Emily Rachelle Writes

So apparently a few readers of last week's post misunderstood what I was saying. And I can understand that; I was purposefully vague, but maybe a little too vague. Just know that, if you were reading that post and believed it was about you, it probably wasn't. If you were reading it and thought it was about my parents, it definitely wasn't. Now, on to today's post! I've decided to dedicate this month's blogging to the OneWord365: Focus 2014 theme. Today we have a word study, similar to what I did last year with Dream 2013. Next week, come back to hear my fellow students' take on "Focus." Enjoy, my lovely readers! focus      (noun)      1. a point in an optical system to which something converges or from which it appears to diverge      2. (a) focal length (b) the distinctness or clarity with which an optical system renders an image          (c) adjustment for distinctness or clarity      3. ...

Some of you, my lovely readers, will remember that last year, I began participating in the OneWord365 community. (For a refresher, stop by my page explaining what that's about and how I'm involved.) Last year, 2013, was "dream." This year, I chose "focus." I have not been as active on the blog this year as last year, and I certainly haven't shared much about my One Word 2014. But I've still been focusing on, well, "Focus." When your last summer at home falls apart, you can choose to focus on how selfish people ruin what should be your happy time... or you can focus on the fact that you've still got several days you can work to make happy ones just for you. When you start a new life at a new school, you can choose to focus on everything you identified with in high school... or you can focus on the stuff that actually interests you today, and find a new identity along the way. When you start fresh with friendships, you can c...

I know most of my recent posts have just been updates, but I have a few more things to let you all know, lovely readers, before we move on to meatier posts. Thanks for having patience with me. :) The day I bought fake tattoos and Augusta and I made ourselves into The Chosen Ones First of all: don't forget to enter the giveaway for a paperback copy of Sixteen ! Open to all countries; ends on Saturday, November 8. Next up: so far, the Inkshares project for World of Shadows is not going well at all. It's disappointing, I'll admit, but I wasn't really sure what to expect, so it's not a huge deal. If I don't make it to my goal, I'll just go back to my original plan of self-publishing World of Shadows through the same process I used with Sixteen . Either way, it will be on virtual shelves before 2015 ends! Third: Disclaimer: Yes, I am completely mental. But I decided on the day it started to go ahead and try NaNoWriMo again this year. For those of...

Hello, my lovely readers. I apologize for all the silence this month. Time just flits by you so easily in college. I have a few posts in the works for November, so hopefully you'll be hearing from me at least a couple time next month. I also wanted to let you all know about my next GoodReads giveaway! Yes, there's going to be another one. So many readers were interested during my previous giveaway at the beginning of October, that I decided to run another giveaway for the first week of November! The same rules apply -- one copy, one winner, open to anyone on GoodReads regardless of country. In fact, the last winner was from Macedonia -- so what's to keep it from being you this time around? Never hurts to try! For those of you who have already read my book, I invite you to share your opinions online. Write a review on Amazon or your own blog. Add it on GoodReads. Send your friends the giveaway. (Don't we all love the chance for free books?) Even if you didn't...

Okay, technically it should say "Giveaway! Book! Yay!" because there's only one winner in this giveaway . But books plural sounded better, y'know? Anyway, my lovely readers, because I love you, from the goodness of my heart, I am running a giveaway! One lucky reader (or possibly non-blog-reader, since this is on GoodReads... but if they enter a book giveaway, then they're still a reader! just not here.) will win a paperback copy of Sixteen ! *happy skip* The giveaway started on Wednesday (October 1, when we had Grammarly over to show off how women are better writers than men) and ends on Tuesday (October 7... a random date of no real importance? I mean my dorm is having a themed open house but other than that...). I really don't have anything else to say. I just felt like doing something fun, and who would ever deny that giveaways are fun?! Especially one as easy as this! So go check it out and maybe win my book :D  https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/sh...

Some of you may remember the review I did of Grammarly a while back. For those of you that don't, it's an online grammar-checking service. Anyway,  Grammarly conducted a study with 3,000+ participants to settle an existential question that has been plaguing mankind for centuries: “Which gender has the better writers?” They published the results in an infographic, shown here: Obviously, there's a lot of information here. I LOVE that women are better writers than men, especially considering the history of literature -- oh, the irony! I'd have to say I definitely agree with the results for women on most, if not all, of these questions. What do you think? What did you find most interesting? Do you agree and/or disagree with these results personally as a reader and/or writer? In exchange for a post about this infographic, Grammarly agreed to donate $50 to a literacy charity of my choice. My $50 went to Reading is Fundamental ( http://www.rif.org/ ). Che...

KAPUTNIK Click on the link. I dare you. Seriously, you're not even a tiny bit curious? I promise it's not spam or a bug. Go try it out! This is the New Mexico Department of Transportation's latest under-age drinking prevention attempt. Some of the stuff on the site seems really pointless and stupid, but you have to admit, it can get funny. And it definitely plays to your curiosity. Humor and intrigue -- both important to grabbing teens' attention. You can check out Kaputnik on these sites: facebook.com/iamkaputnik twitter.com/iamkaputnik instagram.com/iamkaputnik Vine - @iamkaputnik #iamkaputnik From the press release:  According to a recent study by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, excessive drinking accounts for 1 in 10 deaths among men and women aged 20-64 years old. This alarming statistic alone warrants reason to help fight this cause in the early stages of child and teen development.