Melanie Bell

Tag: novel

  • Keeping It Simple for NaNoWriMo

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    One of my writers’ groups had a recent discussion about how easy it is to make a novel too complicated. This is a challenge I encounter a lot.  I love worldbuilding and complex ideas. When I attended Julie Cohen’s writing retreat in France, she called me out for it: “Keep it simple, stupid!” I need…

  • New Play and Chasing Harmony Book Tour

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    Lots of good writing news lately. September was my book tour to celebrate Chasing Harmony’s one-year anniversary, following shortly after its ebook release. What a whirlwind! From August 28 to September 22, a variety of book blogs hosted guest posts, excerpts, gift card giveaways, and reviews for my YA novel. You can catch up with…

  • NaNoWriMo Was a Wild Time

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    I started NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) this November as an incentive to finish my fantasy novel, the one I’d been working on for a year and a half. At 55,000 words in, it was rolling along toward a conclusion, but it hadn’t gotten there yet. When I applied last year for a grant I…

  • Chasing Harmony Playlist, Trailer, and Publication

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    Chasing Harmony, my YA novel about a musical prodigy, is now out in paperback! Here I am with my box of author copies. My publisher, Read Furiously, did a wonderful job putting the book together, including little music-related details in the design. They are also donating a portion of proceeds to literacy organizations. It was…

  • Should I Write a Short Story or a Novel?

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    If you write both long and short fiction, you’ve probably experienced differences between these two lengths of storytelling. As I’ve worked on two books, each focused on fiction of a different length, I’ve been thinking about the contracts between these forms and how to choose the best length for a given project.  I had a…

  • A Story from 10 Years Ago

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    The first literary magazine I ever read submissions for was The Fiddlehead. Based out of the University of New Brunswick, it’s the oldest Canadian literary magazine in circulation. It’s a well respected mixture of poetry, fiction and reviews. I enjoyed reading through the slush pile, looking for gems and passing them on to a more…

  • My First NaNoWriMo, or How I Wrote a Novella in a Month

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    I’ve posted before about NaNoWriMo, but until 2020, it was one of those things I’d thought about but never attempted. I was usually busy, and more crucially, I’ve never been fast. I’ve completed novel manuscripts, but writing 50,000 words in a month seemed like a daunting task. I was happy to cheer on other, more…

  • Some Recent Fantastic Reads by Black Authors

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    Black lives matter. This should be something obvious, not something that needs to be said. But recent news shows just how deeply racial tensions run, how embedded they are in our institutions, and how much harm they cause. In the interest of supporting Black creators, I’ve put together a list of books by Black authors…

  • New Year, New You? Think Baby Steps.

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    It’s that time again: time for New Year’s resolutions. January rolls around and you make plans for the year ahead. You envision your best self and create resolutions hoping to make that person real. Sometimes your goals pan out. If you’re anything like me, though, all too often the following year arrives and the idealized…

  • Nine Tactics for Winning NaNoWriMo

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    So, you’ve committed to writing a novel this month. The ambitious goal of completing 50,000 words of a cohesive story in 30 days is both daunting and exhilarating. Whether you’ve completed previous NaNoWriMo novels or are dipping your toes into these challenging waters for the first time, you’ve made the choice to face down that…