Writing Challange - Day Four and Five

I am amazingly slow, eh? There’s me in a nutshell. Well, I shall try to catch up with the writing challenge, but if I don’t manage, please bear with me. I believe you know the drill, but to bring it up: The challenge is hosted by Lerowen from Eat...Sleep...Write. A specific subject is to be explored each day (for 15 days) and more information is to be found if you click the link. I thought about taking two days together here; day four and five. Now, if I can come up with some answers that actually can work for something. Oh well, here we go.

Day four - A novel or author that has inspired something in your writing style

I’ve always thought that I was influenced by characters and series when it came to my writing style. I saw something I couldn’t let go of, and brought it to something I wanted to form. From my point of view, that’s always been me. Lately though, I’ve discovered songs and persons I’ve taken under my wing. It may sound odd, but Lord Nathan came from a picture. Yes, a single picture I stumbled over and knew nothing about. To discover who it was; that was a surprise to me because I saw him as my character and my character alone.

But a novel or an author? I always wanted the carefulness of Austen, the melancholy of Dickens, the adventures of Verne, the setting of Forester, the sweetness of Alcott, the feel of Lawhead and the bittersweetness of Lewis. Has this ever made its mark on my work? I doubt it.

I’ve always grasped higher than what I should; having grand drams. The reality never seems to wake me in my dreams. The reality however, can be brutal. I’ve never known how my writing style is because I don’t see it myself. I don’t see things in my own writing before others points it out to me. I fear I cannot tell you who my writing style is inspired by because I doubt it will show, but I can tell who I would love to learn from.

“I cannot tell who it was, but I know there several of them there.”

And then we've got more!

Day Five - Your least favorite character you've written

Seeing this question, I just want to turn into Smirkana. I thought this question would be hard to answer, but thinking about it; not really. The question can mean so much; am I thinking about how hard they were to write or that I dislike their personality? There are many characters that I’ve wanted to throw out of the window, but there is one character that really stands out. Not many have met her, and nobody knows who she really is. I’ve kept silent about her character because I don’t want to say too much, but that’s not all; I can’t stand her.

Oh yes, we’re talking about Lady Lucy. For those who can recall her name, she is the person James met by the door. Now, why do I dislike her that much? To begin with, she is hard to write. It’s hard to place the words correctly because not only is she an important character; she’s a character with two sides. I want the sides to be recognizable in her, but I also want to hide them. It’s so much harder than what I thought it would be, but I cannot change her character. Then I would ruin everything. I also believe I find her hard to write since there is something in her I can see in the daily life. To point it out in a clever way; how does one do so? I don’t want to say it right out, but I don’t want to make it too obvious either.

She may be seen as a very sweet person, but I don’t see her like that. No, even though she’s far from evil, I can’t make myself like her. I believe one of the reasons I disk lie her, is because (almost) everybody else in my story likes her. Am I jealous? No, I’m not. However, I believe I’ve seen both of her sides and I believe her position is unfair. Justice is one of the repeating themes I believe she’s an example of how, we as humans, can be wrong about others. I admit I may be a bit angry at the blindness of the other characters in terms of seeing Lucy, but I let the anger lead to her. She’s the example of the blindness, and the blindness upset me in the daily life.

Now you may ask me, is this enough to dislike a person as much as I do? Probably not, but that’s because it’s not everything. I’m afraid I cannot say more than this, but it will be revealed. Just wait.

“You keep turning to them, but when you have turned away, they don’t seem to care much.”

Writing Challange - Day Two

Well, here I am, trying to type up a reply for the writing challenge. To begin with, a small summary: The challenge is hosted by Lerowen from Eat...Sleep...Write. A specific subject is to be explored each day (for 15 days) and more information is to be found if you click the link. O.< Well, since I am beginning this today, I shall do the first two questions and this post is dedicated to the first post.

Day Two - Your favorite male author.

For the second day, the question was about my favorite male author. How does one reply? Some authors have a beautiful writing style, while others have brilliant stories. Some authors may have strong characters while others have strong descriptions of the visible. Some of them are downright depressing but good, while others are hilarious but not captivating. However, I am just allowed to mention one man.

Who will that man be? Well, he’s maybe the author I’ve followed for as long as I can remember. I don’t remember when I realized how brilliant he was, but it must have been a long time ago. Some days ago, I found an old notebook. It was filled with my notes, page up and page down with proper writing and analyze; all about the author. His books have been a comfort to me more often than what a book shall comfort a person. They've been my safe place for years, but I don't believe anybody can understand it because nobody wants to be there.

His works are funny and yet, more thoughtful than what they eye can see. The wit plays an important role, but it’s used for a purpose. His pen is sharper than the sword, and the descriptions are enough to make their marks not only in a book, but in generations. It’s enjoyable to read his works, and I believe both adults and children will agree. However, he also brings in Christian theology in a way that allows us to understand and wonder.

Never have I adored and author as much as this one, but it’s for a reason. One day, if it will be possible, I wish to grasp a little of his talent. He may be dead, but he’s fully alive on my bookshelf. Why?

Because he is C.S. Lewis.

Archie and his Companions

Okay, I admit it. Abigail tempted me, and I wanted to do something similar as she did. However, I haven’t asked her yet (I’m sorry, Abigail!), but I hope she won’t mind too much. However than putting up Archie (my bookshelf), I shall put up a few of my own books. These are books I own; some of them I’ve bought myself while others have been gifts. I wanted to present a few of my books that I adore in one way or another, for then putting down a few words about them.

World History
This, as you may see, is a book in Norwegian. I got it for Christmas one year, and it’s been with me ever since. It’s, obviously, a book about all important historical events that’s happen since the time of Jesus Christ, but never is religion mentioned. Well, it’s told which religion people did follow, but it’s not explained any further. Also, even though it may tell about awful happenings, it’s clean, brilliant when it comes to facts and I would say everybody can read it without being hurt or offended in any ways. There are also lovely pictures; for instance from The Middle Age and The English Civil War.



Winnie-the-Pooh on New Adventures
Of course I had to mention this book. I don’t know when I got it, but I was a little girl, I’m sure. It’s published by Disney and based on one of the well known movies which also were made by Disney. As you may see, this is also in Norwegian. Small stories about him are collected into a big one and I would absolutely say it fits for anyone. You cannot help sitting there, thinking “Daww!” and “Ooh!”. At least, I know I can’t. It’s a delightful read with clean language, nothing offensive and adorkable characters. Is it weird I adore it? (The page numbers you may see are made by BabyMarthe.)

Kitties
It’s mah kitty book! The book contains adorable pictures of small kitties as well as quotes from famous and not so famous people. It belonged to me dead grandmother, but after her death, it was given to me. I don’t know why I was the one who got it, but it’s safe to say that I’ve enjoyed it more then what I actually thought I would. It’s a book I take up when I’m sad or happy; bored or not. You will easily understand when I’m reading it. The only word in my vocabulary in French, English or Norwegian, “DAWW!” is all I can say. I truly do love it, and I feel blessed to own it.

The Chronicles of Narnia
You saw this coming, didn’t you? I’m known for adoring Narnia, at the same time I’m collecting everything that has anything with Narnia to do. C.S. Lewis has written a beautiful allegory divided by seven books; each telling a beautiful story. My first meeting with it all, wasn’t the very best. A mournful girl at 9 years picked it up at the library because she couldn’t find anything better and since that, it’s become one of the most important things in her life. I believe everyone knows what I’m thinking, and if they don’t... They should read Narnia. Yes, this is in fact the dearest books to me except the Bible. It has followed be until now, and I know it shall continue to follow me, which I’m very thankful of. ^.^

The Gammage Cup
This cannot be a big surprise, can it? It’s written by Carol Kendall and the book was given to me last Christmas. In the Land Between the Mountains, you can find the village Slipper-on-the-Water. It’s a peaceful place where the Minnipins live, unaware of the fears lurking around. However, when Muggles wakes up one night and faces a special event, everything changes. I don’t know where to start, because this book is nothing but adorable. It’s clean, funny and it has some brilliant characters. It’s written from a point of view which may be seen as simple, but if you sit down and read, you’ll soon understand that it’s not as simple as you though. I absolutely think others should read it, but they won’t get my copy!

Little Women
This book is written by Louisa May Alcott and it tells the story about the four sisters; Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy March. The March sisters are living during The Civil War in America, and because of this, they’ll have to face ups and downs. I was slightly sceptical at first, but the characters, especially the March sisters, are so interesting in their own way. None of them are the same, I adore the differences among them and how the author has captured it. It’s not secret I adore Beth March because of her gentle and shy character, and this makes me believe that every girl can find some of herself in at least one of the sisters. It’s funny, clean; yes, everything I believe a book should be. It’s a piece well worth to read.

Boxen
Here we come to a book I haven’t read just yet. It’s written by C.S. Lewis and his brother W.H. Lewis and it’s about their imaginary land and all the creatures you can find there. I’ve just looked over it, and it’s amazing to realize that this was created by two young children. Around the book, you’ll find pictures made by the two brothers. Believe me, Warnie was an exceptional artist. The writing does also seem to have some depth and it’s through a charming book when it comes to the look of it. It shall be delightful to be able to read it, as soon as I’ve got time, of course.

Here you see some of my very favourite books, and yes, they’re the ones I can read over and over again, and never get tired. ^.^

The pictures are taken by me, but the book and their covers do belong to their proper owners. No copyright infringement intended. These pictures are only for personal use, and shall not be spread further. Thank you.

Faith in The Lord

I almost feel bad. Almost. I’ve been sitting here, just letting this thing die slowly. I shall try to write some life into it, but I fear I can’t say if I will manage it or not. For me, this is the last day of this year. It’s past midnight, but so it may be. When you do have something on your heart, the sleep can wait a little. It might seem like a self-centered thought, but I hope I will be forgiven.

I decided that I wanted to write a post about something that is very special to me, and a dear friend, Dana, did remind me about it. I will dedicate this to her and to them who knows somebody that don’t see God as we do. ‘We’ is a big word, but I know that the ones that read this will understand who I am addressing. We Christians.

It’s so well known that not everybody believe in our Lord, Jesus Christ. We care so much for them we love, and dear, we truly do wish more people would look towards Him. We Christians do have hard times with seeing Him, but we still believe. He is there, no matter how dark it seems, how desperate we might be and if we sin or not. He is there! Humans are so blessed because God gave His son to us because He loved us so much. Dear friends of me have told me that The Lord’s love is everlasting, I and do believe so. No matter if you believe or not, The Lord does care for you.

But this is not the time when I will sit here and talk exactly about this. I want to talk about that people can change. However, with this introduction, I do hope that it can be a reminder. I know myself how badly I need that.

Over to the part of changing. There are so many that does not believe. They do have different reasons, but I won’t say anything because of that because my knowledge is not as deep and it’s not something I wish to throw myself completely into because I do not know everything. What I know though, is that people can change. Many have said that they do not believe; that they can’t believe; that they won’t believe. I know how much it does hurt to hear that, I really do. Both my father and sister, Jeanette, are not Christians and I know that they are not alone.

But God’s power is so much greater than we ever could have imagined. Dana made me think about C.S. Lewis. He said himself once in a time that he was not going to believe. It would not happen! But look what God’s grace did. Look where he ended. He became one of the greatest writer’s in my eyes, and he became a Christian. His works like Narnia, The Great Divorce and Mere Christianity do all have a strong Christian message.

At the end, he saw that the faith was not anything he could fight against. It was too powerful. He talked for a long time with two of his friends (Tolkien was one of them), and he saw the Truth. God’s mercy lifted him, and the once so stubborn man became a man of faith. A fairytale? No, I would not say so.

This was God. He was so good, and he helped not only C.S. Lewis, but so many others. We who have read his works have learned something new, we’ve seen new side of our faith and ourselves, and he did inspire so many. Yes, this was the work of God.

And that is something that gives me hope. I pray that the ones that can’t see The Lord will see Him. That they will see His mercy, His love and how much He care. There is hope. I pray that God will give us strength to spread the Word, and that people will listen. People can change.

I do hope this can be a good reminder as well as something to think about. There is hope! The Lord is our Hope. Amen.