In honor of the Know the Novel linkup posts I did (Part 1 here and Part 2 here), I’m going to post a snippet of sorts from my WIP, A Tale of Two Brothers. “‘Of sorts?'” you say, casting a suspicious glare in my direction. “What exactly does ‘Of sorts’ mean?”
I’m so glad you asked.
“Of sorts” means that it’s not an actual snippet from my story. It means that it’s actually a journal entry from my main character’s journal, and next week’s Story Day will probably be another journal entry from another character’s journal, and the week after that. Though I might possibly do a Christmas themed story for Christmas Day, or take that day off – we’ll see.
So! Enjoy this little peek into Myra’s life. 🙂
Prompt
Write a journal entry from your character’s perspective.
Story Entry
Areel 24
Dear Journal
Today I was finally able to get out by myself and explore some of the area around our farm. The snow has gone down enough for me to be able to wander pretty far without getting exhausted (oy, the snow here never seems to go away), and though it was cold (of course), I dressed warmly and made it about two miles before turning back. I did spend a lot of time in front of the fire this evening, though.
Although the Shinarins are simple, peaceful people, their land certainly is NOT. The mountains around here look like a… a lion, really. Majestic in their way, but dangerous to approach. Their slopes are so rugged and bare, and the snow is so thick on them throughout the entire year. It’s a wonder anyone ever dared to find a pass through them to open trade routes.
Not only the mountains and really rugged terrain (and I used to think hiking in Zoar was hard!), but the weather here is so unpredictable. You could have sunny skies one moment, and the next a blizzard whistling down from the slopes. I’ve learned to keep an eye on the clouds.
I suppose I like the mountains, though. They provide some nice protection from the wind that never seemed to go away on the Zoarish prairies. They protect us from storms and I guess they’ve been used in war before, against attackers. Obviously that didn’t go too well with the Shinarins against us. I wonder how they felt about that? Being taken over, I mean. I’m sure losing their homeland to a bunch of invaders was hard on them, but being enslaved and treated so poorly? I’m glad King Nahor decided to make them equal with us. I know a lot of Zoarish don’t appreciate losing their slaves, but I think we could learn to work together, if only we get over our differences.
Anyway, back to the exploring. So I’m pretty sure I spotted some castle ruins in a valley not far from here. If I had the whole day to myself, I’m pretty sure I could hike over there and explore – especially if I did it sometime in the spring or summer, when the weather is warm and the snow’s mostly gone. I think it was the old Shinarin vacation castle or something – our people destroyed it when they came in. Personally, I think that was a poor choice. Why waste all that material when you could move into the castle yourself and have another stronghold up in these mountains? I suppose our soldiers have a fair bit of pride they have to keep in tact.
The fire is burning low, and I am running out of space to write. I’ll try and keep you updated with the castle.
~Myra
Wrap Up
There you have it! A tiny peek into my stubborn protagonist’s noggin. (Boy, is she hard to write… XD) What do you think? Does she sound interesting? Is her personality showing through? If not, do you have any tips on how to break this nut? Is the journal entry posting thing a good idea, or should I go back to random snippets? What’s up with this castle thing?
And as always, take courage, pursue God, and smile while you still have most of your teeth!! 😀
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