Description; the 6th Sense–Part 2 the Sense of Sound

To continue our series, we move on to the sense of sound. (For those of you who haven't read the last post I posted, I'm doing a series on description. In the series, I gave an ordinary sentence without any descriptions, and am going through all of the 5 senses and adding description to it, until it is completed, and we have developed the 6th sense; description. To read Part 1 click here.)

Patience sat amidst the tall grass in the meadow. A lark swooped into the violently waving grass, before soaring back into the quickly darkening sky, with a cricket gripped tightly in its thin beak. Patience turned her eyes to the horizon, where a large black monster crept silently over her once peaceful surroundings. Lightning flashed inside it's belly, as it reared up it's angry head.

So, it now has sight. The most basic of the senses, and the one which we most often look to first, before moving deeper. Sometimes we forget to look deeper though, and just stop here (I've done this many a time). And though this does work in many situations, think of how much deeper, how much more real the seen you are laying before the reader would feel, once you get all (or at least most) of there senses participating, not just their eye. The sentence above seems complete, and I must admit, I felt that it was finished. And yet, as I thought about it, I found small ways to worm the other senses. Just small changes here and there that make not near as much difference as when we added sight to it. But once it's finished, it will feel more complete.

You're ears are probably the second thing you move to, once you've viewed everything with your eyes. You hear the thudding of boots, or the rustle of grass. When you're blindfolded, or in the dark, you can't rely on your eyesight any longer, so your ears become more open. You hear every creak, every bump or stir in the darkness. You can hear chains clinking, or voices. Let's go deeper into the voices; you can make it rough and rugged, with slurs, and/or an accent. Or you can make it proper and learnt, with long words, and saying things in a more correct way. But you can also make them demanding, or curious, simply by saying so. 'Why?' Gregory piped up again in his curiosity. You see? You don't just have to make sounds, but use words to describe it. Like if someone is nocking on a door, you don't necessarily have to type out; nock-nock, or tatt-tatt, or something like that. You can just say, he rapped his knuckles twice in quick succession against the wooden door. I'm not saying at all that you can't type out the noises, it all depends on your preference, or style of writing, whether you want to do that or not.

Patience sat amidst the tall grass in the meadow. A lark whistled its shrill cry, as it swooped into the violently waving grass, before soaring back into the quickly darkening sky, with a cricket gripped tightly in its thin beak. Patience turned her eyes to the horizon, where a large black monster crept silently over her once peaceful surroundings. Lightning flashed inside it's belly, as it reared up it's angry head with a rumbling growl that shook the air and disarmed it of all silence.

Keep a look out for Part 3, coming soon. :)

Assr lei∂r ykkarr or∂.

~ElizabethMarieKauffman~

Description; the 6th Sense–Part 1 the Sense of Sight

It seems that a lot of you are wanting tips on writing and stuff like that. So I decided to do a series on description. (Take note, that I am by no means an expert, feel free to comment, and tell me what you think, or if I have stated anything wrong–though I will ask you to please state your mind respectfully, I want to hear from you and your thoughts on the subject.) Description holds a certain wonder on me, how it magically turns plain, uninteresting sentences into ones that captivate you, never ceases to awe me. Simple words, like dark, and ominous, can make a reader shudder. While other words, like bubble, and beautiful, can make them smile with contentment.

In this series I'm going to give you a sentence, a plain, ordinary sentence, with no descriptions what-so-ever. Then, slowly, we'll add description based on the 5 senses; sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch. To end with the 6th sense; description. And a much more intriguing, and satisfying sentence (or sentences, depending on how long it gets.)

Are you ready?? Alright, here is the sentence that we'll be using:

Patience sat in the meadow, when she saw a storm coming on. 

So we've go the sentence. Nothing fancy. . . like the string of a necklace, now we just need to add some beads to it. First, we'll start with sight.

So we've got Patience sitting in the meadow (btw, I named her Patience, because she must have been sitting in the meadow a very long time, and she'll be remaining there until we've added all of the senses, so she's got to be very patient. . . . ). Now close your eyes, and put yourself in the meadow, we're she is. Picture everything. You don't need to worry about touch or sound or any of that, we'll work with that in another post, just focus on the sights. Are you sitting beneath a tree? Or in the open grass?? Are there lots of flowers in the meadow? Perhaps is there a bird flying around?? Dig into the deep things (because though you don't always need to add the little things, it's good to know what they are, just in case an opportunity rises.) like the bugs. If you really think about it, bugs inhabit the grass. Most of the time you can't see them, but when you walk, they sometimes go jumping off, in order not to be squashed. So perhaps you want to add a few crickets, or grass hopers hoping about on the grasses. Is it windy?? With a storm coming on, it may just be, otherwise the clouds wouldn't be moving very fast. Are the dark clouds rearing up like a monster? Or are they spreading across the whole of the horizon, like a deadly plague? 

Alright, you can open your eyes now. Now let's add some sight to this sentence.

Patience sat amidst the tall grass in the meadow. A lark swooped into the violently waving grass, before soaring back into the quickly darkening sky, with a cricket gripped tightly in its thin beak.  Patience turned her eyes to the horizon, where a large black monster crept silently over her once peaceful surroundings. Lightning flashed inside it's belly, as it reared up it's angry head. 

As you can see, sight can change a whole lot about the atmosphere of a scene.

I hope this has been helpful! :) In a few days or so, I'll continue the series with the sense of sound. 

Assr lei∂r ykkarr or∂.

~ElizabethMarieKauffman~

Modesty Survey

I was just browsing the net, when I decided to go check out http://www.therebelution.com/blog/, a site that I had thought looked cool before, but had never really gotten a chance to check out. Well, I was so encouraged and blessed by going! For some time I've been really searching for the line between modesty and immodesty, especially with feeling called to go into the acting business, and the knowledge that I would have to stand my ground firmly and truly KNOW what I believed, and WHY I believed it. Well, I went onto the site (by the way, you should go check it out! What I've seen so far makes me believe that it's a really great site.) and found a link to this modesty survey that they had taken. And all I can say is WOW!!! It has helped me SO much! And has truly helped me to understand what makes our brothers stumble, and why. I highly encourage you to go check it out! (Click here to go to the page.) Sisters in Christ, read this with open ears, listen to our brothers pleas! I don't know how you can read this and not be changed! I was truly blessed that God lead me to this page, and I pray that it will help you as it has helped me. 

Modesty is so much more then what we wear. It's truly about the heart. For that is what our Father sees. But if we just sit around with our skimpy clothes and use that as an excuse, are we truly of pure heart? No, we must do what we know we must, and if God convicts you of more, then, by all means, do it!! But if He does not, then who can ask for more? Let us help our brothers fight this battle which we so often look over as a subtle summer storm if not just a gentle rain. When really, (as you will see in the survey) it is much, much more. (Forgive me my brothers if I am wrong to assume so much, I do not know what it is like to be a man. Though from the words of other young men, it has been so.) Again I encourage you, at least click on the link and take a look at the site. It is the least you can do.

Assr lei∂r ykkarr or∂.

~ElizabethOfMena~

What Makes a Character?

I've been wondering lately about what it is that makes a character "real". You know, how some books you read you get so caught up in the characters and actually start thinking of them as a good friend whom you know well. Where as some other books you just cannot get into, you just cannot feel that connection between reader and character. What is it that makes that difference? What do you think? What is it that makes a character "real" to you?

Are you like Josh and Caleb?

This morning, during my time with God, I was reading Numbers 14 when I got thinking about this passage:

(The group has just come back from spying out the promised land.)

² All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and the whole assembly said to them, "If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this desert! ³ Why is the LORD bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword? Our wives and children will be taken as plunder. Wouldn't it be better for us to go back to Egypt?" ⁴ And they said to each other, "We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt." ⁵ Then Moses and Aaron fell facedown in front of the whole Israelite assembly gathered there. ⁶ Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had explored the land, tore their clothes ⁷ and said to the entire Israelite assembly, "The land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good. ⁸ If the LORD is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us. ⁹ Only do not rebel against the LORD. And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will swallow them up. Their protection is gone, but the LORD is with us. Do not be afraid of them." ¹⁰ But the whole assembly talked about stoning them. Then the glory of the LORD appeared at the Tent of Meeting to all the Israelites. 

You see, before this, there's not much said about Joshua and Caleb; Caleb stands up and speaks when they are describing what they'd seen there, and their names are mentioned a few times, but that is pretty much it. But after this, they (at least Joshua, but also Caleb I believe) are considered bible heros. What did they do that left such a big impression? After all, they're just two members out of how many Israelites? They're just regular people up till now. But sometimes thats who has the best opportunity to act for Christ. Because we often view our leaders as far above us, but when someone from our numbers takes a stand for what's right, others are sure to follow. Like here, Moses and Aaron could only fall on their faces and plead in that way with them. Then, seeing that, Joshua and Caleb stood up and said what their leaders could not. Basically telling them to keep their cool and trust the Lord, because, since He was with them they had no reason to fear these people, no matter how big and strong they looked. Even in the face of death, they stood on the Lord's side.

    And I got thinking, would I be willing to do that? If my friends started doing something like taking drugs, or practicing wikka or something, would I have the strength to tell them that what they were doing was wrong? I doubt it! I would have to pray EXTREMELY hard for God to give me strength then close my eyes and jump right in. That's just not my personality, I'm not what you'd call a leader. 

    Last year I went to a youth conference and they were talking about leadership. One thing the speaker mentioned which has stuck with me ever since, is that you don't have to have the personality of a leader to be one. You just have to set your standards high and not compromise, and vwala! You're a spiritual leader! Of course included in there is also seeking God's direction, and being totally on fire for him, because without that, you may be a leader, but you're not going to be leading people down the right path. 

    You may be thinking "yeah, sure Josh son of Nun and Caleb son of whoever-it-was stood up, but it didn't work! The Israelites still had to spend 40 years in the dessert." And you're halfway right. Sure the Israelites didn't listen, and they did get punished for that, but neither Josh nor Caleb got punished. If you read on to verse 24 you'll read that Caleb got blessed greatly. "But My servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit in him and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land where he went, and his descendants shall inherit it." So you see, not so useless after all! Caleb got blessed. And with Josh, he also received God's promise that he also would see the promised land. Just at this time God had different plans for him. Moses took him as his trainee and one day, he would become the leader of the Israelites, and there would serve his Lord farther. Also in verses 37-38 you can see another way which God showed his favor to them. 37 those very men who brought the evil report about the land, died by the plague before the Lord. 38 But Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh remained alive, of the men who went to spy out the land. They were kept alive, I don't know about you, but I think that that's a pretty big blessing, don't you? 

    All that to say, serving God, and following His command to be strong and lead, does pay off. Even if it didn't, we should obey anyways, just because our God and King asks it of us, and we are at his command.

So, are you a Josh and a Caleb? Or are you more like the other spies? Think on it.

Assr lei∂r ykkarr or∂.

~ElizabethOfMena~

Trust

If your King walked up to the edge of a cliff and prepared to jump off, then in the last second, He pauses, and holds a hand out to you. With a wink He asks, "Do you trust me?"

What would you say? That's been the question I've had to face these past few months, and even more during these last few days. Only it seems as if He didn't even pause to ask me, rather just snatching me up and throwing Himself over the edge. . . . I keep asking myself, why would He do this? How could He do that? He must have known and cared, yet He still did this? How could that be? Too many questions flood my mind, with too few answers. And I started to feel as if I would drown beneath them all.

But a good friend of mine told me "to turn my anxiety into praise". It seemed to make sense at first, then I realized that that can be pretty hard to do. Last night it was rainy here, I mean, REALLY rainy! I could look out the window and think of it as matching my mourning, and my confusion, then let it soak into my soul and bring me down farther. Or, I could look at it as a gift from Heaven, streaming down to earth to give us life, and exhibit the great love of our Heavenly Father.

Sadly, I went with the first. . . . It is SO hard to force yourself one direction when it would be SO much easier to just float the other! It's all part of trust, do we really trust Him? Do we REALLY have the faith that He will always come through, or that He REALLY knows what is best? 

I'm struggling, I know which way I want to go, it's the getting there that is the problem. . . . I am determined, with God's help, to look at all things today with a view of praise. So here I go. . . taking a deep breathe and plunging in, with the biggest smile I can muster upon my face.

Let the Lord reign forever! And I for one shall be at His side!! *thrusts sword to sky in determination*

Assr lei∂r ykkarr brand.

~ElizabethOfMena~

Happy Easter!!!!!

HAPPY EASTER ALL!!! :D

Jesus is risen! Hallelujah and praise the Lord!! The Evil One has been defeated. And he has no power over us, for we have the blood of Christ covering us like a shield, and he can not touch us. 

This year I have had a single question darting across my mind. Why do we not celebrate Easter? While we go ballistic over Christmas. I'm not against that, but it seems to me, that as much as we celebrate Christmas, we should celebrate Easter all the more. After all, Christmas was when the warrior was dubbed a knight, while Easter was when the victory was one, when the knight's task was completed.

So let's celebrate!! That's what I intend to do! I plan on taking my box of pringles, and part-y-ang!! :)

Here's a poem I wrote a while back about the crucifixion:

An End And A Beginning

I looked up at the man on the center cross. 

I could tell he was unlike those hanging beside him who I myself had seen judged

guilty before Pilate. 

But this man Pilate had thought innocent, though the crowds claimed him guilty, and in fear of a mob, he had washed his hands and handed him over to them to do with as they pleased.

The man's eyes met mine, they were filled with power and strength though blood gushed from where the nails entered his flesh and the stripes on his back. 

I could hardly stand his gaze, but was too captivated to look away,

his plain brown eyes drew me into his very soul, brushing me against it gently, and in even that brief encounter I knew that this was no ordinary man, that this was the Son of God. 

I found myself unable to breathe, but instead was sustained by his very last breath. 

And as the air whooshed out between his lips, he shouted his last words to be heard by the entire world: "It is finished." 

As the thunder roared, and the earth shook, and the lightning flashed its angry rods, I knew, although he had completed his task here on earth, 

mine had just begun. . . .

Assr lei∂r ykkarr brand. (God guide your sword.)

~ElizabethOfMena~

Just another friday?

I just remembered that today is Good Friday. It's not that I didn't know that it was coming up, I've been awaiting Easter for some time now. But it just hit home. 

Today, Satan had a victory. 

Today, our Saviors friends and followers fled from his side. 

Today, death held all in fear. 

Today, a cross was raised and lowered like the flag of a knight who has died on the battle ground. 

Today. . . today. . . Satan met his defeat, for though he was chasing his opponent in a fast retreat, he had misjudged the direction in which they were going. For they were not running out of fear, but out of courage, to double back and return with an army more than double that of the Evil One. 

Today. . . though today, the disciples flee, in three days, they will stand strong, and will be a light unto all the world, preaching and teaching fearlessly. 

Today, although death held its held its reign, its reign would soon come to and end for all those who believe.

Today. . . . What an awesome day!!! :)

Assr lei∂r ykkarr brand.

~ElizabethOfMena~

Update On TSOT

I am currently about half way through writing The Sword Of Teneraz, but don't contain the flow of creativity when it is flowing swift and strong. As you can see on the side bar, my goal is to finish by August 31, so I have 5 months to finish. . . . I am realizing that this book I am learning on, not so much as Moonbeam was (which is why I am going to go back later and re-do it, so that it is written better), but still, I am very much of a beginner in this art. As I am going on I am gaining tips from the experts, which shall help me in future books, sadly I did not know of them before I began my work on this book. But that is alright, I am going good, just it isn't going as quickly as it might have if I had used layers as I have recently learned from Wayne Thomas Batson (on his blog: enterthedoorwithin.blogspot.com). 

So, now you are up to date on my writing progress. Each month or so I will be adding to the word count on the side bar also, so you can keep track of my progress there also. 

May God guide your words.

Or as the characters in TSOT would say: Aaric Konungr vísa ykkar brand.

~ElizabethOfMena~

Huuummmmmmmm. . . . . . . . .

This morning as I was walking back from taking care of the horse next door I was just taking my time, soaking in the warmth (finally, after a LONG cold winter. . .) and listening to the birds sing, when I noticed one song that stuck out from the rest. I looked closer at the fence in front of me from which the sound seemed to be coming, and saw a small wren who I hadn't noticed 

because it blended so perfectly with the bush behind it. It had its head tilted back and its breast was filled with the song it was letting loose. It's so amazing how such a plain little bird who doesn't catch the eye, nor would win a beauty contest, could make such a beautiful song. It was the way God created it . . . . And it got me thinking, that if God gave such a small creature such a beautiful song to sing, how much more beautiful is the song He has given us who were created in His very image?

    Now I don't necessarily mean literal singing, though for some, that may be the song that God has given you to sing. But there are many songs that God gives his children; writing, singing, acting, art, dancing, mechanics even. . .whatever gifts God has given you is your song to sing to him. 

    So puff out your feathers, throw back your head, and let loose your special song. . .our Father is listening.