Tag Archives: Writer’s Challenge

Stolen Inspirations (Go!)

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It’s Day 6 of the Writer’s Challenge.  Today’s challenge is to “steal” inspiration from the world around you-from other artists, quotes, song lyrics, etc. and use that as a springboard to your own creativity.  Challenge duly accepted.  Read on.  😉

“From the top of the world / to the bottom rung / ’til the work is done / I’m gonna send you.  From the ends of the earth / to the nearest gap / all over the map / I’m gonna send you.”  (From the song “Go” by the Newsboys)

Anyone who knows me well knows that I am an avowed CCM junkie-I love Christian music in general, and the Newsboys have long been one of my favorite bands.  (Both as a band and various solo projects put out by current and former members.)  I’m the kind of girl who can (and often does) quote obscure lyrics at the drop of a hat, and will sing along with every single song at a concert.

The Archer & The Unicorn-Chapter Two

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Here is chapter two of the fiction book I’ve been working on.  As I said in the previous post, any thoughts or feedback would be very welcomed.

If Count Robert de Brant had any passion greater than the hunt for animals, it was the hunt for royal favor and a higher rank than he now possessed.  His current goal was to gain the earldom of the Northern March, which would provide not only a higher title, but richer lands and a wider stage for his ambitions.

          The young king was due to pass through his lands on an inspection in less than a month, and if de Brant played his cards right he was certain he could convince the king that he was the right man to take over the long-empty March.  This rare unicorn could be the perfect opportunity to impress his sovereign.
          The clatter of hooves and the rattle of weapons announced the return of the rearguard.  De Brant adjusted his sable cloak and stepped out from the doorway, along with the castle steward.  He was eager to gloat over his prize…which seemed to be mysteriously missing…
            “Where is my unicorn?”

De Brant expected an immediate answer, or someone was going to get hurt.  The spear men pulled back a bit, leaving more than ample room for a scout with a bandage-swathed head to take what was coming to him.

Continue reading →

The Archer & The Unicorn-Chapter One

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In answer to the 15 day writer’s challenge I’ve been participating in, I’m posting a very rough draft of chapter one of a fiction book I’ve been working on.  I would love to hear any comments or feedback my readers have.  Chapter Two will be posted shortly  Thanks for reading!

“He hadn’t always lived like this.  Once life had been good.  Once he had a beautiful wife, a small homestead, the respect every man should have, and a chance at a family.  All of that had been swept away in one brief, bitter moment, with the thunder of hooves and the flash of a spear cutting all light and joy out of Stephen’s life forever.

            He could still see Eleanor in his mind’s eye, smiling as she went out that day to gather blackberries.  It was only a short walk from his homestead to the forest, and she laughed at his concern for her safety.  She was always laughing though.  It was one of the things that drew him to her in the first place.  Her easy, good natured humor.  She had a quick wit, but never used it to belittle others.  She never laughed at his limp or small stature.
            Stephen heard again in memory his wife’s scream as Count de Brant’s spear went through her, while the boar that it had been its intended target charged off into the underbrush.  Stephen had begged for a farthing to pay the local healer, but the count barely paused long enough to ask, “If you cared for her so much, why did you let her wander off into my hunting run?”  Stephen wept helplessly as she bled out in his arms.

Finding My Voice

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Another day, another blog post.  😉

I hope you don’t mind that I’m indulging myself, at least briefly, in an experiment here.  I’m learning a lot as I work on this writer’s challenge I’m doing.  (See yesterday’s post if you have no idea what I’m talking about.)  I’m actually hoping to do a guest post for another blogger soon, and perhaps even host someone else on this blog to liven things up a bit.

One term that I’ve seen and heard used off and on since I did the School of Writing last year is the term “writer’s voice.”  What is this?  Basically, it is an individual writer’s style and way of writing.  I think everyone has at least some gut-level sense of this starting out, but it doesn’t really mature until you start doing the work for yourself and writing regularly.  Some writers have a more distinctive “voice” than others, because they have been doing it longer, or because they’ve thought about it more.

I’m still figuring this out for myself, and I’m really not sure what my “voice” sounds like yet, in writing terms.  I’m just getting out here and thinking with my fingers, then putting it up for people to see.  Writing like crazy when I get the time, taking a break, coming back and polishing.  This is the process for me at the moment.

The Writer’s Challenge

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It’s time for the apparently more or less annual reboot of my blog.  A rather quaint and quiet corner of the internet most of the time.

Let me start by saying I’ve been journaling for years.  I quite literally have a suitcase full of old journals, and I have no idea where I’m going to put them, since I sure as heck am not throwing away the memories inscribed in this random collection of assorted notebooks.  Twelve years and counting.

But it was really only in the last year or two that I have started being challenged by others that writing is more than just something I do in my free time, just for the heck of it.  Some dear friends who I trust and respect actually took the time to point out that writing is something that I’m actually good at, that it is one of my giftings.