This Side of Invisible

Fun Facts about Hand-Writing Letters:  Results from several studies have shown that both children and adults learn more and remember better when writing by hand. Now another study confirms the same: choosing handwriting over keyboard use yields the best learning and memory. ( Neuroscience News )  A few experiments have shown that the brain only recognizes symbols that it learned if they were printed by hand, not if they were typed. When we are learning new letters, math symbols, or other symbols, it is much better to print them by hand than to type them. ( Frontiers for Young Minds )  The ability to read cursive matters. As Michel Martin points out on NPR, "many of the most important historical documents in the U.S., everything from the Declaration of Independence to the Bill of Rights, are written in cursive." What happens when we require a translator for our most precious founding documents? ( Treehugger.com )  Writing by hand makes us slow down. When you write b...

Let the world know that yesterday, July 4th, 2013 around 1:15 p.m. I finished my first novel. Amazing.  If you're wondering.  That's how it feels to finally finish something that's taken nearly three years of hard labor to complete.  I feel so accomplished.  So satisfied and happy.  What a weight off my shoulders.  I FINISHED A NOVEL! In honor of finishing, and to keep myself motivated through the editing process, I'm posting the entire first chapter of I Am Guinevere by Miranda L Marrott  :)  Oh, I just got a chill writing that.   Without further ado: Chapter One:  My First Real Dose of Teenage Drama... and Then Some Dreams are answers to questions we haven’t yet figured out how to ask.  ~X-Files Further proof that fairy tales are not real:  Though I woke up to the sun warming my face and the birds greeting me with their joyous chirping, my hopes set high on losing myself to nature, the day quickly tur...

I've done a lot of writing lately, though not on my blog.  It helps me relax and unwind, escape when I need to, channel my emotions into something else when they are too many or too big for me to get a grip on in this world.  Writing takes me to new places and helps me gain perspective.  If you don't write, I highly recommend it.  It can be very therapeutic.  And I find that a lot of self-discovery happens when pen is put to paper... or fingers to keyboard, whatever you may choose. Life is a highway... write about it. Recently, I've been working on my WIP (the novel that still isn't finished), and on revamping a short story I wrote a few years ago (with the intent to submit it for publication), and on a new short story (which is turning into a much more in depth story... I should know better, I am very wordy) and poetry. I love poetry.  It's a way (for me) to use imagery to express my emotions.  Sometimes my poetry can be quite dark and creep...

As of this minute, I have 14 days, 1 hour and 8 minutes to finish my first draft of my current manuscript.  It's been slow going, and by that I mean, it's been at a stand still for the last week or so... mostly because my kids started a new online school this week and I've been working on a script for a short play my church is putting on... Details.  I am focused and really want to finish this. If you would like to read any of the other snippets, please click here and here . In this snippet we find our hero, Dee, after her first day of school and her run-ins with Dane, the One she has been training to protect, which have left her feeling inadequate and confused, exhausted and angry.   And what does a 15 year old weapons expert do when she's angry?  Whip out a bo staff and beat the sap out of trees, of course.  Enjoy ;)

Here's another little snippet of my WIP.  Seriously, putting it out there that I'm desperately trying to finish this thing has actually helped me stay focused.  And thanks to all of you that offered your kind support.  It's extremely encouraging. In this snippet, having gotten lost on her first morning in a new school and now running a few minutes late, Dee has just walked into her very first public school class ever--high school English.

I recently made a pact with a dear friend of mine, my BWBE (best writing buddy ever), Becca.  We have both been working on a book for nearly two years.  We both want to finish.  We decided to vow to each other we would finish within six weeks, making our finishing date September 17, 2012.  I need too stay focused and not get to lost in details of what I've already written so that I can just push through to the end.  I'm getting closer and closer everyday, but I need a little more push behind me.  So I've decided to share with the world my goal in the hopes that having it out there will help push me through to the finish line.  I'm really trying to keep myself accountable to the goal I've set. I am posting right here, right now, I will have this book finished (the first draft, mind you) on or before September 17th!!!!   To keep me excited and maybe (hopefully) to gain more people to cheer me on, I've decided to share just a few bits and pieces ...

Triumph Truth Prevails                                 When Hope Prevails You should all know that means writing.  My kids are too old to blame my few hours of sleep on them. A good friend and I recently made a pact that we are GOING TO FINISH our WIP's (works-in-progress) in 6 weeks... that was about a week ago, so we have 5 weeks left.  Hold me to it, please! I have lost a ton of sleep over my WIP the last 2 weeks, but last night, I lost sleep over this: "What is this?" you say.  This is Spine Poetry.  I found the contest on  LibraryThing.com.   So I thought I'd try it.  Here are the rest of what I've been playing with.  Tell me what you think.  I can enter as many times as I'd like, but I want to put in the best entries that I can.  I started to get really frustrated.  I really wanted to go to the library to check out book...

So, tell me what you think of this. For the title for my someday to be written life story/memoirs... MIRANDAMONIUM One girl named Miranda + A life time of Pandemonium = MIRANDAMONIUM!!! hahahahahahah I think I'll laugh myself to sleep on that note.

Ok, I was challenged to do this by several people on Facebook and I caved!  But I had fun doing it so I thought I would post my odd randomness here as well.  Enjoy! Happy Randomness... 1. I could be at least 2 inches taller if my spine were straight. 2. It would make me vastly happy to be at least 2 inches taller, it should would have made my pregnancies more comfortable, maybe. 3. I have never smoked nor drank... 4. however, I am highly addicted to books... 5. and I would gladly become a hermit and hide in a small cubicle consuming books for the rest of my days, if... 6. I did not have 4 children who needed every second of my attention, time and energy... 7. So I take care of my children and then neglect my house so I can read... 8. I recognize that the first stage of recovering from addiction is admitting there is a problem; Geoff are you happy now that I've admitted I have a problem with reading and thus, I often neglect my wifely duties of being a homemaker! 9. There are other ...

Everyone with a blog should do this .  It's so fun and interesting.  At least I think so.

... because there are little antique shops and booths everywhere.  And there are always people selling old, antique books.  Case in point:  Today I bought 6 Bobbsey Twins books for 6 GBP.  Works out to be about $9.83 at today's exchange rate.  So here is what my books look like. I got volumes 1, 2, 6, 16, 45 and 46 and they are all from the 1955 print.  According to my research they value between $6 and $14 a piece.  So I paid about $1.64 a piece and I could sell them for at least $6 each, as if I'm ever going to part with them, that's what a 300% return if I am crunching the numbers right.   Anyway, the most exciting part for me is that I used to borrow these books along with Trixie Belden, Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys from my Grandma Bell.  So, these books will always remind me of her.  I'm so excited about seeing what other good finds I spot in the next 3 years.