New Questions

  ¹⁷ For it is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. ¹⁸ For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit. ¹⁹ After being made alive, he went and made proclamation to the imprisoned spirits
1 Peter 3:17-19


When I saw these verses, they reminded me of my allegoric story.  I don't want to tell you why though, for the story is not yet finished, and fate is not yet decided for one of the characters.  I will say that it is a little like the book Pilgrim's Progress in the way of the setting (not of the names of the settings though.  I mean, there aren't any places called "City of Destruction".  It isn't quite as obvious an allegory).  The characters and plot though, are somewhat different. 

  I came up with some new questions about one's character!  Here they are.

 117.  Does the character know who they are/are they confident in themselves?
118.  Do they think they know their role in life but really don't know beyond the fact that they are so and so's daughter/son?
119.  Are they proud?
120.  Are they famous?  If so, how do they react to being famous?
121.  How do they hold their head?  Do they let others step all over them with insults without even thinking about striking back or are they very defensive of themselves and their opinions?

I got to meet a British couple from Cambridge!
Also, the clock is set ahead.  We've just lost an hour.  Very Doctor Whoish if you ask me.
By the way, why are there so many movies about Abe Lincoln?  Let me list a few of them for you: Abraham Lincoln, Vampire hunter, Lincoln, which is more historically accurate of the two haha, and they're coming out with another called Saving Lincoln.  I wish they'd be a bit more creative and start making movies about... I don't know... Benjamin Franklin.  I mean really!  His life was really interesting and I'd like to see him when he was young, going by odd names for his writing.  And seeing him inventing so many things!
Not that I'm not happy with Liberty's Kids (one of the best cartoon shows ever and it's historical.  Go watch them on Youtube free if they're not at your library.), but it'd be interesting to see what Steven Spielberg could do with it.
Anyway, I've got a test on Monday *cringe* and I need to study and it's late so good bye!
Feel free to comment!

Valentines Day

 
 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment.  The one who fears is not made perfect in love.  We love because he first loved us. Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen.  And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.
~1 John 4:18-21~

If you are single, Valentines Day makes you sad.  If you have a boyfriend or girlfriend, the opposite is true.

 But is that all Valentines Day is all about?  I don't think the answer is yes.  This is a Day that card, sticker, and candy companies use to commercialize the holiday.  And movies also commercialize the holiday.  They've made it a fake sugar-covered cake that tastes good to some and bad to others.

But Valentines Day was really about a Christian around the time that marriage was basically outlawed and he fell in love with the sheriff's daughter, who was blind.  I think he ended up dying for her but I can't remember.  I'm looking for the Adventures in Odyssey episode that was all about it.  If you know which one it was, please comment and tell me!
Anyway.  Valentines Day isn't about commercialism.  It's about love.  Not commercialized love, but 1 Corinthians 13:beginning-end.  Patience, kindness, gentleness, isn't haughty or prideful and doesn't keep record of other people's wrongs.

Make something for your family.  Or buy dark chocolate.  Or bake banana bread.  Or take them out to see a chick flick, or even better, get a great movie from the library!
Have fun.  I thank God for Valentines Day.  Even single Christians can be happy because we're not exactly single.  We've got Jesus who loves us like... well people's love is an imitation of his love and our "love" will never compare to his.  His light is brighter than any worldly light and that includes looking at the sun through binoculars (which you're NOT supposed to do).
It's nice because my mom is gonna be off work for the day. :)
I'm also looking forward to April fools day, although I'm not sure what I'm going to do for it.  I know it's a while off, but if I have my plan ready by then, it'll be sure to be foolproof (no pun intended).

Chess and Beginnings and Ends

 He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life.
~Revelations 21:6~




 My dad was teaching me how to play chess today.  The last move in the game will always be check mate.  One of the kings will be captured or executed or the "flag" will have been captured or burned or basically, the king of either white or black will have no place to go, and is knocked over by a finger as a symbol that means someone has lost and someone has won. 
In a previous game, he asked if I wanted to end the game because we were so far into it and I had made several not so good moves and lost many pieces.  I replied, "Don't you want to know what is going to happen next?" Then I smiled.
"I mean, if we end the game now, we'll never know what might have happened."
I said something along those lines.  And I was entertained by the game we were playing, even if I was losing, because it was very interesting and I had never been in a position quite like it before in a chess game.  I had lost before but the pieces in that particular game were in interesting positions and I had been drawn into that game and wanted to find out who would win.  I can't remember if we finished it or what the outcome was.  But walking away, I realized, and therefore spoke, "Chess games are like stories."

Although chess games don't really have a distinct middle but only a beginning and end (stories have beginnings, middles, and ends), they are like stories.  Good and evil.  Black and white.  Dark and light.  Sometimes I call them the White chocolate side and dark chocolate side.
Chess games are like battles and some politicians like the game because it helps them think about certain moves in real life.
This clip from the somewhat recent movie The Young Victoria illustrates how chess sort of mirrors politics in some ways.

When you picture real people in the place of the pieces on a battlefield or near a castle, chess can seem real.  Anyway, sorry for being off topic!

The way to get to check mate is to position your pieces so that the King can't move anywhere and then to attack him.  Or chase him around the board with your pieces till you accidentally catch him in check mate.



There are so many ways to begin a story or end it.  Ultimately it ends in either answering the question, "Did the character get what he/she wanted?" or ending a certain amount of related events in the character's life.  But, of course, the story never ends where we place the "ending".  The characters will go on and on.  They will life happily ever after, but there is much more to it than what we have said.  There will be many more events in their story, and some of them happened before we placed the beginning!
But I suppose there is a proper beginning and a proper end to your story.  You just have to choose it.  Some stories cover someone's whole life including their birth and death.
I like the movie Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium because it shows that even though someone's ending may seem sad, it must happen in order for the next domino to topple and for another character's story to begin.

Anyway.  Chess games are like stories because there are characters in a setting with a goal.  Each different kind of piece has its own importance in the game, its own abilities.  Characters in our stories each have their own abilities and setbacks.  And there is always a King in a game of chess that needs to be protected above all.  The one at his side, the queen, is the second most important piece because of her abilities (she can move forward, backward, and diagonal in all four ways.  But she can't jump over pieces like the knight can).
The game of chess doesn't mirror most stories but it does have similarities.
God bless you and give you peace. :)

Snow White and the Huntsman

“...Have you visited the storehouses of the snow
    or seen the storehouses of hail?  

 (I have reserved them as weapons for the time of trouble,
    for the day of battle and war.)

Where is the path to the source of light?
    Where is the home of the east wind?..."

~Job 38:22-24 (New Living Translation)

Hello!  When I found this verse, I thought it was very beautiful and relevant to this post.  It's about Snow White.  The newer movie called Snow White and the Huntsman is much darker than the more light-hearted Mirror Mirror.  I enjoyed Mirror Mirror, but I also enjoyed this movie.  You just need the controllers to fast forward past the weird creepy scenes that the evil queen preforms.  Those scenes are unnecessary to the plot and if there were less of them, less critiques would be saying that the evil queen stole the stage of the movie.  Anyway, the reason why I enjoyed this movie a lot is because it shows that Fairy tales aren't just for children.  Tolkien said the same thing.  He himself began to embrace fairy stories more when he grew up than when he was a child (although he somewhat enjoyed them as a child also).

We need fairy stories because of the light it gives us and the hope.  If you have a handy controller to fast forward some of the darkness, you'll see the light better.

My favorite scene was when Snow White awakens.  Then she steps forth to give a beautiful speech that makes me cry.  Her speech is relevant to today.  The light that burns in us.  The embers must turn into fire.  It's very encouraging for Christians, even though the movie is probably not made by Christians.

Fairy tales/stories are about darkness and light, hatred or fear, and love which melts fear.

The story of Snow White is about innocence like snow and the fall of man (the Dwarves in the movie mention something like that. "We pilfer and drink and dream about when we didn't").

I'm still working on the research paper on fairy stories, so if you have any suggestions for books on the subject (like Tolkien's essay On Fairy Stories and critiques of that essay.  I don't know where to find a good analysis of the essay), they are welcome!

By the way...  the dish Ratatouille sounds really good right now.... 

God bless you!

~Emilyn J Wood

 

"Lay Mizz" and Top 3 Movies

"Come, kneel before the Lord our Maker, for he is our God.  We are his sheep and he is our Shepherd.  Oh, that you would hear him calling you today and come to him!"
Psalm 95:6-7 (you know, the old paraphrased version that's in black or dark green hardcover and says "The Living Bible" on it with a symbol above that and "Paraphrased" beneath it)


Ever tried a candy cane in a hot drink?  Like tea?  Or like hot chocolate?  Ooh, or sierra mist?  Interesting concept...
Well I'm just about to... there tried a candy cane with hot tea!  Not bad.  I am not speaking of the candy canes with too much food coloring and artificial flavours (Ah, the English way to spell flavour!).  I am talking about the traditional peppermint one red stripe and then three thin red stripes on white.
Working on a research paper on Tolkien and Fairy Stories... writing stories myself, wanting to escape into the pages of Les Miserables (because I am enjoying it so far and I want to escape, not because I am in danger though).
Made cinnamon rolls.  Had a good Christmas.  Got books, saved some money to begin saving up for a harp.  On the first day of the year we saw the movie Les Miserables.  It's a mixed bag.  There's good stuff, and not so good stuff, and stuff you want to close your eyes to, and stuff you really wish wasn't in the movie because it did nothing to advance the plot and wasn't necessary.  Didn't like the constant close-ups.  Very much enjoyed the music.  Did not get tired of it even after two and some hours of it.  Very condensed version of the book.  Liked little Cosette very much.  Acting was good.  I didn't cry though.  It was sad but I didn't cry till afterwards.  It was a delayed reaction. 
I get a lot of delayed reactions.
The title of this post tells you how some people call Les Miserables for short.  In french it is pronounced Lay Mizz-A(like in Lay)-robl (if you can't pronounce the l right don't try to because some people don't say that part).
So far I am enjoying the book better than the movie.  But I did enjoy the movie overall. 

My top movies of 2012:

1.  October Baby

(it wasn't preachy as I thought it was going to be but it held great characters and a great message anyway, and it was funny to make you laugh and it made me cry also so that is one talented movie)

2.  Rise of the Guardians

(the unexpected plot/movie is really about Jack Frost.  The unexpected plot was mysterious and great and made me cry and the animation was beautiful, the night and the moon and the characters, and the characters were three dimension too.  This one is almost tied with the first one because I enjoyed it a lot and it pulled me in, partially because it reminded me of my own characters of my own stories and my own plot.  The only thing that kept it from being number one is that it is a secular movie that doesn't mention Christ around Christmas or Easter.  Even though one could find some symbols of Christianity in there if they looked hard enough, the secularism bothered me just a touch.  But surprisingly there isn't any crude humor in it so that's another plus!  Go see the movie!  It's still in theaters.  Paying four dollars or one won't hurt you.)

3.  Brave (great authentic Scottish accents and the Scotland highlands and a Princess who doesn't want to get married?  Just those things get it on this list.)

I wish I could have seen the adaption of Great Expectations that came out this year with the guy who played the guy in War Horse as Pip.  The trailers made it look like it was well made.  But sadly it is only in the UK right now.  Maybe it will travel to the US... probably not though.  It might have been on my list.  I'd have made the list longer.

I did see the Hobbit Part One and it dragged some for me.  I'll probably like it better the next time I see it, and there were a lot of good scenes in it.  I'll just have to get used to the fact that this is The Hobbit and NOT The Lord of the Rings.  For some reason I felt like it should have the same feel to it as the Lord of the Rings but of course the Hobbit was written for children and the Lord of the Rings was for adults. 

Anyway, what matters is God.  The light.  The hope.  And here is another scripture verse for you as I say good bye. :)

"10The Lord loves those who hate evil; he protects the lives of his people, and rescues them from the wicked.  11Light is sown for the godly and joy for the good.  12May all who are godly be happy in the Lord and crown him, our holy God."
Psalm 97:10-12, same version as the first scripture verse at the top of this post

Merry Christ-- What, the end??

Proverbs 13:19
It is pleasant to see dreams come true, but fools refuse to turn from evil to attain them.

"'...And therefore uncle, though it has never put a scrap of gold or silver in my pocket, I believe that it has done me good and will do me good and I say, God bless it!'
The clerk in the Tank involuntarily applauded...."
From "A Christmas Carol", by Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens was a genius when he wrote A Christmas Carol.  When I was re-watching it, I was thinking about it; An old man whom no one really knew but was afraid of.  Charles himself probably didn't know who Ebenezer was till Charles dumped the three spirits into Scrooge's life.  Then it was revealed to him and us the readers who this lonely Scrooge was and how he had become this way as the ghost of Christmas past revealed his past to us. 
That is what a writer could do if they wanted to find out what happened in a character's life, or who this mysterious character was.  I have a few characters in mind who I do not know who they are or how they act other than a mysterious scene.  A still scene except for the wind blowing.  The children waiting.  A haunting scene that creeped me out a little is what came to me when I was half asleep and then awoke.  I want to find out who these people are!  So what do I do?  Hm...............
...
Type type type
...
Um...
Follow them.  Or at least try to.  A boy with black hair and elf like ears looking both ways in an alley.  Complete stranger to me!  Then he turns and runs off into the alley into the shadows into the darkness.  I'm the only one who noticed him.  Follow him!  My brain screams at me and I run after him but he has disappeared in my head.  He wasn't rich.  He was barefoot wearing brown plain clothes.  Maybe a thief...  maybe not.  Maybe a messenger...
At least I have captured down onto paper what I saw.  I know what my other short story for Christmas is about. :)
I saw the Hobbit.  Excited for Rise of the Guardians and Les Miserables (Lay Mizayrobleh is how you pronounce it so I have heard). 
But Christmas is more than movies and games... 
...
and snow.......... hard to say but it is more than snow (although snow is an amazing symbol in the Bible).
It's when God's amazing plan came into action.  And Satan could do nothing about it.  Except try to get a guy to kill all the babies in the area to kill baby Jesus.  Really people?  Did they really think that the son of God could be so easily killed?
Interesting to think about.....

Yeah the world isn't ending today/tomorrow.  As far as I know.  *cricket cricket*  God made the world to stay for a long time till after the rapture.  The world isn't ending unless God makes it end.  The world can't end unless God makes it end because He made it to end only when He makes it end.  Just like a writer makes his/her story end at just the right moment.

K I'm gonna go to bed and tomorrow do school and bake cookies and lemon bars....  and fooooood........
Oh great now I'm hungry.

A Snippet from November/December Writings

The people who walk in darkness will see a great light. For those who live in a land of deep darkness, a light will shine.
Isaiah 9:2

http://katie-writingblog.blogspot.com/2012/12/snippets-of-story-november-and-december.html

Okay I am going to show you a snippet of my Nanowrimo project (I did finish 50,000 words but I didn't finish the story yet).  It is from my story called Thimble or The Maiden of Wulden Hall.  Tell me what you think when you read this.

“You have no evidence that this King of your mother’s imagination was real,” he said.  “The only thing you have is a song.  There is no book about this King; no records!”

The mention of the song wounded her.  Little Gale felt tears coming but tried to stop them.

“Sir, it is the only thing that connects me to my mother’s memory,” she said. 

“And why does she need to be remembered so badly?”

Little Gale hesitated.  She managed to blink back the tears.

“Because the soldiers killed her the very day she was released.  She came home and I got to speak with her for only minutes before they came and killed her.  I do not know why she was killed,” she said finally.

“Neither do I, I am afraid.  But you do not need to remember the dangerous melody or lyrics of what your mother left you,” he said.

Little Gale stood up.  “It is a pretty song!  Nothing more!” she said.  “I am not ‘infected’ as you call it.  What is the evidence that you have that says that I am?”

“Your eyes,” the man said.

“What about them?” she said.

“They are not gray.”

Little Gale breathed.  She had nearly forgotten about what the soldiers had said earlier.  She had been so tired at the time, it was like a dream.  Everyone’s eyes were gray or brown.  It was just the way things were in Wulden.  Little Gale’s eyes were gray.

“My eyes are gray,” she said.

“They are not gray,” he repeated, and then scribbled something down on the gray scrolls with the brown quill pen, in black ink.

“Show me then,” Little Gale said.

The Black Gate’s Keeper gestured to the bowl of water.

“Look for yourself,” he said.

Little Gale stood up and stepped closer to the desk where the bowl was sitting.  She could feel her heart beating faster in her chest as she leaned over with her hands on each side of the bowl of water.

Her face was dirty and her hair was unwashed.  But her eyes were not all the way gray.  There was another color in them.  It was a color she had seen long ago but had forgotten.  The color was blue, but she did not know this.  It was beautiful.

Little Gale was calmed, and she could still feel her heart beating just a little slower than before, which calmed her more.

She could see out of the corner of her eye that the man had a frown on his face, but she wanted to ignore it.

“Is it not a disgusting color?” he said.  Little Gale stared into her reflection.  Her eyes still held that mysterious shade.

“No.  It is strange and foreign, but beautiful,” she said.  She looked up at him.  “How did I get the color in my eyes?”

The man stuttered.  He frowned deeper.

“The Light has touched you,” he said, as if that made her the worst person possible who lived before him.

“So I am special,” Little Gale thought.  She smiled.  “What is so wrong about the light?”

“It hurts our eyes, blinds us!” he said.

“It reveals what was hidden in darkness!  It only blinds you…. Because you have been used to the dark,” Little Gale said, “And if there is light, there must be a king over it, as there is a leader over darkness.”

The man looked troubled now.  He did not know how to reply.

“I am in the wrong kingdom,” Little Gale whispered.