Grace Writing

Book: To Kill a Mockingbird Author: Harper Lee I recently read To Kill a Mockingbird  by Harper Lee for school and I decided to do a book review on it. So here's a quick description of the story, in case you haven't heard much about it:    Living in a small town called Maycomb and experiencing the fun of summer and the sufferings of school, a young girl named  Scout Finch watches her father  Atticus Finch,  an attorney, risking everything - his job, reputation and even his life - to prove the innocence of Tom Robinson, a black man accused of a crime he didn't commit.  The characters - Atticus Finch, Scout Finch, Jem Finch and Calpurnia, as well as others - were well-rounded and had a sense of reality to them that I know as a writer I struggle to create. They spoke, acted and thought like one would think them to, but not in an overdone or annoying way. I loved the perspective on the story that it had. Written in light of the events of the C...

I recently got my first tube of lipstick. I was very excited, as I see makeup the same was as I see colored pencils - it's nowhere close to easy, but the process is enjoyable and fun, and it usually turns out pretty in the end (unless I totally mess up and have to start all over). The lipstick I got is a brighter color than I thought it was going to be, but I like it all the same. (lightish style) My little sister doesn't seem too thrilled with the development. Jokingly, she calls it red (although I am CONVINCED it's just a bright/deep pink), and says things like "oh, you don't need it! Why are you wearing it?!"  Since all of her comments are in jest, I take no offense at them. I play along and I laugh, and I pretend to defend myself as if I really care. But the more she does it, the more I realize that girls have to face this in real life all the time. People tell you things like "that color's not good on you" or " way too muc...

I have decided, after giving it minimum consideration, that my cat is the best cat ever. I am, of course, biased, but I do not care. You see, my dear cat, Layla, is a drama queen (as seen in the image to the right), but thankfully she's a drama queen in the best possible way. She likes to follow me around the house, wakes me up early in the morning, ordering me to let her out of my room, even though she often insists on coming inside on her own (though not always. Other times, I haul her up the stairs anyway). She's quite patient, especially for a Siamese cat, as she lets my sister and me do pretty much whatever we like to her (i.e. picking her up, petting her, giving her unwanted hugs, etc.), so long as we don't hurt her. Her eyes are the colors of an icicle and I'm sure she can stare into your soul, though that has not been scientifically proven (yet). Her adorable little white-tipped paws are fluffy and amazing, except when her claws dig into your skin as she tri...

I have found my new favorite song. Go ahead and click on the video, listen to it if you haven't heard it, and then read on. This is a pretty popular song right now, I think (I don't know for sure because I'm in another country), so I'm sure many of you have heard it. But, out of all the songs on the planet, why is this my new favorite song EVER? For one simple reason: they're saying something every girl - and guy - needs to hear, but rarely does. How often is she (or he) told these things? Let's look closely at my favorite lyrics in the song: I see you dressed in white Every wrong made right I see a rose in bloom At the sight of you Oh, so priceless Irreplaceable, unmistakable, incomparable Darling, it's beautiful I see it all in you Oh, so priceless How often, really, do we hear this? How often do we tell people this? How many little kids grow up not knowing their worth? E ven now, all grown up, h ow many of us don't know o...

    Melissa Gravitis @ Quill Pen Writer has tagged me in The Dual Character Inquisition Tag! I'm so excited to participate. Thanks for tagging me, Melissa!    I've decided to use Wolfe and Clio, my characters from Forsaken , as I've already told you a lot about Endings and his brothers. Here's a quick, rough blurb:    Wolfe isn't a very good person, but he's on the right side in the raging civil war, and that's all that matters to him. Struggling with PTSD and drug and alcohol addictions, he forces himself to endure and keep fighting - whether fighting is what's best for him or not. All that matters is defeating Claudius and saving the people that Wolfe refuses to admit he cares about. Clio, Wolfe's best and closest friend since childhood, is desperate to convince him that not only is he worth saving, he CAN be saved, by the One and Only person that matters. Unfortunately, she hasn't yet realized that in trying to push Wolfe c...

   And on to the treasure! - The Christy Miller Series, Book One: Summer Promise -      Author: Robin Jones Gunn    Back Cover Description: As fourteen-year-old Christy leaves her family's Wisconsin farm to spend her summer at her wealthy aunt and uncle's beach home in Newport, California, she realizes this could be the best summer of her life. Her aunt is bending over backward to see that Christy's every wish is granted, the popular beach crowd is talking to her, and she catches the attention of a cute surfer named Todd.    But the summer doesn't turn out as Christy hoped. Suddenly, she is faced with choices she's never had to make before, and the safe world that she's always known comes crashing down around her. Through it all, Christy struggles to keep her promise to her parents to not do anything she'll regret. But will she stop at nothing to get Todd, to be accepted, and to force her summer to give her everything it promis...

   What's it like being a teenage writer, you ask? (Or, maybe you didn't ask, but I'm going to continue anyway . . .)    I'd like to say that it's filled with adventure and excitement at every turn, but in reality it's just sitting at a computer and helping other  people (who are apparently "not real") go on adventures and face excitement. Let's start with a basic overview, shall we?    1. Wake up at around eleven, groggy because I stayed up until 3 AM last night    2. Lay in bed scrolling through Facebook for twenty minutes    3. Finally convince myself to get some breakfast    4. Eat said breakfast    5. Read. A lot. Like, probably for two-five hours. Maybe longer.    6. Realize that I should be writing    7. Get distracted by television for thirty minutes while eating lunch    8. Convince self to go write    9. Get sidetracked by...

      The world seems much nicer at first glance than it does when you look deeper into it.    It looks like a fairy tale when you first see it. It feels welcoming and loving when you're a child, and then the older you get the more you recognize the evil that inhabits it.    When I visited Thailand on our vision trip, I saw that evil for the first time in my life. I was around eleven.    I remember walking into the Buddhist temple, having left my shoes outside as they were not allowed to be worn indoors. I walked quietly over the cold marble floor through the dark room and lowered myself to the ground, looking around me in awe. I came as a tourist, but others came to worship.    What did they worship?    A green statue. The Emerald Buddha, it's called. All around me Thai people bowed low to the floor as medieval peasants would in front of a king, their hands palm-down on the floor in front of them in wor...

   Today, I actually have a question for you .    I know, it's a bit odd.    The thing is, though I love writing blog posts, I've been struggling with what I should write. So I decided, "why not ask the people who are reading them?" Makes sense, right?    I've got a few subjects that I could write about, and I really want you to tell me the truth about what you enjoy reading most, and what you would enjoy seeing (whether I've written things like that before or not). Don't just read it and brush it off - give me your input!    Okay, here goes. I could write about . . .     1) My Books    This is probably one of my favorites to write about, because it's what I'm the most passionate about (second to God, of course). This includes things like my Character Guest Posts , and anything else I happen to come up with. If you want things like this, give me specifics! Do you want to know about characters? Se...