Monthly Highlights: July 2015

 

Welcome back everyone to another exciting Monthly Highlights! I've been surprised how popular these monthly updates are. I'm glad everyone enjoys them and I'll try to keep them exciting and informative for you. So, first off, how was everyone's Fourth of July?? I was a loser and didn't do anything on account of online school. But you guys had fun right? Don't forget to comment below and fill me in on the awesome things you've accomplished this month. Let's get this started!

 

 

 

Yay! Once again I managed to post once every week. I really feel convicted to try and post more but, looking ahead at what I've got coming up, I'll be happy with the consistency I already have. Here's the lovely posts up on Forgotten Featherpen this month. The one on Prehistoric Man was a lot of fun to write and something I promised to deliver. What did y'all think of it?

 

Recent Posts:

• Social Media: Are Your Accounts Healthy?
• No Joy without Sadness: Thoughts after "Inside Out"
• The Big Misconception about Pre-Historic Man

 

 

 

Without going into too much detail, I had the oppurtunity to unload a stuffed moving van the other day. It took four hours in the humid, glaring heat. And of all the things to pop into my head I thought the experience provided excellent reference material if I ever wrote a story about slaves suffering in their labors. So everyone, if you ever want to experience what your poor slave character is suffering through, just go do hard labor in the sun for four hours. You'll have a pretty decent idea after that.

Any of you remember that painting I shared last month? I was able to paint another for my American Literature class this summer. She's called "Innate Divinity" and I'm very proud of her. The painting was in response to learning about the Eastern Religion influcences found in Transcendentalism. It was super fun because of my interest in ancient religious symbolism. Also below is the painting from last month, "Culture's Modern Priest." These two were made to be companion pieces. Hope you enjoy!

 

In other news....I've finally finished all my online summer college classes! To say I'm relieved is an understatement. The classes were so taxing! But also so fun! I'm torn now between being happy with free time and wishing I was still busy learning from such amazing teachers. If anyone is ever considering Toccoa Falls College then go there. Take my word for it, they have amazing teachers. And make sure you get Professor Thomas for American Lit. It's great to be done with summer classes. I got all A's! Now to prepare for more college this Fall.

 

 

 

 

Yes, at some points during this busy month I did pay attention to the construction of my book. This month I've been looking seriously at structure and the mechanics to consider before the bulk of writing is started. I struggle between plotter and panster you see. To help with my panster side, and to give myself a kick in the pants, I joined a site called MyWriteClub. Y'all should check it out! You get to add all sorts of goals like wordcount, scenes, or whatever else you need. There's a community of other writers around to cheer you on as you work towards your goals. If you check it out feel free to follow my progress as well. It's slow going, but at least I've started!

 

Also this month I downloaded this amazing photoblending app on my phone. I've had waaaay too much fun with it. The below pictures are just the product of an overactive imagination when it gets hold of pretty pictures and an app. I've been doing lots of plotting and these pics are the offspring. It's such a wonderful thing to plot! Some might be thrown off by the pics. But trust me, I'm an author. I've got it all under control.

 

 

 

That about wraps it all up for this month! I've got some fun ideas for next month's post so I hope you'll check back to see them. If you have a tag or post idea you'd like to see me do I'd be glad to read about it. So post your comments or questions below! Now before I let you go, here's some of the interesting blog posts I've enjoyed this past month.

 

Posts I've Enjoyed

• How to Care for Your Writing Muse @ Positive Writer
• How to Write Diverse Characters (And Why You Shouldn't Be Afraid to!) @ Ink and Quills
• 9 Ways to Use Point of View to Strengthen Your Story's Characters @ Helping Writers Become Authors
• Four Ways to Fail as a Writer (And One Way to Succeed) @ The Write Practice
• Confession: I Don't Really Have a Drafting Process @ Diary of a Teen Writer
• How to Overcome Writer's Block While You Sleep @ The Write Practice

 

 

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The Big Misconception about Pre-Historic Man

 

 

I have a real interest in Pre-Historic/Ancient Man. (However you want to call them.) If you've read my various artcles for the Genius of Ancient Man Blog or checked out the awesome book I was able to be a part of, you know I can get pretty deep into it sometimes. This week though I wanted to keep it simpler. Keep it light and tasty for those who may not have read much about this topic from a Biblical perspective before. Whenever I bring Pre-Historic Man up in a conversation I hit an immediate road-block. The big misconception about Pre-Historic Man that's been promoted throughout the media for years: the Caveman Stereotype. It looks like this....

 

 

 

The Caveman Stereotype

Now don't get me wrong here! I love the Croods movie! It's got awesome characters, tons of gripping drama, and a warm family-centered lesson. What I'm pointing out is the caveman stereotype promoted in the Croods movie and in most every other representation of pre-historic man out there today: a dumb, subhuman creature still on it's evolutionary journey to humaness. The Crood family live in a cave because they lack the "brain" to know better. They eat like animals, run like animals...overall they behave like animals and that's what the stereotype is all about. If pre-historic man is ever brought up in conversation it's the caveman stereotype that's going to pop into people's heads. Okay, I promise I'm done picking on the Croods now. Moving on.

 

 

 

The Subhuman Caveman

"Caveman" doesn't just denote one type of human ancestor in the scientific realm. The term caveman just becomes a "catchall for people who lived in prehistoric times." (Ken Ham said that) That word in our everyday vernacular could be referring to what evolutionary scientists call Cro-Magnon Man, Neanderthal Man, or any other ancient person you dig up. But according to evolutionary scientists those ancient people aren't really human at all. They're like the Croods; animal-like and subhuman. Well, that's what evolutionary scientists think about them. As a Christian who looks at history, even pre-history, from a Biblical perspective, I think of cavemen a little differently. Please enjoy the succinct comic below which I think sums up my perspective perfectly.

 

 

 

The Real Men who Lived in Caves

There is evidence all around the world that pre-historic man was created to be intelligent. From impressive feats of engineering to mapping the world to painting works of art. From the very beginning man was capable of speech, organization, tool-making, music, building...you name it! If you don't believe me check out Genesis chapters 1-11. The point is that man started out as fully human and intelligent, the complete opposite of the caveman stereotype. When I talk to others about pre-historic man that's the image I want popping into their heads.

So why were men living in caves in the first place? What were they doing there? Well there are lots of good answers to that question and none of them have to involve evolution in order to be logical. In short, after the dispersion at Babel, (where different languages were born and people started leaving in different directions) there were masses of migrating people moving across the globe. How fast or slow they went is beside the point. At any rate there would have come a time when a cave was the only possible shelter. It could have provided a temporary home until the people moved on or built actual homes. A cave could also have become a permanent home without making the people inside it any less human. Yet another option is caves became ceremonial centers for the people living near them. That would explain evidence of fires, food, paintings, and even burials in and around caves. (Wanna read some other awesome articles about cavemen from a Biblical Perpective? Check out these articles about human ancestors and neanderthals)

Have I lost you yet?

 

Sometimes talking about my interest in pre-historic man can hit a roadblock because of this big misconception that pre-historic man was some kind of stereotypical caveman. When I tell people about my perspective I feel a bit like I'm not making any sense to them. I hope I've made some sense to you in talking about all this.

 

Have you encountered examples of the caveman stereotype before? What did you think of them? You don't have to agree with me about prehistoric man to share your thoughts, I'd love to hear what you have to say! I'm not aiming to start a debate, just to share my perspective. Is there anything you've always wondered about prehistoric man? Or does this topic not mean a whole lot to you?

 

 

 

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