My six year old baby

As some of you know, and some of you do not, in January 2012 I started a King Arthur story. Since then, he has been largely ignored, with intermittent half-hearted promises to do otherwise. I have finished other stories in the interval, but until today, this unfinished story has weighed upon my conscience.
Until today, readers.
Though I definitely rushed the ending, and those few thousand words may be some of the worst I've ever written, it is done. I had to finish before I could edit (and, boy, does this story need editing). The 107, 102 words that The Arthurian Chronicles wound up to be are inconsistent, filled with plot holes and poor plot choices. It is repetitive and probably contradictory at the same time.

But I do feel some satisfaction that, even if I never edit it and no one besides my grandkids ever read it, Arthur's story has reached an ending at last.

What, I write?

Those who have only just started following this blog may not be aware — and those who have followed long may have forgotten — that I call myself a writer. I say that I'm currently retelling the King Arthur legends. What's more accurate is that I was retelling them and stopped. I haven't written since the first few weeks of January; before that, I cannot say. Well, this writer misses her Arthur and I hope that eventually the writing that is not quite as fun will be over, so that I can pursue this story again.
There have been many times in my life where writing has seemed like an indulgence. A waste of time. If I'm not writing something that will directly help someone (i.e., a devotional book) then I am being selfish. I could be spending that time either working on my school, cleaning the house, or actually helping someone.
Recently, I've come to realize that my abilities, meagre as they may be, are a gift from God. I don't mean to say that I was just told that I've been ordained to be a writer and from now on I'm pursuing writing over everything else. But I have realized that a thing of beauty, even if it never directly says the word "God" is just as likely — perhaps more — to touch those who need it. And if I have been given some ability to create such a thing, then I do have a duty to work at it.
So! All that to say, that I am once again trying to get back to writing and actually FINISH this thing. Most of my school will be over in early May. Although I do hope to get a part time job this summer, I shall have a great deal more time that I intend to share with Arthur.

In anticipation of this, I am doing a Beautiful People questionnaire (from May 2015) for Owain.

Does he get nightmares? If so, why or what of?
Owain is a hard worker and is always very tired when he lays down to sleep. He doesn't usually have dreams — or at least doesn't remember them — but he has had some nightmares about his uncle's drunken rages.

What is his biggest guilty pleasure or secret shame?
Owain almost hates his uncle, but he is also ashamed of this. He was brought up to regard family ties as very important and, despite his uncle's behavior he feel that he ought to care for him in some small way, or at least pity him.

Is he easily persuaded or does he need more proof? 
Owain is definitely more easily persuaded; however, I would say that this is more because he is desperate than due to naiveté.

Does he suffer from any phobias? Does it affect his life in a big way?
Owain is much too sensible (or has too little time) to have a serious phobia.

Morvydd

What does he consider his "Achilles' heel?"
Morvydd, his sister, you might say is his Achilles' heel. She is a cowed, nervous person (due to said uncle) and he is very protective of her.

How does he handle a crisis?
Owain is not the sort of person to take charge over everyone in a crisis. Neither is he paralyzed. He generally realizes pretty quickly what he can/should do, and does it quietly and quickly.

Does he have a temper?
No. He can definitely get very angry, but not easily.

What are his core values and/or religious beliefs?

Owain is nominally Christian. He has a strong sense of justice and values protecting the weak.

I think that Owain looks rather like Dominic Muir.

What things does he value most in life?
It may sound cheesy, but his friends/family. When once he becomes attached to someone he has strong affections.

What is one major event that helped shape who he is?

His father's accident and eventual death definitely affected his life; because of the former, he was apprenticed to a different miller, rather than learning at home. Because of the latter he is now stuck with his uncle. But as to what shaped him as a person: his father was not perfect but he always treated women and the elderly with respect. Because of that, Owain finds these things very important and is put off by people who don't do likewise.

Well! I certainly enjoyed getting to understand Owain a little better. Now I feel sentimental and close to my medieval friends again. To writing I go!*

*I do not mean this literally. I mean it in a... figurative sense. In a vague kind of way. In a very, very, general way. With an assumed "At some point" at the beginning of the sentence... Anyhow!

Jane Austen, Christmas, and Sniffles

"You will find me a very awkward narrator, Miss Dashwood."

For it is always a trick to begin a thing in thing in the... well, in the beginning. I have been absent from this bit of cyberspace for more than a month. This is for many reasons (not the least that I had nothing particular to say and was too tired to say it anyhow), which I will now disclose. I have been:

Reading: Over Thanksgiving I reread Sense and Sensibility in preparation for —well, you'll see that below. Then a few weeks later I wasn't feeling well one Saturday, so I spent most of the day lying down and rereading Cheaper By the Dozen. That book is HILARIOUS. I read it in less than 24 hours, which is rare for me. Yesterday I reread Peter Pan. Also a delightful book which I finished with surprising speed. It's so witty. One of the amusing ways that he writes is by being rather vague about things that most authors would illuminate, or being specific about the most random details.

But you simply must fit, and Peter measures you for your tree as carefully as for a suit of clothes: the only difference being that the clothes are made to fit you, while you have to be made to fit the tree. Usually it is done quite easily, as by your wearing too many garments or too few, but if you are bumpy in awkward places or the only available tree is an odd shape, Peter does some things to you, and after that you fit.

Arthur Rackham, Peter Pan illustrator

After I finished Peter Pan and A Christmas Carol, which I had been rereading over the last few weeks, I started on an Agatha Christie mystery, which I so far like more than some of her others. There are certain books that I associate with Christmas, and oddly enough, A.C. murder mysteries are on that list (along with Howl's Moving Castle.)

In all honesty I must humbly admit that I have not followed through on the November and December Classics Challenge. Sorry. BUT I have (after a very embarrassingly long time) finished The Lord of the Rings and I am also almost finished with Bleak House, which listening to A Tale of Two Cities started me on. I don't know anyone who has read Bleak House but I'm dying to talk to someone about it, so if you have, PLEASE please comment and tell me so!

Searching: I am attempting to find some flat soled boots that are both simple and yet not extremely cheap and worthless.

I like these, but of course they're out of stock. Anybody seen something like these?

Eating: Many loaves slices of gingerbread.

Dancing: "And in winter his private balls were numerous enough for any young lady who was not suffering under the insatiable appetite of fifteen." I think to be perfectly accurate, the "insatiable appetite of fifteen" should say "insatiable appetite of fourteen through seventeen," because even now, at the ripe old age of seventeen (wait, am I seventeen? I have been considering myself sixteen for quite some time, and only just now writing it does it seem actually true. How odd.) I suffer under extreme pangs —"such tremblings and flutterings all over me!"— for a dance. It had been over a year since I had one. I was very blessed to get to hold such a dance at my house last Friday night, in conjunction with my twin. We had only seven people, but it really worked out alright. And it made me feel that having a dance is neither so difficult nor so inconvenient as I had hitherto thought. My twin popped over for a quick afternoon of some planning, then arrived an hour and a half early to help set up. The main prep was moving the furniture the night before, but this took less than twenty minutes; and so did the clean up afterward. So I now have hope that I can have another, with less time between the two!
I'm also very excited because my twin's older sister is having a dance, at which we are helping. It's nice to help, but not be quite in charge. Plus, there will be at least five times as many people. : P

Planning: I love the phone case I have right now (this painting), but if I had an iphone 5 or above, this is what I would get:

Singing: I Saw Three Ships on Christmas Day, in a loud soprano as I take a walk.

Laughing: I don't really "believe in" introverts and extroverts and MBTI types. Technically I'm an ISTJ, but of course it doesn't completely fit me. I find it very amusing to read those "How MBTI types react to stress" or "MBTI types on vacation" pages that pop up on Pinterest and laugh at how inaccurate they are (or occasionally at how accurate, as the case may be.)

Watching: It's A Wonderful Life. I love this movie.

Isn't Jimmy Stewart an amazing actor?

Sniffling: I have had a cold for a few days and am taking advantage of Christmas break to lie upon the sofa like a limp rag and do imitations of a foghorn. The latter may be annoying to some, but as I can't really hear it doesn't bother me!

Acting: I played an Irish cop and the head waitress in The Cop and The Anthem, mid November. Aaand directed The Eskimos Have Landed (which has nothing to do with Eskimos), which came off with nary a hitch.

Finding: I have found the wedding dress that I love. It is almost cheap enough that I would just buy it to prevent its being snatched up. But I'm not quite that silly.

It's from a site that sells vintage wedding dresses, and the rosettes are removable and it's lace and has cloth-covered buttons and a pretty train and the neckline is perfect and I love it.

Writing: I have a chapter and a half left in my King Arthur first draft — but I got hung up on a battle scene, which I'm terrible at writing. And right now I have an excuse. For I am writing a script. I am adapting Sense and Sensibility for our drama group, to be performed next semester. I am super excited about this. I have hesitated to tell many people of it, in case I ran out of time and we ended up buying a different script. I have one scene left in Act II, though, so I think I will have time to finish. I love this book so much. I would love to be any character. I'd even be a guy if I could play Mr. Palmer. 

Admiring: I have realized that a violin is a beautiful instrument and it has taken the place of bagpipes as my second favorite instrument. (I'm biased and the piano is my favorite simply because I know it.) Did anybody else know that Bulgaria has their own type of bagpipes? I think I'd like America more if we had our own bagpipes.

Drinking: Excessive amounts of tea as always, and coconut eggnog. Also I need some ceramic travel mugs because stainless steel gives the tea a very metallic flavour. So yes you can buy these for me.

So! Drink lots of tea, read Charles Dickens, listen to the violin, and have a merry Christmas!

Beautiful People (September 2016): Rayfus

What? Two posts in two days? We thought this was the blog of the woman who doesn't live here any more. After all, the only thing that has happened recently was a tag (which scarcely counts) and a 69-word "happy birthday" post, which definitely does not count.
Nonetheless (don't you love that word? and nevertheless...), here I am. I realized that I have never done a BP for Rayfus*, or any other character questionnaire that I can remember.

Well obviously that's got to change, so here we go.

*The disgusting and weird and very not medieval name is going to be changed in second drafts to Lancelot, as this character basically fulfills Lancelot's functions in my Arthur story. However, I currently have another character named Lancelot (for no other reason than that when I was twelve I thought it would be fun to name a character Lancelot and make him have nothing to do with Lancelot — ???), so I'm waiting to officially change it until he has another name.

1. How did you come up with this character?
 Rayfus appeared at the same time the story did. I was (not surprisingly) talking to myself and making up a story, in which a woman who had just given birth was worried about her baby's safety. It came out that her husband was dead and she was worried about this man, Rayfus, because he wanted to be king, but her son was the heir. At some point in here, Rayfus became her son also. And then I said, "Hey, I could make this a King Arthur story" (because this sounds just like a King Arthur story).

2. Have they ever been starving? Why? And what did they eat to break the fast?
Definitely not. Princes in wealthy kingdoms don't have to worry about that sort of thing. And while he has been on war campaigns where belts might have been tight, Rayfus is not the sort of person who'd feel oblige to deny himself because "the men have to."

3. Do they have a talent or skill that they're proud of?
Rayfus is not an unemotional person, but he prides himself on his control of his emotions. Also, he is very good at reading people and staying in control of most situations. Thirdly, he feels that most people don't have the "vision" he does to see bigger and better things happening. (Except for being politically conservative/old-fashioned, he is in favor of "progress" — *shudder*).

4. List 3 things that would make them lose their temper.
1. His wife, Guillamine (another name that is likely to change) gets on his nerves, so if he was already stressed/annoyed he might lose his temper with her.
2. When his carefully laid plans are ruined because one of his "lackeys" makes a mistake.
3. If someone started saying he was very incapable and had no ability to rule, etc. it would make him very angry, but he would still be able to control his temper, partially by assuring himself they had no idea what they were talking about.

5. What is their favorite type of weather? Least favorite?
Rayfus isn't too particular about the weather, but I think he likes cloudy days best. He doesn't like snow.

6. What is their Hogwarts House or MBTI personality?
 Well, as I said yesterday, I don't believe in MBTI so much... but I think he is either ESTJ or ENTJ (probably more of an ESTJ).

7. Are they more likely to worry about present problems, or freak out about the unknown future?
Rayfus doesn't "freak out", but he definitely plans ahead for different problems and scenarios. Current events can stress him if thing aren't going according to plan.

8. What is their favorite thing to drink?
A good red wine.

9. Favorite color? Least favorite?

Indigo/Royal Blue would be his favorite. Practical, not too "flashy", yet denotes his status with proper dignity. Least favorite: Beige. Too plain.

10. What is a book that changed their life?
Reading wasn't very common in the Middle Ages, and Rayfus isn't a big reader. He does read books on military tactics and such, and no doubt those have affect his life.

Rancher Artie: Part Two

“Ya really think I could do my father proud, Ginny?”

Artie were settin’ on the young school teacher’s desk as she tidied up the school room.

“Ya shot ain’t bad,” she said with a smile.

“I dun’t think I’d win, o’ course; if I git even ter the second round I’d be might pleased.”

“I’ll come watch with yer parents,” she promised. “Just git off my desk so I can put these things away.”

He grinned and hustled off.

Ray Crawfish had set up some targets in a field, and had one of his hands draw up lists fer the competition order. Artie checked and double checked fer his name ta be sure he knew what time he had ter be ready. His parents sat on the grass with Ginny and waved. He tried ter smile, but he were nervous; he’d never set hisself up against anutter in compertition like this. He hurried back to his sack to git out his pistol and make sure it were in readiness. There was his handkerchief… extrar bullets… an apple… Panicked, he emptied the sack upside down, but there warn’t no pistol inside.

He was supposed ter shoot in near thirty minutes. It was a fair piece ter town and back, too. “I don’t have no other idear,” he muttered to hisseln. “Best make it quick.”

He flung hisself on the horse and set his spurs. Through the fields and along a dirt road into the dusty town. Once at the boarding house, he stopped only ter wind the halter ‘round the hitchin’ post before he charged into the buildin’. It were real quiet inside, since all the folks thereabouts was at the shootin’ contest. Up the rickety stairs that shook with evera step, and into the little room. In a moment o’ horror, he discovered the pistol were not in his box where it ought ter o’ been. He hesitated, befer tearin’ open his father Vin’s box. There were a nice pistol in there; it warn’t his’n, but he didn’t think his father would’a minded, seein’ the siteration. Back down ther stairs, onto his harse, and flyin’ down tha road ter the contest.

He’d never did as nice as he did that day; his shots were perfect with that pistol, which didn’t shoot ter the left as his other’n did. It fit real nice in his hand, with it’s gold-engraved handle, and he wondered how in the sam hill his father had sich a nice thing.

But he warn’t niver as shocked as when he done won the contest. That was a field-shaker and no mistake.

“The winner is Artie—” Ray Crawfish stopped and stared at the gun in Artie’s hand. “Well I’ll be a monkey’s uncle. Where’d you get that there pistol?” he asked.

Artie reddened. “It ain’t mine. It’s my pa’s.”

“Where’s ya pa?”

Vin stood up. “There be a problem, Mr. Crawfish?”

“Sure not!” Ray said enthusiastically. “Kin ya tell me where ya got that pistol?”

“It was giv’n ter me,” Vin said shortly. He looked at Arthur. “Kin we have a piece a’ talk alone, Mr. Crawfish?”

Ray nodded and drew him off.

“It’s like this,” Vin said quietly. “He ain’t no son o’ ours. He were a young’un, not a year old, when his ma brought him to us. She couldn’t take care of him no more. She said that pistol were his pa’s. I ain’t told the boy any of this. Wherever his pa and ma be, they ain’t done him no good turn and he don’t need to get mixed up with them none.”

“On the contrare,” Ray said with a grin, “his pa jist done him one real good turn.”

Beautiful People: Geraint

I am doing Beautiful People for the first time in almost a year. And ironically, the last one I did was a combo-edition with Geraint and Kay.

Today we're featuring just Geraint. I'm really very fond of Geraint. Despite his hard, even harsh exterior, he can be very gentle and compassionate. Suffering bothers him more than it bothers, say, Kay.

1. Do they want to get married and/or have children? Why or why not?
Yes, Geraint wants to get married. Or it might be more accurate to say wanted. He was once in love and he's relatively fond of children, so getting married was obviously on his to-do list, so to speak. But the girl married another. He would not marry without being in love, and he doesn't think he could fall in love again after her. (But we'll see about that.)

2. What is their weapon of choice?
Bow and arrows. Geraint is a fletcher.

3. What's the nicest thing they've done for someone else, and why did they do it?
I don't know about the very nicest. As said above, he has a very harsh exterior but he's really a softie. He's kind to children and thoughtful to other people when they're hurting.

4. Have they ever been physically violent with someone, and what instigated it?
In training to be a knight, which he did, learning how to be physically violent is part of it. Outside of his training, not much; he isn't a violent man. He and Kay have fought before, though.

6. Are they a rule-follower or a rebel?
Geraint used to be a rule-follower. He's not a rebellious person, but he has grown cynical about those who make the rules in his area of the world and therefore he does not follow their rules.

7. Are they organized or messy?
Organized.

8. What do they eat for breakfast?
Ordinarily, just bread; on occasion, bread with fish. He has the latter more often than some, because he lives by a river.

9. Have they ever lost someone close to them? What happened?
Geraint's mother died in childbirth; his father did not remarry so he is an only child. His father died of old age a few years ago. When Lady Enid decided to marry Sir Erec instead of himself, he felt that he had lost her. He hasn't seen her for years and he and his cousin Erec have a very uncomfortable relationship as fellow Knights of the Round Table.

10. What's their treat of choice? (or how else do they reward themselves)
Geraint likes poached pears with honey and ginger, when he can get it.

Rancher Artie: Part One

Note: The following will be much more amusing if read in a hick accent. This will also induce some cringing and may be highly annoying. Read at your own risk.

Head Rancher Uriah “Lizard-sticking” Kingsly didn’t have a son. Leastways there was no young’uns about his place (making exception of the time Lucy Grace’s girl set a spell). Though no folks thereabouts believe him much, he told Ray, his head of ranch security and right hand man, that he was sure he did have a young’un somewhere. “And if it be, then he’ll have hisself the best pistol I ever done own. I called it “Acero”, which means steel, and I never missed a shot when I used it, ner lost a fight, neither. It had a shiny white handle which jist fit perfect in my hand, and a steel barrel with gold flurishes and my name engraved in it. My old friend Merle, an Indian, gifted it ter me. When we was in love, I gave it ter Nora Mae, and if I knowed her a bit, she’d ‘ve given it ter ar son.”

But when Uriah died — it was sudden like, he warn’t above forty years old —no young’un had showed hisself. Now Rancher Kingsly had quit a bit’er property thereabouts, and piles o’ gold besides. His name might’er bin prophetic-like, fer he was jist about the king of the ranchers. So his havin’ no son made a piece o’ talk fer the town folks to chew on. They were started ter hear that Uriah didn’t make Clay, his sister’s boy, his successer, but Ray Crawfish. Ray told the blunt farmers, when asked, that Uriah gave hm the persition in trust. One day soon Uriah’s boy would show hisseln, and he’d take over tuh ranch.

Will, that got folks’ tongues waggin fer a spell. It also started the biziest years of Ray Crawfish’s life. Folks of all descriptions said they was Uriah’s young’uns. Uriah’s ranch was so expansive, even folks from out er state cem ter see Ray. But each one was terned away, fer not one had a gold-engrave pistol. Ray never told nobuddy what he was lookin’ fer, but palightly insisted they go back home. Eventually even folks as was needin’ the money real bad got it through ter their brain batter that they was tryin fer nuttin, as things settled down real quiet like.

But this didn’t satisfy Ray. He always insisted he was holdin’ the persition in trust. He told his cowboys, “You know I cen’t handle a herse tuh way I used ter, but whin I stay at home from tuh cattle drives, I’m jist about et up with worry about you boys and my cows. If I warn’t duty-bound to watch over this ranch fer Uriah’s he-ir, then I would be fixing to retire. Mebbe try sumtin peaceful like raising beans.”

“Ray, even Uriah knowed he didn’t have no young’uns,” they said. “It was jist his way of leaving ya the ranch. Being direct warn’t his way. The idear of a son were jist wishful thinkin.”

Ray stayed firm. He would not pass the ranch ter Clay, or ter any of the ranch hands. Instead, he finally compromized by announcing a contest. It had been siven years since Uriah’s death, and he had not once even heared about the pistol. A shootin’ contest oughta bring it out, though. He still didn’t tell no one his real reasons fer the contest; he simply announced he would select an he-ir from the winners.

Classics Challenge: April (sort of) and May, Plus a New Thing

Well, if you remember from this post, my April book was The Lord of the Rings and my May book was a choice between The Scarlet Letter and The Last of the Mohicans.

Heh.

I did not finish LotR in April, as mentioned in my previous post, but I did read The Scarlet Letter in April for school, so that counts, right? I'm considering them switched. LotR I'm still working on, obviously, but it's a long book, okay? I will provide a long post of pictures and thoughts when I finish.

Not my copy, I just liked it.

My thoughts on The Scarlet Letter are complicated. It's a very interesting, complex book, and not at all what I had expected. Hester and Pearl I thought particularly enigmatic. Hester seems sometimes repentant; yet ready to do it all over again, I think. Pearl was a little confusing. This is a great essay on her.
Arthur Dimmesdale was somewhat simpler to understand, yet also very interesting. He has great strength at times, yet is weak-willed mostly and weak in body. *SPOILER* One could write an essay just on his reasons for hiding his guilt. I disagree with him (he would have suffered so much less if only he hadn't), but he's very convincing. If you do, please tell me about it, because I'd love to read it. *END SPOILER* 
 I can't even get into Roger Chillingworth. Talk about complex. He is rather the victim of the story, but in many ways he's also the villain. You want him to fail, though he, of all the characters, "deserves" most to "win". *TINY SPOILER (not even a spoiler, just talking about the books events more than I usually do)* While I don't support Hester's affair or her attempt to leave with her lover, there is a feeling of wanting them to succeed, to get past Roger and onto a "better" life.  *MAJOR SPOILERS* I prefer, though, the way Hawthorne ended it, because a life lived in sin would not have been better. Confessing to God, what Arthur should have done in the first place, was the relief he needed, not a vacation from Puritans. *END MAJOR SPOILERS*
One thing I found interesting (and wrong) was how Hester keeps thinking of herself in relation to her lover, how they are "bound together" for good or for ill, but for eternity. She believes that even if they are kept apart on earth, even if they should be kept apart, they will stand together at the Last Judgment. I guess she didn't read Matthew 22:30.
I did guess the identity of Pearl's father midway through the book, but this didn't detract from the experience. Something that DID was the long prologue which has nothing to do with rest of the book. While interesting (and curiously enough, somewhat true, as it is based on Hawthorne's experience when he worked at the Salem Custom House), it seemed very random and made the book difficult to get into at first. There is no actual content in this book (no description of Hester's adultery or anything), and I don't think there was any cursing, but obviously the topic makes it a better read for high schoolers.

Do I recommend this book, and to whom? I recommend it, yes, as a thought-provoking read, which I interpreted as showing the point of true repentance. High schoolers and up will benefit most.

I highly recommend this article for further thoughts on The Scarlet Letter (it does contain spoilers).


Finally, on to this New Thing for which I have kept you all in suspense. You may have noticed that this post has "King Arthur" and "writing" as labels. You may not. Regardless, I now introduce to you

Rancher Artie: A Mockery of the Western Romance Genre

You now see my cleverness in adding the image above, so that you would not at first see this one.

Or my imagination of The Arthurian Chronicles if they were in the Old West, written for my mental stimulation and your amusement. I shall provide installments whenever I feel like it. Look for the first this weekend.

Toodle-pip,

P.S. I just changed my profile to reflect my new age. I just wrote that I'm seventeen!?!?!?

I Actually Wrote More than Five Words (and they weren't terrible)

Remember when I posted this? And I was all excited because I broke an almost six-week streak of basically writing nothing at all? I was so sure I was back into writing and I wrote two days in a row, and even though what I wrote was terrible I was pleased.

Guess how much I've written since then?

If you say "nothing" you would be very uncharitable and very wrong.

...but if you said less than 2,000 words you would be all too correct.

So now I'm truly celebrating because I'm breaking a seventeen-week streak of writing basically nothing (yeah...). And what I wrote was actually decent. Hopefully the last post doesn't show that mentioning my success breaks the spell, because I would really, really like to keep going with this. I really love my characters and writing is fun when I'm in the midst of it and have time to do it.

Here's a snippet of what I wrote today:

The castle had been fired. From far off, the keep looked the same, but now they could see the plants surrounding it were gone, the stones were blackened, and the stable was a crumble of black wood. There was not a sound in the courtyard. Arthur hurried forward and kicked open what was left of the carved doors. Inside it was ruin. Where there had been wooden walls there was nothing. The ceiling had almost entirely fallen and in many places they could see straight up, up through the heights of the castle to the grey sky. There was not a single stick of furniture to be seen. The staircase was too damaged for them to investigate the other floors, but Arthur was sure the picture would have been the same.

Arthur looked back at his friends. Owain was white and panicked, Lucan angry. Pelleas looked sick. Gwennie came close to Arthur and slipped her hand into his, as she used to do when they were children and his parents were arguing or worrying over money. Arthur wanted to sink to the floor, or convince himself he was dreaming, but he knew he couldn’t. He tried to take a deep breath, but it caught in his throat.

How To Write Good

This is, after all the Pen of Awdur. So I must blog about writing. That is why I am copying down a few tips that I found very helpful in my writing. Especially as I'll soon be in the editing stage of the Arthurian Chronicles and I need all the serious writing style tips I can get. I hope these are helpful for you too!


1. Avoid alliteration always.
2. Prepositions are not words to end sentences with.
3. Avoid cliches like the plague. They're old hat.
4. Comparisons are as bad as cliches.
5. Be more or less specific.
6. Writers should never generalize.

Seven: Be consistent!

8. Don't be redundant; don't use more words than necessary; it's highly superfluous.

9. Who needs rhetorical questions?

10. Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement.

Cheers,

Finally getting around to...

August Beautiful People!

I wasn't kidding in my last post when I said that ⅓ of all of my thoughts concern Arthur. When you write 500-1000 words per day, you have to be thinking about the story a lot. It used to be that when I fell asleep, thinking about a scene in Arthur would be a sort of pleasure I gave myself. Now when I go to bed, if I consider writing myself to sleep, my mind reacts with a shudder. This isn't a fun little thing any longer— this is work!
I'm kidding, I'm kidding.
Sort of.

Anyway, this month BP is doing a "friendship edition". Naturally, I'm picking characters from Arthur.

August Beautiful People: Kay and Geraint

Geraint

Kay (in very modern clothes, how strange)

1. How long have they known each other, and how close are they?
They met when Geraint was fifteen and Kay twenty-one; that was almost fifteen years ago, as Geraint is now twenty-nine and Kay is thirty-six. How close are they is difficult to say. They became fast friends, despite the difference in their ages, but they quarreled and separated when Kay was twenty-six. They didn't see each other for ten years because of that, but on meeting again, they were both secretly very pleased to see the other and affectedly very irritated at the other. There is no awkwardness at being  long apart, though, which I think shows they're pretty close.

2. What's their earliest memory of being friends?
They pulled a prank on the castle steward together, and it was a that moment, sitting in a tree and laughing, that they realized they were friends.

3. Do they fight? How long do they typical fight for?
They argue all the time. B.Q. (Before the Quarrel), they didn't argue as much, but would still get into lively debates, which could last all day. They always parted for the evening as friends, though. They did have the occasional fist fight. A.Q. (After the Quarrel) they are constantly arguing, but as they've been back together for less than twenty-four hours I don't think that's to be expected and shouldn't last.

4. Are their personalities similar or do they compliment each other?
Geraint and Kay are both sharp-tongued, Geraint because he's painfully blunt and Kay because he's terribly sarcastic. They're both honest (Geraint more so; see former sentence), hate injustice, and are very loyal. There the similarities end: Kay is generally good-natured and jovial, though, while Geraint can tend to brood (particularly A.Q. ); when together, they balance each other out.

5. Who is the leader of the friendship (if anyone)?
B.Q. it might have been Kay, because Geraint looked up to him (as he was the older one and he had just been knighted, rather than being still a page). A.Q., there is none, as Geraint has ceased to care about the latter difference and the former difference is now inconsequential.

6. Do they have any secrets from each other?
B.Q.: none, except for one large one which Kay kept from Geraint. Kay was enamored with a young lady, who Geraint was also in love with. Well, that came out, of course. A.Q. they have many things they haven't shared (an absence of ten years will do that, you know), but nothing which is deliberately secret. After the rent in the friendship, both came to abhor unnecessary deception, particularly Geraint.

7. How well do they know each other's quirks and habits?
B.Q. Very well, as they were with each other as much as possible for five and half years. A.Q. Little quirks don't change a lot over ten years, so I'd say they still know those, although habits are now very different as their respective lives have changed a lot.

8. What kind of things do they like to do together?
B.Q. Hunting, playing pranks, sparring, debating, swimming—they shared almost all of their interests. A.Q. Arguing vehemently.

9. Describe each character's fashion style (use pictures if you'd like!) How are their styles different/similar?
B.Q. Very similar. Young medieval knight/knight-in-training. A.Q. Geraint dresses in the plain clothes of a forester, while Kay still dresses like a noble (well, currently he too is dressed like a forester, because he's living in a cottage in the woods). So their style is actually still pretty much the same when they meet again.

10. How would their lives be different without each other?
Geraint would be left in PEACE (shut up, Geraint) and Kay would be bored without someone worth laughing at (I suppose that's their versions of saying they'd be lonely; certainly it's true that Kay's early twenties would have been friendless, as he didn't meet Bedivere or Raymond till after the split, and Geraint wouldn't have had anyone either. Without the big hubaloo with Kay in his twentieth year, Geraint would have gone through with becoming a knight, only to discover afterwards how much he disliked nobles).



Well! Doing Beautiful People always helps me get out my thoughts about my characters, although (sadly) a lot of what I get worked out changes later. Even if I don't stick to what I wrote here, though, it always helps me, because having some terrible frame to edit and perfect is always easier to work with than a hazy blob that isn't here nor there.

A Post To Share Random Websites Related to the Middle Ages

Basically right now I think about three things (besides friends and God): my niece, Arthur, and my niece. Just kidding. My niece, Arthur, and school, is what I should have written. Particularly Arthur. I don't feel like sharing any of my precious manuscript right now, and I really have nothing else to say that you haven't already heard, so instead I bring you:

Random Things to Help You with Writing Medieval Fiction*

Because literally that is the only useful thing I have to post.

1. Medieval careers. You're writing along, and up comes a random peasant character who you don't want to waste time developing but who needs to have some kind of job. What did they do back then besides farm and fight, anyhow? Well, here's a link with one HUNDRED careers to pick from: http://abutterflydreaming.com/2009/02/06/100-medieval-careers/
Along the same idea, I recently discovered the Mendel Almshouse Portraits, which were portraits of craftsmen doing their crafts (ex. wire makers, cutlers, butchers, etc.). They were painted in the 15th century, I believe. Starting from the last three pictures on this page, and continuing on the succeeding pages, you can find the portraits here:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Search&limit=20&offset=0&profile=default&search=Mendel+Hausbuch
I find them pretty fascinating.

2. Medieval Prices. Everybody needs to eat. Your character goes to the store – um, market – and asks the price of that block of cheese. What does the clerk answer? 5 bucks? 3 pounds? This website has a list of English currency and conversions, and a list of the prices of common items (for instance, you could buy 80 pounds of cheese for only 3 shillings, 4 pence).
http://medieval.ucdavis.edu/120D/Money.html

3. Medieval names. Everyone knows people weren't called Betty or Methuselah back then, but what were they called? You only need the name for a minor character and don't want to spend the time searching. Voila! Here are two lists, one of the top 100 medieval boy names, the other of the top 100 medieval girl names:
http://www.top-100-baby-names-search.com/medieval-boy-names.html
http://www.top-100-baby-names-search.com/medieval-girl-names.html

4. Medieval weapons. Eventually, you'll likely write a battle scene of some sort. So what did they fight with? Were there pikes in the 1300s or were those used in the 1500s? When did plated armor come about? This list isn't exhaustive, but if you're looking for basic Scottish weaponry, I found it helpful:
http://sites.scran.ac.uk/weapon/Content/Weapons.html

5. Medieval titles. What did you call the queen's sister? Did a knight's son have a title? Were barons higher or lower than dukes? These two pages answer those questions:
http://elizabethan.org/compendium/13.html
http://elizabethan.org/compendium/23.html

6. Medieval Heraldry. Ever wondered about the meanings of different colors and symbols on a coat of arms? This website provides that information:
http://www.americancollegeofheraldry.org
Follow the link, then click "Meaning of Arms" on the left sidebar. From that page, click "List of Heraldic Meanings" on the right sidebar, and it takes you to a large chart with lists of colors, textures, and symbols.

7. Completely random medieval questions. Such as, did they wash? Did they use sheets?
http://www.oldandinteresting.com/medieval-renaissance-beds.aspx
This particular page is about beds in the Middle Ages (note: this website contains information about a variety of other time periods also). Explore the site to see different information about washing clothes, cooking, and other domestic items/habits.

I hope you enjoyed this very useful list and that you find it… useful.

*With some random medieval-ish pictures for you to [hopeful] enjoy.

Beautiful People: Merlin

Well, we did survive the ball, and I think we all had a little fun, too. The Arthurian Chronicles are going splendidly, and that's all I'm working on, so naturally I'm doing this month's BP for the same story as in June.

This month I am doing Merlin. Nearly everyone who's even once heard of King Arthur has heard of Merlin. My Merlin has gone under various changes, but he is probably the character most like the original from the legend. If you haven't noticed, it seems to me all the best fantasy books have a character like Merlin: very old, bearded magic-doer who's a little strange at times but has very good advice and helps the main characters out of a tight spot more than once. Lord of the Rings has Gandalf, Harry Potter has Dumbledore, The Prydain Chronicles has Dallben, the Dragon Keeper Chronicles has Fenworth... With all of these examples it is hard to keep their characters from spilling over into Merlin's. I shall try to answer the questions without copying from the above mentioned. Merlin's past, magical abilities, and general personality are not very developed either in the legend or in my story; that is why he takes the spotlight here.

Beautiful People: Merlin Uwain of Avalon

1. What's their favourite ice cream flavour?
Well, living in the Middle Ages, Merlin doesn't get ice cream much... Haha... He's partial to the flavors of brown bread and vegetable soup, and other plainer food, so I'm not sure that he would like ice cream if he got the chance to taste it (he wouldn't want it often, even if he liked a particular flavor [likely cherry]).

2. Your character is getting ready for a night out. Where are they going? What are they wearing? Who will they be with?
Merlin has a general dislike of "night out"s (nights out?). If he was going out, it would be for one of two reasons: 1) He would be going to the castle to see Gwenore, in the short days of their courtship. He would be dressed in the rich clothing of the men of those days, you know, something more or less like this:

Have you noticed how much harder it is to find a prince-like picture than a princess? Particularly when your cat is sitting on the keyboard...

2) After Gwenore married Uther, Merlin would be out by himself, wearing his usual plain clothing and brown cloak, more or less like this:

He would be out for one reason: to pick up information of some kind or another. Therefore he would go to the loudest, busiest tavern.

3. Look at your character’s feet. Describe what you see there. Do they wear dress shoes, gym shoes, or none at all? Are they in socks that are ratty and full of holes? What do they consider comfortable and what do they consider agony?
Merlin wears brown traveling boots and wool socks, plain but in whole condition (not hole condition). What he considers comfortable is broken in. Footwear doesn't have the power to cause agony in Merlin. His tolerance of pain is much higher than that.

4. Do they have any birthmark or scars? Where are they and how did they get them?
Merlin has several scars on his arms and legs, mostly from hard work. He also has a thin scar near his left ear… from a fight.

5. What kind of music do they listen to? Does it change depending on their mood or is it always consistent? (Feel free to share samples!)

Merlin appreciates minstrels' singing but he doesn't own an iPod or employ his own musicians so he rarely hears music.

Confession: I have no idea what all that is, I just searched for Medieval music on Youtube. Funnily enough it begins with a song called "Avalon", and Merlin's roots are in Avalon.

6. Do they have any musical talent? Play an instrument? How’s their singing voice?
Merlin has no musical talent at all. It's one of the few things he has no gifting for. His voice is rough and unmelodious.

7. What kind of book would you catch them reading?
You would catch him reading most any book imaginable (though he dislikes silly romantic ballads). He loves to learn and to read.

8. How would they spend their summers (or their holidays)?
Merlin loves to visit his father's home of Avalon. He is proud of his family heritage and introduces himself as Merlin Uwain of Avalon, though he was raised in Camelot. His father was not such a great person, and Merlin knows that, but because his father was a wizard (and his mother wasn't) he feels more of a connection to that side. He has been to Avalon (a distant, magically hidden island off of Scotland) only a few times.

9. It’s Saturday at noon. What is your character doing? Give details. Ex. If they’re eating breakfast, what’s on the menu? Are they hiking, shopping, lazing around?
At what time in his life? In his teenage years he would have been studying like many fairly wealthy boys (you know, history, geometry, the normal things). In his later teens and early twenties he would have been at the castle wooing Gwenore. In his twenties-fifties he would have been studying – but this time it is magic, magical theory, magical history, etc. that he studies. In his mid-fifties to sixties he would be mostly studying.

10. Is there anything your character wants to be free of?
Merlin would like to be free from his regrets: regret that Gwenore married Uther, that Merlin didn't watch Arthur more carefully, that his father left his mother, that he was born into wealth… Often he half-wishes he was not a wizard. It is a burden and a responsibility. It enables him to help people but it sets him apart in a very lonely way.

Well, don't we all feel better for that? I do, anyway. Usually if I know a character very little I subconsciously avoid thinking about him (as I've done for Merlin). But now that he is understood it makes me very, very happy (not completely and perfectly and incandescently happy, you know, but very pleased).

Au revoir,