Hello World; I'm back!

I think this must be a record for how long it's taken me to post since the last time I've posted. Explanation?

You got it.

Week One:

OYAN! The 2013 OYAN Summer Workshop, as some of you may know, took place from the 17th to the 22nd of June. I and my brother Seph were the only ones from my family that attended this year, but both Dana and Siani also attended, so we made a good little group, in the end.

As usual, the Workshop was amazing. In four words, inspiring, encouraging, fortifying, and enlightening.

Inspiring. Here's a confession: I had begun to lose faith in my dreams. You know what happens to dreams when you lose faith in them? They slowly, painfully begin to die. I'm the kind of person who dreams big. Enormous, wild dreams of wondrous things -- anything, everything! My Mother has always told me "not to make a big production" of projects I would launch myself into. Being my Mother, she was and still is, quite right. But I had begun to go in the opposite direction, internally discouraging myself from trying for anything too fantastic, settling for second, third, or even fourth best simply to remain 'realistic'. The only thing, believe it or not, that kept me from giving up all together was remembering when Dana told me not to. "Don't give up on your dreams." Every time I became discouraged, I thought of that. (Thanks, Dana, by the way.)

There's something about knowing that others believe in your dreams -- or just in dreaming, for that matter -- that  suddenly makes your wildest hopes feel possible. The things you don't dare let yourself believe in, spring to life and beckon to you. And now you feel safe in pursuing them, in making them happen, because you're not alone.

The OYAN Summer Workshop proves that neither I, nor anyone like me, with visions of changing the world through story, are not alone. We are never alone. There are others like us, and they are dreamers, too.

"All men dream, but not equally. Those who dream at night in the dusty recesses of their minds, wake to find it was vanity. But the dreamers of the day or dangerous men, for they may act upon their dreams with open eyes to make them possible." ~ T.E. Lawrence

Encouraging. Similar to what I said before, each time I go to OYAN I learn something new. The Workshop gives writers invaluable tools to act upon those wild dreams of ours. Wonderfully insightful teachers, but not just insightful and experienced, but teachers and speakers who truly care about the OYAN community and want to see it flourish. Not only are we allowed to dream, but encouraged to, and given the tools to succeed.

Fortifying. This one is harder to explain, but there is something about being surrounded by not just other writers, but other OYANers that makes one feel like they can take on the entire world fearlessly. The Reunion part of the Workshop strengthens friendships that normally only happen over the internet. You get to see, hear, touch, and embrace those you've come to love, and even those you didn't even know you loved before, in person. Never discount the power of real life, in person interaction with other human beings, folks!

Enlightening. Back to learning something new every time, but in this sense I mean in a less technical sort of way, and a more sobering one. Not only did I see the light, but the darkness, also. The opposition, the enemy, the battle and struggle, both present and future, we are engaged in simply because of the dreams we have. Dangerous dreams, dreams that will change the world. In all honesty; I'm not kidding. And when there are dreams that will change the world, there will be those who want to crush them. People, ideals, the devil himself. It's hard to see some of those forces at work within the community I love so much. It is at the same time, however, something I glad to know of. I don't want to be naïve, and it is a good test of character to see if I -- or anyone for that matter -- will still love even when there is conflict. To know who will support you, and who you must support. And whether or not you'll stick out the fight, or if you'll lower to the enemy's standards, for the latter is far easier.

All in all, the OYAN Summer Workshop (any one of them) is an experience I enjoy and treasure more than words can express.

Week Two:

Home again! We flew home bringing Dana and Siani with us to stay for the rest of the week. So awesome to have them over for that extra bit of time there without the business of the Workshop schedule. Having Ani about in person was great fun. It's only been a year since I saw her, but it felt like it'd been years and ages. It's always great to see her in person, no matter how long it's been since we last saw each other.

We also had Wynni over for a few days, so our house was quite full. (Wynni is awesome, just so y'all know. A happy ray of sunshine. <3) I organized a LARP/IG for that Wednesday, but I'll probably write a blog post on that later.

Week Three:

Ani left, and Dana stuck around for a bit longer. Also great to have him around. He started this routine of going outside every evening around nine to watch the fireflies over the cornfield. Before long I and my brothers started doing it, too, which made for some fascinating conversations, as well as some comfortable silences. You know you're with a good friend when silence is as easily shared as conversation.

Oh, and Gypsy simply adores him. I have absolutely no idea why, but right from the first time she met him, she became attached to him almost as much as she is attached to me. This is strange because normally Gypsy is very much a one person dog. I don't know what it is about Dana that she loves so much, but whatever it is, it's got her hook, line and sinker. She has been quite sullen lately now that she's figured out he isn't coming back, and finds my ball throwing skills deplorable. Which they are, so I can't blame her. Dana is much better at that than I am and she knows it.

I think that's pretty much it for now. I'm sure I left out a few details, but nothing important. Hopefully this is an adequate explanation for my absence.

And don't worry about FtGG. Dana and I will get right back on that very soon.

Dia duit,
~Penny

Runt the Brave

Driven by its merciless leader, an army of rats has besieged Tira-Nor. The city’s last hope lies with a mouse so small and so young that even his family calls him “Runt.” But it is not just the rats who want JaRed son of ReDemec dead. A cold shadow stalks the war-darkened tunnels of the underground mouse city. A bodiless evil threatens to bring the myths of the Ancients suddenly to life.

Betrayed by a hatred as thick as blood, surrounded by enemies too terrifying to comprehend, JaRed is about to encounter a power beyond even that of the Great Owl ... a power that will fling him into a destiny wilder than anything he’s ever imagined!



This is honestly one of the best books I've ever read. Despite what it may seem as just another animal character story for younger readers, Runt the Brave is an inspiring tale for all ages. It's cast, though simple, and yes, they're all animals, is strong, and while younger readers will enjoy the fanciful land of Tiranor, older readers will tune into the depth of the message behind the story. The theme, 'right makes might', is well woven into the fabric of the tale of JaRed's adventure, and doesn't become preachy like many other Christian stories. The content is completely safe, the adventure rivetting, and the characters captivating.

Part of the reason I'm putting this up -- and not waiting for Rosie to write a review -- is because Mr. Schwabauer has just revealed to the OYAN community the desire to construct a Creative Arts Center in Olathe, Kansas. He's putting all proceeds from his books towards that center, and I figured I ought to give him a hand. If you enjoy reading this blog, the liklihood of you enjoying Runt the Brave is extremely high. Give it a try!

If you're an aspiring writer, I highly reccomend looking into the One Year Adventure Novel curriculum. OYAN not only saved my writing, it improved years before its time. I'm nineteen years old, and already looking to get some of my completed works published. It's only been three years since I started OYAN, and my writing advnaced further in that ammount of time than it had in the five years I had been writing prior to that. Even though I still have much to learn about the mastery of story weaving, I am where I am right now thanks to OYAN, it's founder, Mr. S, and the amazing community of writers this curriculum has brought together.

Dia duit,
~Penny




Memories For Ever After

So we made it back home safe and sound after almost a month of vacation. It would seem appropriate to give a dissertation on what has been going on while my blog was so sadly neglected, so I'll give a brief dialogue on it.

As the last post suggests, we spent the first week playing imagination games. On the second week, I, Percy, Seph, Dana, Bob, and Ani had the privilage of attending the OYAN Summer Workshop/Reunion. Saying it was amazing seems inadequate by tenfold at least! The blessings and lessons we learned could not even begin to fit on a single page.

Seph and I and another OYANer looking over song lyrics.

One part I particularly enjoyed -- the awesome lectures by Mr. S, Jeff Gerke, Mark Wilson, and others aside -- was Celtic Day. On Wednesday of the Workshop week, as many as wanted dressed in something Scottish or Irish themed. I and the PenKnights all wore a medieval outfit, and Dana wore his kilt and beret. Ani wore her Korean Hanbok instead of a medieval dress, though, because hers didn't get made in time. We looked rather spiffy, if I do say so myself.

In the afternoon, and that evening, all of us involved in Celtic Day had a jam session. Pennywhistles, violins, a guitar, a bodhran, and even a cello, plus all the excellent voices lent to two truly amazing performances of Celtic folk music and hymns. One of the things I love so much about Celtic music is that it has a magical way of bringing people together. None of us had ever played or sung together before in our lives, and yet we still played and sang the simple Celtic melodies well enough to put angels to shame. The music left everyone smiling with gladness in their hearts, and that evening sent me to bed glowing inside for the beauty of people coming together and just having honest fun with music and dance.
I can say without a doubt that the entire OYAN Workshop experience was an incredible blessing, and it has undoubtedly changed my life in many ways that I haven't even noticed yet. There is a revolution going on in the realm of Christian writing, and I got to meet and be a part of the next generation of storytellers who will change the world. God is doing great things, and the future is actually looking like an exciting place, now.

The third week! Ah, the third week. Thirty people in one house. We all stayed at, I shall say, the MacDonald place in Maryland. All three of our large families living practically on top of each other for a whole week straight. It was great! Good thing I don't mind doing dishes. There were dishes to do. A lot of dishes.

A lot of dishes.

Anyway, the fun part was that Bob had written a script and gotten a new amazing stupendous camera. Movie time! We filmed a whole movie -- fully choreographed fight scenes, brilliant costumes sewn by Lynn and Lynnae, better acting that in our previous two movies, and some pretty neat props that included a passle of PVC pipe swords made especially for this occasion -- called A Heart of Corruption. It was a learning experience in and of itself to make this movie, as we've never done one with this ammount of consecutive dialogue, complex plot, that many actors, or over that many days in a row. (I believe it took three days in all to get all the shots needed.) Bob had a little bit of a hard time because he was director this time instead of me, so he had to learn to deal with the pressures that come with that position. I told him to come up with five things he learned over the course of filming before I and my family left, and here's what he said:

1. Patience
2. Flexibility
3. Not to work with small children (or animals) if possible
4. Time management
5. Never give up

Isn't that an excellent list? I'm very proud of him. You did an amazing job, Bobby my boy, even if you don't agree. I'm very proud of you!

And thus with very teary eyes and many hugs, the three of our families parted ways at the end of an amazing three weeks of friendships and many, many lessons learned. Leaving the MacDonald house, I had the strangest feeling. Even though the three weeks had come to an end, it felt good; like a relief. Not because I was tired of them, quite the contrary, I miss them very much even now. No, a relief because we'd made it. Months and months of praying, several close calls, numerous doubts, and God allowed us to have those three weeks together. I don't know if there's any way I can express to God how grateful I am to Him for allowing us to have that time together. So, so many things had to go right, so many 'coincidences' had to happen, in order for this vacation to have even been considered, and God put everything right in line for us one after the other from start to finish. He led us all the way through to the end, and now it's safe in our memories forever. Forever! Do you know how long that is? That's until the day we die, and even beyond.

My friends -- you know who you are -- I love you all more than I could say or show. You're all awesome, and I mean that in every sense of the word.

My God -- you certainly know who you are -- I love you more than I'm capable of even feeling. I will serve you all my days, and in your name I will wield my sword and pen for as long as I inhabit this Earth, and still then after that.

To all who read this blog -- yes, you there -- may God keep you strong and bless you and yours for all the days of your life!

Dia duit,
~Penny