April Again!

Is it just me or has the year already started to pass all too quickly? Today was the beginning of the April session of Camp NaNoWriMo, which marks a very special milestone for me. It’s my twelfth writing month, meaning I’ve spent a cumulative year participating in them! I’ll never forget my first wrimo back in November 2005. I hadn’t written anything 50,000 words long in my life and I didn’t begin to know how to approach the challenge. So I merely dove in and hoped for the best, somehow managing to surpass my goal despite starting a full week late because I wasn’t convinced that I had the courage to try! I nearly missed verifying my word count at the end because of a blizzard induced power outage. But the most important thing that occurred as a result of my first challenge was the newfound proof that I could indeed write something that long! 

I didn’t participate again for several years, but when I came back to it in 2012, the goal didn’t seem much less daunting than in the first year, but I decided to start and keep going. This time, my daily quota of between 2000-3000 words became easier as the month wore on. It just kept going as more opportunities opened up, such as the relatively new Camp sessions, as well as JuNoWriMo. Each session encouraged me to try another. Before I knew it, I was counting down to the twelfth time! 

As you know from my first session, it’s never too late to start, so if you’re interested, visit the Camp NaNoWriMo page and begin your writing adventures!

Quote Challenge, Day 2

Today’s quote is from a devotional reading I just enjoyed this morning from Corrie ten Boom. 

You never so touch the ocean of God’s love as when you forgive and love your enemies. 

Corrie ten Boom

It’s hard to forgive when you’ve really been wronged, but I can guarantee you that it’s the only true path to peace. Recently I read an article by Rick Warren about forgiveness because I wanted to understand more about what it actually means. The thought that stayed with me the longest is that forgiveness isn’t saying what happened was ok or didn’t actually hurt you, but it’s giving up your right to exact vengeance because God will make all things right. We don’t need to do His job for Him, but we must leave justice to Him. 

I really don’t have the gist of the tagging thing, so if you see this and want to take on the challenge, consider yourself tagged! Have a lovely day! 

Quote Challenge Day 1

Thank you, Heena, so much for nominating me for the Quote Challenge! I will post a quote for three days and nominate three people each day to do the same. Here goes!

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” Eleanor Roosevelt

Today I nominate: BlondeWriteMore, AnaSpoke and SavingSavannah. 

If any of the nominees have already done the challenge or are too busy, that’s ok! 

Bridges

The bridge sends me into hyperspace, swinging on a rope, toes curling as I fly through the air. Sunlight filters through my hair and I can’t help but notice the expression in your eyes as you watch me purposefully fall into the water below the rope; effervescent like the dappled waves. The tension and release as I float back and forth intoxicates you until you join me in the refreshing cool. Then it’s wave after wave and their identical echoes out to the distant shore that we can barely see even on a summer afternoon. 

When You Live On An (Arctic) Island

Flickering fire lit the lamps and the open bonfire in the middle of the tribal house where the entire community gathered. A young man whose messy black hair perpetually fell into his eyes held an older model of camcorder on his shoulder, somber as he watched the people file in through the lens. It was the coldest night of the year with a thick cascade of snow falling silently from the heavens, brushing the hats and shoulders of each citizen, lingering even longer than the young man expected as the building offered little improvement in temperature from the frigid outdoors. The snow only disappeared from the privileged individuals who had earned a seat near to the central blaze, but the rest wore white flecks on their clothing, visually separating who was in control. It wasn’t something the cameraman liked to consider because his father and grandfather had taught him that every individual in a society was equal, even if they performed different tasks in the community. But they had never lived on this island in the vastness of a polar ocean. Here it was survival at its sharpest, often cutting ideals out of the equation in favor of the majority of the community still living by the time spring arrived. Each season had its own cruel beauty in a way outsiders could never imagine. No flowers pushed through topsoil to announce the arrival of a new time of year. The frost merely melted and it was possible to bury the dead from the long, dark winter with enough natural light to forego the torches until autumn. Summer was a blinding mass of sunshine and melting water, mud and mosquitos that created an entirely new risk. 

The leader of the town banged a gavel on the nearest bench reserved for the elites. The meeting had begun. 

Hours later, the young man shivered in his hut, wondering if he was a type of elite himself because he was equipped with the necessary electricity to power his camera. Records must be kept and the town leaders realized the logic of supplying him with what would accomplish the objective. 

After plugging the camera into the power source, the man fell to sleep rather quickly, spent by the cold. As he dreamed, his lips curved into a smile as he saw the graceful and brave young woman who had defied convention and lived on a rock in the ocean, riding above the standards of the town. She lived her own life, even if only inside his imagination. 

Always, Always, Always

By the light of dawn, it became evident to me that I never stopped still mourning my first home: peace, green grass and rolling hills. It has blended with certain dreams and a few peculiar things take me back in the blink of an eye, the note of a song. Like being pulled out of my own world, I’m suddenly amid the optimistic crowd of people and cars with skyscrapers in the distance, laughing in a way that the joy reaches every inch of my body. It doesn’t flee like a shadow, forgotten as quickly as it arrived. It is a sunny spring day, just warm enough to chase away the chill of winter. Yet even winters here are spectacular because there is a candle in every window and the scent of fir trees in every room. Today I let the sun caress my skin and the wind sing through my hair, for I am home. 

Even as the song that transported me to my home ends, I can still smell the aroma of sweet tulips on a breeze. 

Out

You told me you need to get out of here. So you can have life, breath, control of your days again. I’m all too willing to sign up for the next adventure, but you really hit it out of the park on this one, taking me to your glass flat. Here I will stay, my hand tucked neatly, safely inside of yours. Here I will finish what was taken from me and here you won’t get found by those you wish to leave behind us. The only scary moment was when I asked you to stay; you thought I meant for a few months, but I meant forever. However, all of it was more than compensated for when you said yes. 

Adaptation –

They are nothing if not adaptable… the way her eyes widened in the darkness and it doesn’t seem so hard to get stuck in the time period from which they cannot escape. It is their fondest wish but it has died on their lips, the words downing in the winds and the waterfalls and driving rain, never to surface again. Still they meet in their corners, away from everyone with whom they do not desire to share secrets. She is certain that the time capsule they uncovered is the sweetness that makes the bitterness palatable. With the option to raise one’s voice beyond the occasional northern lights, all have a better chance of surviving the unimaginable. 

Happy 2016!

Okay, so it’s a couple of days since New Year’s, but since I’ve not blogged since 2015, I still want to wish you all a very happy 2016! I hope this is the year you find all the happiness and joy in the world! 

I’ve started editing my November 2015 NaNoWriMo novella, still undecided if I should keep its original title of Freedom. That, as some of you may know, is the title of the flash fiction series I wrote here on my blog in August that became the inspiration from the novella. Maybe one of my resolutions should be to learn how to title novels better. It’s never come naturally to me to find a title very early in the process. Only after spending some time with the characters and plot does something evolve in my imagination. My favorite part of the novella is the couple at the center of the action, once married spies Aidan and Tasha. I love to write about them, so I wouldn’t rule out any additional projects involving them. 

I like to let my goals develop as the year progresses, so I don’t have a list of ten resolutions, but one thing I do plan to do in 2016 is finish the mystery novel I started last June at JuNoWriMo. I had to put it aside, unfinished for other things, and I miss it. Once again, the characters are calling!

Today is a special day here in the U.S. because it’s the Masterpiece Theatre premiere of Downton Abbey! My favorite show is in its last season, but I’ll just say I know things about the finale that make parting much easier. Thanks to overseas friends, I know what an international feed is, but I won’t give any spoilers all season long! The best part about the domestic airing is my season pass to iTunes, which will allow me to download each weekly episode the following day and enjoy on my iPad. It makes me very grateful to the person who gave me an iTunes card for Christmas! 

I wish everyone a great day!

Merry Christmas!

I wish a very merry Christmas to those who celebrate it. To me, some of the most joyful Christmas moments aren’t the big, splashy things but the quiet, hopeful moments. I love waking up early on winter mornings like today and watching the sun come up, rejoicing in the way the night gives way to day and the light fills everything. It’s just like the way God fills my heart with joy this time of year. As wonderful as Christmas is, it’s just the beginning of the journey that Jesus took to save us by living the perfect life on earth so that He could take the penalty for our sins on the cross and give us eternal life if only we will give Him our lives and hearts. 

I hope you enjoy all of the quiet moments of blessing that come your way. Thank you for your support for my blog and my writing with your likes, comments and the wonderful sense of community that I have found here. I wish you all joy!