Tag: writer
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What the London Festival of Writing Was Like
I’m back from another busy weekend, in London this time. It was my first time attending an event from Jericho Writers, which offers writing conferences and courses in the UK. I went to the weekend-long London Festival of Writing. If you’ve been to a conference, you know a bit of what to expect: talks, buffet…
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New Site and Folklore Anthology
I’ve been busy this month updating my website and social media. It’s a work in progress, to be sure, but it seemed like time to move on from the old “Inspire Envisioning” business name. My new social media handles are: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MelanieBellWrites Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/melaniebellwrites/ Twitter/X: @InspireEnvision I’ve started a Substack newsletter, with a free story…
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The Collaborative Process of Making a Play
This month, I’ll have a play performed at London’s Tower Theatre for the second time. It’s been a massively collaborative process to get it there! Last year, my short play The Pictures of Dora Gray was one of five chosen for the Writers’ Room showcase, featuring new writing from the Tower Theatre’s playwriting group. I’ve…
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Keeping It Simple for NaNoWriMo
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…
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Happy One-Year Anniversary to Chasing Harmony!
My first novel, Chasing Harmony, has been out for a year now! It’s now available in ebook format as well as in paperback, which I’m excited about because it means more people can read it. It took 10 years for this strange, literary, bisexual YA coming-of-age story to find a publisher, and I’m grateful it…
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Want to Write a Book? Tap Into Your Weird Obsessions
What do you Google at 3 am? What’s that one odd thing you can’t stop thinking about, perhaps to the point where you have a hard time explaining to other people why it captivates you? If you’ve ever dreamed of writing a book, one starting point is personal interest. Scratch that: personal passion, obsession, or…
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NaNoWriMo Was a Wild Time
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…
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My Play Is in a December Showcase
The Tower Theatre has become one of my favorite places in London. It’s that rare thing, an amateur theatre company with its own performance space. The plays are diverse and high quality, ranging from Shakespearean comedies to contemporary theatre about the Black British experience, from intimate monologue series to expansive productions like Coram Boy. I’ve…
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An Author Interview and a Writing Retreat in France
I’m delighted to have an author interview on Autostraddle this month! Darcy read my YA novel, Chasing Harmony, and asked thoughtful questions about it. I got to talk about music, the messiness of growing up queer, where I got my ideas, and what songs might be on Anna’s playlist right now if she were a…
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Chasing Harmony Playlist, Trailer, and Publication
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…
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