Author Archives: Amy Jane

Needs

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I watched the first disk of the first season of Monk last week.

Really liked it.

After finishing the last two episodes in one evening, I mentioned to Jay how nice it was to find another good source for my story “fix” that was positive/clean. I think I’m mentally setting this against, say, soap operas. Monk is a sort of modern Sherlock Holms, so it is a detective show.

Then, of course, as soon as I acknowledged my need for Story as a type of dependency I got both nervous and defensive. Nervous because I have to question whether each dependency is healthy, and defensive because I want to argue it isn’t, at least, unhealthy.

It got me thinking about all those needs we have that aren’t physical. Continue reading »

Ahhhh

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See, playing around with templates can make a difference.

I still don’t know what’s up with wordpress, but from my playing with templates I remembered this one with search and links at the top.

It’s not as organized as some of the others, but with things as they are, it’s doing the best.

~~~

I’m thinking now I might have made a “NaNo” category, but “Developing novel” is doing okay.  It just covers more than my Lindorm story… If you go back far enough.

It’s funny now to think how proud I was of my  13,000+ words I had accumulated on my swan story.  Nearly at 40,000 now on the Lindorm effort, and I have an entirely different perspective on volume.

A little competition is all I need…

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For the first half of NaNo I was riding between or ahead of my two “buddies” that were in the front of my pack of four.

Then I had a few days of Elisha not napping when the girls did, and not wanting to be up until 11+ and my count slid. I still did a little everyday, but that was almost pathetic: less-than 400 2-days in a row, and I fell miserably behind those two.

Like, thousands of words behind them.

So I went poking around until I found someone else whose word count was closer to mine and had a reasonable daily pace (not one of those ignore it for 5 days than write 8,000-types). I added him to my buddy-list to watch his progress and became instantly more productive. I had a goal (Pass this guy) and even better I was at an exciting point in my story.

I’ve been just flying these last two days. I really ought to find a second somebody, so this doesn’t start to look personal ;-9

Anyway, current word-count: 37,351

I’m continually amazed that I’ve now spent this many words on one story. And there’s still more to go. I still wonder if the story will be done (or close to it) when I reach goal.

Another angle of amazed: I’m impressed I’ve stuck with this. Not that I don’t enjoy it (when I sit down and do it I usually do), but there are so many other enjoyments calling for my attention– that piano class I’m attending weekly, for example.  I’ve been glad Jay’s on-board with me, since if it were just me I probably would have found 25,000 enough to be impressed with for now and come back to it later.

Now I know what 37,000 feels like, and about how long it can take to get there. I’m very curious to see 50,000.

Ugh.

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WordPress/this blog is acting weird.

The text isn’t supposed to be centered all down the page, and the links are supposed to be running along-side in that nice empty space to the right.

*sigh*

Oh well. Maybe it will self-correct next weekend when Jay updates the WP version. I’ll get some new templates to play with too. Jay has wanted to be in charge of updates and stuff. So I’m just waiting until he’s ready/free to do it.

He updated the budget this weekend, which was very cool. I am so thankful he sees that as his job.

Word-count sits at 26,810 right now. I haven’t yet been able to get back into the website to update my daily count, so it may be less-accurate than I’d like for today. But at least I’ve made back some time. I only got about 700-words in the two days before today, so I was getting a bit nervous.

Feeling again like this isn’t going to meet my goal of having something to work into publishable material.

Jay encouraged me, saying whatever I end up with, the process of writing itself was being very educational for me, and other useful things that I’ve sometimes told myself, but were good to hear just now.

I asked him to pray encouragement for me. The idea of investing this much time just in “practice” is a little intimidating.

Clipping right along

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Broke 20,000!

Sitting at 20,0058 and still have this evening’s writing time to go. Woohoo!

Updated before bed: 21,394

Just think how much I’d have if I wrote the whole time instead of blog/surfing.

But, then, I do feel the need to dilute this noveling experience a bit. Believe it or not it’s a little intense.

Submission

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I am so… tied up with the fine degrees of my understanding of certain words and concepts I think I get myself into trouble.

Example:
I really like the way the authors of this book explain what submission is in marriage. They don’t say it’s not part of the job description (what I’m beginning to think people hear when I try to explain it), they say submission is not the woman’s role.

So often in the descriptions I hear, husbands (not just *men*) are to lead and wives are to submit (only to their own husband but that’s another post). These statements are biblical enough, but to line them up in parallel to each other, makes them sound like the two primary jobs.

My quibble just comes in the application of the words. Leading is action, something to do. Submission is a reaction. Not a doing.

There are those who will argue that is the whole point. I argue a not isn’t how you define a role. A role is something you do. Continue reading »

Word count

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I’m at 14,135 tonight.

At least they’re finally married. Of course, that does include the prologue. And the juicily satisfying ending for the step-mother. So maybe it didn’t take as long as I thought to get my beauty to “clean up” her beast (If you knew the lindorm story you’d have gotten that joke).

Next on the to-do list: prove he’s the crown prince (in place of everyone’s favorite princeling they watched grow-up) and our Beauty conceiving twins.

This is the thing I think of at every happily-ever-after: odds are the perfectly shaped heroine will be with-child within a year, and how will that change the sweet romantic picture we are fading out on?

Mere Christianity

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To think about.

An excerpt from that book by C.S. Lewis.

…The real problem of the Christian life comes where people do not usually look for it. It comes the very moment you wake up each morning. All your wishes and hopes for the day rush at you like wild animals. And the first job each morning consists simply in shoving them all back; in listening to that other voice, taking that other point of view, letting that other larger, stronger, quieter life come flowing in. And so on, all day. Standing back from all your natural fussings and frettings; coming in out of the wind.

We can only do it for a few moments at first. But from those moments the new sort of life will be spreading through our system: because now we are letting Him work at the right part of us. It is the difference between paint, which is merely laid on the surface, and a dye or stain which soaks right through.

He [Jesus] never talked in vague, idealistic gas. When he said, “Be perfect,” He meant it. He meant that we must go in for the full treatment. It is hard; but the sort of compromise we are all hankering after is harder– in fact, it is impossible. It may be hard for an egg to turn into a bird: it would be a jolly sight harder for it to learn how to fly while remaining an egg. We are like eggs at present. And you cannot go on indefinitely being just an ordinary, decent egg. We must be hatched or go bad.

The Current Incarnation

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Last updated 2-5-07

Anja’s step-sister Irene attempts to destroy her by offering Anja to the Queen as a “bride” for a lindorm (type of dragon) demanding a wife.

With magical advice Anja not only survives but reveals the monster as the elder twin prince, “lost” at birth. He is reinstated, and must eventually go to war with his father and brother, but not before his wife is pregnant.

She gives birth to twins, but must still deal with the threat of her power-hungry step-sister. Irene pulls several switches on incoming letters that culminate in another attempt on Anja’s life, supposedly on the orders of her husband. With help, she flees, taking her boys.

A woodsman helps hide them, but Anja soon learns he has troubles of his own. She is ready to “fall” for him (after ending his curse) when a mysterious woman shows up on the doorstep. She instantly intrigues Ivan, leaving Anja more confused than ever.

Kennett (the former lindorm) finds his way to the cottage and reconnects with Anja, returning with her to the palace.

Irene runs for the border.