Ever Undying – A Short Story
31 Dec 2011 1 Comment
in Uncategorized Tags: Contest, Figment, Immortality, Science Fiction, Seventeen Magazine, Short Story, Space, Writing
This is for the Figment/Seventeen Magazine short story contest:
I sink into a world of sluggish senses, to a reality I had been free of for a few sweet moments of unconsciousness. My arms feel heavy and numb, my eyes thick and dry.
A violent gush of air fills my lungs. Back out. In. Out. It is the only sound, the only sensation. The whooshing of air.
My eyes flash open and I remember.
Beyond the clear screen that surrounds my face is an ocean of blackness filled with glowing heavenly bodies. I float, trapped, in an endless starry void.
I try twisting around to see the wreckage. The ship, my last vehicle of escape from a dying world, drifts by in pieces.
A glowing panel beneath my visor tells me all about my new prison. I have twenty-four minutes of oxygen left. After that…
My heart spasms. Lost forever. No air. What if no one ever finds me? Will I suffer out here forever, still unable to die? What did I do to deserve this curse? I strain to remember, but it’s too far gone. All those early memories have long been eroded by merciless time.
Here I have found my final resting place. Alone, in the deep. No air. Eternity.
A burst of static breaks through my thoughts. Ragged breathing, not mine, echoes in my ears.
“No…” I whisper.
A man’s shattered voice intrudes upon the relative silence. “He-hello? Is anyone… did anyone else survive?”
I say nothing. Maybe he’ll close the channel. I search for some way to cut him off, keep his voice from reaching me, but I’m not familiar with the controls.
“Oh God,” he says, tears in his words, “Oh Lord God, help me! Why did… please, anyone, say something!”
“Turn off the channel,” I say, squeezing my eyes painfully closed.
“Is no one… no one out there? Oh God, rest their souls. I’m not ready! But if… if…”
“I don’t want to listen to you die!” My voice reverberates around my helmet, screaming it’s way into my skull.
My husband’s face, so old, so fragile, arcs past my mind’s eye. It was so long ago, I don’t remember his name. But I remember his death. I remember my son, looking so much like him. And my granddaughter, begging me to stay with her father in his last days.
“I can’t,” I said, holding her tight as my tears dripped into her hair. She was already graying. “Please don’t ask it of me.”
Then I said goodbye to her children, walked out the door, and never returned. After that I vowed no more love, no more giving life. Nothing more to lose.
My son… I left him. Left him to die alone.
I take a deep breath and glance at the panel. Twelve minutes.
I open the channel.
He hears.
“Hello! Who’s there? Hello?” he repeats, exuberant. “Is anyone… out there?”
I let out my breath. “I’m here.”
I wanted to actually continue with their conversation, ticking down to the inevitable moment when their oxygen runs out. But I had a 500 word limit, and since I’m not very good with dialogue I decided it’d be best if I left it at that. Maybe someday I’ll continue this scene, or write more about this character’s (very long) life. She’s not going to be stuck in space forever, after all!
For God So Loved the World
03 Nov 2011 5 Comments
in Uncategorized Tags: Athiests, Christianity, Christians, Forgiveness, God, Hate, Hitler, Homesexuals, Jesus, Jews, John 3:16, Joy, Judas, Kindness, Love, Me, Murderers, Muslims, Obama, Pagans, Politicians, Poor, Prostitues, Redemption, Rich, Saddam Hussein, Saved, Savior, Sin, Sinner
Jesus died for the Muslims.
Jesus died for the homosexuals.
He died for the murderers, the rapists, the thieves.
He died for Einstein, Edison, and Newton.
He died for the insane.
He died for those that blaspheme and mock him.
He died for the atheists. For Charles Darwin and Richard Dawkins.
He died for Mary, Joseph, Peter, John, and Paul.
He died for the rich. He died for the poor.
Jesus died for the Jews.
He died for the pagans, wiccans, Satanists.
He died for your family and friends.
He died for President Obama.
He died for the psychopaths and serial killers.
He died for the politicians, lawyers, tax collecters.
He died for the little boys and girls who grew up in a good home, going to a good church.
He died for the prostitutes, and the alcoholics, and the drug-dealers.
He died for the movie star who’s been married six times.
He died for the abortionists.
Jesus died for me.
He died for Judas.
He died for Saddam Hussein.
He died for Hitler.
Yes, I said that. Because it’s true. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
I’m not saying all of these people are redeemed. I’m saying that God forgave them, just as much as he has forgiven you. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Everyone has been extended the same forgiveness. Everyone has the opportunity for redemption. Everyone has been offered God’s hand. God loves everyone, and wants them to spend eternity with Him.
I don’t know what it means to love the sinner and hate the sin. I don’t know if anyone does, and if anyone actually practices it. But I think that we, as Christians, can do a better job of showing the world that Jesus loves them.
Remember, Jesus had to die for you too.
Music and Writing
18 Jun 2011 3 Comments
in Uncategorized Tags: Art, Artist, Beauty, Books, Composition, Create, Creation, Fiction, Jon Schmidt, Music, Musing, Piano, Song, Words, writer, Writing
A friend on Facebook shared a link to this video, Love Story meets Viva la Vida by Jon Schmidt. I realized it was Taylor Swift’s ‘Love Story’, which I thought was an odd combination with Viva la Vida. But I watched it, and was amazed.
About three minutes into the video I was struck by the beauty and effortless talent of it and the men playing. I realized while watching his hands on the keys that he had accomplished something wonderful, had created beauty. My first thought was ‘I want to do that. How do I do that?’ I don’t mean I want to learn how to play the piano, or become a musician. I want to create beauty, art, something meaningful. But even now I’m frustrated at how silly and empty these words are compared to that piece.
How does someone create something that goes to the soul, using words? They’re too blunt, or perhaps too sharp. They get in the way. Anyone can appreciate any kind of music. It doesn’t have to have words, and if it does they don’t have be words we understand. Sometimes those words get in the way too. Music can’t communicate a specific message very precisely, but it can can change how you feel, or evoke a certain scene or scenario. The rest is up to you. Words can’t do that, or at least it’s very difficult. They get the exact meaning across because their purpose is to make communication clear and simple. Which is good. But I find that it’s hard to go straight to someone’s soul with words.
Don’t Read This Post
13 Feb 2011 3 Comments
in Uncategorized Tags: Blogging, Brian Jacques, Dog, Love, Pets, Puppy, Pyrenees, Random, Redwall, Valentine, Valentine's Day, Writing
So… I’ve been quite successfully failing at writing a blog post. I’ve started quite a few, and have plenty of ideas for topics, but they all just… fizzle out. That is, of course, my own fault. I just can’t seem to write them down. Maybe all the ideas I come up with are boring, which is why I don’t finish them. In that case, it’s a good thing for you I never publish them. 
But for now, I’m just going to write about whatever comes to mind. I don’t like writing these kinds of posts, since they’re always the least interesting (when I write them, that is). I’ll try to keep it short, which is really hard to do! I swear these posts don’t look this long in the draft box thingy of my dashboard whatever-you-call-it.
We adopted another puppy in January! Her name is Cleo, and she is very laid back and stubborn. When we were at the kennel walking her and the other dogs, she refused to run around like the rest of them. If she didn’t want to go somewhere, she’d sit down and stop. She’s very cute and fluffy (she’s a puppy, what did you expect?) but she’s even worse than Khan when it comes to chewing on things. I had to bundle all my shoes in a towel and put them on my chair so she wouldn’t eat them.
Brian Jacques, the author of the Redwall series and a few others, passed away on the fifth of February. His books were a huge part of my childhood, and will always hold a special place in my heart and on my shelf. I remember reading them every chance I got, laughing and crying for the beloved characters, and imagining myself into the rich, beautiful world Jacques created. I met him once, at a book signing, and he told us that his best advice for writers is to ‘paint pictures with words’. He wrote Redwall for the children at a school for the blind in Liverpool, and wanted to be as descriptive as possible so they could ‘see’ the world in their imaginations. He certainly succeeded, and has inspired me to work harder in my writing and my life. You will be dearly missed, Brian Jacques. Thank you for all the wonderful stories!
I think I’m making a red velvet cake for Valentine’s Day tomorrow. I’ve never made one of those before, so I suppose it’ll be interesting. I don’t have a valentine, but I don’t mind at all. (I’m still trying to decide between two of my characters, lol.) I’m in no hurry to get into a relationship, not that I’m against having one. Well… maybe a little bit against it. 
But! It’s a good holiday for chocolate. So Happy Valentine’s Day! If you have a sweetheart, congratulations, cherish him or her greatly. If not… have some chocolate.
Good day and good night!
I Am Alive!
19 Jan 2011 4 Comments
in Uncategorized Tags: 2010, 2010 in review, Blogging, Blogs, Cheese, WordPress, Writing, Year in Review
I know, I have been lax. When was my last post posted? I don’t know. But fear not! I have not yet given up the ghost! I will be back!
Sometime, eventually… But until then, I leave you with this! This wonderful, nostalgic summary of 2010 which WordPress has so kindly written up for me. Come with me as we venture back through the ages, and see how Birdwhisperer’s Weblog has fared this past year. I give you, my Year in Review! Ahem…
The stats helper monkeys at WordPress.com mulled over how this blog did in 2010, and here’s a high level summary of its overall blog health:
The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads Wow.
Birdwhisperer’s Comment: Sweeeeeet!
Crunchy numbers
A helper monkey made this abstract painting, inspired by your stats.
A Boeing 747-400 passenger jet can hold 416 passengers. This blog was viewed about 1,400 times in 2010. That’s about 3 full 747s.
In 2010, there were 19 new posts, growing the total archive of this blog to 101 posts.
The busiest day of the year was October 6th with 47 views. The most popular post that day was I’m Leavin’ On a Jet Plane….
Birdwhisperer’s Comment: Three full 747s? I’m Leavin’ On a Jet Plane? How strangely fitting. Nice painting too.
Where did they come from?
The top referring sites in 2010 were en.blog.wordpress.com, nanowrimo.org, joechip.net, donata-apennyforyourthoughts.blogspot.com, and facebook.com.
Some visitors came searching, mostly for benedy glen, universe single spoken sentence, the benedy glen lyrics, the benedy glen, and damian mcginty.
Attractions in 2010
These are the posts and pages that got the most views in 2010.
I’m Leavin’ On a Jet Plane… September 2010
2 comments
About Me December 2008
16 comments
The Benedy Glen January 2009
5 comments
The Universe – A Single Sentence March 2008
5 comments
Covers and Characters October 2010
5 comments and 1 Like on WordPress.com,
Birdwhisperer’s Comment: My personal favorite post of 2010 (and perhaps my best post yet, in my opinion) was ‘On Comments, Alliteration, and Probably Lots of Other Stuff Too’.
And yes, this totally counts as a blog post. It does. Really! Stop looking at me like that.
To any readers I may have left, thank you for your patience. I will try to have a new post up soon. What it will be about, I don’t know. But I will! If it kills me! Until then, farewell.
~Birdwhisperer
Why Am I Writing This!?
10 Nov 2010 8 Comments
in Uncategorized Tags: Bible, Blogging, Christian, Dentist, Fantasy, Fiction, God, NANOWRIMO, nanowrimo10, Prayer, Wisdom Teeth, Writer's Block, Writing
It is now ten days into November, and I’m not doing so well. I’m supposed to be at 16 thousand words, and I’m currently at 5 thousand. And I don’t know why I’m writing this blog post, when I should be writing in my novel!
But, oh well.
Last week I had my wisdom teeth extracted. That was certainly a unique experience. I wasn’t put to sleep, simply numbed, but I didn’t go loopy from the gas either. (Much to my loving parents’ disappointment. ) It wasn’t that bad really, although I slept almost all day that day and the day after. That threw off my internal clock/sleep schedule, so I’ve been staying up until 5 am and taking naps from noon to 4. Not that my sleep schedule was all that great before that…. But on the bright side, my main character is almost nocturnal, so it helps me with getting into her head, I suppose!
Having teeth pulled is a pretty good excuse for being behind, of course, but I have had plenty of time to write. I just… don’t. ‘Cause I’m pathetic like that. Yeah. But! I have written more in the past week than I have the entire rest of the year, and as long as this story is being written (however slowly) I’m happy. I’m almost done with Chapter 1, and hopefully things will pick up after that. Chapter 1 really isn’t that exciting.
I’ve also been reading my Bible and praying more, which is always a plus. (Well, of course!) I made a promise to myself a few years ago that I would not begin writing until I had done my devotions. It makes it harder to just sit down and write, since I need a few extra minutes to actually be ready, but I don’t regret doing it. Of course, if I did my devotions regularly every morning – which is what I am working toward – it wouldn’t slow me down at all. But doing this does help keep me focused on the goal of my writing, and it keeps me in the right mindset. Because of that it has kept me from getting too depressed about not writing as much as I could. I call myself pathetic as a joke, instead of actually meaning it.
I don’t know if I mentioned this before, but my main character is very similar to me. Most of her flaws and struggles are just really exaggerated versions of my own. At least, that’s the idea. It’s hard to say where things will go when it hasn’t been written down yet. But anyway, that may also be contributing to my ‘writer’s block’. Perhaps? I don’t really know, but it’s a theory of mine.
And, since I haven’t actually mentioned what the story is about, here is the synopsis I have up on my Nano profile:
“The half-elf Linnea has lived at the Abbey for as long as she can remember, deliberately secluding herself from everyone but a few select friends. It is a peaceful place, yet Linnea feels desperately empty inside. When her life is threatened she must leave the familiar safety of her home and enter the strange and dangerous outside world, accompanied by her closest friend, and even a few new ones.
Secrets are revealed that challenge everything Linnea ever knew as truth. The elves are not what they seem. The history of the world is stranger than anything she could have imagined. The line between friends and enemies blurs. Even what she thought was true about herself is turned upside down, and all the while forces on every side try to both manipulate and destroy her.
Will she be able to discern the black from the white in the haze of gray?”
And there you have it. Let me just add that the back story is so much more epic than this story, but that’s okay with me. Right now, I’m writing this story. I should probably get off and actually start writing this story… And hey! I just wrote 700 words in a very short amount of time! I should totally be able to put this energy into writing! <sigh>
So long and God bless!
(These posts look so much longer on my blog than they do when I’m writing them… =P )
Covers and Characters
30 Oct 2010 5 Comments
in Uncategorized Tags: 100, 100th Blog Post, Art, Blog, Blog Post, Blogging, Book Cover, Character, Characters, Cover, Cover Art, Covers, Dark Elf, Elf, Fantasy, Fiction, NANOWRIMO, nanowrimo10, Writing
Nanowrimo is just a day away! I don’t know if I’m ready or not, but I certainly hope so. Yesterday was my brother’s 15th birthday, which I spent making cake. Today I will try to get my room nice and clean before Nanowrimo, and tomorrow I intend to prepare lots of cookie dough that I’ll freeze and then pull out and bake whenever I need some cookies. And after that, writing!
Also, this is my 100th blog post! How exciting! To celebrate this momentous occasion – and for your viewing enjoyment – I shall be posting some of the artwork that the nice people over at Nanowrimo’s Artisans forum made for me…
Covers by ir0nna (left) and Hype (right). Aren’t they both so pretty?
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