Grace Writing

   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...

   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...

   One of the toughest things I struggle with when writing my blogs (or my books, or anything else, really) is that I don't have a very "tough skin" yet. This means that it hurts me when people don't like a post, or when someone offers critique on one of my stories. It's not that I don't believe what they're saying in those critiques of my stories or posts, it's that it hurts to hear them say it!    At the same time, with my blogs, I struggle when one post doesn't get as many views as another. This mostly hurts me because my posts about MK life/life overseas get tons of views, but when I write about what really is important to me (my stories) they don't get half as many views.    I've had to keep some things in mind when I look back over critiques or look at the amount of views of my posts. 1) I'm not writing to please other people, I'm writing to please me    I don't write my blogs to see how many views they get, I writ...

Lately, I’ve been doing posts all about the characters from my book, “The Ending.” I got the idea from Melissa Gravitis’s Character Guest Posts , and I’ve had tons of fun writing them! I took a slight break from them, but now I’ve decided to get back into it with one more post on Endings ’, Dreams ’ and Time ’s oldest brother – Life. Hello, Life! It’s nice to have you here today. I’m excited to get to know you more! Now, if I remember correctly, you and your brothers were cast from your Father’s palace and onto Deerdren. You then had to find your way back without the use of your powers, right? Hello, Grace. I'm glad to be here today. And, yes, that is correct. It was a troubling time, and I wasn't the happiest during the trip. However, afterword, I realized that it was for my best, and the best for my brothers. So, your other brothers control various things, and I naturally assume that you control life. But, what sort of life do you control? Could you dive a bit deeper ...

Recently, I’ve been doing what I call “Character Guest Posts,” based off of a great idea Melissa Gravitis had on her blog – you should go check hers out!  So far, I’ve done Guest Posts for  Endings and Dreams , and today I’m going to do their older brother, Time. Let’s get to know him some, shall we? Hey, Time! Thanks for joining me today – I really appreciate it. I’m super excited to get started. So, you and your brothers were thrown out of your Father’s house and onto Deerdren - the planet below - after having your powers taken away from you. You were then forced to try and make your way back to your Father with the help of your brothers, and a few others along the way, right? Correct. It was a long and troublesome time, but I think we all came out better after. I see. So, your other brothers control endings and dreams – I assume that means you control time. Would you mind explaining what that’s like, and what your limitations are? I do control tim...

 Last time I did a Character Guest Post, we met  Endings , but today we’re going to get to know one of his older brothers, Dreams. (If you want to see what inspired these posts, check out Melissa Gravitis’s   Character Guest Post   over at   her blog .) Thanks so much for joining me today, Dreams! I’m thrilled to get started, and to get to know you more. Like your brother, you were thrown out of your home and forced to find your way back without the use of the powers - which were taken away from you when you were banished, correct? Yeah.  How did you feel about it at the time?  Wasn’t too happy ‘bout it to start out but, I mean, it’s cool now. You know, it kinda worked out for the best in the end. Right. So, your younger brother controls endings. What do you control? Uh . . . dreams. Be a little more specific, could you? Sure, I guess. I control all sorts of dreams. The kind at night, the kind that makes you go after your passions, the k...

Today, I’ve decided to do something a little different. If you want to see what inspired this idea, check out Melissa Gravitis’s Character Guest Post over at her blog . We’ll be getting to know one of my all-time favorite characters from the novel I am currently editing. His name is Endings, and he’s – how do I say this? – special .     Thanks for joining me today, En. So, if I understand correctly, you and your brothers were cast from  your home and forced to find your way back without the use of your powers, which were taken away from you at the time you were banished, right? Yeah. It was a rough time, and a lot of really bad stuff happened. Ever since then, I've changed. A lot. I don't think I'll ever be the same.    So, where did you grow up? A palace floating in space. That's something you don't see everyday! Can you tell me more about this floating palace? Well, it's just kind of . . . there over Deerdren – the planet below. I do...

Picture it: you’re sitting down to your computer, thrilled about a new book idea that you’ve been planning for ages and have finally allowed yourself to write. You open a new Word document and set your hands on the keyboard. And . . . you freeze. Every writer – whether you write essays, books, short stories or poems – has faced the threat of a blank page and a blinking cursor. You have an amazing idea (or you’re being forced to write a school essay) and you’re ready to write it, but something is holding you back. There’s just a bit of doubt that creeps into your head. There’s a world of stories on that empty page, and you don’t know how to start it. I feel this every time I start a new novel, or a new blogpost, or an essay for school. There’s just something intimidating about a blank page and the threat of a bad grade or a terrible book. I can’t tell you any for sure ways to get past this “immediate writer’s block,” but I can give you a list of the different things I d...

Dear Emma, I was going to write you a regular blog post, like I did for Mom on her birthday, but I decided to do something different. So, here we go. We have so many memories together, my dear little sister, and I can hardly believe that you’re turning eleven today. We’ll soon be able to make new memories, and we’ll go on new adventures but, for now, I’m going to remind you of some of my favorites. I can remember so many things about our fantastic adventures (and, when I say fantastic, I mean fantastic). We travelled all over the world in our imaginations, and then we actually did end up travelling across the world . . . that’s a different story, of course. When we were little – you were probably around seven and I was around ten – we played one of the best games ever invented. I’ve no idea what we decided to call it, but I do remember that it was all because of the Monsterology book we have. Our fort, which stood out in our yard with a pole and a slide, was our underwat...