"Who needs cursive when you can type?"

Handwriting is becoming a lost art. My kids were taught the basics of cursive in 4th grade, then went right back to printing. Nowadays they write with their thumbs only -- on a tiny screen -- with words that are so abbreviated that I now understand why spelling is no longer a subject taught in school. Even as I'm writing this, my laptop signals me with a red underline if the word is spelled wrong -- sometimes if it's only a little off, it corrects it for me, instantly. It gives me a blue zigzag line under words that may not be grammatically correct for the sentence. No proofreading required. Is this progress or is this encouraging laziness? I tend to think the latter.

Who needs cursive? Our children do. Writing in cursive, like playing a musical instrument, stimulates areas of the brain that usually lie dormant. Just as musicians tend to do better in math, people who write in cursive tend to be more creative. Just think of cursive as an art. Budding artists are creative and imaginative. I rarely meet a young plugged-in person who has an original thought in their head. Harsh, but true. Sitting in front of a screen where you are entertained 24/7 leaves little room for creative thinking.

As a leftie, I worked hard to have legible handwriting. I practiced and practiced, determined not to have 'chicken scratching' like my dad, or words smeared across the page because I had to drag my hand across it. I now have beautiful handwriting (and I'm so modest, too). I take pride in my cursive. But my kids can't even read my notes, and I have to print for them. They can't read anything their grandmothers write in their birthday cards -- and my mother and MIL have neat handwriting. I feel like something precious has been lost in the 'progress' of technology.

The Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and Bill of Rights were written in cursive. Now we have a generation of children who can't read the original documents because they can't read cursive. Food for thought on this I-hope-it's-spring-now sunny day.

To Blog or Not to Blog?

I am not a blogger (plus I don't misquote Shakespeare very well) but I've been told by other authors that people like to read blogs. So I need to keep it new and fresh, right? What should I blog about? It's kind of a gray area since the things I find interesting, like politics, volunteer work, and adoption, would change the tone of my blog. So I should blog about books and writing books? Yes, that's with a question mark.

What's so interesting about books? My father was a library director so I grew up in a book-loving environment. My family was boring. A typical night at home for the Meldroms was each person in his/her own room reading a book. I was one of those kids who stayed up late reading with a flashlight under the covers.Yeah, that's about as exciting as watching the grass grow.

However, now that I have my own family, I'm seeing a huge difference in the creativity/imagination levels of my kids who like to read vs my kids who prefer to stare at a screen. Maybe being a book junkie as a kid wasn't such a bad thing. Books, to me, are never boring, and I have the jam-packed bookcases to prove it.

I suppose giving our kids Kindles and downloading lots of books would be a way to encourage reading since it would still allow them to stare at a screen. What do you think of that theory? Personally, I like the feel of a book in my hands. I love the smell of new paper. I like turning pages. I don't think I'll ever buy a Kindle unless I suddenly had to do a lot of traveling because that would give me reading material without taking up so much luggage space.

Please see the bottom of my blog for authors I read and recommend in the genre of young adult science fiction.

So that was my blog post about reading. I guess I should have apologized in advance for boring you. Next topic: writing and the lost art of cursive. Have a good weekend.

Commencing work on The Last Orphan

Life is finally back to normal. My son's wedding was wonderful, the addition on our house is finally finished, and I have a new desk set aside just for writing. I'm back to writing every day, and I hope to release the final book in The Orphan Ship trilogy in 2014.

Merry Christmas!

May you have a joyous holiday season with your family and friends. Thank you for your encouragement and support in 2013.

For those who are anxiously awaiting my third book in The Orphan Ship trilogy, I promise I will be back to serious writing after my son's wedding on January 4th. Life is good.

A short excerpt from the final book in The Orphan Ship trilogy: The Last Orphan

            “Zuri!”

            Even from this distance, Blaze recognized the scream as Shima’s. The response was instantaneous -- the night was shattered with the crack crack crack of gunfire.

            York cursed and leapt to his feet. “Stay down, Smith!”

            Blaze heard a metallic click, followed by the deafening blast of a military-grade pistol. York added his deadly contribution to the raging firefight on and around the factory grounds. Blaze hoped the ISPP captain’s split-second pauses between each trigger pull were evidence that he was aiming, and not just blasting anything that moved.           

            Empty bullet casings rained down on Blaze from York’s hand-held cannon. The engineer didn’t like feeling helpless and scared. Random screams from the factory grounds made his skin crawl. Blaze prayed that none of those screams were Shima’s. He extended an arm and picked up the binoculars, quickly wiping dirt from the lenses.

            Blaze heard York move off a few steps, pausing only two seconds to reload his pistol with a fresh magazine. “Begin sweep now!” The Captain shouted orders to his teams on his earcom. “We’re moving up the raids! Repeat -- begin sweep now!”  

            I have to see! Blaze’s heart was pounding against his ribs. I just have to see if Shima . . . he felt cold, despite the warm night air . . . if she’s been . . . he couldn’t finish the thought. He rose to his elbows and lifted the binoculars to his eyes. 

Like Me on Facebook!

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sterling-R-Walker/618714678155317

I'm always happy to answer emails, too. SterlingRWalker@yahoo.com. Send me a message if you'd like a signed copy of my book(s), and I'll throw in free shipping for the month of November. In paperback, only $10 each. Makes a great Christmas present for teens to adults.

Also be sure to check Amazon.com for more new young adult books by my fellow local authors, Tamara Ward (mystery) http://www.amazon.com/Hidden-Betrayal-Jade-OReilly-Mystery/dp/1484017900/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1383674598&sr=1-1 

and J. Lloyd Morgan (fantasy) http://www.amazon.com/Zealous-Star-Bariwon-Chronicles/dp/0988633051/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1383674673&sr=1-3&keywords=j.+lloyd+morgan

It's Thanksgiving all month long

I have a tradition of using November as a time to reflect on the people and things I am thankful for. I find it's a nice mental break from the daily insanity, and puts life into perspective. The happiest people I know -- you know the ones I mean, the ones who practically glow because they're so upbeat -- are grateful people. Their lives may be difficult, but they always see the glass half full. For someone like me who tends to be cynical (yes, really!), a month to reflect and see the bright side of life is a way to nurture my soul. This doesn't come naturally for me; I have to work hard to have an "attitude of gratitude." I should actually do this several times a year, but I usually don't think about it until I turn the calendar to November.

I have so much to be grateful for, so many blessings in my life I probably don't deserve. There are too many to list (without putting you to sleep, at least) so I will try to post to my blog more often this month so I can share a few of them.

I am thankful for my Savior Jesus Christ. I'm thankful for my husband of 25 years, and for my six amazing children -- four birth sons and two adopted daughters. And I'm excited to be gaining a daughter-in-law and a grandson in January when my oldest son gets married. I am thankful to live in a free country. Being extremely political, I'll spare you an essay on the Constitution and Bill of Rights (although everyone should take the time to read and understand them). I'm thankful to be healthy, educated, and financially stable, thanks to my husband's job which allows me to stay at home with our kids and write as much as I want.

Join me in practicing an attitude of gratitude this month, and thanks for reading.