Mirriam Neal's Blog, page 6

Beautiful People — Author Writing Process Edition

• How do you decide which project to work on? Generally the project chooses me rather than vice versa. The process is always the same – I get an idea for a character or a theme or a genre mashup, and that idea simmers for months as things are added to it. Once the cauldron… Continue reading Beautiful People — Author Writing Process Edition →

How to Write a Love Interest

Don’t. Obviously this post has to be longer than a single word (because somebody somewhere said single-word blog posts don’t hold readers, or…something). I have approximately 358,713,498,000,000 pet peeves when it comes to writing, and love interests = one of them. Possibly several. I see this absolutely everywhere, from blockbuster films to amateur YA novels,… Continue reading How to Write a Love Interest →

Snippets from — The Climbing of the Moon

You might be thinking The Climbing of the Moon? What is this?? I thought she was writing The King’s Gambit?? And you would be correct – I was writing The King’s Gambit. But for half a year nothing has clicked for me – since I finished The Fading of the Light, no literary endeavor has… Continue reading Snippets from — The Climbing of the Moon →

Sequel Syndrome, and How to Avoid It

It’s time. You’ve written the first novel in a series and you’re ready to tackle the next one, but let’s face it – writing a sequel can be daunting. We all know the dreaded Sequel Syndrome – you loved the first one and the second book hits the shelves, you flip it open, you start… Continue reading Sequel Syndrome, and How to Avoid It →

Confessions of a Sexual Celibate

SPOILER ALERT-SLASH-WARNING: This blog post discusses sexual topics. If you’re a kiddo, you can skip it – you don’t need it yet anyway, trust me. I figured out what sex was before anybody had to tell me. (And I’ll be honest, The Talk kind of made my eyes glaze over because words like ‘ovary’ and… Continue reading Confessions of a Sexual Celibate →

I’ll Let You in on a Little Secret

Practice does not make perfect and your life is a lie. Is your mind blown yet? I can explain. We all grew up hearing ‘practice makes perfect’ and believing if we put in the time, if we just Did the Thing over and over and over and over and over, we would eventually become experts.… Continue reading I’ll Let You in on a Little Secret →

A Quick Guide to Writing Multiple POVs

It’s been two weeks since I posted (I’ve been busy, okay) but when I don’t post here I miss it so I decided, along with my morning coffee (yes, my coffee makes my decisions for me. Your point) to break the silence for Pete’s sake and write something that will hopefully help you out. There… Continue reading A Quick Guide to Writing Multiple POVs →

Snippets of — The Book

Seven months. That’s how long I went without writing in a novel. I tried – I did things that involved writing, like revising – but writing in an actual novel just wouldn’t happen. I had ideas, I tried to start a few, but they wouldn’t come to me. The creative urge was somewhat satiated by… Continue reading Snippets of — The Book →

#THEWRITERSTAG

I’ll be honest — I’ve been avoiding this tag for several reasons. Reason Number One: I’ve been struggling in the area of writing for a while now (read: on and off since NOVEMBER). While I’m excellent at rolling with punches, once the rolls stop I’m not terribly great at balancing myself out again. The move… Continue reading #THEWRITERSTAG →

Let’s Talk About Art

I realize the tagline of this blog says writing, art, etc. but is 90% writing and 5% etc. Today, to shake things up a little bit, I’m focusing on the OTHER 5% (finally) and talking about art. Actually I’m asking you guys some questions about art, which is totally the same thing.  Lately I’ve been… Continue reading Let’s Talk About Art →