Wordless Wednesday
Month: February 2018
Horse Names, a Little Contest, and a Sneak Peek
Today I’m giving you a sneak peek into my WIP (work in progress). I am writing a historical romance story that takes place in the Old West, which of course, requires some research on my part.
Did you know that when cowboys went on a cattle drive they took a lot of extra horses along? They didn’t want to overtire the horses they rode when they often rode fourteen hours a day. Therefore the spare horses allowed them to change to fresh horses often.
Did you know the herd of extra horses was called the “remuda” which comes from a Spanish word “remonta” or “remount”. The remuda could be as large as 150 horses!
Did you know that it was generally the youngest cowboy in the group who was in charge of the remuda? Did you know that he was called the “Wrangler” which also comes from a Spanish word, “caballerango” or “one who cares for horses”?
Many cowboy terms came from the Spanish because the cowboy profession was started by the Spanish Vaqueros, Spanish and Native American Indians who were trained to watch over the cattle of Spanish missionaries.
The Wrangler’s job was not easy. He had to know each horse by name and was expected to know immediately if a horse was missing and to track it down.
Now that you have that information, a cattle drive takes place in my book and there will be a total of seventy-three horses in the remuda. Now, not all seventy-three horses’ names will appear in my book, but I did feel like I needed to name all seventy-three for my story information. I thought you might like to see the names I came up with, and no, they’re not necessarily original, and I’m sure you will recognize some of them from other literary works or movies — these will be some of the names that will not appear in my book. (Only a handful of the horses’ names will actually appear in my book.)
1.Sandy 2. Pete 3. Jack 4. Janie 5. Jax
6.Dusty 7. Smokey 8. Goldie 9. Millie 10. Paint
11.Lady 12. Shadow 13. Cash 14. Toby 15. Misty
16.Lightning 17. Storm 18. Flash 19. Tillie 20. Sal
21.Bonnet 22. Max 23. Pumpkin 24. Tate 25. Flapjack
26.Tramp 27. Jasper 28. Spade 29. Ruby 30. Leo
31.Rusty 32. Sawdust 33. Dancer 34. Pearl 35. Spirit
36.Rain 37. Phantom 38. Star 39. Jupiter 40. Ebony
41.Windy 42. Scout 43. Topper 44. Zeke 45. Thunder
46.Midnight 47. Bessie 48. Drifter 49. Goblin 50. Ginger
51.Cinnamon 52. Lacey 53. Buster 54. Cloud 55. Hero
56.Legend 57. Lucky 58. Poncho 59. Chip 60. Faith
61.Patches 62. Popcorn 63. Peace 64. Patience 65. Betsy
66.Skye 67. Ranger 68. Wildfire 69. Rebel 70. Willow
71.Sapphire 72. Biscuit 73. Daisy
Which of these is your favorite that you would like to see in my book?
Leave your answer in the comments by next Monday, March 5th at noon if you want your favorite horse name including in my story. The three names with the most votes will win and be included in my story and your name will appear in the acknowledgements for helping make the choices.
A Diamante Poem
Horse
strong, fast
working, galloping, grazing
saddle, animal, rider, man
riding, wrangling, repairing
diligent, rugged
cowboy
Wordless Wednesday
Whatever Happened to Justice? by Richard J. Maybury
Wow! What a great book! Whatever Happened to Justice? by Richard J. Maybury is written in terms that are easy enough for middle school children to understand, and he offers so many examples and insights into what went wrong and is still spinning out of control in our country.
The entire book talks about Common Law and how it worked and enabled our country to become the prosperous land of the free that it was for a hundred years. This book also explains how things began to go wrong, when our country’s leaders turned to Political Law and cast Common Law aside. It explains about the two types of Law: Scientific Law and Political Law.
You’ve probably never even heard of Common Law. I know I wasn’t familiar with the term until I read this book. Mr. Maybury also points out how, not only did our leaders cast Common Law aside, but it has been buried. No one is taught about Common Law anymore, not even lawyers.
Mr. Maybury quotes many of our founding fathers, as well as other historical figures and resources to make his points. He has traveled the world and examined the many different types of government. He explains how “Case Law” is a method of evolving law on a case by case basis. It was developed by judges and was the beginning of “scientific law”.
Historically, the clergymen were the most highly respected and neutral third party in a community, and therefore were often the ones to listen to both sides of a story and then consult moral guidelines such as the Ten Commandments and make a decision. The grapevine would spread this decision throughout the community. It would become a “precedent” for later decisions.
The reasoning behind it was simple. The fundamental nature of humans doesn’t change much; what was right yesterday remains right today.
Eventually some of the clergymen became so skilled at listening to cases and making sound judgments that they acquired much prestige. Demand for their services grew and they became full-time judges. The body of precedents they produced became the law of common usage, the “common law“.
Since judges were making decisions based on moral guidelines and dealt with people from different communities or of different religions, the guidelines on which cases were decided had to be those which all reasonable persons held in common.
Therefore, after much thought, the judges came up with two fundamental laws on which all major religions and philosophies agree: (1) do all you have agreed to do, and (2) do not encroach on other persons or their property.
Encroach means to enter steps or stealth into the possessions or rights of another; to trespass or intrude. To gain or intrude unlawfully upon the lands, property, or authority of another. (Black’s Law Dictionary)
These words are just the tip of the iceburg that is this book. Everything in italics and bold are direct quotes from the book, which I highly recommend and plan to use as part of my son’s homeschool government studies when he gets to high school.
If you’re interested in reading more of this book, or one of the other books that Mr. Maybury has written that teach wonderful lessons, you can find them at http://www.bluestockingpress.com
The Coffee Shop (A Poem)
The Coffee Shop
by Kelly F. Barr
Oh the hustle and bustle
Over coffee and tea;
Regular or latte–
What flavor will it be?
People chatting, eating,
Looking at their phones;
Conducting business, studying,
Or writing in their zone.
Those who need a pick-me-up
Make it their early morning stop.
Others leisurely sip their choice
At their favorite coffee shop.
Wordless Wednesday
The Importance of Word Count
Why is there so much talk about how many words a writer writes?
Because words have meaning. They carry weight. They paint pictures, but they can also bog the reader or the story down.
Word count determines how long your story will be and that will determine whether it is a piece of Flash Fiction, a Short Story, a Novella, or a Novel. Yes, each of these has a range of acceptable word count.
So, should you write 1,000 words or less, 3,000-5,000 words, 30,000-45,000 words, 65,000-120,000 words? That depends on which of the items above you want to write. It may also depend on your genre or whether your are writing for Silhouette Romances or a Fantasy Novel, etc.
I have had people praise my writing. Several have told me, “You are a good writer. You don’t waste words. Every word you use counts.” Of course, that made me feel good. However, because of that, I have to be sure that I work hard to include the things my readers want in my writing as well as maybe include a few more scenes, which means coming up with a few more conflicts, in order to produce the proper-size novel.
What do I mean “what my readers want in my writing”? Well, my critique partners say I do not include enough description of things like the weather on a particular day or what a place looks like nor do I include enough of my characters’ internal thoughts.
Therefore, while others may have to cut words when they do their revisions, I will most likely have to add words/scenes.
What have you learned about your writing in regard to word count?
Bundle of Joy (A Poem)
A Bundle of Joy
by Kelly F. Barr
Ten little fingers;
Ten tiny toes;
Eyes full of wonder
And a button nose.
These are the makings
Of a bundle of joy.
It really doesn’t matter
If it’s a girl or a boy.
Swaddled snugly in a blanket
Wrapped in my arms.
You hold my gaze captive
With your plentiful charms.
Wordless Wednesday
Kelly F Barr 