Mirriam Neal's Blog, page 18

//thorns & flowers

Since the first of the year, I’ve been reading through the epistles again, and something struck me in a way it never has before. We all know about the thorn in Paul’s flesh – that thing he talks about that gives him so much grief. Scholars have pored over his letters, trying to figure out […]

//coffee and connections

I sat curled up in my favorite chair at the coffee shop, reading The Introvert’s Way by Sophia Dembling (I highly recommend this book to everyone, by the way, whether you’re an introvert or extrovert) when a skinny guy with long hair and a backwards snapback walked in and plunked his backpack down on the […]

//the dying of the light snippets

“You sound proud of her,” said Shi. “I guess.” Shotgun scratched his nose. “She’s kind of like my grandmother, you know? Hovering. Always there. Sending me money when I need it. Plus, she’s alive,” he added, gesturing toward the sky with his right hand, “which makes her infinitely better than my biological grandmother.” The girl’s […]

//standing room only

Artwork from my amazing girlbro Lauren, a Christmas gift that made me cry many happy tears Watching your writing style, abilities, and preferences change is a fascinating thing. As with art, I have to step back and compare a novel from a year ago to a novel I’m writing now to see where things have […]

//lassoing the moon

I had a different blog post planned for today, but when as I logged onto my computer this morning, the news washed over me like a wave of cold water – Alan Rickman was dead. I had barely realized Christopher Lee was dead when David Bowie died, and now Alan Rickman. Various thoughts crossed my […]

//I am not Atlas

A couple days ago, I pegged Lauren as an ESTP and I read up on her personality type while she read up on mine, INFP. “This is you. This is so you,” she said, after I made a few jokes about why her being the ‘Debater’ wasn’t a surprise. “Spread too thinly, INFPs will run […]

//Beautiful People #14

Sky and Cait (AND CAIT! AND CAIT! Cait, see, I didn’t forget you this time) are back with another round of questions, these ones pertaining to writing goals and achievements. December was a slow month where writing was concerned; it took a backseat to other issues, plus I was busy with art commissions. But it’s […]

//what a sketch taught me

“You’re feeling the character out,” Lauren told me. “It’s supposed to be loose.” I groaned, a fraction away from throwing in the towel, and maybe my pencil. “I’m really bad at sketching. Really bad.” Lauren rolled her eyes. We were Skyping for the first time in a month (the holidays halted our several-times-a-week Skype hangouts), […]

//quadrantid

The meteor shower wasn’t supposed to start until three o’clock, but I settled down on the deck anyway, hoping I might see a few lucky precursors while I was still awake. The sky had been gray and thick earlier, the overcast threatening no view of the stars, but miraculously it was clear now. The only […]

//the word

I spent a good deal of yesterday mulling over my word for 2016. It’s like choosing a novel title: I don’t feel I can really write the novel until I have the title, and I don’t feel I can officially start the new year if I don’t have the word to symbolize it. I’ve had […]