Mirriam Neal's Blog, page 12

//latin, space, and sarcasm: the things that survived

When Arielle recently dusted off some of her old writing, I decided to hunt through some of mine. The purpose was kicks and giggles – after all, why not? I uncovered my first foray into NaNoWriMo – a novel titled, ‘Phase,’ written in 2009. It had no discernible plot, but it reads something like ‘if… Continue reading //latin, space, and sarcasm: the things thatsurvived

//well, it didn’t go according to plan (but it definitely went)

JuNoWriMo is over, leaving my current WIP (The Dying of the Light) at 122, 753 words as of this morning. I had plans to reach 50,000 in the third week and spend the fourth week actually finishing the novel so that once July came I could wholly focus on my upcoming fantasy, but life had… Continue reading //well, it didn’t go according to plan (but it definitelywent)

//stop killing your friend

The dreaded Inner Editor. Everyone has one – the Thing perching on our shoulders, looking down and watching every sentence we write, every paragraph, with critical scrutiny. I remember when I first came across the phrase ‘kill your inner editor,’ it felt like the key to freedom. Granted, they’re not easy to kill and the… Continue reading //stop killing yourfriend

//invasive thoughts and other flora

There’s an astonishing amount of bamboo in Georgia. Growing up, I equated bamboo with Pandas and pagodas. Bamboo was something found in eastern Asia, not the American south. I was wrong. As Mom and I drove to my chiropractor appointment this morning, we remarked on a fast-growing grove of bamboo on the side of the… Continue reading //invasive thoughts and otherflora

//indestructible women

‘A loving woman is indestructible.’ I came across this phrase by Steinbeck several weeks ago, and I loved it so much that I scribbled it on a card and stuck it to my wall. It catches my eye every time I sit down, and thus I’ve had plenty of time to mull it over. I’m… Continue reading //indestructible women

//back by popular demand and current lack of inspiration

I’ve been staring at a blinking cursor all day hoping it will magically begin stringing words together. So far, no luck – but inspiration had better hit me before Saturday, because that’s when I stop being ahead in JuNo and start falling behind. That being said, I often get requests for more snippets (to which… Continue reading //back by popular demand and current lack ofinspiration

//building up and tearing down

My insomnia is back. It comes and goes – once a year or so. That’s how long it takes for me to internalize the stress that doesn’t affect me on the surface. I like to think I handle stress well, but then insomnia rears its ugly head again and I realize I don’t actually handle… Continue reading //building up and tearingdown

//and the Paper Crowns winner is…

And I’m only two weeks late! I apologize – between personal life happenings, JuNoWriMo, and the return of my insomnia, my brain has decided to stop holding information, important or otherwise. But last night, at three in the morning, I remembered—! And so, without further gilding of the lily, I announce JESSICA GREYSON as the… Continue reading //and the Paper Crowns winneris…

//a girl’s guide to bromance

Who doesn’t love a good bromance? Two guys with an intimate, platonic relationship sharing banter and life experiences – it’s my favorite relationship to write, and it’s usually the relationship I’m best at writing. (It’s probably just a cycle – it’s my favorite to write, therefore I write it more, therefore I have more… Continue reading //a girl’s guide tobromance

//two swedes on bicycles

I wasn’t planning to write two blog posts in one day, but here I am. You’re probably over-acquainted with the name Brock Turner. It’s become infamous to the public over the last week. It’s hard to scroll down your Facebook news feed without seeing something about the story – in which Brock, a college freshman,… Continue reading //two swedes onbicycles