author & ghostwriter
(15lbs left to go for my weight goal. Each lost pound is hard earned!) “Don’t write through a migraine.” I find myself thinking this, even as a hundred new ideas barrel into me for the two pieces I’ll be focusing on come November: Sandcastles, and a novella that I sense will be about a ghost … Continue reading Telling the Whole Story
After 70 episodes of my serial, I find myself contemplating it—wondering how it got to 70 episodes—and marveling at how great a difference it can make to have readers. Writing is by nature a very isolated activity. I now wonder how much of that isolation is self-imposed. Why does every writer have to brood over … Continue reading On the Solitary Writer
I had forgotten that editing can be fun. Once I've moved past the stinking mess that is a first draft, edits & rewrites become puzzles--very personalized puzzles. When adding new scenes, I'm figuring out what the story lacks; I'm filling gaps for character development, making conversations meaningful, using words to increase tension. When adding/removing words … Continue reading Joy in Editing
Plot holes are a constant threat in every manuscript. When writing a serial, I have found that, at least for me, it’s easier to forget what’s been written before. When I add a significant object or event, I try to work out a good place where it can be resolved before I forget it. It’s … Continue reading On Plot Holes
I discovered this year that shifting focus clarifies a story. I’ve been toying for a while with the idea of putting THE AUTUMN PRINCE on Vella; I even dreamed of it once (too much?) but didn’t trust in my ability to do so without crossing from editing to rewriting. THE AUTUMN PRINCE can be read … Continue reading THE AUTUMN PRINCE: A Vella Serial
Here is a photo of me with a case of lazy bed head, holding a proof copy of my new novel, which I plan to release this month. The Mermaid has been my project for the last two years or more. It began as an urban fantasy, but I decided to challenge myself and write … Continue reading New Book – The Mermaid of Rose Hill – Out Soon!
A new year always brings with it pressure to come up with a resolution. Though setting goals often feels like a trend, I don't like ignoring a clean slate. I don't plan to do anything mind-blowing this year, but I know where I hope to be when roaring 2020 comes in. Writing-wise, 2019 will see … Continue reading Around the Literary World in a Year
Do you know your biggest obstacle against creativity? As a writer, perfectionism has kept me from making a good deal of progress. Much is said about Writer's Block or the phobia of cliches being reasons why we don't make progress. We rarely address a hidden problem. It's the idea of striving to write a scene … Continue reading My Struggle with Perfectionism
Imagine your mind is a forest. The edge of the forest is a place where you pause and get distracted--a place of heldbreath, of course. Sometimes we wait at the edge of heldbreath for days, months, or years. I've been lurking there for several weeks, skillfully talking myself out of a very important task. Should … Continue reading The Forest of Heldbreath
Too many writers talk and act as if writing were slow torture. … As New York sports writer Red Smith once observed, “Writing is easy. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and open a vein.” … If you want to write, here's a secret: the writer's struggle is overrated, a con game, … Continue reading Writing: The Learning Process
I may have completed edits for Serenade (which I still expect to release sometime in October,) but that doesn't mean I've stepped away from these characters and their adventures. It has been a fun week of world-building and character profiling. My personal copy of Dissonance is currently full of sticky notes! They were placed to … Continue reading On Mermaid Tales & Short Stories
There is a curious emptiness many writers feel when a project is finally done. I've finished editing Serenade, and find myself searching for ways to pass the time—plotting a new novel, or working on my TBR pile. It's tempting to keep searching the document for things to edit, but I've already made all the changes … Continue reading On Finishing Serenade & Old Clichés
Mariella Hunt 