tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27912718522578430742023-11-16T20:08:17.582+13:00From A Jagged InkwellDavid Sampsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03224410686059411125noreply@blogger.comBlogger42125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2791271852257843074.post-20305925300175996122017-02-25T21:51:00.003+13:002017-02-25T21:51:44.453+13:00Sonship and Servanthood: Being vs Doing(Song to listen to while reading this: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnjeMwxFuBA" target="_blank">Breathe by Jonny Diaz</a>. Or after, if you prefer not to multitask or want to focus on the words of this post and the words of the song.) <br />
<br />
One of the main differences in being a son compared to being a servant is that a servant has to work to maintain his position. That is the definition of a servant.<br />
<br />
On the other hand, a son doesn't have to 'do' in order to stay as a son. All a son has to do to be a son is just that - be a son. There is nothing a son can do to make him any more or any less a son. He is a son.<br />
<br />
We see an example of this in the parable of the prodigal son:<br />
<br />
<i>I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants. So he got up and went to his father.</i><br />
<i>But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.</i><br />
<i>The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’</i><br />
<i>But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.</i> - Luke 15:11-32 (NIV)<br />
<br />
In this story, the son wanted to come home and serve his father. He wanted to do. He didn't think he could be a son any more - he thought he had to do in order to be worthy of anything. But he hadn't realized that being a son is not dependent on what he did or didn't do. He was his father's son.<br />
<br />
<i>As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”</i><br />
<i>“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”</i> - Luke 10:38-42 (NIV)<br />
<br />
We see here Martha acting as a servant and Mary being a daughter. Mary was not needing to do anything. All that she needed to was to just be and sit at Jesus's feet.<br />
<br />
Servants need to do.<br />
<br />
Sons and daughters can just be.<br />
<br />
(If you haven't listened to the song, go listen now - <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnjeMwxFuBA" target="_blank">Breathe by Jonny Diaz</a>)David Sampsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03224410686059411125noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2791271852257843074.post-4906335307709845502016-09-14T09:19:00.000+12:002016-09-14T09:19:27.752+12:00Everything We Need<i>His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.</i> - 2 Peter 1:3 (NIV)<br />
<br />
Here Peter tells us that we have been given the power to live a godly life. Maybe we're not sanctified all at once (I'm certainly not) but we are being sanctified.<br />
<br />
This means that we don't have an excuse to live in sin:<br />
<br />
"We were trying to stay pure before marriage. Oh well."<br />
"I keep losing the battle against <insert various sins here>"<br />
"It's just so hard."<br />
<br />
Maybe we have sinned in the past. I'm not going to say that's <i>okay</i>, but we do have a roadmap in the Bible of what to do: Repent and confess.<br />
<br />
But just because we've sinned in the past is no excuse for sinning in the present.<br />
Just because the grace of God washes over all of our sins is no excuse for sinning in the present.<br />
<br />
<i>
What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?</i> - Romans 6:1-2 (NIV)<br />
<br />
We're not victims of our choices. We make our own choices. And we have been given everything we need to make godly choices.<br />
<br />
I'm doing something this week which is hard. But I have the ability to do it, through Christ. I shouldn't complain that it's too hard and that it's not fair - after all, I chose it. And if I didn't complete it, then it wouldn't be that the idea failed - it would be that I failed. I didn't use what God has given me in order to live a godly life.<br />
<br />
In summary:<br />
<i>His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.</i> - 2 Peter 1:3 (NIV)<br />
<br />
He has given us everything we need. Use it.<br />
<br />
S.D.G.David Sampsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03224410686059411125noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2791271852257843074.post-27553804944646041122016-09-02T10:39:00.000+12:002016-09-02T10:39:30.306+12:00Dealing with Sin in the ChurchIdeally, it wouldn't happen. But it does. If sanctification is a process that continues throughout our whole life, then there will be times when all of us fall short of God's perfect standard.<br />
<br />
But we don't want to stay there.<br />
<br />
Some people say we need to be 'forgiving' and 'accepting'. Let's have a look at Jesus' life and how he interacted with sinners.<br />
<br />
<i>At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.</i><br />
<i>But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.</i><br />
<i>At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”</i><br />
<i>“No one, sir,” she said.</i><br />
<i>“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”</i><br />
- John 8:2-11 (NIV)<br />
<br />
In this story, Jesus is asked to give a judgement on whether to respond with the law or with mercy. He chooses mercy. He shows us that we are all sinners worthy of judgement, and that we should not be the ones to condemn people. That is God's role. (Jesus is God, yes, but his role during his time on Earth was not to bring condemnation - John 3:17.)<br />
<br />
But even though Jesus didn't condemn, he still made a judgement. Some people are scared of the word 'judge', quoting the first three words of Matthew 7:1 - "Do not judge." We'll get to that in a moment.<br />
<br />
Jesus didn't condemn the woman, but he still commanded her to leave her life of sin.<br />
<br />
Now lets look at that 'do not judge' passage in context:<br />
<br />
<i>1 “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.</i><br />
<i>3 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.</i><br />
<i>6 “Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.</i> - Matthew 7:1-6 (NIV)<br />
<br />
People quote the first three words of this section and forget the context. I don't think Jesus is saying not to judge in this passage - he's saying to think carefully before judging. There can be no double standards - if you judge others, you yourself will be judged in the same way. In verse 5, it clearly explains when you are to 'remove the speck from your brother's eye' - which is when the plank is taken out of your own eye.<br />
<br />
I think verse 6 talks about who we are to 'judge'. If we judge those outside the church, they will not appreciate it and will 'turn and tear you to pieces'. Those we are to judge are those inside the church, those striving for holiness. Those people will be grateful for your rebuke:<br />
<i></i><br />
<i>Do not rebuke mockers or they will hate you; rebuke the wise and they will love you.</i> - Proverbs 9:8 (NIV)<br />
<br />
Also, since we are judged according to how we judge, we need to be sure that our judgement is for the purpose of building each other up, of inspiring each other onwards and upwards towards holiness. We need to judge in humility, recognizing that we ourselves have faults.<br />
<br />
So this passage says how to judge and who we are to judge, and what our motives are to be in judging. It doesn't actually say we have to judge though. It's not a command...<br />
<br />
... but Matthew 18 is:<br />
<br />
<i>If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that 'every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.' If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church, and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.</i> - Matthew 18:15 (NIV)<br />
<br />
These verses tell us how we are to deal with sin in the church - and we are to deal with it firmly. Also in Paul's letters:<br />
<br />
<i>What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked person from among you.”</i> - 1 Corinthians 5:12-13 (NIV) (go read this one in context as well!)<br />
<br />
This isn't a blank check that permits us to judge as we see fit. We still need to remember the principles that Jesus taught of love, and mercy, and meeting people where they're at, and humility, and patience. I think ideally, this judging would be done by someone who knows the basic facts about what had happened and who knows the person or people in question fairly well.<br />
<br />
But if there's isn't someone in that position, that is no excuse for others to ignore the responsibility that we have to our brothers and sisters in Christ. It's for their salvation! (1 Corinthians 5:5)<br />
<br />
Wake up, church! Let us imitate Christ.<br />
<br />
I guess the only challenge I can truly make to finish is this: If I'm sinning, please rebuke me.<br />
<br />
S. D. G.David Sampsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03224410686059411125noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2791271852257843074.post-9356889719353684842016-08-20T11:24:00.002+12:002016-08-20T11:24:40.408+12:00Predestination: My ThoughtsThis is the first of three posts that were requested by one of my readers. You know who you are :)<br />
<br />
And we come to what seems to me to be one of the favourite debate topics among Christians: predestination. I'm going to approach this using the <a href="https://jagswiftstorm.blogspot.co.nz/2016/08/the-two-questions-framework.html" target="_blank">Two Questions framework</a> that I wrote about a while ago.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Question 1</h3>
The first question: What should we believe about predestination?<br />
<br />
There are various verses in the Bible that use the word 'predestined' or some other form of it. Some of these are:<br />
<br />
<i>For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.</i> - Ephesians 1:4-6 (NIV)<br />
<br />
<i>And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.</i> - Romans 8:28-30 (NIV)<br />
<br />
If God has foreknowledge of what will happen, then He already knows who will be saved. But that doesn't mean that He has chosen some specific people to be saved and some not to be saved. We see this in this passage, which says: <i>For those God foreknew he also predestined.</i> We see here that his predestination of us is determined by his foreknowledge of our salvation.<br />
<br />
And some other verses that could refer to predestination:<br />
<br />
<i>You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you.</i> - John 15:16 (NIV)<br />
<br />
<i>No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day.</i> - John 6:44 (NIV)<br />
<br />
<i>When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honored the word of the Lord; and all who were <b>appointed for eternal life</b> believed.</i> - Acts 13:48 (NIV) [emphasis mine]<br />
<br />
From these verses, it looks to me as though there is an element of God's election in salvation. And I totally agree with that. We can do nothing to save ourselves. It is only by God's grace and the faith that He gives us (Ephesians 2:8-9) that we can be saved.<br />
<br />
But at the same time, God can't save us by Himself. Well, actually, He can, since He is all-powerful. But He has chosen to draw His people to Himself by a different means than forcing them to believe. So there is a critical element in salvation that is our repentance and faith in Christ to save us - and without that, God chooses not to save us, even though he wants to:<br />
<br />
<i>The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.</i> - 2 Peter 3:9 (NIV)<br />
<br />
But remember the promise in John:<br />
<br />
<i>For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.</i> - John 3:16 (NIV)<br />
<br />
It doesn't say "whoever believes in him and has also been predestined". It says "whoever believes in him".<br />
<br />
<h3>
Question 2</h3>
What about the second question? How then shall we live?<br />
<br />
For ourselves, there is no Biblical basis (that I know of, at least) for wondering whether we are one of the elect. The Bible says,<br />
<br />
<i>If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.</i> - Romans 10:9 (NIV)<br />
<br />
There is no basis for wondering whether we are one of the elect to see if we can be saved or not.<br />
<br />
But what about for others? One of the arguments against predestination is that it renders evangelism worthless. If God has already decided who is going to be saved, and they are going to be saved, then there is no point in evangelism.<br />
<br />
<i>Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.</i> - Matthew 28:19-20 (NIV)<br />
<br />
I don't see any Biblical basis for questioning whether someone is one of the elect or not. Instead, we are commanded to go to the lost.<br />
<br />
So the commands I see in the Bible are more in line with free will than with predestination. This could be used as an argument against predestination, but it is important that we <b>do not base our beliefs off their results</b>. If we do, then we have fallen into pragmatism - "whatever works".<br />
<br />
<h3>
Summary</h3>
So do I believe in predestination? Yes.<br />
Do I believe in free will? Yes.<br />
How do these two things work together? I don't know for sure.<br />
<br />
If I could only believe in one, I would believe in free will.<br />
<br />
What do I know? God has commanded us to go into all the world and preach the gospel to all nations, and he has promised that anyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.<br />
<br />
The truth matters. We should strive to discover the truth. But when some truth is unclear, it is not an excuse to neglect other, clear truths. In this instance, searching out the truth about predestination is a good thing to do. But it is important that it not overwhelm the clear commands that God has given us.<br />
<br />
S. D. G.David Sampsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03224410686059411125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2791271852257843074.post-8858242134530849892016-08-06T09:57:00.002+12:002016-08-06T09:57:25.254+12:00Once Saved Always SavedOnce Saved Always Saved, or Perseverance of the Saints, is an interesting topic. I'm going to post what I see in the Bible. Obviously, there are a lot of people who have a different opinion on it (and they have Bible verses that back up their position ... I think) so if you disagree, please disagree politely. I'm willing to have a civil discussion on this if you want to :)<br />
<br />
The definition of Once Saved Always Saved is that when a person becomes a Christian, their salvation is sealed for all eternity. No matter what they do in their life after that point, they are always going to Heaven because of the decision they made at one point in their life.**<br />
<br />
So, do I believe in Once Saved Always Saved?<br />
<br />
No, I don't. I believe that it is possible for Christians to lose their salvation. Here's some verses that back up my position:<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark+4%3A2-20&version=NIV" target="_blank">Mark 4:2-20</a> (Parable of the Sower/Seeds/Earth)<br />
<br />
In this parable, Jesus talks about different types of people that receive the gospel and then fall away. Some reasons that they fall away include:<br />
<ul>
<li>Satan takes away the Word (path)</li>
<li>Trouble or persecution (rocky ground)</li>
<li>Worries of this life/deceitfulness of wealth/desires for other things (thistles)</li>
</ul>
<div>
I'm not going to give teaching on what each of these things are and how to avoid them in this post, since that's not my purpose here - we're discussing Once Saved Always Saved.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2+Timothy+2%3A11-13&version=NIV" target="_blank">2 Timothy 2:11-13</a><br />
<br />
This is a 'trustworthy saying' that Paul includes in his second letter to Timothy.<br />
In it he says that if we disown Jesus, he will disown us.<br />
If we are faithless, he remains faithful.<br />
<br />
So what's the difference between disowning Jesus and being faithless?<br />
<br />
The difference I see is that 'disowning' must be a conscious choice. You don't disown something by accident. You have to decide to disown it. However, you can slip into faithlessness without ever once making a conscious decision to cross the line of faithlessness, because there is no line.<br />
<br />
So I don't believe you can 'lose' your salvation, but you can 'give it back'.</div>
<br />
So now we come to the <a href="https://jagswiftstorm.blogspot.co.nz/2016/08/the-two-questions-framework.html" target="_blank">two questions</a>.<br />
<br />
First, what is the truth? What I see in the Bible is that it is theoretically possible for a believer to lose their salvation.<br />
<br />
Second, how then shall we live? For each person individually, Once Saved Always Saved doesn't really matter to you. If you can't accidentally lose your salvation, then you don't need to worry about doing so. At any time, you will be either:<br />
<br />
a) A believer who has a relationship with God and is 'saved', and therefore does not have to worry<br />
b) A nonbeliever who does not have a relationship with God and does not care that they are not 'saved', and therefore does not have to worry*<br />
or c) A nonbeliever who does not have a relationship with God but wants to have a relationship with God. In that case, we have good news for you. It's called the gospel. :)<br />
<br />
*Well, they should worry that they are not going to Heaven when they die. But the doctrine of Once Saved Always Saved shouldn't worry them.<br />
<br />
For those who are saved and are worried about losing their salvation:<br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>“Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”</i> (Hebrews 13:5b)<br />
<br />
But still:<br />
<br />
<i>Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.</i> (Philippians 2:12-13)
<br />
<br />
What I see in this verse is that there is a part for us to play in remaining saved, and that we are to pursue that with 'fear and trembling'. But then go back to Hebrews 13:5b again. :)<br />
<br />
The time when Once Saved Always Saved does worry people is when they are considering friends who at one time avowed Christ, but now seem to have slipped away from the faith. In those situations, the question is 'Are they still saved?'<br />
<br />
I don't have all the answers. I can't tell you whether that person has disowned Christ or is merely faithless. What I can say is:<br />
<br />
<i>Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.</i> (2 Timothy 4:2)<br />
<br />
<i>But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.</i> (1 Peter 3:15-16)<br />
<br />
Pray for your friend. Pray for opportunities to remind them of the gospel and of the faith they once avowed. But do this with gentleness and respect. Don't force it on them, but be bold.<br />
<br />
And in all things, to God be the glory.<br />
<br />
S. D. G.<br />
<br />
**A footnote. Some will say that this a straw man argument, and that I am missing the point, as it says in Romans 6:1-2: <i>Shall we go on sinning ... By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?</i> I agree that the doctrine of Once Saved Always Saved does not (or should not) give permission for people to do whatever they want. However, we are debating the second of the <a href="https://jagswiftstorm.blogspot.co.nz/2016/08/the-two-questions-framework.html" target="_blank">two questions</a> at this point without discovering the truth of the first question.David Sampsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03224410686059411125noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2791271852257843074.post-79262665459361175322016-08-01T09:18:00.000+12:002016-08-01T09:18:07.458+12:00The Two Questions: A FrameworkI was planning some more posts for the future (some of them requested by readers ... er, a reader, singular) and I realized that this framework is applicable to many of them. So it's in its own post so that I can easily refer back to it.<br />
<br />
When discussing an issue, there are two big questions to ask:<br />
<br />
1. What should we believe about this issue? (or, what is truth?)<br />
2. What should we do about this issue? (or, how then shall we live?)<br />
<br />
It's important to ask both of these questions together. Neither of them should be separated from the other for very long.<br />
<br />
The reason is that <b>my actions follow my beliefs</b>. If my beliefs are wrong, then my actions will also be wrong. If my beliefs are right, then my actions will be right.<br />
<br />
It's unfair to expect people to act in a right way if they have wrong beliefs. If they don't have the proper grounding in what is true, then of course they won't act in a way consistent with the truth that they don't have.<br />
<br />
That's why it's impossible to legislate right actions. A law may increase right actions, but it is very difficult to completely eliminate wrong actions. That's because making a law about something doesn't change people's beliefs about it. The reason that some people's actions do change is because of their belief that 'I should follow the law' or, at the very least, 'I will be punished if I do not follow the law'.<br />
<br />
It also goes the other way. If my beliefs inspire my actions, then conversely, my actions should reflect my beliefs. And someone should be able to correctly identify my beliefs based on a knowledge of my actions. (Matthew 7:16)<br />
<br />
So why is it important to ask these two questions together?<br />
<br />
We can't just ask question 1. If we don't follow it up with question 2, then it remains nothing more than a belief. (Okay ... it will influence our actions, even if we don't realise it is. But I think it's still a good idea to clarify what our actions should be, based on our beliefs. Plus, it acts as a check on our beliefs.)<br />
<br />
We can't just ask question 2. As I've already said, we can't come to a correct understanding of what we should do if we don't first have a correct understanding of what is true.<br />
<br />
There are some issues where Christians (or people who call themselves Christians) disagree. I feel like applying this framework in those situations could help to allow both sides to understand each other better. Are we disagreeing about an issue because our beliefs differ? If so, then we should inspect Scripture to discover what the truth is (or whether it is an issue on which Christians can legitimately disagree). If we agree in our beliefs and it is our actions that differ, then we can affirm our common ground, stop calling each other names, and work through why we respond to the issue differently. (Which, I imagine, is probably because of other beliefs that interact with our belief about the issue.)<br />
<br />
So, next time you are faced with an issue, stop and ask these two questions:
<br />
1. What is the truth?<br />
2. How then shall we live?<br />
<br />
<b>Definitions</b><br />
<i>right</i>: consistent with Biblical teaching and principles<br />
<i>wrong</i>: not consistent with Biblical teaching and principles<br />
<i>belief</i>: what you think is true<br />
<i>action</i>: what you doDavid Sampsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03224410686059411125noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2791271852257843074.post-12050234742735275952016-06-23T12:28:00.000+12:002016-06-23T12:28:59.158+12:00Honesty and Politeness<i>Honesty is better than politeness.</i> - Cyrus<br />
<br />
I've heard this a couple of times. One example is when someone asks you "How are you?"<br />
The polite answer: I'm fine, thanks.<br />
The honest answer: (well, this depends on how you actually are. Be honest!)<br />
<br />
By answering with the polite answer, you've missed an opportunity to connect with the person who asked you how you were.<br />
<br />
So after I heard this idea, I tried answering questions honestly, rather than politely.<br />
<br />
That didn't go too well. Some of my honest answers weren't helpful to the person who had asked me the question. Sometimes, what I was thinking and said honestly was the wrong thing to say and it was hurtful to the person I said it to.<br />
<br />
The thing is that while honesty is important, it's not the most important thing. When asked about the greatest commandment, the two commandments that Jesus talked about shared a common theme: Love.<br />
<br />
So my modified statement is that <b>honesty is better than politeness, but it has to be honesty tempered with love</b>. Honesty tempered by fear is politeness (I'll say the truth unless it will make you not like me), but honesty tempered with love says "How can I build up my brother or sister in Christ?"<br />
<br />
Ideally, in the end, our thoughts will all be ones of love, and we will be able to speak honestly without thinking about tempering our words with love - our words will be of love just because that's what is in our hearts. But personally, I'm not there yet. My thoughts aren't all pure. But by God's grace, I'm learning to speak from love rather than from fear or other motives.<br />
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<i>I am not the man I ought to be, I am not the man I wish to be, and I am not the man I hope to be, but by the grace of God, I am not the man I used to be.</i> - John Newton (paraphrased)<br />
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<b>Honesty + Love > Politeness</b><br />
<br />
S. D. G.David Sampsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03224410686059411125noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2791271852257843074.post-15542052676082625392016-06-21T17:25:00.000+12:002016-06-21T19:16:07.972+12:00Living Life Intentionally<i>When you look back on your life, what do you want to see?</i> - Connor, a friend of mine (at a working bee we were at last weekend)<br />
<br />
My answer (after some thought): <b>I would like to see a life lived intentionally to make a difference in this world for Jesus.</b><br />
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The night before, I had a discussion with another friend (actually, the older brother of Connor, who asked me the first question mentioned). One of the topics we discussed was 1 Corinthians 13:11, which says:<br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me.</i> - 1 Corinthians 13:11<br />
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His definition of 'the ways of childhood' was 'something that doesn't have eternal value'. I like this definition. It doesn't fall into legalism (you must do that vs. you must not do that) or permissiveness.<br />
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My example would be that I don't normally play/build with LEGO or buy it anymore, but I'll still play a game with my younger siblings. The eternal value is that I'm investing in their lives as I play with them.<br />
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A line from a song I heard over the weekend: I don't want to spend my whole life asking 'What if I had given everything?' (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUg9qE_KjLg">link to song</a>)<br />
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This idea is one of my main '<a href="http://blessingsofbonnie.blogspot.co.nz/2016/06/takeaways.html">takeaways</a>' from the working bee I was at. A filter to pass everything I do or think about doing through: Does this activity hold eternal value? If not, then I should seriously consider whether I should be doing it.<br />
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Don't waste your life. Live life intentionally for Jesus.David Sampsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03224410686059411125noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2791271852257843074.post-76670182708433507182016-05-10T08:55:00.000+12:002016-05-10T08:55:03.585+12:00Psalm 37<i>Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.</i><div>
<i>Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.</i></div>
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<i>Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this:</i></div>
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<i>He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn,</i></div>
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<i>your vindication like the noonday sun.</i></div>
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Psalm 37:3-6</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
This psalm paints a picture of what life looks like for the righteous. Although at times they may be poor (37:16), and sometimes it may take waiting (37:7), God's reward will be with them. He is their stronghold in times of trouble (37:39).</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
What I see in this chapter, basically, is a life that may not have all of the world's pleasures. In some places, it looks hard. There's waiting. Turning to evil looks like a quick and easy way to become wealthy. In fact, there's really only one reward that the righteous get.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
But that reward's worth it. The LORD is the reward of the righteous. While there are side effects (37:4; 'he will give you the desires of your heart', 37:19; 'in days of famine they will enjoy plenty', 37:29: 'the righteous will inherit the land and dwell in it forever'), the reward of the righteous, above and beyond all of those, is the LORD himself.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Take verse 4: <i>Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.</i></div>
<div>
<i><br /></i></div>
<div>
At first glance, this may seem like a way to get what you want. Just fulfill the condition in the first part of the verse, and God has promised to give you whatever your heart desires.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
However, it's not quite as simple as that. Take delight in the LORD. If your delight is in the LORD, what will be the desires of your heart? To serve Him? To know Him better? To become more like Him? To lift up the broken, the weary, the weak, the destitute? Maybe another way of thinking about the verse is 'Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of His heart to be the desires of your heart.'</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
<i>Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him;</i></div>
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<i>do not fret when people succeed in their ways,</i></div>
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<i>when they carry out the wicked schemes.</i></div>
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Psalm 37:7</div>
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<br /></div>
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<i>Better the little that the righteous have than the wealth of many wicked;<br />for the power of the wicked will be broken,</i></div>
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<i>but the Lord upholds the righteous.</i></div>
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Psalm 37:16-17</div>
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<br /></div>
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S.D.G.</div>
David Sampsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03224410686059411125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2791271852257843074.post-16904469782212521982016-04-30T20:00:00.001+12:002016-04-30T20:00:43.299+12:00Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dy9nwe9_xzw">Link to Oceans</a><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>You call me out upon the waters</i><br />
<i>The great unknown</i><br />
<i>Where feet may fail</i><br />
<i>And there I find you in the mystery</i><br />
<i>In oceans deep</i><br />
<i>My faith will stand</i><br />
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I'm sure many of you are familiar with this song, Oceans, from Hillsong. I'm sure many of you love it. I know I do - it's one of my favourite songs. The bridges especially stand out:<br />
<br />
<i>Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders</i><br />
<i>Let me walk upon the waters</i><br />
<i>Wherever you would call me</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander</i><br />
<i>And my faith will be made stronger</i><br />
<i>In the presence of my Saviour</i><br />
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But do we actually realize what we're singing in that bridge? We're asking God to take us to where our trust has no borders. No borders at all. No safety. No security. No familiarity. We're saying to God "We're ready to go wherever you send us to do whatever you want us to do. No questions asked."<br />
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Do we actually mean that? Are we actually willing to follow God where our trust has no borders? Because if we don't, you could argue that we shouldn't actually be singing the song.<br />
<br />
This question was posed (well, posed more as a thought) at a Bible study which I was attending/running on Thursday evening. Are we actually willing to go where our trust has no borders?<br />
<br />
If I'm being honest with myself, I'd have to say that no, at the moment, there are situations which would totally stop me in my tracks, situations that I would have no idea what to do with.<br />
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But at the same time, I don't want to stay there. I want to know my Father better. I want to experience more of His heart. I want to press in closer to Him. And while Jesus didn't have prerequisites for people coming to Him (stop sinning, get a job, have a shower) he did require change after they did come to Him. Go and sin no more, go and leave your life of sin, stop sinning or something worse will happen to you.<br />
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I believe that principle can be applied here. No, maybe I'm not ready to go wherever God leads me. But I'm asking Him to change me, to grow me, to transform me, to mold me into who He wants me to be. And part of that is childlike trust, childlike faith. He wants us to be willing to trust Him completely, to go wherever His Spirit leads us. And that will be difficult. He promised that. (John 16:33). But it will be worth it in the end. Being like Jesus, being with Jesus, will be worth it in the end. When He wipes away every tear from our eyes and says "Well done, my good and faithful servant," everything will be worth it.<br />
<br />
It's not up to us to change ourselves into who God wants us to be. That's what He does. Yet in a way, it's totally up to us. This is one of the strange balances in this world, where two things that seem to be complete opposites can and are both completely true. Justice and mercy. Predestination and free will. Working out our salvation with fear and trembling yet also resting in God's love and grace and the completeness of His finished work on the cross.<br />
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And in a way, it doesn't matter whether or not I'm ready yet to go wherever God will lead me. We don't need to see the end of the journey. All we need is the next step. I struggle with this. In my humanity, in my brokenness, I want to know how everything is going to work out. I want God to provide me with an exact roadmap of how He is going to deal with me and where He is going to lead me for the rest of my life. But that's not always how God works. He leads us one step at a time. If we always knew exactly where we were going over the next year, over the next five years, over the next ten years, then where would faith be?<br />
<br />
Actually, faith requires that we don't know, that we aren't ready. If we're prepared to meet any situation, then we aren't trusting God, we're trusting ourselves.<br />
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Oceans isn't a declaration of supreme faith and borderless trust. It's a cry to God to bring us to where He wants us to be. And it's my cry. Father, make me more like you. Lead me where my trust is without borders. More of You and less of me, Lord.<br />
<br />
<i>And I will call upon Your Name</i><br />
<i>And keep my eyes above the waves</i><br />
<i>When oceans rise</i><br />
<i>My soul will rest in Your embrace</i><br />
<i>For I am Yours and You are mine</i><br />
<br />
S. D. G.David Sampsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03224410686059411125noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2791271852257843074.post-62676379987689747222014-08-11T16:44:00.002+12:002014-08-11T16:44:58.497+12:00On Proving the Nonexistence of God<i>Let us assume that a divine being exists. Furthermore, this divine being, in addition to being immaterial and supernatural, is also omnipotent and omniscient.
</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Any divine being possessing these characteristics could blind any non-divine being as to the existence of the divine being, and, if they wished, could make it appear that they never existed. Therefore, it is impossible for any non-divine being to prove the nonexistence of a divine being.
</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"Ah!" but the sceptic says. "If it is impossible for me to disprove a divine being, it is equally impossible for you to prove one."
</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Not so. The reason that a divine being can't be disproved is that the possibility of the prescence of a divine being brings any natural processes into question. If we start from the assumption that there is no divine being, then there is no supernatural to confuse the natural.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>This reason doesn't prove a divine being, any more than it disproves one. All it does is disprove the disprovability of a divine being.</i><br />
<i><br />In summary: A divine being could hide itself, so we can't say there isn't one.
</i><br />
<br />
^ ^ ^ That's what I thought of while practicing violin today. It doesn't take into account why a divine being would <i>want</i> to hide their existence, but I didn't think it was necessary in order to make my argument clear.
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<br />
Any critiques? Thoughts? Feel free to play devil's advocate :)David Sampsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03224410686059411125noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2791271852257843074.post-4889787323978457292014-06-28T19:55:00.000+12:002014-06-28T20:01:29.159+12:00More than EpicnessEpicness is not a bad thing. Detailed worldbuilding, sweeping grandeur, and amazing scenes can create a compelling story. The detailed languages of Tolkien's world make it feel authentic. The sheer size of Erebor, of Cirith Ungol, of Minas Tirith, awe us. The finality of the last march of the Ents, of the death-ride of the Rohirrim, can make our hearts burn within our chests and our fists tighten. Tolkien's work resounds with epicness.<br />
<br />
But epicness alone isn't enough. Epicness can be a taster to draw in readers, but it shouldn't be the full meal. Give a reader an epic story, and they'll probably remember it. But after it's been read enough times, the epicness wears thin. Reading about the same amazing scenes and magnificent structures over and over again can get tiring.<br />
<br />
But not theme. The best books are those that can be read over and over again, each time picking up some new nugget of meaning and insight, some new thread of hope, some new morsel of mental or spiritual food.<br />
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Epicness doesn't do that. But theme does. As does characterisation, which is implicitly linked – I believe – with theme. You can't have a resonant theme without strong characters – at least, not without it feeling forced and contrived. Artificial.<br />
<br />
Great stories should have great themes. If a reader is going to take the time to read your story, take the time to give them something meaningful, something worthwhile, out of it.<br />
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I'm not against epicness. Give your stories all the epicness you can imagine. Make epicness run home to its momma crying. <small>(Semi-inside joke, if you didn't get it).</small> But give them something that will stay with them forever.David Sampsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03224410686059411125noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2791271852257843074.post-40549348650664471992013-12-16T14:54:00.001+13:002013-12-16T14:54:39.807+13:00NaNoWriMo<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHTCva19XnlO8THmJZIZzvdmcSxqnx7gQwgkYhO5AAjYmWqwrduzLhvKh3_VMb6IommJMYCZMTEtKGhdZwMW6h0V2mBBfdrmcULRjF9yPPXbTPT-rAalc_voh6GMIHxr7f8CcRe6a5Jp4/s1600/nano_stats.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHTCva19XnlO8THmJZIZzvdmcSxqnx7gQwgkYhO5AAjYmWqwrduzLhvKh3_VMb6IommJMYCZMTEtKGhdZwMW6h0V2mBBfdrmcULRjF9yPPXbTPT-rAalc_voh6GMIHxr7f8CcRe6a5Jp4/s320/nano_stats.png" /></a></div>
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This year was my first time doing NaNoWriMo, and I managed to complete it at 50045 words on the 29th, although I got to 51394 by the end of the 30th. (<a href="http://nanowrimo.org/participants/jag-starblade/novels/novel-353568/stats">link to stats</a>) Here's some of the things I learned.
<br />
<br />
<b>1. Plotting is important to be able to write fast.</b><br />
I didn't plot out much of my NaNoNovel, but I had a basic idea of what I wanted the next couple of scenes to be about. They might change, but I had a short-term plan for the next few thousand words, and a (somewhat vague) long-term plan, of where I wanted to end the book up at. This meant that I could write much faster.<br />
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<b>2. Writing is important.</b><br />
If you're going to write, you need to do it. You can't just procrastinate and not write, especially if you have a deadline. You have to write. But...<br />
<br />
<b>3. Writing isn't important.</b><br />
Well, it is, like I said above, but it's not the <i>most</i> important thing, by a long way. There are times when other things come before writing, and it's important for writing to not be the most important thing. And this means that sometimes, you may not be able to find the time to finish the project by when you want to. It's a matter of making priorities.<br />
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And ... I can't think of any other concrete things which I learned at the moment, yet ... or asphalt either (yes, I know, bad pun...) so I'll sign off and prepare for my next post in three months.
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<i>-Jag Swiftstorm</i>David Sampsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03224410686059411125noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2791271852257843074.post-61299743828897789622013-12-13T11:00:00.000+13:002013-12-13T11:00:13.885+13:00Liebster Award (Tag) x2I have been nominated for this award twice, once by Scarlet Raptor/Raptor Elytra/etc. at <a href="http://scarletraptor.wordpress.com/2013/10/07/154/">Raptor Hiddenblade's even messier scribblings</a> and once by Hyperlinkzer at <a href="http://hyperlinkzer.blogspot.co.nz/2013/10/ze-prestigious-liebster-award.html">The Edge</a>.<br /> First, Raptor:<br />
<br />
<b>1. What is your current project?<br />
</b>A currently unnamed epic fantasy.<br />
<br />
<b>2. What is your main character’s name?<br />
</b>I have two. One is named Koseph Oldspear. The other is named Empress Tal-Alyssa Neruval Jenikos Viritril Malacan Starblade.<br />
<br />
<b>3. What is your main character’s fears?<br />
</b>Alyssa fears that the kingdom may fall.<br />
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<b>4. How far are you in your latest project/book?<br />
</b>53228 words.<br />
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<b>5. Are you doing NaNoWriMo?<br />
</b>I was.<br />
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<b>6. If so, what are you aiming for?<br />
</b>50K.<br />
<br />
<b>7. List your five favorite books.<br />
</b><br />
5. The White Lion Chronicles<br />
4. Berinfell Prophecies<br />
3. Binding of the Blade<br />
2. Dragons in our Midst (including Oracles of Fire and Children of the Bard)<br />
1. Lord of the Rings (including the Silmarillion, The Hobbit, and the movie adaptions)<br />
<br />
And yes, I know those are series rather than books, but I didn't have a book list already written.<br />
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<b>8. What is your characters strengths?<br />
</b>Alyssa is good at leading people. Koseph is (supposed to be) wise.<br />
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<b>9. What does your Character like doing?<br />
</b>I'm not sure, they don't have much time to do what they like doing.<br />
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<b>10. In your latest project, has anyone died yet?<br />
</b>YES.<br />
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And second, Hyper:<br />
<br />
<b>1. If you could visit any of the Seven Wonders of the World (ancient or modern), which would you choose, and why?<br />
</b>Probably the canal of Khel-Mithare (one of the Seven Wonders of Arathea :P)<br />
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<b>2. Would you rather swim in a pool full of lobsters or one with a single piranha? Explain your decision.<br />
</b>The piranha. I flipped a coin.<br />
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<b>3. A plate with a food that you have never tried before is sitting in front of you. It looks absolutely delicious. You are about to dig in, but suddenly a genie appears holding a plate of your very favorite food. He says you may choose one, but if your choice is your favorite food, you will never again have the chance to try the new food. What do you do?<br />
</b>Try the new food.<br />
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<b>4. The baddest bad guy you can think of is coming to your house. Your reaction?<br />
</b>*gulp*<br />
<br />
<b>5. Would you rather clouds be made of cotton candy or marshmallows?<br />
</b>Marshmallows. Mawshmawwows are what bwings us together today.<br />
<br />
<b>6. If you had an Iron Man suit, what would you do with it?<br />
</b>Wear it.<br />
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<b>7. An oven crashes through your roof and smashes a bowl of snacks that you were just about to eat. What do you do?<br />
</b>Cook more snacks on the oven.<br />
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<b>8. Would you rather be able to jump really high or be really strong?<br />
</b>Jump really high.<br />
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<b>9. What do you think about Cheez-its?<br />
</b>What about them?<br />
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<b>10. You are skydiving. Suddenly a Pegasus flies past you. You're about to switch on your rocket boots and chase it, but then a flying pig flies past you, going the other direction. You can only catch one. Which do you go after?<br />
</b>The pegasus.<br />
David Sampsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03224410686059411125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2791271852257843074.post-72337151541699041912013-09-21T16:00:00.000+12:002013-09-21T16:00:00.291+12:00SacrificeThis is the first in a (hopefully) series of posts co-written by me and fellow teenage author, R. A. H. Thacker, who can be found at <a href="http://sunsetrising.blogspot.co.nz/">Sunset Rising</a>. This post can also be found at his blog.
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No, we’re not talking about human sacrifice. Or maybe we are. But we’re actually talking about self-sacrifice–and not some suicidal tribal custom, either. More specifically, how to use it in fiction.
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Why does sacrifice stir our hearts? Why does it affect us like nothing else? Because it is a reflection–a representation–of the greatest sacrifice, of Jesus Christ dying for his creation on a cruel cross on Calvary.
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6yafdn2mmHSO9mps6shxpfiRA4UwLvQxNBckxJx3hbtcWfKR2DXx9MZkzywkOsNbBaY5LwPF0raoJF1iZj7hNJfNzVUrzcbG_NbUAoqyjWFe_5-0VY5BQ5SxmrUanOKtnFOlI5xmuxS8/s1600/jpeg_base64cb325cd781bc234b.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6yafdn2mmHSO9mps6shxpfiRA4UwLvQxNBckxJx3hbtcWfKR2DXx9MZkzywkOsNbBaY5LwPF0raoJF1iZj7hNJfNzVUrzcbG_NbUAoqyjWFe_5-0VY5BQ5SxmrUanOKtnFOlI5xmuxS8/s320/jpeg_base64cb325cd781bc234b.jpg" /></a>
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When should a sacrifice be used?
<br /><br />
It depends on the specific case. If the story is about sacrifice–and the main character learns that he has to give himself up for others–then the climax will be a likely place for it to fit.
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However, a story may not be about sacrifice, but sacrifice may still be part of it. In this case, it should be able to fit anywhere in the story–but it depends on the context.
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A character could come to realize that he should be willing to sacrifice himself–not simply sacrificing others. As an example from one of my own novels, I (Robert) had a character come to a crossroads. He was a contestant in something like a bloodsport game. He was faced with a decision that had no turning back from–no second choice if he messed up. He could sacrifice himself for his friends–those he had come to know during the bloodsport–and in the process die himself. Or he could decide to let them be killed and go on himself. Out of love, he gave himself up. Both good and grief came from it, but ultimately it turned out to be the best decision for them all. If things had not turned out for good in his sacrifice, it would still have had no less meaning–life was the greatest thing he had. He had fought for it since he could walk. But then he had given up what he had coveted most for what he had found to be truly what was meaningful to him, his brethren around him.
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Sacrifice doesn’t always have to result in death, although often it will. Self-sacrifice can be illustrated through characters just by patient service–being willing to die for something, or willing to live for it.
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<i>Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.<br />
</i>-Romans 12:1 (NIV)
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However, this doesn’t discount sacrifice to the point of death. Even to the extent of death, giving yourself up for God and devoting yourself to him is the greatest service possible.
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Sacrifice is an expression of love–a great expression.
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<i>Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.<br />
</i>-John 15:13 (NIV)
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So should all of your characters be regularly sacrificing themselves? It depends on the character. Some characters will have sacrificial love flowing out of them even in the smallest of manners. But some won’t.
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However, having an overabundance of sacrifices can make it lose its value somewhat. Especially in a contemporary story, you probably can’t just kill too many characters off. But living sacrifices–your characters being willing to die for something, even if they don’t die–can be common. We don’t inspire others to sacrifice by writing about characters who don’t do it themselves.
<br /><br />
In the case of a death sacrifice, if the character who had sacrificed himself comes back, there must be a good reason, else it will mean nothing. The sacrifice needs to have consequences–needs to affect something–otherwise it seems like a worthless sacrifice, just a plot element that the author needed to have happen but didn’t want to actually kill the character.
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In some books–allegories especially–there will be a Christ figure. Someone who sacrifices themselves for the world. For example, Aslan from the Chronicles of Narnia is a clear Christ figure–he is the son of the Emperor-over-the-sea, and came to Narnia to sacrifice himself, so that redemption might come to those who needed it.
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq27UeDqDmrPZELC45Zq43BZ4JZ0LwT0SNzL3_bEDyvEM8njisTwg4YtGilzcumUkQ8caO3D34_q8Rz-Q0UAirRmNL7AH94j5po-yLgN3_5vsPoQK4frk2VPhTGFMgkxx7C0L4CSGCpB4/s1600/images%253Fq%253Dtbn-ANd9GcTc_9WJCUfQpDfmRZ5cLQfURhhJCes1W99flw82QT557xx7zAsP.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq27UeDqDmrPZELC45Zq43BZ4JZ0LwT0SNzL3_bEDyvEM8njisTwg4YtGilzcumUkQ8caO3D34_q8Rz-Q0UAirRmNL7AH94j5po-yLgN3_5vsPoQK4frk2VPhTGFMgkxx7C0L4CSGCpB4/s320/images%253Fq%253Dtbn-ANd9GcTc_9WJCUfQpDfmRZ5cLQfURhhJCes1W99flw82QT557xx7zAsP.jpg" /></a>
<br />
This is one of the highest privileges in this world–to be able to tell others of the sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We need to make sure that we represent it clearly, so that people aren’t misled by our stories–fiction though they may be.
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If you’re writing an allegory of Christ’s sacrifice and resurrection, make sure you check back to the Bible about what the core messages of Christ’s death are. It was out of love that Jesus gave himself up–not for his own sins. And he died that he might save all people.
<br /><br />
In the case of a contemporary story, great sacrifices can still be made–even if not to death.
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<i>Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.<br />
</i>-Mark 10:21 (KJV)
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Wealth was the man’s greatest possession. He had lived a good life, obeyed all the commandments, but could not give but one final thing–his wealth. The greatest sacrifices lie in what matters most to someone. Your characters can sacrifice without having to die–and their sacrifice doesn’t have to be any less important for it.
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We hope this helps for writing sacrifices in your own stories. Obviously, we can’t cover everything in one post. If you have any questions, feel free to post them, and we’ll do our best to answer.
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~R. A. H. Thacker and Jag SwiftstormDavid Sampsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03224410686059411125noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2791271852257843074.post-80417105326699595262013-08-22T18:43:00.001+12:002013-08-22T18:43:21.603+12:00Skilled Characters Should characters be perfect? Skilled in everything, flawless, all-knowing, and all-powerful?
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Of course not. Or at least–not most of the time. 'Perfect' (or seemingly perfect) can have their places sometimes.
<br /><br />
But should characters be the opposite? Having no virtues, no skills, no learning, and no motivation?
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I would give the same answer as to the above question. No–or at least rarely.
<br /><br />
I'm not arguing for either extreme here. I'm not saying your characters shouldn't be flawed at all.
<br /><br />
But I admire characters that have motivation. That have a particular skill. That have taken the time to learn to do something–and do it well.
<br /><br />
I've recently read two books of the <a href="http://bakerpublishinggroup.com/series/staff-and-the-sword-the">Staff and Sword</a> series–<a href="http://bakerpublishinggroup.com/books/a-cast-of-stones/340700">A Cast of Stones</a> and <a href="http://bakerpublishinggroup.com/books/the-hero-s-lot/341070">A Hero's Lot</a>. The main character, Errol Stone, isn't perfect. Far from it. But he has a skill–or possibly more than one. You'll have to read the book to find out. ;)
<br /><br />
Characters don't have to have a skill at the start of a book. Errol doesn't–or at least not one that he knows about. But he grows. He dedicates the time to becoming the best in what he does.
<br /><br />
Do we want people to spend the time developing skills in real life? Then 'allow' your characters to. What you want to see happening in the world around you, model in the lives and worlds of your characters.
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<i>As a novelist, I'm not in the business of showing the world as it is. I'm in the business of changing the world into what it could be.</i> -- Jake of the Sadaar (<a href="http://teenagewritingrocks.blogspot.co.nz/2013/06/happy-endings.html" target ="_BLANK">source</a>)
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Give your characters a skill. Your readers will thank you for it.
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-<i>Jag Swiftstorm</i>David Sampsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03224410686059411125noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2791271852257843074.post-58775278017805527022013-08-22T14:12:00.000+12:002013-08-22T14:12:40.340+12:00Villain TagI hath been tagged by Lady Ryebrynn Lyla Shveer Crossblade from <a href="http://ryebrynnsrandomramblings.blogspot.co.nz/">Ryebrynn's Random Ramblings</a>.
<br /><br />
<b>(1.) Who is your favorite (or main) villain of the book/series you are writing, and how would you describe his/her character?</b><br />
Thrackray, from <i>The Rise of the Shadow</i>. That's not my current project, but I don't know who the main villain from that is (yet). Thrackray is cold and distant–and vengeful. He wants revenge and power.
<br /><br />
<b>(2.) What special powers (if any) does this villain have?<br />
</b>Thrackray is a shape-shifter–a Klonratorn. He also has the ability to use Terean powers (like Ta'eyrie and Trantorian).
<br /><br />
<b>(3.) What was your inspiration for the character?<br />
</b>I don't think he's inspired by anything–if I had to choose somebody, it would probably be Devin from <i>Dragons in our Midst</i>.
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<b>(4.) Of all the villains in your book/series, what distinguishes this villain from the others?<br />
</b>Thrackray hasn't always been a villain–once he was a good guy. And he may yet rise...
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<b>(5.) Even though this character is on the side of evil, what trait does this villain posses that you admire?</b><br />
Thrackray is skilled at what he does. He has worked hard to acquire skills.
<br /><br />
<b>(6.) What lessons can be learnt from the character’s story? <br />
</b>Don't get led astray by lies. Lies may seem like truth, but in the end, they are lies all the same.
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<b>(7.) If you had the opportunity to meet your villain, would you do so? <br />
</b>I'd probably accept. I don't think Thrackray would kill me–unless he knew what I plan to do to him. So, uh ... maybe I wouldn't want to meet him.
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<i>-Jag Swiftstorm</i>David Sampsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03224410686059411125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2791271852257843074.post-53744253126229939062013-08-05T20:30:00.003+12:002013-08-20T18:06:15.220+12:00Double TagI got tagged by both Ryebrynn at <a href="http://ryebrynnsrandomramblings.blogspot.co.nz/2013/08/interesting-tag.html">Ryebrynn's Random Ramblings</a> and Bonnie at <a href="http://blessingsofbonnie.blogspot.co.nz/2013/08/most-awesome-tag-ever.html">Bonnie's Blessings</a>.
<br />
<br />
<b>From Bonnie:</b>
<br />
<br />
1. If the main villain of your favorite book/movie/TV series showed up on your front doorstep, what would you do? (Explain who it is first...)
<br />
<br />
Since I get to do this twice, it makes my job a bit easier . . . the first person I'm choosing is Devin, from <i>Dragons in our Midst</i>, <i>Oracles of Fire</i>, and <i>Children of the Bard</i>.
<br />
<br />
I don't think Devin would care that much to kill me . . . he's a dragon slayer, not a human slayer.
<br />
<br />
2. Now supposing the heroes opposite this villain showed up just after your exchange. What would you do then?
<br />
<br />
Billy and Bonnie . . . hmm, well, Billy would probably transluminate Devin and stick him in a candlestone. Then I'd ask if a) I could have a turn with Excalibur, b) that Bonnie would give me a little ride up in the air, and c) that Billy would show me his fire breathing. If a dragon showed up too, that would be awesome :D
<br />
<br />
3. So... moving on, the heroes defeat the villain (with some help from you, of course- whatever it may be. ;) But the next day, you're just walking along, minding your own business, when you suddenly come across the same villain... who is now lying in the dust severely wounded and unconscious. What do you do?
<br />
<br />
Wow, he got out of the candlestone already? Billy probably wouldn't be too happy if I killed him (not that I would or anything . . .) so I'd probably get Billy and Bonnie to come back and transluminate him again.
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<br />
4. Now his minions show up and kidnap both you and him and take you to their universe (or version of your universe, whatever it happens to be.) Your reaction?
<br />
<br />
So, Palin and a couple of other esquires. And they'd probably take me to the third or seventh circle. If the underground mines, I'd try to find one of the portals so I could escape.
<br />
<br />
5. Your fantastic heroes have arrived to rescue you- but now you're faced with a choice. The villain, out of gratitude for your earlier help, (assuming you actually did help him when he was wounded) has offered you a chance to travel back to your own universe. However, the heroes warn you not to trust him. The only other way for you to get back home is to travel with the heroes on a long and dangerous journey... and there's no guarantee that you'll survive.<br />
What. Do. You. Do.
<br />
<br />
Devin? Gratitude? Hah. I'd go with Billy and Bonnie in a heartbeat.
<br />
<br />
<b>From Ryebrynn:</b>
<br />
<br />
1. If the main villain of your favorite book/movie/TV series showed up on your front doorstep, what would you do? (Explain who it is first...)
<br />
<br />
I think I'll choose Farimaal, from the <i>Binding of the Blade</i>, even though he's not the /main/ villain. Close enough, and it would be spoilers to say . . . well, I won't.
<br />
<br />
If he turned up at my doorstep, and was trying to kill me. I don't think I'd stand much of a chance against him–not that I can't sword-fight, but against Farimaal? No way.
<br />
<br />
2. Now supposing the heroes opposite this villain showed up just after your exchange. What would you do then?
<br />
<br />
Aljeron, Valzaan, and Benjiah. They should be able to take care of him. Phew. *wipes sweat from brow*. As above, I'd probably want to get Aljeron to give me a sword-fighting lesson and Benjiah an archery lesson :D
<br />
<br />
3. So... moving on, the heroes defeat the villain (with some help from you, of course- whatever it may be. ;) But the next day, you're just walking along, minding your own business, when you suddenly come across the same villain... who is now lying in the dust severely wounded and unconscious. What do you do?
<br />
<br />
Farimaal has too awesome quotes for him to die. I'd probably help him.
<br />
<br />
4. Now his minions show up and kidnap both you and him and take you to their universe (or version of your universe, whatever it happens to be.) Your reaction?
<br />
<br />
Going to Kirthanin would be amazing. With Farimaal and Nolthanim? Probably not so much. I'd probably try to escape, using my knowledge of Kirthanin ;)
<br />
<br />
5. Your fantastic heroes have arrived to rescue you- but now you're faced with a choice. The villain, out of gratitude for your earlier help, (assuming you actually did help him when he was wounded) has offered you a chance to travel back to your own universe. However, the heroes warn you not to trust him. The only other way for you to get back home is to travel with the heroes on a long and dangerous journey... and there's no guarantee that you'll survive.<br />
What. Do. You. Do.
<br />
<br />
Going with Farimaal would be tempting . . . he does have some awesome quotes, and he doesn't seem to be a crazy killer . . . but I think I'd probably go with Valzaan, Aljeron, and Benjiah.
<br />
<br />
I'm going to tag:
<br />
1. Sarah from <a href="http://dreams-dragons.blogspot.co.nz/">Dreams and Dragons</a><br />
2. Brian McBride from <a href="http://jointhestarcrafters.blogspot.co.nz/">Shattering the Darkness</a>
<br />
<br />
If either of you two have been tagged, you don't have to do it twice–just ignore my tag if you want to.
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<br />
<i>--Jag Swiftstorm</i>David Sampsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03224410686059411125noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2791271852257843074.post-19463045561781913182013-07-12T17:09:00.000+12:002013-07-12T17:09:06.895+12:00Keeping Track of Characters<b>Warning:</b> I may get somewhat technical later on. However, I will try to keep this post so that everyone can understand it.
<br />
<br />
Some books have small casts–of maybe around fifty characters total. Then there's others, with larger casts, maybe 200 total characters. And then there's the Lord of the Rings, with millions of characters.
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<br />
Okay, maybe not millions. But it does have a lot.
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<br />
If you're writing a book with a large cast (or even one with a small one), you will probably want to have a list of your characters.
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<br />
What I've done, is to create a spreadsheet in MS Excel, with one row for each character. This has: their name, their age, rank, occupation, species, height, other names which they're known by, year of birth, affiliation (protagonist/antagonist), importance (main character has 0, minor characters have increasing numbers, I go up to 5), year of death, and 'Dead?'.
<br />
<br />
This means that if (when writing a later book in <i>The Arboreal Shadow</i>) I have a character visit any given city, I'm not going to make up an elder for that city, only to realize later on that the elder (a different person, though) was mentioned in the first book.
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<br />
Several of the columns, though, I don't edit. The 'Age' column is calculated using the 'Year of Birth'. The Dead? column is a special one, which says Yes if characters are dead, No if they are alive. This is calculated by checking if the current year (which is specified somewhere else in the spreadsheet) is after or before the year that the character died (or will die).
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiz_DsJbJYhWoP6_sZDWxMrqyXACWtTwW_6lGnUyzscAWPPM8ozNfa_wKR21endczGuD8foKqTI176HSg8L-LiHgztSojqm9rIMEaCXUfGLDzQLoQ7-DmKj2hdk_pRsT0uoUX10FMorvM/s1600/Chart.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiz_DsJbJYhWoP6_sZDWxMrqyXACWtTwW_6lGnUyzscAWPPM8ozNfa_wKR21endczGuD8foKqTI176HSg8L-LiHgztSojqm9rIMEaCXUfGLDzQLoQ7-DmKj2hdk_pRsT0uoUX10FMorvM/s400/Chart.png" /></a>
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<small>(Click on the photo to get a larger view.)</small>
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The characters can be sorted by any of the options – you can show all characters in order of age, or in alphabetical order by first name, or by species.
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<br />
I've found this character chart to be useful. If you'd like more detailed instructions on how to make it, then say so in a comment and I'll see if I can help you.
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<i>Jag Swiftstorm</i>.David Sampsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03224410686059411125noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2791271852257843074.post-12812799019579526572013-06-28T18:12:00.000+12:002013-06-28T18:12:02.388+12:00Should you Create a Language?<i>Quon you Desira ta Forme lein Lingyuanet?</i>
<br />
Translation: Do you want to create a language?
<br /><br />
Many writers will want to create languages for their worlds. And I don't mean just making up where the language came from, where it's spoken, etc. I mean making long lists of nouns and pronouns, adjectives and adverbs, prepositions and interjections. Creating the sentence structure, grammar, syntax, and punctuation.
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There's nothing wrong with this. Tolkien created many languages for Middle-earth, some more developed than others. He also wrote in detail <i>about</i> the languages–how to pronounce vowels and syllables, rolled r's and dotted i's.
<br /><br />
But Tolkien was a language professor. Now, you don't need to be a language professor and have a degree from Oxford University to create a language.
<br /><br />
But, for the sake of authenticity in your language, I would recommend to have studied language in some way. This could be studying a second language, or advanced study on your own language.
<br /><br />
If you don't know the nine parts of speech in English, or how they are used, then your created language is likely to turn out a code copy of English–in which every word is simply translated to another word in your language. Real languages don't work this way. Each language has its own sentence structure and grammar.
<br /><br />
And English is the worst language to base a realistic language off. English is such a conglomeration of Latin, Greek, Old Norse, French, Spanish, German and many more, that it is a very difficult language to learn and understand.
<br /><br />
I have created a language, but I have studied Latin and Greek (and French and Spanish a little bit). When I first started writing Delvish (as I called it), I didn't understand the parts of speech, cases, tenses, etc. Delvish was, then, a code copy of English. I had each English word translating directly to one Delvish word. Delvish had English pronunciation rules–i.e. none.
<br /><br />
Now, however, after doing four years of Latin, I have refined Delvish into a more realistic language. It has its own peculiarities and ways of doing things, and its own pronunciation rules and exceptions.
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You can create a language without studying linguistics, but I would recommend at least some study in a language before attempting it. (And especially before putting any of that language in any published books.)
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These are only my thoughts, and I could be mistaken. Thoughts?
<br /><br />
<i>--Jag Swiftstorm</i>David Sampsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03224410686059411125noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2791271852257843074.post-65720726011078936632013-06-25T17:20:00.001+12:002013-06-25T17:20:24.708+12:00Writing Extra ScenesI had a thought.
<br /><br />
It's quite a good thing to do; thoughts are generally quite useful, in theory. Some may be better thoughts than others; some may be rather pointless, others may be great thoughts, but you just don't carry them out.
<br /><br />
Anyway, back to my thought.
<br /><br />
(No, it's not the only thought I have, but it is one of them.)
<br /><br />
I was reading Go Teen Writers: How to Turn Your First Draft into a Published Book by Stephanie Morrill and Jill Williamson, and it was talking about making your deeper characters.
<br /><br />
(It's chapter 2, by the way, in case you have the book and want to go look it up. Just to make sure I'm not lying. And if you don't have it, get it.)
<br /><br />
It wasn't the actual exercises that gave me the thought, although they did begin my train of thought that eventually thought up my thought, as you will see if you keep reading down.
<br /><br />
(See how crazy my brain is?)
<br /><br />
I answered the questions for my antagonist (and my main character, but the antagonist's questionnaire was more revealing). One of the questions asked about a secret desire that your character had. Anyway, to make a long story into a short one, I wrote a short 'story' about my antagonist, and some of the factors that caused him to become the villain he is.
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(It wasn't a very good story… badly written… telling rather than showing… narrative summary... but it did the point, and I can always rewrite it.)
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So, my thought was…
<br /><br />
Drum roll…
<br /><br />
Why don't writers write lots and lots and lots of stories about their characters, and their world?
<br /><br />
(Or maybe they do, in which case the question should be 'Why don't I?')
<br /><br />
Why don't writers/we write scenes that go in between the published scenes?
<br /><br />
For example, if your characters are going on a overnight hike, write out all their conversation from the evening. Describe the trip in as much detail as you want. If there are two years in between two chapters, write as many scenes in those two years as you want. It will give you an idea of what your characters got up to during those two years, and will develop their character further.
<br /><br />
I guess if writers don't, there has to be a reason for it. Either: a) they haven't thought of it or b) the 'con's are greater than the 'pro's. Or I'm just the only writer who doesn't do it.
<br /><br />
<b>Pro's</b><br />
Character development–you often won't write long scenes with characters sitting around a fire talking, but some of those conversations might be very beneficial for character development.
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World development–you can write descriptions as long as you want, because you're the only who'll <i>need</i> to read them.
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Story development–sometimes those conversations will spark a new direction for the plot or subplot. And maybe those scenes will become crucial and be used in a later draft or sequel.
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Writing practice.
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<b>Con's</b><br />
You might get emotionally attached to those scenes (not likely for some writers, but some might) and want to put them in the novel.
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Takes up time that you could spend writing other things.
<br /><br />
I would personally say that the 'pro's overwhelm the 'con's, for me at least.
<br /><br />
Now that I've written all of this, I can now remember that I have heard some writers say that they do this… maybe I'm just an non-backstorying anomaly.
<br /><br />
Only way to settle this… I'll have to ask my loyal, devoted, (and possibly traitorous) (okay, hopefully not traitorous) readers.
<br /><br />
The question is, then:
<br /><br />
<b>Do you write all the filler/backstory scenes to fit into your project?</b>
<br /><br />
For some reason, this post has been written with a much less formal tone than my other ones. (At least it seems like that to me.) Do you prefer my more formal tone, or this 'write-my-thoughts-down-as-they-come-to-me' mad rush post?
<br /><br />
<i>Jag Swiftstorm</i>David Sampsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03224410686059411125noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2791271852257843074.post-7207241023074246152013-06-22T15:10:00.000+12:002013-06-22T15:12:12.321+12:00How to Accidentally Create a SuperhumanA superhuman character, that is. (If you wanted to learn how to become Spiderman, you'll have to find another blog.)
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<i>Unlocking the door, Tim opened it, threw his leather jacket onto a rusty hook, grabbed a packet of chips from the cupboard, and slumped down in front of the TV.</i>
<br /><br />
What is the problem with this sentence? The problem is that Tim is doing all five actions (unlocking the door, opening the door, hanging up his jacket, getting food, and sitting down) <b> at the same time.</b> Simultaneously.
<br /><br />
Unless he's Superman (and he isn't), this obviously won't work. He can't do all those actions at the same time; he does them one by one.
<br /><br />
Starting your sentences with '-ing' verbs can cause these problems. (And yes, I know that their technical name is present participle, but we won't go into that now.) This is not to say that you <i>shouldn't</i> use '-ing' verbs, it just means that you need to be very careful when doing so, that you don't cause a simultaneousness problem. (And yes, that is a word.)
<br /><br />
Related to this is action-reaction order. The action comes first, the reaction comes after that. Don't have your character reacting to an action before (or at the same time as) the action is occurring. Using '-ing' verbs can cause this, so even if the two actions <b>can</b> physically occur at the same time, be careful that one of them isn't actually a reaction to the other.
<br /><br />
Just because these are funny, I'll post some more simultaneousness-problem examples:
<br /><br />
<i>Spinning round, Kate ran towards the school.</i><br />
<i>Slamming a hand over his mouth, Joe screamed a warning.</i><br />
<i>Switching on her computer, Tina opened Outlook.</i><br />
<br />
And an action-reaction one:
<br /><br />
<i>Spinning round, Mary felt a presence behind her.</i>
<br /><br />
Note that because Mary should feel the presence behind her <i>before</i> spinning round, switching the two parts wouldn't change anything. '-ing' sentences happen simultaneously.<br />
<br />
<i>Feeling a presence behind her, Mary spun around.</i>
<br /><br />
Using sentences that start with '-ing' (or number 4's for any other IEW-ers) can vary the sentence structure, but it is important to be careful in using them, as problems can easily occur, as can be seen above.
<br /><br />
<i>Jag Swiftstorm</i>David Sampsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03224410686059411125noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2791271852257843074.post-25247613037703225922013-06-21T20:55:00.002+12:002013-06-21T20:55:30.149+12:00Speaker Tags<i>"How're ya doin'?" I inquired.<br />
"Oh, I'm fine." she responded.<br />
"I... thought I might ask you a question." I ventured.<br />
"Go ahead," she encouraged.<br />
"Well... you know that patch of land out back of the old house? I was wondering if I could buy it off your papa, and then fix it up and maybe build a little cabin there? Do you think he might sell?" I inquired.<br />
"That old bit of land? That's covered in junk!" she shouted.<br />
"I know, but I thought I could maybe sell it and make a bit of money." I retorted.</i>
<br /><br />
Now what is wrong with that? I don't think that there's anything <i>wrong</i> with it, but the speaker tags (I inquired, she responded, I ventured, she encouraged, etc.) are rather flowery and fancy. There is nothing <i>wrong</i> with this, but how about the following dialogue?
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<i>"How're ya doin'?" I asked.<br />
"Oh, I'm fine," she replied.<br />
"I... thought I might ask you a question," I said.<br />
"Go ahead," she said.<br />
"Well... you know that patch of land out back of the old house? I was wondering if I could buy it off your papa, and then fix it up and maybe build a little cabin there? Do you think he might sell?" I asked.<br />
"That old bit of land? That's covered in junk!" she replied.<br />
"I know, but I thought I could maybe sell it and make a bit of money," I said.</i>
<br /><br />
In the first example, what were you looking at? The speaker tags, or the dialogue itself? In the second example, though, were you looking at the dialogue? The speaker tags were <i>invisible</i>–said, replied, and asked. Using those for your writing means that readers can focus on the dialogue–as long as that is well-written.
<br /><br />
Now, I know that you may have heard "Don't use 'said', use more powerful verbs." I think that this may be one exception to the rule of using strong verbs. Now, don't take me wrong here. I'm all for strong verbs. But I think that dialogue is one place where <i>what</i> the characters said is what the readers care about, more than <i>how</i> they said it. Good dialogue (and characterization) should <i>show</i> the reader how they said it, just by what they said.
<br /><br />
'Said', 'Asked', and 'Replied' probably cover just about every piece of dialogue in most projects. But what about pieces of dialogue where none of those three words seem to fit? Can you use other words then?
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Absolutely. A quote from somewhere–I have no idea where: "There are no rules in writing, there are only guidelines." (If any does know where it comes from, please say!) Other words can absolutely be used as speaker tags, as long as they aren't used too much. After telling your reader twenty times that your character 'demanded' something, how are you going to convey when he <i>really</i> demands something. If you've been using 'said' all the way through, that one 'demand' is going to have a real punch.
<br /><br />
In my own writing - I did Command-Find to examine what speaker tags I've used, and these are some of my results:
<br /><br />
Said: 426
<br />
Asked: 169
<br />
Replied: 78
<br />
Shouted: 24 (maybe a bit too many?)
<br />
Screamed: 5 (although three of them are literal screams, not speaker tags)
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As you should be able to see, I try to keep with 'invisible' speaker tags as much as possible.
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One final thing about speaker tags though–be careful to not use speaker tags which lead to facial gymnastics. He grinned–he grimaced–he scowled, for exaple. Try talking at the same time as doing one of those, and you'll see what I mean.
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These are just my thoughts on the subject, and you may have totally different ideas. If you do, please leave a comment and say what you think–I'm open to hearing new ideas.
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<i>--Jag Swiftstorm</i>David Sampsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03224410686059411125noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2791271852257843074.post-21290921203996654552013-06-20T19:51:00.002+12:002013-06-20T19:51:45.471+12:00Writer's BlockWriters know that they come up against something called Writer's Block. When you just. Can't. Write. Words don't flow, sentences don't make sense, and the story (if you can manage to write) doesn't seem to have any meaning.
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Many writers want to know how to solve this. I have read what writers have written about Writer's Block, and this is the answer that seems to be repeated, over and over again.
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Write.
<br /><br />
Just write.
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Force yourself to write, to put fingers to keys, or pencil to paper, or even feather pen to papyrus.
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Just write.
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If you can't manage to work on your main project, go and write something else. Try something different. If you've never written contemporary fiction, try it. If you're an all-out science fiction/science fantasy junkie, try picking up a sword or bow and venturing into the dangerous realms of medieval fantasy. You don't have to stick with the same thing.
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Just write.
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Just write.
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<small>(This is not to say that you shouldn't do things other than write, but ultimately, the only way to write is to write.)</small>David Sampsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03224410686059411125noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2791271852257843074.post-77551986230708175082013-05-25T19:20:00.000+12:002013-05-25T19:20:10.224+12:00Another TagWell, I've been tagged by Hyperlinkzer again. I thought that this tag was over - evidently not. Well, 10 facts:<br />
<br />
<br />1. I am currently reading Left Behind: The Young Trib Force
<br />2. I am up to book 10 out of 12.
<br />3. It is currently 7:06 and we still haven't had dinner.
<br />4. My younger siblings (some of them…) are watching Dumbo.
<br />5. I am the oldest in my family (excluding my parents, of course)
<br />6. I got a new ruler today, because one of my brothers broke my old one :(
<br />7. I am creating characters for writing a Berinfell Prophecies book.
<br />8. I can program in AppleScript.
<br />9. It is a full moon tonight.
<br />10. I am not going to tag anyone else. I know, sneaky :PDavid Sampsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03224410686059411125noreply@blogger.com0