Melanie Bell

Tag: writing process

  • 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…

  • An Author Interview and a Writing Retreat in France

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    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…

  • 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…

  • So You Want to Write in Lockdown?

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    How are you all doing? Here in London, we’re well into lockdown #3. Remember lockdown hobbies, and the optimism with which some people took up making homemade sourdough bread and learning new languages? If you’re like me, enthusiasm for indoor activities has waned a bit by now.    Writing is one of the things keeping me…

  • 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…

  • What to Do When Your Brain Just Won’t Write

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    According to coach and author Alexis Rockley, the lack of focus and creative blocks that many of us are experiencing during the coronavirus pandemic stem from the uncertainty arising from this situation. We don’t know what’s going to happen next, and our brains are overwhelmed. In this and other stressful situations, it can be hard…

  • The Bestseller Experiment: Can You Write a Bestselling Book in a Year?

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    For two years, I’ve wanted to go to London Book Fair. This year I was finally going to get there, accompanying colleagues to look after ICE Publishing’s stand, network, and learn. Then, as you can probably guess, the fair was cancelled due to the coronavirus. The sound reason did not dim my disappointment. Despite the cancellation, though, I got one good thing out…

  • The Reluctant Author’s Guide to Revisions

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    So, you’ve finished the first draft you were writing. Congratulations! It takes a lot of effort and discipline to get this far. Take time to acknowledge the work you put in, celebrate its completion, and take a break in order to give yourself some distance from the work. Maybe you’ve done this. Maybe that break…

  • How to Write What You Don’t Know

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    “Write what you know.” It’s one of the oldest truisms of creative writing. Life experience offers a wealth of material and ideas. Once you’ve experienced an aspect of life for yourself, it’s easier to depict it accurately, because you know what you’re talking about. However, there are heaps of books out there about aliens and…