The Call of a Writer

“Everybody walks past a thousand story ideas every day. The good writers are the ones who see five or six of them. Most people don’t see any.” - Orson Scott Card

Walking On The Beach by Vera Kratochvil

Discovery is something that I look forward to every day. My mind dreams constantly of finding something new. A possibility, a hope, a unique object, a memory, a future... I grasp at the thrill of discovery, sending life through my veins. With the possibility of a story, I feel happy. The amazing thing about discovering a story, is that it can come in many different ways. One that comes to me, whispered by the wind, or thrust upon me unexpectedly. Sometimes pleasant, sometimes not.

    A story can be lived, written, sung, told, felt, dreamt or yearned for. That is what is so amazing about discovering them. Like Orson Scott Card said, we walk past stories everyday. The person sitting next to us, they have a story. The penny we find on the sidewalk, it has a story. The small flower sitting in a spot of dirt, it has a story. We just don’t know it. But that is the art of a writer. We find stories, dig them up from the dirt if we must, catch them from the sky as they whisk by like a shooting star, or just spend a moment listening to a tree, silently waiting. People walk past us, we find a story. The sun warms our back, we find a story. That is the call of a writer, discovering stories.

Born that way

“It’s none of their business that you have to learn to write. Let them think you were born that way.” - Ernest Hemingway

Violin by Vera Kratochvil

A writer comes in many different ways. Some claim that their destiny was fixed in them from the time they took their first breath or held a pencil in their hand. Others spend hours pouring over books, taking classes, practicing, to barely feel comfortable with the feel of writing. What some of us “born” writers neglect, is that even we make mistakes. Just because something runs in our heart, stronger than blood pumping to keep us alive, doesn’t mean that we are magically perfect.

This year I had a chance to do my very first violin solo for judges. I hacked away at that song for hours until is sounded decent, then I added some polishing touches. Wishing only to make it through alive. When I received the judges’ comments a week later, I found an unexpected compliment. It said: “You are a natural at the violin.” Upon showing it to my Mom, I said to her perplexed, “It takes me forever to learn a song. And I am so much slower learning the techniques. How could I be a natural.” She simply said: “Just because you are a natural, doesn’t mean that you don’t have to work hard.” I still didn’t believe it for a bit, but the concept cleared over time. Just because someone is born with a talent, doesn’t mean we don’t have to practice and learn that talent. But, like Ernest Hemingway said, “Let them think you were born that way.” And as long as the judge thinks I’m a natural, I won’t have to tell her how awful it sounded at first.

Guest Author: Difficulties

Short Bio: 

My name is Alyssa I am 18. I was born in the USA and I am a German American. Most of my mother’s side still lives in Germany and I’ve been out to visit them only a few times. I love being in Europe, specifically England, it’s my home away from home. My mom likes to joke that I was British in another life.

As such I enjoy tea far too much for my own good. Some of my other interests include writing and art, as well as a plethora of other things that you’ll just have to riddle out for yourself.

“Lines are very difficult to learn.”

Reading Easel by Anna Langova

                                ~Benedict Cumberbatch

Granted this quote is technically applied to actually lines from a T.V.  Show, play, or movie, but we’ve all had those times when we’ve had trouble with lines, or rather, learning how to interact with our world. Nobody ends up going through life with a perfect understanding of what’s going on, and knowing that is the key to success. I am always able to perform my best in awkward situations when I remember that everyone is just as nervous as I am. They just may be better at hiding it.

And for the record I’ve never actually had much trouble memorizing actual lines. It’s a talent.

Tiring Reality, Simply Dreams

“You may tire of reality but you never tire of dreams.”

― L.M. Montgomery

Reading An Old Book by Talia Felix

Tire of reality. I suppose it's too early in the school year to officially be tired of it, since I started last Wednesday... But golly can I tell you it has felt like a month! My brain seems to be in a continuous state of brain fog. As summer habits die hard, which, unfortunately for myself, involved staying up waaay too late. Luckily I've trimmed off an hour or two. But I sure am glad for my dreams, though I have less time to sit mindlessly and picture them. Right now they are also considerably less elaborate; read a book for hours on end again, sleep in decently after staying up late, perhaps going somewhere just for fun... and on and on. My other dreams are still there, and I feel them skipping around inside me, hoping they get to live soon. Someday...

School or Education?

"I've never let my school interfere with my education." 
-- Mark Twain
 

Time To Study by Peter Griffin

This week I started school again... (I would cheer but I feel that would be misleading.) As it is, I'm also going to Education Week. My schedule looks something like this: Wake up 6-7am. Get ready. (Pack lunch and dinner.) Get to school before 8:45am. Classes. My Mom picks me up a few minutes after school around 3:30pm. She drives my sister and I straight to BYU campus. Classes. Get picked up around 9:30pm. Drive home. Do a few random things to prepare for tomorrow. Sleep... until the alarm interrupts it, + 5-10 minutes. Yes, I'm going to school. Still, I go to education week. Crazy? Maybe. But Mark Twain sure got it right to some extent, and this counts.

Excuses, Excuses

“The most profitless thing to manufacture is excuses.”

-- B. C. Forbes

This is a particular favorite of ours. One we often site to each other when one of us (sheepish grin) is showing a certain skill for creating a long list of excuses. So you see, though I agree with this quote, I do not exactly live by it. (As I am quite good at manufacturing excuses and am quite loathe to part with that skill.) However, it really is a profitless art. Many times I have talked myself out of an experience which would have been a great one filled with learning and much benefit. And, being a great procrastinator, I often exercise excuses much more than I ought to. However, as time goes on, and I realize the petty profit (if any) of my practice, I have come to a more determined attitude to complete things and carry on with a positive attitude in life. Put on my smile, take hold of my courage, and step forward into the rest of my unknown life. -- Kenzie 

Steps - Black And White by George Hodan

Repentance

"If we put off repentance another day, we have a day more to repent of, and a day less in which to repent."

-- Mason

I don't know how to add on to that. The statement is simple and to the point. I've heard stories of people who deliberately wait all their life just to get baptized and enter Heaven clean. But as I think more and more about it, not only does it not make sense to wait that long, but why should we spend all of our lives waiting to feel cleansed, only to feel that way for a moment before death? I'm so glad that I don't have to keep adding days to my burden of mistakes, thankfully, I accept Mason's statement, and gratefully put it in action. 

  

Stand Up to your Work

For that is the thing a man is born to... to expend every particle of strength that God Almighty has given him in doing the work he finds he is fit for; to stand up to it to the last breath of life, and to do his best. We are called upon to do that... I would bid you stand up to your work, whatever it may be, and not be afraid of it.

-- Thomas Carlyle

Work Boots by Alex Borland

Conversation

“Conversation is the art of telling people a little less than they want to know.”

--Franklin P. Jones

Talking On Mobile Phone by Petr Kratochvil

This quote gets me laughing every time. Jones pinned it right on the nose. Even today, in every conversation I had with someone, whether in person or through the internet, this quote manifested its truth. Sure, eventually I got something out of them, but it did take an awful long time to get there... Oh we are funny people, dying to tell someone, but taking an extra amount of persuasion before relinquishing the information so vainly sought for. Yet we converse ever more, just as artful at telling a "little less than they want to know."
--Kenzie

This quote is wonderful. It humorously tells the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Whether you are chatting, discussing, or explaining, the trick is to tell a little less. A question will be asked, and again, the words you speak will add up to a little less than the full answer. This is the way a conversation holds the interest of both parties. When looking to spice up a weak conversation, this is your prescription. And as Mr. Jones so aptly put it, it is indeed, an art.
-- Emily

Confident Young Women

“Above all, be the heroine of your life, not the victim.”

-- Nora Ephron

Stand Out Warning by George Hodan

This past week I had the opportunity to go to Girl's Camp. The last night we were there, all of the girls, including myself, got to participate in a Faith Hike. We walked to different locations where a speaker had a five minute talk on a specific subject prepared for us. Each of the stops were greatly touching and spiritual. At one of the stops the young woman, in her middle twenties, she said she asked ten of her guy friends what was most attractive in a young woman. All ten of them said "Confidence." We must learn to stand on our own two feet. This does not mean pushing away all help. It means not depending solely on the new trends and opinions of today's world. We must live with confidence, and ultimately, we will leave behind our years of being a victim, and emerge triumphant; a heroine.

Guest Author: A "scientific" view on Friendship

A short attempt at a reasonable Bio.

Mari is a good friend of both Emily and Kenzie, and she also claims she is a close acquaintance of Sherlock Holmes. She is a few hundred years old, or so she says, though we never quite figure out how she manages to look only slightly older than us. She spins words together in a creatively entertaining way, but you almost always have to reread them. Please, enjoy, and don't feel too bad if you're slightly perplexed, it will only make us feel better. ;) -- Kenzie and Emily

“Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: "What! You too? I thought I was the only one.”

― C.S. Lewis

Is it even possible to question the truth of this quote? 

Wait, it is? Okay, let's give you some examples, then.

*At Shakespeare Showdown*

Me: Guys, let's talk about cool space stuff that's really confusing! Do you think time travel is possible?

Random Stranger Wearing a Trench Coat: Yes, but we would need to advance our technology to the point were we could create a tesseract in order to do it.

Me: *Falls off Chair* Ah!!! You really actually just used the word "tesseract" in a sentence!!! In real life! Do you read Madeline L'Engle? 

Trench Coat Guy: Yes! And I also study really cool stuff pertaining to space!

Me: *Gasp* SO DO I!!!!

Trench Coat Guy: Let"s be friends.

Me: Agreed!

*Shake Hands*

(Note: The actual conversation may vary slightly from the above)

Space by Silviu Firulete

Let's take a quick sidetrack here and talk about Cultural Backgrounds.

Basically, each and every individual in this world has a cultural background. I'm not talking about things like Chinese cultural backgrounds, or Irish backgrounds, or Tatooine backgrounds, because even those do contribute, what is important in friendship is the individual, personal cultural background. Everybody has one, and I believe that there are not two in the world that are exactly a like. Even siblings, who are  raised by the same parents, live in the same home, and have the same experiences, have totally different backgrounds. "But Mari, how does having a different cultural background then everyone else in the world relate to me making friends?"

Good question, but it actually is highly relevant. And this is the part were the "What, you too? I thought I was the only one" comes in. We all have different cultural backgrounds, yes, but we also have cultural similarities. For instance, Trench coat guy and I share a cultural similarity of reading L'Engle, a good astronomy class, and an appreciation of well made overcoats. Another friend has the cultural similarity of appreciating children's television shows, philosophy, and the art of being a cool homeschooler. Anyway, my point is the more cultural similarities we have the more likely we are to become friends. What? Yes, of course there are other factors, but they don't pertain to the quote at the top of the page? You forgot what it was? How could you? Silly people, now you'll have to read this all over again. Mwa ha ha!

The End

Pioneer Day

“It is not easy to be a pioneer - but oh, it is fascinating! I would not trade one moment, even the worst moment, for all the riches in the world.”

-- Elizabeth Blackwell 

Barren Hills by Lilla Frerichs

What an attitude is that! I feel her enthusiasm popping with her words and it makes me want to sing praises and shout! In Utah today is Pioneer Day, the day we celebrate all of our Pioneer ancestors trekking to settle this desert land. We thank them for their determination and will power that has made this land beautiful. I myself have pioneer ancestors, and I am very grateful for all that they did, pulling a handcart across barren and cold land. I'm certain they did not all share Blackwell's view, at least not at every moment of their hard trek, but I am sure that they must have, at some point or other, felt the same determination, strongly enough to carry them on and complete their journey. Once again, we thank them for all that they did.

Roller Coaster

“There is nothing so powerful as an idea whose time has come.”

--Victor Hugo

I love ideas. Just the word fills me with excitement, like a thrilling roller coaster ride. I chug along, putter putter putter putter, then reach the top, emotions go wild knowing in that split second the ride is about to truly begin. Then it whirls down, tossing my emotions together in a great big barrel. Fear, excitement, doubt, thrill, and joy. Then the ride ends, and breathe enters my body. And that's when I know, I need to do it again. So I get back in line, then putter putter putter putter, till the idea reaches its peak and I can't defy gravity. -- Kenzie

NJ Six Flags Rollercoaster by K Whiteford

Restful Sleep

Have courage for the great sorrows of life, and patience for the small ones; and when you have laboriously accomplished your daily task, go to sleep in peace. God is awake.

--Victor Hugo

I Sleep by George Hodan

Life is such a beautiful thing. Full of sorrow so that we might have joy. Full of work so that we might have rest. Yes, we need courage to help us carry on when it is too dark to see. And patience when we just have to wait them out, carrying on with our daily life. But the greatest reward is the rest, when we sit down on our aching bones and feel the satisfaction of our hard work and perseverance. Then while we sleep, God watches over us till we awake the next day. And then he gives us strength till we sleep again...

The Truth Will Make You Free

God offers to every mind its choice between truth and repose.

-- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Free Flight by Steve Linster

I love this. The wording is perfect. The meaning is clearly expressed. You cannot be at peace when you don't live in accordance with the truth that you know. And once you begin to seek truth, it is a restless, never ending search. But at the same time, it is a happy search, because you are learning new things, and growing, and becoming a better person. And since that is what life is all about, then well-done. The truth has made you free.

Shallow Waters

"I am very careful to be shallow and conventional where depth and originality are wasted."
- L.M. Montgomery

I love this quote's subtle humor. To begin with, it implies that there are people you would not want too waste your charming personality on. The words dance on to slyly suggest that if you are entirely serious when you read them, perhaps you are one of those dull, oblivious people. Finally, you realize that in addition to this quote behind-the-scenes humor, we also get a full dose of Miss Montgomery's depth and originality. I guess she didn't think it was wasted on us! -- Emily

Diving Off Pier by Lilla Frerichs

A subtle tint of humor, and it twitches my lips into a smile, and causes a laugh to escape my throat. How true that sentence is! There have been times when I try to reverse the shallowness of a situation, and add "depth and originality", but so often it is discarded. I often give up my futile attempt and remember not to try again. Alas! What are we to do in shallow waters? Putter along like we're playing with a toddler, and when we find someone who can swim in the deep end, then perhaps I'll try a dive off the board. -- Kenzie

A Million Years

"Keep your eyes on the stars and your feet on the ground." 
-- Theodore Roosevelt

The Star Sun by Bobbi Jones

 There is something magical about stars, endlessly shining in a dark sea of black. I remember learning that it can take thousands, maybe even millions, of years for a star's light to reach our eyes on earth. I love to gaze up at them, and when I do, I feel like anything is possible. If I can see their light after a million years of travel through space, I can make a mark in the world. So even though my eyes gaze ever upward, I plant my feet firmly here, and add to my intricate painting of life. Even if it takes me a million years, I'll shine through.

Inner Fire

“In everyone’s life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit.” -- Albert Schweitzer

Our Freedom

There is an aura of grandeur about the dull routine of maintenance.... It is easier to build than to maintain. Even a lethargic or debilitated population can be galvanized for a while to achieve something impressive, but the energy that goes into maintenance of things in good repair day in and day out is the energy of true vigor.... It is easier to win our freedom, build a nation and subdue a continent, than it is now to maintain that freedom, and live peaceably with ourselves.

-- Eric Hoffer and Clifton G. M. Kerr

Baking by George Hodan

What can I add to such simple truth? All I have to do is look at my bedroom to see the logic behind this statement. Or even dishes... bake a beautiful cake =  messy pan, bowl, spatula, whisk, etc. And yet, we clean it up, and bake a cake another day. Why? Because the reward is so much greater. Our freedom is so precious. So beautiful and unique. We must step up and be valiant to protect our freedom. The taste is too great to savor only to lose it now. We have something special here in America that many places don't have. We have freedom. It is up to us now to maintain that freedom. -- Kenzie

Tomorrows' Freedom

For in the end, freedom is a personal and lonely battle; and one faces the fears of today so that those of tomorrow might be engaged.
- Alice Walker 

Red Arrows by David Green

This has a melancholy feel to it. Full of despair, perhaps hurt or anger. It is like a man taking his dying breathe, accepting his fate because there is nothing else to do. Yes, freedom can be lonely, and we must face our fears every singe day. But we forget the hope of tomorrow as well. With each new fear triumphed, we gain one small ounce of hope. And that is the reason we must live till tomorrow, even with a new volley of fears prepared to shoot us down. We will stand strong, because we have hope in a greater freedom.

For Freedom

“Freedom is the sure possession of those alone who have the courage to defend it.”

--Pericles

This week we celebrate the beginning of our country. We revere and commemorate the great words penned by Thomas Jefferson, that declared the independence of the United States of America. I cannot write anything that might adequately express the feelings of Americans this week. Instead, I will borrow the words of Abraham Lincoln in the Gettysburg Address.

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow -- this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

We cannot voice our gratitude in a way that will do our founding fathers justice. We can express our thanks and honor their sacrifice far better by following in their steps. Their offering must not have been made in vain. This week we re-dedicate ourselves to the cause of freedom. We choose to defend our liberty.

Find the Beautiful

"Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not." --Ralph Waldo Emerson

Many people think that if their life is bad, moving will solve everything. All at once, they can, and will be, a new person. The truth of that belief only carries so far though. If we wish to change, we must do it consciously. We can all change. We just can't expect it to happen overnight, in one moment. For most of us, it takes time. Little moments, determination, and perseverance must be our allies for a while, if not forever. If we wish for beauty, we must decide to see beauty first. It does not just pop up once we go somewhere else, but if we bring the beauty we wish to see with us, like Emerson said, then we will see it. Otherwise, our eyes will still see the same blandness we see everywhere. Anyone can look at the same plot of land, "beautiful" or not, and see two completely different pictures. One glorious, and the other dull. We make life beautiful. -- Kenzie
 

These words hold a great deal of meaning for me. They mean that those who lead finicky, discontented lives can search every corner of the globe for beauty, but they will always find something to complain about. They will never find a painting whose colors are vibrant enough, or a book that was plotted to suit them. They will never find the landscape that satisfies their high expectations. Vice versa, those who go out of their way to create beauty may never leave the villages of their births, and yet see it all around them. They will will always find something to appreciate and admire, and they will go out of their way to show others the enchantment in life. When we enter the world with the idea that beauty is all around us, if only we look for it, we will find it in the most commonplace, routine happenings. --Emily

Rose in the gloom

The Problem of Life

There are so many possibilities in life, in attainment and achievement, and so many opportunities of doing good, that it is a glorious thing to live. Surely, then, we ought to make the most of our life. The ideal life is one of joy. The face ought to be shining--shining even in darkness. People say this is a sad world, yes, for those who have eyes only for shadows. He who has songs in his heart hears songs wherever he goes.

-- Dr. J. R. Miller

One Single Rose by MALIZ ONG

This quote has made my eyes look for the light more than once in my young life. Sometimes shadows can be overwhelming, but just knowing that there is light brings back my desire for it. When our world grows shadows, stretching vast distances, we need something to pull us through. A rose, a friend, or even a song, as Miller says.  Yes, our world is sad, dark, and dreary. But our world is also beautiful, unique, and filled with wonders. Imagine going to the redwoods and only looking at the shadows, seemingly the largest thing you've ever beheld. But when you look up, there stands the great tree, breathtakingly beautiful and majestic, much more powerful than the shadow it casts. We can not live a life hiding in the shadows. We must look up, and see the greatness of life.

Life is Simple

"All the great things are simple, and many can be expressed in a single word: freedom, justice, honor, duty, mercy, hope." - Winston Churchill

Simple Sunset by MALIZ ONG

These words contain tremendous insight. In our sophistication, we humans like to make everything complicated. But as these words remind us, the simple things are beautiful, and the most essential, simple. In the end, everything comes down to a few concepts that are not as difficult as we make them-- right and wrong, truth, and choices.

Be Valiant

"Cowards die many times before their deaths; The valiant never taste of death but once." - Shakespeare 

It's hard to say anything profound about something that already is. I love the word choice that makes the quote three dimensional. It excites my senses and brain, trying to understand what exactly he is saying. I think I get it, but there's a part of me that thinks I'm still missing something. Perhaps the rest will come with age.
-- Kenzie

Shakespeare said this so eloquently. Hiding from life, shunning opportunity in the name of caution, giving way to fear-- these are the ways of the coward. Such a life is not really a life at all. It is a worse death than that of a hero, the death that comes because  you were valiant. These are words of warning. Don't give way to fear. Live fully, defy gravity. Be valiant. -- Emily

Dare Mighty Things

“Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs even though checkered by failure, than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat.” 
 – Theodore Roosevelt
 

The Alamo by Robert Piemme

Recently I visited The Alamo. The effect it had on me was to evaluate my own life. Hundreds of people died that day, few survived, and fewer names are remembered. Every breath I breathe is adding to my life, every person I meet, place I go, thing I do, adds to my identity. I am creating History every second, but the real struggle is deciding what history is worth creating, and if anyone will remember it.