Branching out Into Boronovia

     This semester, I think I'm going to be reading my eyeballs out over British, American, and Irish Women's literature, plus the reading for my marketing class. In Brit Lit we're starting out in medieval England with "Caedmon's Hymn" and "The Dream of the Rood."
    For my own pleasure I'm reading 1,000 Gifts by Ann Voskamp and re-reading The Fellowship of the Ring. Although, I suppose all the reading I'm doing should be pleasurable--I don't know what it is about being assigned reading that takes away the enjoyment.

Lurith

     Recently I'm writing a short story (and a bit of history) on the country of Boronovia, which covers almost the entire eastern coast of Lurith. The people are concentrated in the northern middle because of active volcanoes in the south and vicious Ice Bears in the North.        
Logline: In a land of bitter winters, boot-making Piyar...

Traditional msiri Recipe

Ingredients
milk
honey
cinnamon
ginger

Directions
1. Fill a tea or coffee mug with milk and microwave until hot (1 min 35 seconds in my microwave)
2. Add a spoonful of honey and the spices
3. Stir and enjoy

The spices don't mix very well, as you can see.

      With the snow and freezing rain forecasted for tonight, I'm sure we could all use a warm beverage, and msiri is simple enough that "anyone with the use of their limbs…" (quote Mrs. Patmore) could make it.  But the real reason I posted the recipe was in case anyone wants to try a Dorinthian drink! It's what King Durim, Princess Lili, and Wynna have while they talk in the palace gardens, partway through the tale.

     
       My most quotable English professor started eating onion sandwiches because of Ernest Hemingway's character Nick, in Big Two-Hearted River. Yesterday, my brother ate a macaroni-cheese and ketchup sandwich to test out Slim's (Hank the Cowdog, John R. Erickson) idea. I'm sure msiri is much tastier than either sandwich, but it just goes to show that stories inspire people.

Share your book recipes in the comments below!

Two-Way Street

     M y mild-mannered English professor often says, "It's a two-way street," and whatever it is, I think he's right. As we look ahead to the new year, I think it's also good to take a look behind.

    I have mostly let Wynna: Dragon Rider sit and hibernate for the month of December, which right now is quite a hodgepodge of snippets in semi-chronological order. Today I started my new project of going back through what I've written and making an outline of events. As I go, I highlight things to help with continuity. For example, at one point Filip refers to people who speak dragon language as dragon warblers. I marked that, because if that's common in everyday Dorinthian conversation, I will probably need to use that again.

     It's nice to see even a holey first draft with fresh eyes. I'm excited--when I finish marking it up and filling in some major plot holes, I'll be ready to continue with Wynna on her journey to Disaster #3 and its resolution, i.e. The End.

What do you see behind that helps you move ahead?

And There Was Light

     I don't know about you, but I love Christmas! It's my favorite holiday. Today, I think I will be occupied all morning cleaning the freshly painted bathroom (mint green!), making last-minute presents, and baking sweets (not getting any writing done...) before the rest of the family gets here. In all the excitement, I don't want to forget it is the coming of the Light that I am celebrating.

 Jesus said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."

Free photo courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net

Happy Christmas, everybody

and all the best in 2014!

Winner Swag

     I try to get my posts up by midnight on Wednesdays, but today I'm taking advantage of my Christmas Break to deviate from my schedule a little bit and relax. I hope you are, too!

   
     As part of the NaNoWriMo winner swag, I get a special offer: two copies of my novel printed and bound for free! I want it to be brushed, washed, and presentable to a preliminary audience for that, but right now Wynna: Dragon Rider is one act and ~100 pages short of a full-length novel. The printing deal expires June 2014. So, new Goal:

❧ within the next six months, finish novel and complete round 1 editing ❧

     Now, for a backward glance. It was crazy busy the past two weeks, but I spent half a Saturday writing. Somehow my rumination on everyday miracles turned into another poem about writing poetry. Click to read "The Laboring Poet," and be sure to leave a comment below!

The Song of the Cold Sea

     One English Literature II semester project required that we pick a poem from the syllabus and use it as a springboard to something new. Some of my classmates wrote parody poems, others made paintings. I decided to arrange Alfred Lord Tennyson's poem "Break, Break, Break" to music. I did the piano/voice/recording/mixing, and that's my sister playing the violin. This song was a lot of work--I'm so thankful for the snow days and deadline extension that let me finish it! Time is a great gift.
Here is:

"The Song of the Cold Sea"

made on Apple GarageBand

Free image courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net

NaNoWriMo Winner

   

  

     Yay! I did it!

    "Winner" means that I achieved my goal by writing at least 50,000 words between November 1st and 30th. 

     I'm going to celebrate, once Christmas break starts, by sleeping. I've got two busy weeks of school left before then. Speaking of which, here's a funny poem to brighten your day:

For a Student Sleeping in a Poetry Workshop by David Wagoner : Poetry Magazine

     50,625 is a BIG step in the process, but Wynna: Dragon Rider, my NaNo novella, is still in its earliest beginnings. Even with 50k+ words down, I'm only at the climax of Act II in my plot outline. That means I have 50-100 more pages to indulge in before my first draft is finished.

     In the meantime, here are a few things I learned from NaNoWriMo: