Dawning Sun, unexpected encounter

361 words on Dawning Sun today, giving me a net of 834 after some light edits.

It's odd writing one scene in pieces like this. I'm used to writing a scene all in one go (which means I need to write for as many days as I have scenes, at a minimum). These low word counts, though, are easy to squeeze in during my day at work, and I'm finding that I'm actually enjoying it. Of the five goals I set myself for this scene, I've woven in three of them. I'm not sure how my description is holding up, but, hey, that's for rewrites.

And I've now completely lost track of my word counts overall, so I'll just be tracking by using the progress meter on the right. Maybe if I make a blog post and do nothing else, I'll count the words then.

They didn’t pace so much as glide, each step a testament to the lightness they
felt so close to the source of the Middle River.

Consecutive days of writing: 002
Longest previous streak: 007
Word count since 4/30/09: 7494 (accurate as of 6/17/09)

The Sun Rises

You can't see it on my progress meter because it's under 1000 words, but I started Sun today. (Working title: Dawning Sun) I'm 475 words in. I have no idea what I think of it yet, but there are words on the page. I'll make them better later, right?

The second time Maatrya saw the man she was married to was the day she was married to his son. Technically, of course, she’d been married to Ara’shari for seventy days, ever since the high, keening aula had gone up in the city of Tharam to signal Ara’menhi’s descent to the Lower River. For seventy days, she had woken to the dawning sun and the keening of the women around her. She knelt with the others, throwing herself on the turquoise and gold relief of the Great River that graced the quarters of the Most Royal Wives when she was required to, tearing at her hair and smearing the mud made from her tears and the ever blowing sand on the torn linen that fluttered around her. Those had been torn the first day of the aula, of course, and she’d been kneeling on the tiles for most of her waking moments since then.

Pride Weekend!

My camera and I got a workout. Here's a short sampling. The whole glorious full color weekend can be found here.








(I've been plotting, but no actual writing. And between Pride last weekend and CONvergence next weekend ... I'll get back on the wagon next week.)

Interesting bits for today

Nefertiti and Ankhenaten formed a divine triad with the Aten, who was genderless. This resolved the problem of an unreachable, unknowable god for the masses who generally revered fertility. As the Aten was genderless, it was sole creator - something difficult to accept. Ankhenaten and Nefertiti, then, were seen as completing the traditional triad. Where, in the previous state faith, this was usually a god, his consort, and his son (see Isis, Osiris, Horus), now it was the creater god and the royal couple. The royal couple was the agent of this fertility, represented by the preponderance of images showing the royal couple with their daughters. Temples to the Aten now, instead of having a figure of the god (who, as literally the *light* of the sun could not have a human/humanoid body) had images of the royal couple. In effect, the state religion became one of worshipping Ankhenaten and Nefertiti as the divine inheritors of the Aten.

All other state deities were outlawed and no offerings were to be made to them (making their temples and clergy poor very quickly, and the throne very wealthy). However, the "minor religion" relating to Bes, Taweret, et al appears to have continued to flourish. Since these were regional deities that were primarily associated with superstition and magic, they posed no threat to the Aten's role of sole creator, and were therefore regarded - by the king, at least, as unimportant.

Tombs, rather than having images of the gods or the inhabitants, began to feature the royal family instead, and they were prayed to even while alive (thus transfiguring the "divine ancestor" narrative of pharoahs to "divine in the flesh.")

I have two story arcs in my head (soon to be written down). When I get the third, I'll be ready to start actually plotting this thing and really writing. I hope to have it all ironed out by the completion of my first read through of Nefertiti. So excited!

Oh, and "Step 2" of the process started as soon as I narrowed down my research to Nefertiti, which was sometime around ... last Friday, I think. My research gathering is now focussed, which is why I've started these (probably boring) posts with research information that I want to not forget. I need to spend some serious time in front of my computer with Liquid Story Binder and a soda or five.

Consecutive days of writing: 008
Longest previous streak: 007
Word count since 4/30/09: 7494

Digging in to Nefertiti

Ew. That was not the most inspired post title ever. Here's what grabbed my attention today:

• The temple-city of Amarna, which was built, then abandoned and destroyed
• Nefertiti comes from obscurity - basically wedded from nowhere - and begins taking on a more substantive role after only a year of Ankhenaten's reign.
• Nefertiti's "sister" - who arises out of similar obscurity, then disappears from the narrative. She is shown in the paintings, but takes no part in the Aten worship.
• Ankhenaten's remarkable "conversion" in his third year - and the enthusiasm with which Nefertiti embraces it.
• The temple at Hwr-benen, where no males - human or animal - are depicted on any of the walls, but Nefertiti and her eldest daughter always are.

Gah! I'm going to have to go through this carefully after I've read it the first time. There's just so many little gems that instantly become plot points, I'll never remember them all.

Consecutive days of writing: 007
Longest previous streak: 007
Word count since 4/30/09: 6508

Today's Daughter of Isis Notes

Professional mourners ... king's "harem" (difficulty in translation) ... honorary priestesses ... assasination orignating in harems ...

Queen Tiy -> Nefertiti (married to Ankenaten) -> Tutankhamen -> Queen Ankhesanamen (see p207) History in (The Royal Harem)

(Female Kings) - good stuff on some of the lesser ones, most interested in Nefertiti's connection to the heretical pharoah and Hatchepsut, of course. Next books should give me something definite, but 18th Dynasty seems the way to go.Queen Tiy being Amenhotep IV mother. He marries Nefertiti, who gradually leaves the picture after her daughter's death, replaced by the "young prince" Sen...something. Author made brief allusion to questions regarding Ankenaten's sexuality, when discussing that there were none with Hatchepsut. Where did Nefertiti come from?

My Muse is working with this, and some of it is becoming clear. Nothing definite, just yet, and I don't want to conscribe it by limiting it on paper. But there's enough ambiguity in that royal line to keep me busy for awhile.

Hatchepsut -> Tiy -> Nefertiti -> Ankhesanamen? Quartet of ruling women, yes, but what's my love story?

Consecutive days of writing: 003
Longest previous streak: 007
Word count since 4/30/09: 6187

Sun Jots

Still reading Daughters of Isis

• the importance of art (no superfluous painting/sculpture) (Introduction)
  
• the sexual division of worship and duties (Work and Play?)
  
• the importance of music (Work and Play)
  
• food and dining, dinner parties, sacredness of bread (Mistress of the House)
  
• making linen (Work and Play)
  
• professional mourners, djeryt (Work and Play)
  
• "trained security monkey" (Work and Play)
  
• pets: dogs, cats, monkeys, geese (Work and Play)
  
• body lotion, perfumes (Good Grooming)
  
• Importance of hair and wigs (Good Grooming)
  
• Kohl as protection from the sun, and other cosmetics (Good Grooming)
  
• jewelry as amulets (hair toys, necklaces, bracelets, anklets, girdles .... earrings?) (Good Grooming)

Consecutive days of writing: 002
Longest previous streak: 007
Word count since 4/30/09: 6007