Blue Ink

Written for The Director's "Blue Ink" screenplay seed back in January.

Blue Ink

There’s a smudge of ink upon the page
A dot of blue on the writer’s stage
There’s a plant tucked nearby, sage
Still vivid though faded with age

The ink is blue, deep and cool
Seeping through both line and rule
Indelible, permanent the ink pool
A writer’s everlasting tool

Once penned, everlasting
Once written, ever clasping
Blue ink cannot be undone
None can erase, not one

For blue ink is forever
And it fades, never
What will you pen?
For it cannot be taken back again.

Why Tea?

In doing my rounds of fellow writers blogs, (due in part to Beautiful People and the Snippets thingy), I noticed there were two generalizations to be made. Generalizations, mind you, but enough to make me notice.

1st: Mostly girl authors. Now, I don't know if I just missed all the guy blogs, or if guys just don't blog... but I have only seen one other guy blog besides mine (Miguel, you rock!)

2nd: An overabundance of tea. Nearly every blog I visited had tea mentioned somewhere in the title, header, About Me section, or comments on the latest post! This is the one that caught my eye. All girl authors I can handle (maybe).... but tea?

I got a dislikin' fer tea. Now, quite a few of my good friends (male and female), like tea, and all of my multiple sisters sing its praises every day. And before anyone tells me to try it before I hack it, I have. Green, black, herb; you name it, I've tried it.

Now, the thing is, I'm not a coffee drinker either. (And everyone sings coffee's praises!). So, what's my point?

Why tea? What makes tea so important to the author? What are the delectable and all-important gifts of drinking tea that I seem to be missing?

But, I can hear you asking; "Farjag, if you don't drink tea (or coffee, for that matter), what DO you drink? What keeps your nerves and brain alive? What elixir or potion or ambrosia do you imbibe?"

I have the answer, my felicitous friends; Cider!! A good hot mug o' apple cider on a cold wintry day... there ain't nothin' better! When at Starbucks, instead of any of you mochas or fraps or lattes, it's a Caramel Apple Spice for me!

A little frothy on top, nice deep brown beneath, smells delectable from three yards off, reminds you of days gone by.... Mm-m. Ya'll mouth waterin' yet?

So here's to you tea-drinkers! May your teacups be ever so full, my mug's ever so bigger!

Farjag

P.S. Oh, and all you guy authors, get out there and start up a blog! The world needs ya somethin' fierce!

Snippets Of A Story

As if Beautiful People wasn't enough, here's another monthly mission... quest... thing... to do!

Basically, I post a snippet, (or two, or three, or...) and give no explanation. How awesome and evil is that?! All credit goes to Miss Katie S., at Snippets of A Story. Drop by her blog to read all the other snippets fellow bloggers be postin'!

Anyways.... the snippets.

From Railway:

Greetings, Rattlehead. Mind if we drop in?

A few miles away, Hatch’s garbled voice sounded out of an old black radio. Its antenna rose at a crooked angle into the air, and both speakers buzzed as they spat out the sound. Footsteps passing by stopped, and a shadow bent over the dented pile of knobs and switches.
“Did you hear that, brother?” came a voice from a little ways away.
“Aye, I heard it,” came the reply from the man crouched over the radio. “Came from channel 93.1.”
“No one around here ever used that frequency.”
“No, this one’s not from around here. Small group I’d say, he said ‘we’. Portable radio, if they’re paying us a visit. Fellow’s got spunk, to just announce himself out like that.”

From Feather and Fang:

Daegless's thumb twitched a little, plucking a string on the violin that sat, unused, in his lap. He sighed.

A soft footstep behind made him turn. "Oh, Korra, it's you."

The cougar-rogue smiled, her teeth flashing in the darkness. "Tis too beautiful a night to spend worrying, Tiger-brave."

Daegless smiled wryly. "I cannot help myself. There are too many thoughts flitting through my mind right now."

Korra nodded. "I understand." She motioned to the ledge below Daegless. "Mind if I sit below you? The stars are shining beautifully tonight, and I cannot see them from below the trees in the camp."

Daegless nodded. "Go ahead. Just don't expect me to talk."

Korra shook her head as she seated herself. "No, talking will not help you, I do not think."

Well, that's what I'm working on right now!

Sometimes...

Sometimes, silence is better than speech.

Sometimes, what a wearied soul needs more than anything else is the courtesy of quiet.

Sometimes, more can be said when nothing is said.

Sometimes, peace can only be found in silence.

At all times, God's voice is best heard when there is nothing to compete with it.

Stop. Ponder. Breathe deeply. Let God calm your frenzied soul.

Let the answers come of themselves, rather than seeking them out.

Let God whisper in your ear his loving mercies.

They are new every morning.

Disciplines

Discipline.

Kind of a scary word isn't it? Makes you think of punishment, or drudgery, maybe? Or maybe mind-numbing repetitions?

But discipline is as necessary to human life as food and water. Without it, our lives would have no structure or pattern or even meaning. They would be a sad, chaotic, and free-floating mess of unfulfilled dreams, unsatisfied desires, and disappointed hearts.

Consider this, every morning, you discipline yourself to get up (hopefully), eat breakfast (probably), get dressed (most likely), and then set about some task (usually). Wait, do you?

I know I struggle sometimes with even these basic disciplines. All right, let's take it another direction. Every day, I discipline myself to check my email. Wow. Big deal. Such sacrifice. But I do it, and that's the point. Checking my email is important enough to me that I do it every day; multiple times a day, for that matter.

Now, if I want to succeed at anything in life, I need to keep at it until I gain some proficiency. Otherwise my life will be full of never-finished projects and goals. For example, some six or seven years ago I began to take violin lessons. I was required to practice every day for at least thirty minutes. For the next five years I practiced my violin nearly every day for at least some time. Oh, it was difficult often, and I missed days all the time. But I was discipling myself to do it. Now, years later, I don't practice at all hardly, but I play often enough to keep my fingers from losing their skill. And I'm grateful for those years I did spend practicing to get me where I am.

Let's apply this to my current situation: writing. I want to be a good writer. How do I get good? Practice. What does practice require? Discipline. For two Novembers now I have disciplined myself to write at least 1,667 words a night for thirty days. However, during the rest of the year, my writing time is sporadic, to say the least. So, I have made the decision to discipline myself in this areal; I am going to write every night (other events permitting) for at least half an hour.

Why is this important? Because not only will I be able to complete the many stories I have started, but I will continue to grow in my writing, rather than having to start all over again every time I get an inspiration kick.


Where do we go from here? God. Everything in my life should point to God, even if it's just a short little blog post that has some nice wording. So, where do God and disciplines meet?

All over the place! Disciplining yourself in Godliness is one of the most important things to being a Christian!

So, how does one do this? Many ways; but I want to focus on two foundational ones that everything else can be built upon.

First: reading His word. Everything we know about God comes from His holy scriptures, so if we seek to grow closer to Him, the best way to do that is by reading His very words. Self-application? I am going to discipline myself to read in God's word every morning right after I get up. This not only gives God the front row in my life, but helps me prepare for the day as I look to Him for guidance and strength.

Second: Prayer. If God talks to us through His word, then we talk to Him through prayer. Prayer helps keep out minds focused on Him, and keeps us close to Him as we battle through the daily mire of the world around us. Self-application? I am going to discipline myself to pray more often. (i.e: not only at meal times). I want to call on God whenever and wherever I am, to lay each and every problem before him, and to draw closer to Him throughout the day.

So, to conclude; I am striving to discipline myself to: Write every night for half an hour; Read my Bible every morning; and Pray to God throughout the day.

For:

"I can do all things through him who strengthens me."
(Philippians 4:13 ESV)

Pray for me, as I seek to glorify my God through discipling myself. And if you know me personally, keep me accountable! Ask me how I'm doing with these three disciplines.

In Christ,
Farjag

Beautiful People- January

Apparently, it's that time again! First, a nod the creators at Further Up and Further In, and Before My Penn has Gleaned, you guys are awesome! And to the Director at Castles, Quills, and Cameras, since that's where I first heard about it!



So, this month's character of choice is: Redpaw, Wolf-hunter, from Feather and Fang


1. If your character’s house burned down, and they were left with nothing but the clothes on their back, what would they do? Where would they go?

Seeing as Redpaw spent his childhood as a wolf-cub, Contained during the Shieldsfell rule, he has had a lot of experience in living with nothing and no home. And since he has no family or real friends, he'd probably just head off into the woods without a backward glance. He lives in a tiny shack on the outskirts of Burndell, keeping mostly to himself, so no one would miss him.

2. Are they happy with where they are in life, or would they like to move on?

He doesn't know anything more than the life he has right now; being a solitary bounty hunter suits him pretty well right now. There is a longing for something more hidden deep down, but he doesn't know what for.

3. Are they well-paid?

Oh, quite well. Bounties make a nice bit of profit. Most of it gets buried away though, since he doesn't really know what to do with it.

4. Can they read?

Yes, though he would not be called a learned man. He would much rather read the signs of the forest than an old manuscript. He has a good memory, though, and has committed many of the tales and ballads of Quartorlen to heart, almost without trying

5. What languages do they speak?

Anglic, or "English." There are only three languages spoken on Primorlen, the ancient and slippery Dyrmtongue; spoken by those that come from Dyrmlen; the rough and plain Anglic by the folk of Quartorlen and Theorlen, and the lilting and musical Hidden speech used by those that dwell in the Burnmist of Theorlen.

6. What is their biggest mistake?

So far? Probably dismissing the feuding between clans as a necessary evil.

7. What did they play with most as a child?

Bones! I mean, being a wolf-cub... :P

8. What are their thoughts on politics?

Redpaw has grown weary of the incessant bickering and warring between the clans, and often wishes for a peace. But he tells himself that such thoughts are not warrior-like, and must be forgotten.

9. What is their expected life time?
As a bounty hunter? Until his target proves too strong. He should like to reach eighty, though.

10. If they were falsely accused of murder, what would they do? How would they react?

All chaos would break loose. Redpaw is not easily provoked, but when he is, there is not much in the world of Primorlen that could dam up his anger. Accustomed to being able to fight to the top of any situation, being attacked with subtlety would render him confused and helpless, so he would lash out in the only way he knew.


Thanks for the questions! Now I want to go write Feather and Fang!