernest or Humphrey? Beatrice. Call it a result of 1. too much Hogan’s Heroes, and 2. enjoying the works of Beatrice Potter.

Now, for the eleven facts…

  1. I dislike paperwork. Strongly.
  2. I dislike being coerced into certain aspects of Raya-care (such as bathroom breaks and showers) nearly as much.
  3. I love being outdoors.
  4. I want to go camping this summer.
  5. I have no idea who to nominate.
  6. I secretly time travel with unicorns.
  7. I can’t think of a fact number seven.
  8. Where did I put my notebook, again? I can be very forgetful.
  9. I normally procrastinate horribly when tagged or nominated for awards. (Sorry, people. Anyway, forewarned is forearmed!)
  10. The last statement was a pun. (If a droid told Grievous, “Kenobi is coming,” Grevious would split his two arms apart each into two halves, because forewarned is four-armed. X-P)
  11. I love puns. (Sometimes even horrible ones like that.)

Well, that’s all for this Award acceptance. Seeing as it’s the middle of Camp Nanowrimo, and I’m behind in my novel, I can’t take the time to nominate anyone (besides, I don’t know who I’d nominate… I can’t think of anyone whom I haven’t already nominated) or come up with any questions, except for one:

What does the fox say?!

Bwahahahaaha!

Answer in the comments or on your own blogs, I don’t care. But just make sure to link me back to your answers if they’re blogged. ;-P The song is obnoxious, but the question messes with people’s heads. >:-D

Thanks for reading, and God Bless!

Happy Camp Nanowrimo! ;-)

01 Tuesday Jul 2014

Posted by erinkenobi2893 in Living Life with Passion, Story Dynamics, Tales of a Wandering Bard, Uncategorized

≈ 67 Comments

Tags

camp nanowrimo, camp nanowrimo july 2014, nanowrimo, national novel writing month, novels, stories in progress

Once again, it’s time for Camp Nanowrimo! Yaaaay! 😀

Ironic, because all the Nano events I’ve ever finished were always Camps. 😛 Anyway…

This year, from all of the novels I currently have stewing, I chose to work on Unnamed. Why am I excited? Because I’m turning as many cliches as is humanly possible on their ears! ;-D

Unnamed (working title) is the story of Gervaise (Baeltyr) Eredhen, son of the most influential Baron in the wealthy South Kingdom, and Iris, a petty thief and survivor. However, Gervaise is not your typical rebellious son. Rather, he is forced to chose between his father’s worldview, and his mother’s. Rejecting his father’s strangely twisted utopia, he embraces his mother’s more stoic philosophy. He has not yet discovered the depths of true hypocrisy, though; in the South Kingdom, politics is hypocrisy.

Iris, also, is not your typical thief. She may bear a dislike for the nobles and have a shady past, but there’s much more to her than meets the eye. All that she needs to join the rebellion is someone to follow, someone other than that half-wit, Gervaise.

Added to that, Gervaise hasn’t told Iris who he really is, a rebellion is in order, another rebellion with a motive not so altruistic is also on the move, and Gervaise is far more politically strategic than he ever realized.

(If you want an excerpt, I can always post one. 😉 ) Thanks for reading, and God Bless!

Liebster Award (Awarded twice in two days… I don’t know if anyone else understands…)

13 Tuesday May 2014

Posted by erinkenobi2893 in Living Life with Passion, Uncategorized

≈ 32 Comments

Tags

author, award, barbie, barbie is evil, baronness emma orczy, blogging, c.s. forester, c.s. lewis, dumas, g.a. henty, i have probably been misspelling sheikah's name all along :-p, i'll stop adding tags now lest i add too many, i've added too many tags already, j.r.r. tolkien, merlin, nanowrimo, rule of elevens, sherwood pictures, star trek, star wars, the lord of the rings, the three musketeers, the war of the vendee, writing

Rule of Elevens!!! 😛

liebster121

Okay, so I was awarded the Liebster Award first of all by coruscantbookshelf (aka Rosalie, or Nasriel if you prefer) of Against the Shadows, and then again, by Sheikiah, of Dark Link/Light Link. And I have no idea who else to award it to, unless it’s okay to award to people on Blogspot? If so, please tell me and I’ll do so. (On second thoughts, I’ll do it anyway. :-P) And I have no idea how many followers most of the bloggers I know have, so forgive me if I accidentally award someone who has more than a thousand.

I guess that since I was awarded twice, I have to answer TWO sets of questions. Okay, here goes.

Since Rosalie awarded me first, I’ll answer her questions first.

1. Which do you prefer: Old or New Republic, and why? (That’s Episodes I-III and IV-VI respectively, for the old people out there.) I think I prefer the Old Republic… mainly because I have only read Jedi Apprentice and Clone Wars-era Expanded Universe, and I don’t quite care for the angle they took the post-Return of the Jedi stories, mostly because (as I’ve said before) I am a biased supporter of the celibacy requirement for the Jedi, just because it made it cool and more like an actual religious order to me. Also I am a history nut. 😛 Which is the probable reason for my bigoted preference… 😛 Also, the prequels had Obi-Wan! 😛 And the “sequels” aren’t likely to! 😛

2. Which do you prefer: Old or New Testament, and why? Oooh… this is a tough one. I don’t think I have a preference. Though I do love Luke and John’s lyrical and symbolic styles, respectively…

3. Who is your favorite actor/actress absolutely of all time? I’m having a hard time choosing. I don’t think I can pick just one. Because, honestly, I’ve seen people who are really good, but I have to say that Paul Reilly, who isn’t even professional, and Alex Kendrick, who is really a minister. Paul Reilly is Jacques Cathelineau in The War of the Vendee from Navis Pictures, and Alex Kendrick plays the protagonists in all the Sherwood Pictures films except for Fireproof. But professional actors… I’m going with Liam Neeson (no surprise there,) Ewan McGregor, and Colin Morgan. (Because the Jedi team of The Phantom Menace was awesome, and Colin Morgan is just brilliant as the title character of Merlin.)

4. This one seems to be part of the rules: Why do you blog? Oh, I don’t know, really. Several reasons–it’s hard to pick a primary one. I think it’s mostly an outlet, in case I need to rant or just yell at the world in general, and people commiserate, which is awesome. It’s also gaining me a reader base, since I want to become a published author. But I think it started when I was over on Wikia, which some of my friends used to connect on–they had a blog option for registered users, which was great. I started posting The Hero’s Dream over there, and then when some of my Nanowrimo friends (thank you Rosalie!) wanted to read it, I started this blog and posted it serially. (Actually, the story is way more complex than that, but I think you want your answers in less than 500 words. If you all want me to post and explain how I began blogging in full, please comment and tell me so!)

5. If you could live anywhere in this world other than where you do, where would you choose? Practicality aside. Ireland. It’s a beautiful country. (Also, I want to learn Gaelic.) That, or New Zealand. They filmed The Lord of the Rings there–how do you beat that?!

6. Favorite dictionary: Oxford, Webster, Cambridge, Chambers, Collins – what? And why? The old edition Oxford–it was clean and got you what you needed to know–and Webster. Because it’s the first, and because it’s American, I guess. 😛

7. For those that write for fun: how many plot bunnies (story ideas) do you have on the go right now? How many do you think will get finished? (For those that don’t, go listen to this to kill time. Utterly epic.) Mmmm… Nine or so, I think. Probably more, if you count my Star Wars stories. Go to my Novels page if you want to see most of them. There’s another original novel brewing, but I haven’t got it clear in my head yet, so it’s not up yet. (Hint: It’s about Mordred! 😉 )

8. What’s your opinion of fictitious superheroes? I don’t really have one. I don’t particularly care for superhero movies, except for The Incredibles (which I absolutely love!), and I’ve never read any books about superheroes. However, I love anything Jedi and most fantasy, so I don’t know. I might like them. Still, I rather enjoy my non-Avengers fan status… 😛

9. What’s your opinion of fictitious everyday heroes? Cynically? People love to hero-worship. Practically? We need people to lead us and be shining examples, both fictitious and real.
Idealistically? I think that fictitious heroes give us something to strive to be, and I really wish they were real.

10. What’s your opinion of factitious everyday heroes? (Do not quote Sherlock!) (Okay, I won’t. :-P) I think that factitious heroes may not be quite the same way people envision them, but I believe that they do exist. For instance, the firefighters and other emergency response teams at the Twin Towers terrorist attack on 9/11/2001 were true heroes.
Ironically, though, I think that most people who have been named heroes by popular acclaim really don’t think of themselves as heroes, just people doing their jobs exceptionally well, or ordinary people trying to help. In this sense, I think anyone who tries to do the best they can to help others, both in the pursuit of duty and on the spur of the moment, is a hero.

11. Have you ever been given this award before? If so how many times? Never. Though I’m about to… 😛

Now for Sheikiah’s questions…

1. Why do you blog/What is your goal for your blog? Well, you know why I blog already. ;-P I already said. 😛 My blogging goal, though, is to just give people some enjoyment in fiction, as well to explain why I fiction. 🙂 (Yes, I used that as a verb. If that is NOT a verb, it should be. ;-D)

2. Out of all the established fictional realms you know of — Middle-Earth, Narnia, etc. — pick one you’d like to live and one you wouldn’t want to live in. Oh, I’d love to live in Middle-Earth, Narnia, the galaxy far, far away… Mostly because the rules are different… and in Star Wars, if you’re a Jedi, you also do not have to worry about the tax paperwork. 😛 (I hate paperwork. I recently started doing some of my own, and I repeat: I hate it! Even though hate is the path to the Dark Side!) But if I had to just make one that I would love to live in… Probably Middle-Earth. And the one I would not like to live in: drum roll, please… the world of the Harry Potter books.

3. Why those two? (I admit this is probably cheating, making this a separate question.) I have not read Harry Potter, but I wouldn’t like to be the one out who had to fight magic-using enemies without magic (or special training.) Same goes for Supernatural. Besides, I don’t feel comfortable with the way that J.K. Rowling reputedly handles the idea of magic in her novels. It doesn’t seem like something I could enjoy in all good conscience. To Harry Potter fans: I’m not attacking you! I’m just saying that I don’t think it would be my cup of tea! And the reason why I’d love to be in Middle-Earth: I’m a scholar. I would absolutely love to study with Elrond or Aragorn, visit all those places… And I’m not bad with a sword, either. 😛

4. Where on planet Earth would you most like to live? Most like to live… Well, I think I like where I do live. ;-P But otherwise… New Zealand (see above.) Mostly because it’s not in such a bad condition, politically, as other countries are… viewing it with my American Constitutionalist lens again here… 😛

5. Which film adaptation do you think is the most faithful to the original book? Why? The Lord of the Rings. Much as I like to whine about how they changed some situations, eliminated Tom Bombadil, etc., it still didn’t mangle the book as badly as some other movie adaptions. *mutters* The Three Musketeers… Barbie… I have a lasting grudge against Barbie. So insipid and sugary.

6. Which adaptation is the least faithful? Why? Well… of the movies I’ve actually seen… the adaption of The Scarlet Pimpernel that stars Richard E. Grant. Much as I love this adaption, it’s very unlike the book. But as a stand-alone movie… *swoons*

7. If you had the chance to make one event in history not-happen, which and why? And don’t say “the Holocaust”, that’s just too obvious. Oooh, this is so hard… The French Revolution in general. It did something similar to France as Hitler did to Germany. I mean, left scars that are still there to this day. (And it’s been longer since, too!) Especially, I would take back the subjugation of the Vendee. Also, I would make the Vendee better remembered. The people there were so gallant and courageous! I hate it that they portray them in some movies and books as making an effort doomed to failure that only makes things worse for them! They were fighting for what they believed in, passionately, against overwhelming odds, and no such gallant action can be called “useless”! Besides, they almost succeeded–they could’ve taken Paris and stopped the Revolution right there, but they had to choose to take Nantes instead.

8. If you were in a band, what would you name it? Unless you ARE in a band, in which case come up with a different name for a hypothetical other band. Dickenson. (I love her poetry. And classical music. :-P)

9. What is your favourite book? Favorite… hmmm… I have way too many. But right now… The Lord of the Rings. I also like Tolkien’s other works, books by Madeleine L’Engle, G.A. Henty, Brian Jacques, C.S. Lewis, Meriol Trever, Constance Savery, C.S. Forester, Baroness Orczy… 😉

10. Of all the characters in your favourite book, whose life would you rather lead? Oohh…. I would rather be Faramir. (Outside of my chosen book, I know that I’d rather be Ahsoka than Obi-Wan, Luke rather than Padme, Eustace rather than Susan, and Charles Wallace rather than one of the twins. ;-P)

11. Kirk or Picard? (If you can’t answer this question, that’s fine. There are those who consider that the RIGHT answer.) I have not seen enough Star Trek to be a good judge.

Eleven random facts about me (wow, this is going to be hard):

1. I don’t particularly like to talk about myself.

2. I have thought about giving politics a try, if only to see their faces at my ideology and idealistic cynicism. (Yes, that is a term… or it should be. :-P) Also to annoy them with my arguments against certain plans that they have for this country.

3. I have been known to make up words as it suits my purposes.

4. I can be extremely sarcastic at times. (Bet you never saw that one coming!)

5. I love cats, but have an allergy to them.

6. I am also allergic to blueberries, cantaloupe, bananas, food coloring, corn syrup, and popcorn. I can eat blueberries and bananas if they are in baked goods. I also have a contact allergy to the adhesives from some Band-aids and stickers. I might just be allergic to hickory, as well. (Not the nuts, but the wood might be the culprit for my hives.)

7. I do not particularly enjoy traveling.

8. I should have done this whole thing earlier, probably.

9. My baby sister seems to be alternately a Jedi Knight and Sith Lady.

10. I know a couple of Sith via the internet ;-P

11. Depriving me of sleep is not a good idea.

I hope that satisfies!!! Now for my questions:

1. Why do you blog? How did you start blogging? (because it’s tradition, I guess)

2. What eats most of your time on the internet?

3. Have you ever attempted to write a novel upwards of 50,000 words?

4. Have you failed writing a novel and never come back to it (yet)? If so, why?

5. What is your biggest impediment to doing what you love? (Mine is my siblings)

6. Which do you prefer: more regular, tended gardens or naturalized ones?

7. What is your favorite season, and why?

8. Do you prefer historical fiction to fantasy, or science fiction to both?

9. Do you ever feel that the language you chiefly work with is confining and should have more expressive words?

10. Would you prefer some form of rodent (gerbil, hamster, rat, etc.) or some kind of bird as a pet?

11. Why do you spend time with your family? (If you don’t feel like answering… *shrug*)

And now, I hereby nominate Rayne Speryll, of Writing in Rivendell, Klarabelle Candy, and the brilliant writers of “Sink Me!” because it’s hilarious. (Don’t blame me for this, most of my friends IRL blog on Blogspot and I have no idea how many followers most of them have.) Since I don’t really feel like tagging people back (you’re off the hook, Rosalie and Sheikah!), I will also nominate Bessie Lark at Firefly (trust me to nominate a restricted access blog! ;-P), and Rachel Carrera (even though I have no idea how many people have followed her.) Congrats, ladies! (It also says something about me that I’m nominating all girls… Shut up, head-voice! Sorry about that. :-P)

Okay, so I’m finally done with this post… three days after I started working on it. Sorry if this is my longest post ever, but I had lots of crazy stuff happen and lots more crazy stuff to say and I definitely feel a lot better now. 🙂

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