Author Journey: December 2, 2022 - Nano, Spartacus, Prompts and More

 Welcome back, dear readers and writers! I hope you've had a great week. This have been struggle-some in our neck of the woods, but God is good and He is still on His throne. I look forward to finishing out this year better than I started it and in that vein, I'm going to keep pressing on. 

Author Journey: NaNoWriMo Finish Line

This year's Nano event is done! I managed to get several good rough drafts and a few good ideas I can develop further if I decide I want to. 

Here's what the goal line ended up looking like:

And because I ended up with 51k, I can also share this flair with you and rejoice. 

Writer's Life: Spartacus Update and General Life Things

This past week, we went east to visit with family and what a great trip it was, in spite of the fact that it was our first Thanksgiving without my brother-in-law. I'm so happy we were able to spend that time with my mother-in-law. I hope we brightened her days while we were there. 

We also got to visit one of the state parks in Tennessee. I got some really nice photos, but these two are my favorite of Twin Falls.  I edited them in Snapseed app on my phone. 

Photo by Melody R Kittles

Photo by Melody R Kittles

The second one was the most fascinating feature to me besides the fact that the water was coming out of the rocks. 

Spartacus was on his own while we were gone, at least, most of the day. Our family checked on him periodically throughout the day and helped keep him on his normal schedule. He is certainly growing and I love having him around, even if we had to retrain him to stay off the kitchen table. 

We'd just replaced his old mouse toy and he was checking out the new one. For a while, I thought he was going to turn his nose up at it. But the old one was so badly destroyed. 😆

Just Keep Writing: Friday Fascicles

If this is your first time participating in this kind of writing exercise, you're in for a treat. If you've done this with me before, just keep scrolling for the prompt.

Rules:

1. You can use any/all of the words and/or the photo in the prompt below to create a unique written work. Fiction or nonfiction, poetry or prose, even lyrics are acceptable.  
2. Please keep the material you write clean (ie. nothing R-rated or worse) if you wish to share the link to your work here, as well as if you link back to my site. I strive to keep my site free of such things. My readers know and expect this. I respect your right to write whatever you feel you need to write. And you're free to use my prompts. But if your material is graphic, I'd rather not view it, and most of my readers will not wish to. 
3. Have fun! This type of exercise is perfect for growing in the writing craft, or for helping through a rough patch in your current WIP. If you're looking to push your author limits and you normally write in nonfiction prose, try a whimsical collection of lyrics. If you normally write poems about real life events, try your hand at a fanfic. Give yourself some room to explore.

Don't forget to leave a link to your creation (unless you're writing graphic material) so my readers and I can check out your work. I'd appreciate a link back to this post to help me reach more readers, but it's not required. 

Photo by Yasemin Gunes

This week's photos were taken by Yasemin Gunes. Please stop by her gallery on Pexels.com and check out her beautiful work. 

Just Keep Writing: For What Purpose

(Please keep in mind I haven't edited a thing in this one yet. I also didn't have time to put more than a couple pronunciations down for your assistance. I hope this doesn't ruin the story for you.)

• Kwi'krei'ya - (kwee KRAY yeea) - Name of the Creator deity in Clan Ikhel'dur - (EEKH hel door) - the kh is a softer form of k, voiced and made at the back of the throat, similar to a Middle Eastern letter sound, 'u' has the sound of oo as in moon
• Tsimikin - (tsee mee keen) - a year in my book world
• Terreil'ia - (tair RAIL eeah) - 'r' is softly rolled, double 'r' has a more pronounced roll - This group of I'ia were sort of like giant dryads, both male and female, though, kind of like Tolkien's ents. 
• Pela no - The Hawaiian for 'So be it' - I couldn't find anything else I liked better. I'm not sure of the proper pronunciation, but if my own pronunciation guide is used it would be (peh lah no) and I hope that's close. 

He was a simple scribe. What else could he do but record the things he saw and heard? He knew early on what the great Kwi’krei’ya created him for. But how could he continue if his island was no longer receiving the imported linnel or partra he needed to write on? There were also the stiil he would need, though he supposed he could go back to using soot and clay and the dye plants to record pictographs on the walls of the caverns. But who would see them there? And how could he share what he knew with all of Y’Dahnndrya if the writing never left the dark caverns of his home island? No. There had to be another way. He would pray to Kwi’krei’ia and the Great Creator would guide him.

***** Three Tsimikin Pass *****

Three. It had been three long tsimikin and still Kwi’krei’ia gave him no answer, no guidance. Perhaps he was doing something wrong? Or maybe he’d been decieved all this time and there was another purpose for which he had been created. He shook his head. It wasn’t possible for him to believe that, though. His heart still beat faster when he put down his knowledge on a solid surface. Knowing he might one dawning save a person from making a great mistake, or perhaps even save a life, drove and fulfilled him like no other task. He would continue to pray and wait. Kwi’krei’ia was not to be dictated to. The Great Creator didn’t work on the creation’s time schedule. He knew that from long ago. 

“Great and mighty Kwi’krei’ia, Creator of all I see and all I cannot see, You have created me. I have this call upon me, to write down everything I experience, to share knowledge with everyone who can read my writings. I want to help people know things. For three tsimikin I have prayed to You because You alone can tear down invisible barriers. You alone can make a way where there is no way. Once again, I ask you to clear the way for me to write for others to learn. This gift was given to me by You. Help me to use it as You intended from the start. You are able and You alone. Thank You for hearing me. Pela no.”

And he’d had lots of practice waiting. His hands would not be idle, nor his feet. He would keep practicing for who knew when the Great Creator would answer his prayer? And who knew how the prayer would be answered? This was not something he had knowledge of. Nor did he know of any other person who might, except, perhaps, one of the Guardians of the six shrines of Y’Dahnndrya. His own clan’s shrine was shrouded in mystery. No one went there lightly. Many who did, never returned. Still, no one would stop him. Perhaps he could find an answer there. 

The next thing to learn was who would be willing to help him sail to Yacan to visit the Shrine. And though anyone on their island had access to the written records, they weren’t kept up very well. Very few saw the importance of reading of things which happened long ago. The thought brought tears to his eyes, for much could be learned from the mistakes of the past. However, they seemed to prefer to keep making the same mistakes over and over. 

In all his studies and all his observations, he’d never found a need to learn about sailing schedules or which of those who sailed were the best at it. He gave a wry, throaty chuckle, amused at how an Ikhel’duri could miss such a thing that was a regular as the rising of the suns, moons, and tides. He did know who to ask, though, and so he set off with renewed purpose. 

He would find the old villager he knew of. Then he would find the best sailing vessel and captain he could, who was also the bravest, for no one but the bravest would dare go to Yacan. And last of all, he would visit the island of mystery and seek the wisdom of Serafin, the Shrine Guardian. He might even get to see Edrea, the last of the Terreil’ia. With a zing in his heart and hope brightening his vision, he set off, certain it was Kwi’krei’ia lighting his way and setting his course. Praise be to the Great Creator!

I'm so happy you stopped by today. With all the stuff packed into this post, I hope you found something helpful, useful, interesting, and/or fun. 

I'll be back Monday with another word prompt. 

Until next time...

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