The Pen of a Ready Writer

WhiteStar      It was my first day with WhiteStar.  My instructor taught me a series of "games".  These games were ways to prove myself both friendly and a leader, inviting the horse to move around the ring with me.  They were fun, but I needed a lot of help from my instructor.      WhiteStar, I think, was bored with the new student.  Her personality tends to be fearful and very meek and submissive.  She wants to be with a leader she can trust.  That leader was my instructor.  I was the one giving her the signals, but her eyes were on my instructor. Here is a little bit of the story from WhiteStar's point of view:      If I were one given to having my own opinions, I wouldn't be standing here with this student.  She obviously has no idea what she is doing.  <sigh>  Why do they give the beginners to me?  This student doesn't know me.  She is a fa...

Source: flickr.com       Meet John.  Who knows what sort of man he was before he lost his eyesight?  He does not say.  Now he is a quiet, unassuming man of heroic character.  You could be in a room with him and not notice him.  But I guarantee he will have noticed you.  His eyes may be gone, but his other senses have more than made up for their loss.  He is extremely perceptive -- which most people do not know simply because he does not tell them.        And if I may, I will devulge a little bit of my own philosophy on this with a question:  If people do not know simply because he does not tell them, then which party is the one who is truly blind?  

     My instructor explained to me how horses think.  It's not too complicated.  First of all, they are prey animals -- which means that everything eats them.  One wrong move, one careless moment, and they are dead.  They are like big bunny-rabbits with hooves.      I don't know if you have ever heard the story of the crafty fox and the flock of ducks.  The ducks were in the river and they were alert.  The fox sent a little twig down the river in the midst of them.  They were alarmed by the first twig.  But as the fox continued to send twigs down the river, the ducks grew accustomed to them.  The fox gradually sent bigger and bigger sticks down the river until he was able to ride down on a log into the midst of the now-relaxed ducks.  One poor duck paid for their inattentiveness with her life.      Maybe you haven't heard the story of the fox and the ducks, but I am pretty s...

WhiteStar      Hello, all!  I would like you to meet WhiteStar.  She has been an amazing teacher of horsemanship.  I owe much of what I know about horses to her.      Our relationship did not start out perfectly -- my fault, of course, and not hers.  I came for horse lessons with my mind full of the amazing things I could do someday.  I eyed the horses in the field and saw one attractive red Hanoverian mare.  Ah, yes, she would be a beautiful horse to work with.      My human teacher brought the red beauty as well as an Appaloosa cross.  The Appaloosa cross, as you may guess, was WhiteStar.  She was a good horse for beginners: sweet, shy, submissive.  Her favorite 2 things to do are to stand still and to eat.  So she was not likely to go galloping across the field on a whim with a frightened beginner rider clinging to her neck.  This, I was told, would be a great...

There are many authors that have gone before me.  Some simply inspire me to write differently than they write.  Others, however, have done such an amazing job at capturing a moment, a thought, an emotion, an idea, or a truth that I am stirred to write with the same intensity and skill.  I hope, in the course of this blog, to share many excerpts from writers who I admire.  Below is one of them:    Battle Song of Awe (Written, as you will see, not by the Leader but by one of His inspired me)   Let God arise, let His enemies be scattered: let them also that hate Him flee before Him. As smoke is driven away, so drive them away: as wax melts before the fire, so let the wicked perish at the presence of God.   But let the righteous be glad; let them rejoice before God: yeah, let them exceedingly rejoice.   Sing unto God, sing praises to His name: extol Him that rides upon the heavens by His name Jah , and rejoice before Him.   A f...

Since I have not finished even the first draft of Bella and Gerard, it is perhaps a little bit premature to tell you much about it.  At this point, even I do not know all the twists and turns this tale may take.  However, with that disclaimer, I give you the premise of the story:      Bella's aunts could not understand why their sister had left her only child to the care of the black sheep of the family.  When he disappeared within a week of receiving guardianship, they said good-riddance to him and dutifully took over the raising of Bella.  They never expected him to show up 7 years later to take her away.  Against the advice of the aunts, Bella and Gerard embark on a journey that proves to be quite a learning curve for both of them!   And here are some quotes from the first few chapters: ~  She grasped handfuls of cut grass clippings and tossed them over her head, feeling the blades pitter-patter across her face a...

Scooter      Hi, folks!  Meet Scooter.  He is a gorgeous little Arabian with a great personality.  He belongs to Katy Pistole.  When I first met him, he was standing loose in her front yard.  That caught my attention because horses don't usually hang out in the yard like pets.      The second thing that I noticed is that he greeted me politely.  He didn't crowd into my personal space and turn my pockets inside out, but he also didn't turn away from me as if to say "oh, bother, another human.  I wonder what SHE wants."  And there was no fear in his eyes.  He just welcomed me.      The third thing I noticed is that he can accomplish amazing feats with Katy.  His eyes are for her, and he obeys the slightest signal, apparently enjoying the games as much as she is. I could watch them all day long!   Yes, this is what I want to do.  Look!  No bridle...

    One of my many writing projects is under a working title of Bella and Gerard .  I don't know yet if this project is publishing material, but I am having fun with it.     One of the things that I am really enjoying about this project is the characters.  I have felt very relaxed as I write this project, and so, instead of rushing to my finale, I am slowing down and enjoying the journey.  And part of that includes getting to know the people in the story.      The other day, I looked online for some photos for my characters.  It was the first time I have done that for a writing project, but it is really helpful.  Here is the picture I found for the newspaper girl. source: superstock.com      She's practically an orphan, living on the streets of New York City in the early 1900s.  She's small for her age but a little spitfire if you get her ire up.  Some bigger boys in the neigh...

     Welcome to the blog!  This blog was created as a way to share the good things that I have been given.  I hope it makes a difference for you      I have an interest in writing that started at a young age and has grown as I did.  Much of this blog will be centered around my love of writing.  I will be sharing pieces of current story projects or things that I have learned as I write.      As you look around my blog, you will find three titles that I would like to explain.            - The title of my blog comes from Psalm 45 in the Bible.  It is pretty self-explanatory.            - The user name applied to myself is Bound and Freed.  This is a neat thing about my life because...well, I'll explain it another day.  [Hehe, my mom would protest about the 'suspence' if she were reading this.] ...