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March 26, 2019

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Books, Reading, Stories, Uh, This is Random

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Why Dracula [a review/journal entry about why I (surprisingly) love Dracula by Bram Stoker]

If you’ve been around Penprints any time since October 2018, you’ve probably seen my frequent references to Dracula and how much I love it and want to write Dracula fan fiction and wear all the Storiarts Dracula merch etc. etc. etc.. Well, today a little background into why I love it so much.

I’m not sure what compelled me to use one of my precious Audible credits to purchase an audiobook version of Dracula by Bram Stoker.

While I’ve always loved science fiction and fantasy and most else that can be classified as “weird”, I’ve had an aversion to the horror genre (a post for another time, perhaps?). I’ve never caught the vampire craze, and I have a tenuous relationship with most pieces of classic literature.

So why’d I decide to listen to Dracula—vampire novel, predecessor of the horror genre, piece of classic literature?

I still don’t know. But listen to it I did, expecting not to like it, expecting I’d not even finish it, and instead found I love it. So much so that when I visited Barnes and Noble last Tuesday, I bought a red leather copy to keep in my personal library.

So here’s a review/journal entry to explain some of why I so enjoyed Dracula. Maybe it’ll intrigue you into reading this classic.

why dracula

[Brief Blurb]

Jonathan Harker, a young English lawyer, travels through the Eastern European country of Transylvania to conclude a real estate transaction with a nobleman. As Harker wends his way through the picturesque countryside, the local peasants react with terror when he tells them his destination: Castle Dracula.

Upon arriving at the crumbling old castle, Harker finds that the elderly Dracula is a well-educated and hospitable gentleman. But after only a few days, Harker realizes that he is effectively a prisoner in the castle, and as he investigates the nature of his confinement, he realizes that the count possesses supernatural powers and murderous ambitions.

Told from the perspective of multiple narrators, Dracula recounts a group of ordinary people who uncover the count’s plot and seek to stop him at any cost.

(Blurb adapted from sparknotes.com.)

[The Format]

The first thing to strike me about Dracula is its format: a collection of newspaper clippings, ships logs, letters, and personal diaries. And that style of storytelling is incredibly appealing to me

Each piece of writing—be it a telegram, ship log, journal entry, etc.—pertains in some way to the overarching plot surrounding Count Dracula. While the reader sees correspondence and reflections from almost a dozen different sources, we primarily get to know three narrators in particular: Jonathon Harker, Mina Murry, and Dr. John Seward, which brings us to the next thing I loved…

[The Characters]

Um, I loved them all.

Well, mainly Jonathan Harker, Mina Murray, Dr. Seward, and Dr. Van Helsing. But the rest were also endearing.

They loved each other so much and were so passionate in their affections and admiration for each other and all that is good that I just have to smile whenever I think about them. (More on them when we get to the themes.)

[The Themes]

Amity, modernity the nature of goodness, and the nature of evil were some of my favorite themes from Dracula.

Modernity.

Victorian era London (where the main characters are from) was one of the peaks of modern enlightenment and science. I found it very interesting how that modernity failed in the fight against Count Dracula. The heroes had to suspend what science told them, what their enlightened minds could understand, in order to go after Count Dracula. Instead of science, they were forced to embrace that which would be scoffed at as mere superstition. Their modern intellect and rationality were forced to give way to that which cannot be explained.

I believe this is especially thought provoking in today’s modern world. We get so comfortable in our flesh and bone, in the brief moment of time we live on this earth, in the science that’s integrated into every aspect of our lives. We think we’re so logical, enlightened, modern, scientific, and knowledgeable—too proud (or maybe too afraid) to embrace what we can’t see or don’t understand, which, for the Christian, has frightening implications when it comes to our faith in a Savior God who has always worked in strange and supernatural ways.

We should take care not to become so modern that unseen, strange realities have no bearing on how we think and feel and live.

The nature of evil.

Count Dracula is cruel toward others, murderous, hateful, vengeful, cold, proud, selfish, and basically completely void of love for anyone but himself. He is humanity at its worst, most fallen. Not only does him simply love only himself, his heart is so hard that he is incapable of treasuring anything but himself.

In him, we see so much of the awful potential that humanity has to be evil (i.e. – total depravity).

Amity and the nature of goodness.

In our heroes (Jonathan Harker, Mina Murray, Dr. Seward, Dr. Van Helsing, etc.), there is a simple honesty and goodness. They are diligent. They are afraid yet fight on, exemplifying courage and perseverance in the face of great evil. They are, it seems, outmatched against Count Dracula, but they keep at their quest no matter how bleak it looks or how much they’ve lost already because if not they cannot or will not fight Dracula, who will? They are quick to see the value in each other, quick the love each other. They are kind and love what is good.

In them we see all the best potential that humanity has for good (i.e. – ways people image Christ, like we were designed to).

[The Portrayal of Men, Women, and Marriage]

In general, the portrayal in the heroes of masculinity, femininity, and marriage was so wonderful and refreshing.

Mina Murray was smart and resourceful, and while sometimes the writing was over the top with surprise at how smart and resourceful Mina was, it was a fitting representation of women. She was kind and gracious, clever and helpful, brave and tenacious.

Also, all the dudes in this book were so amazing as men. They saw it as their responsibility to help and protect Mina and the other women at whatever cost to themselves. They were gallant and devoted as well as intelligent and strong. Where gentleness was needed, they were gentle. Where ferocity was needed, they were fierce. They, simply put, were good men.

Also, a certain couple gets married in the middle of the book, and their relationship and Stoker’s portrayal of marriage and the roles in marriage is just so beautiful to me.

[The Slow Burn Plot]

I just loved the plot for this. And I don’t usually love plots because I’m a character first person…. but Stoker was masterful.

In the first act, he attaches us primarily to one character (Jonathan Harkar, aka: my favorite) and then deploys an unexpected (at least to me) twist, veering off in a new direction while the reader reels from a mid-book cliffhanger.

Then, begins the slow burn.

The reader knows all along the way that something bad is happening, that the things that are being written—every ship log, diary entry, etc.—are relating to Count Dracula in some way, but the reader isn’t always aware how it is related.

There’s just this rising tide of dread that grows and grows as tension tightens and tightens around each arc of the plot.

It’s especially excruciating since the reader knows about Count Dracula, but the heroes don’t at first. Every little thing that’s a red flag or piece of foreshadowing for the reader just goes over the heads of our heroes at first because they have no idea what they’ve gotten into.

To me, it was so well done that I hope to write such suspenseful fiction one day.

[Unsettling/Objectionable Content]

Dracula is still the father of all vampire fiction (and some horror fiction too), so I cannot not mention that there were some things that unsettled me and stunt my recommendation when it comes to younger readers.

Generally, it’s a surprisingly bloodless book (considering these are vampires, people), but there are a few scenes where the violence and gore was unsettling to me. Also, there was a weird and unsettling sensuality in the way vampires were portrayed in some scenes.

However, I found these scenes/this content few and far between and not troubling to the degree that I can’t enjoy the story as a whole.

[To Wrap It Up]

Excuse me while I go write a ton of Dracula fan fiction and rave about how freaking amazing Jonathan Harker is.

(Seriously, though, if I ever were to write a Victorian era novel [or something steampunk-ish] it would be Dracula inspired. And if I ever were to write anything involving vampires, it would basically be a Dracula retelling. And also the main character is going to based off of Jonathan Harker. Just so you’re all warned.)

Have you ever read Dracula? What did you think?

With love,

Rosalie

p.s. – Let me just say that I’m so happy that I get to post on Penprints about persevering in the power of Jesus one week, curate a ridiculous collection of gifs about how to maximize bookstore enjoyment another week, and then turn around and share some thoughts on Dracula. All on the same blog.

Hopefully none of you have whiplash from such topic changes, but if you do, I will quote Lego Batman to you.

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Mwahahaha (I’m done now I promise).

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July 9, 2018

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God, Life, Uh, This is Random

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Altars of Remembrance [the importance of looking back to see the faithfulness of God]

// When all the nation had finished passing over the Jordan, the LORD said to Joshua, “Take twelve men from the people, from each tribe a man, and command them, saying, ‘Take twelve stones from here out of the midst of the Jordan, from the very place where the priests’ feet stood firmly, and bring them over with you and lay them down in the place where you lodge tonight.’”

Then Joshua called the twelve men from the people of Israel, whom he had appointed, a man from each tribe. And Joshua said to them, “Pass on before the ark of the LORD your God into the midst of the Jordan, and take up each of you a stone upon his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the people of Israel, that this may be a sign among you. When your children ask in time to come, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’ then you shall tell them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD. When it passed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. So these stones shall be to the people of Israel a memorial forever.” //

Joshua 4:1-7

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I remember my entire body going limp and a sensation of weightlessness.

I remember my arms floating out in front of me as confusion and shock flooded my system.

I remember the windshield crumpling and a cocoon of impact sounds—a grind, a screech, a whoosh, a thud—surrounding me.

I remember the moment of absolute silence as I sat shaking right before I climbed out of the window of the SUV, body trembling with adrenaline, mind working in overdrive to figure out what had happened.

I remember walking away perfectly intact but for a few scrapes. I remember that I didn’t need to go to the hospital. I remember that my concussion was so minor that I only ever got a few headaches in the aftermath. I remember that I didn’t need stiches or even band aids. I remember that I wasn’t sore. Like, at all. I remember waking up the next morning alive and well—extremely well, unnaturally well.

That SUV rolled twice before it landed right side up, but I was completely all right.

I remember that God preserved me, that he kept me safe when I shouldn’t have been safe, that his hand covered me so much that I have no scars from that accident.

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I remember other times when God has proved his faithfulness to me, even though he is never under an obligation to bless me, even though he doesn’t need me to be safe or happy, even though he doesn’t need me at all.

I remember opening the email that told me a magazine had acquired my first short story. I remember the rush of elation so potent it brought tears. I remember talking long with God about it, trying to express my excitement and thankfulness and wonder because he never had to give me a gift like that. But he did.

I remember wrestling with God over the eleven months of rejections that followed that happy day. I remember what he taught me about myself and himself in those rejections. I remember how he gradually recalibrated my goals and ideas of success.

I remember who I was a year ago today, and I see all the ways God has grown me. I remember my bone-deep pride and my faithlessness, and I remember how he’s remade me again and again, each time with a little less of my old nature.

I remember the season of my life when I was hopelessly entangled with sin and all the depression that came with it. I remember how God pursued me, always had grace for me, made me brave enough to do what I had to do to be free of that sin.

I remember walking through wastelands, and I remember the sudden, intense floods of joy and hope and truth that God rained down upon me.

I remember times of striking loneliness where God met with me, was a friend to me.

I remember the trials of these last few years and how God was walked before me, behind me, and with me through all of it.

I remember being overwhelmed by the weight of how sinful I still am—the pride, the faithlessness, the fear, the selfishness—and thinking to myself, “How will I ever see God?” only to have him take the weight from me and remind me that Jesus finished it—all of it—on that cross.

I remember blanching at the thought of the future only to have him take me deeper than my feet could ever wander.

I remember asking for a new heart, and I remember him giving it.

I remember so many things—the person I have been but am no longer, the times in my life where I couldn’t make it, the heart-breaking twists that crushed me, the impossible coming to pass, the blessings from his hand for no other reason than because he loves me and wants me to know it in new ways, the friendships that have fallen apart and the pain they brought but looking back and seeing why, the pulling through when I didn’t have it in me but he had more than enough.

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Remembrance.

If we do not make remembrance a habit, our heart of gratitude flatlines, and our faith and hope wither. It is in the practice of looking back—in remembering specifically what God has done in and for us personally—that we are reminded of God’s faithfulness.

We are creatures so prone to forgetfulness. I can forget in the afternoon the joy of meeting with God I had in the morning. I can forget in a couple of months the despair of being caught in sin. I can forget in a few days the urgency that should trademark how I approach evangelism. I can forget in a few minutes to love of God when a trial comes.

But I cannot—I must not—forget.

When the trial comes, we must remember who God has said and shown himself to be. When our wonder is gone, we must remember who God has said and shown himself to be. When our hope withers, we must remember who God has said and shown himself to be. When our faith dies, we must remember who God has said and shown himself to be.

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But how can we remember?

We must build a memorial beside every Jordan river that God leads us across. He gives us the rocks from his very hand, the stones that build our faith and hope and joy and love if only we remember them.

They are massive boulders. They are little pebbles. And they all build up, help us to understand in our hearts and our heads and delight ourselves in God’s goodness and faithfulness and love, readying us for when his blessings aren’t so apparent.

They are little moments of wonder, and they are life-changing events, and they are weeks and months of growth.

They are the encouraging texts out of the blue.

They are the moments when the presence of the Holy Spirit is undeniably tangible.

They are the massive, unexpected, unnecessary win at work.

They are the conversation with a friend.

They are the peonies with their hundreds of petals in full bloom.

They are the truth we are suddenly, powerfully reminded of down to our core.

They are the old friend who is still a good friend despite the time and distance.

They are the passage of Scripture that comes alive.

They are the hug of a sister.

They are the prayer of a brother.

They are the healing and forgiveness after so much hurt.

They are the fireflies flickering on a summer night.

They are the safety in a dangerous place.

They are the song for the dark of night.

They are the deep sleep that refreshes and renews.

They are the victory when it seemed the fight was lost.

They are the hearts being transformed into the image of Jesus all around us.

They are the remaking of our own hearts day by day.

They are the cancer in remission.

They are the grandparent coming out of the hospital safe and sound.

They are the little things. They are the big things. They are all the things in between. These are the stones with which we build our memorials, our altars of remembrance.

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My memorial is made mainly of paper and ink.

I journal to remember, and I keep a notebook of thanksgiving. I also make playlists, and each song reminds me of something specific from different seasons of life.

On July 6—the anniversary of my accident—I buy flowers, and I set aside a little while to think back, to journal, to pray, and to worship. It’s special not because of the flowers or even because I’m alive and well and happy to be; it’s special because on that day I remember well the sovereignty and faithfulness and grace and love and power of my God.

So I encourage you—I challenge you—to remember what your memorial is made of. I challenge you to regularly identify the individual rocks and gravel bits that have built up your altar of remembrance.

Remember who God has said and shown himself to be in his Word and how he’s confirmed it in your life.

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I would love to hear from you. What are some things—big and small—that you remember? How do you remember—do you journal or make photo albums or something else entirely?

With much love,

Rosalie

P.S. – Here’s the original post I wrote after my accident in 2016, if you’re interested.

P.P.S. – The whole account of the crossing of the Jordan is pretty spectacular; Joshua 1-5 gives a fairly comprehensive picture of the situation.

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May 1, 2017

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Life, Writing

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20 Ways to Fill Your Empty Notebooks

Raise your hand if you have more than five empty notebooks languishing somewhere in your house.

Okay, now keep your hand up if you have 10 empty notebooks. 15?? 20? 25??? 5000??

You can put your hands down now (full disclosure, I never saw if your hands were up or down for obvious reasons).

Any decent person has at least 3 empty notebooks in their custody at any given time. For those of you who don’t have 3 empty notebooks, well, we still love you (for the most part…. most of the time).

Ahem. This post is for the decent people who find themselves with an abundance of empty notebooks.

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  1. Bullet Journal (aka: The Ultimate Journal).

This is an amazing journal to keep because you can use it in so many ways. A bullet journal can be your day planner, your calendar, your money tracker, your book tracker, and where you keep track of your favorite names (wait, you don’t compulsively collect the names you like???) all in one. That is why this is The Ultimate Journal. It can hold as much or as little as you want.

  1. Devotions Journal.

The devotions journal is another essential. This is where you can write down all your notes from your quiet time 1) to help process what you’re learning 2) to write down tangible application (aka: action you will take in light of your time in devotions) and 3) to revisit them later.

  1. Favorite Quotes Journal.

Quotes are easy to like but difficult to keep track of if you don’t have a central place to keep them. Hence the favorite quotes journal. Find a quote you like, flip to a fresh page in this journal, and jot it down.

  1. Thanksgiving Journal.

Cultivating a thankful heart goes a long way when it comes to discontentment, anxiety, and even depression, and one way to work towards being more intentionally grateful is to keep a journal filled with things you’re thankful for. Try to come up with a couple new things to put in this journal every morning, and it will slowly change your attitude.

  1. Morning Pages.

Morning pages are supposed to be done right after you wake up in the morning. You tumble out of bed, grab a pen, and start scrawling. You’re supposed to write anything and everything that comes into your mind in an attempt to help you have greater focus throughout the day. Once you’ve scratched out three pages of stream-of-conscious thought, you set the pen down and begin your day. Personally, morning pages aren’t all that helpful for me, but they help Abbiee a lot, and so you should think about trying them out for a week.

  1. Reading Journal.

When reading a book (especially nonfiction), it can be very helpful to journal as you go to help process all the information that you’re taking in, and a journal dedicated to such a practice is perfect.

  1. Food Diary.

This one’s good for people who like to be fit. If you bite it, you write it.

  1. Writing Exercise Notebook.

No, not exercise like crunches or anything like that (I just wanted to clarify for those of us who are triggered by exercise). The writing exercises I’m talking about are free writing, answering a prompt, trying to rework a sentence, or any other writing related task given from a writing workbook/book on the craft. Instead of loose leaf pages floating around and piling up in awkward places, consolidate all your writing exercises to a single notebook.

  1. Language Journal.

This is for those of us who are learning a foreign language. If you don’t already keep a language journal, I don’t know how you survive. For me, keeping a language journal while taking Spanish helped me keep track of new rules, write down vocab to make into flashcards for later, conjugate verbs, etc.. So if you’re learning a new language, consider starting a language journal.

  1. Discipleship Journal.

A discipleship journal is a tracker of sorts for people who are discipling other people. After the disciple-maker meets with the disciple, say for lunch, the disciple-maker jots down a few things: thoughts on the meeting in general, specific things to pray for the disciple, good questions to ask the disciple at the next casual meeting, and so on and so forth. If you’re serious about discipleship, you may want to think about starting a discipleship journal.

  1. Blog Log.

Okay, this is not a log really, but “Blog Log” sounds better than “Blog Journal” or “Blog Notebook” (guys, how it sounds is half the importance of the whole idea). Everything blog related goes in this notebook: long hand drafts of posts, ideas for future posts, schedule for posts, etc.. Of course, because I’m obsessed only mildly with this blog, I’ve had a blog log for quite some time.

  1. Mindmapping.

Mind maps. I’m not sure if it’s one word or two, and they’re tricky things that I have yet to master BUT I’VE READ THAT THEY’RE SO HELPFUL. So go look them up and think about using one of your notebooks for mindmapping. (This point = perfect precision.)

  1. Poetry Journal.

If you have poetry skills–and maybe even if you don’t–put them to use in this journal.

  1. Doodle Practice Notebook.

So you doodle professionally (be honest, it’s most likely for your bullet journal). Why not keep all your doodles (aka: bullet journal practice) in one place?

  1. Mutual Love Note.

This is such a cute one for married couples! You exchange love notes in a journal that you swap back and forth, and it makes what’s called a Mutual Love Note.

  1. Novel Notes.

Anything related to your novel goes in here: outline, character sketches, snippets of dialogue, etc.. If it pertains to your novel, it goes in here. This is helpful so that you aren’t digging around your desk for that scrap of napkin you wrote that piece of backstory on because it all goes in the novel notebook.

  1. Your Novel.

In the event that you are a slightly insane yet very swanky almost-human (aka: an author), you can choose to write your novel out by hand. With a pen. In a notebook. By hand. With a pen. By hand. Your whole novel. With a pen. In a notebook. By hand. I may be repeating things because I’m in awe of people who do this; namely you, Nadine Brandes.

  1. Flash Fiction Journal.

Personally, I like to write out the first drafts of my flash fictions by hand. Keeping all these rough (very rough) draft flash fictions in a journal helps me know where to find them and somehow makes me feel like a genius (true story, kids, and it’s got nothing to do with the fact that my flash fiction journal is a blue notebook that has “Brilliant Ideas” emblazoned on the cover).

  1. Memory Journal.

I wasn’t sure what to call this one. It’s the very base idea of a journal, the most fundamental kind that has ever been kept–a diary, a vault for memories made of paper and ink. You track history and emotion and upheaval and the daily grind in this bad boy. It is, perhaps, the first kind of journal.

Well, I’m going to abruptly and awkwardly end this post now with a misshapen bookend.

What do you usually use notebooks for? Do you have any empty ones lying around? Do you think you’ll use any of the ideas listed above?

With love,

Rosalie

P.S. – the amazing Kara Swanson is still accepting applications to the launch team for The Girl Who Could See!!! Go sign up and spread the word with me!

P.P.S. – who here noticed that I skipped #19?

P.P.P.S. – who here now feels like the title of this post is a misleading lie in light of the previous post script? And don’t raise your hand because we already went over the whole hand-raising thing not working at the beginning of this post.