About Vered Neta:
My Name is Vered Neta. Since the 16th century, my family has lived in what today is Israel, but for the last 28 years, I’ve been living all over the world.
Today, I live with my husband in Tenerife in the Canary Islands on an off-the-grid farm, creating a sustainable life through permaculture agriculture and a food forest that we tend on our farm.
We live in the middle of a pine forest, and the nearest village to us is 3.5 miles up the mountain, so it's basically me, my husband and our chickens, dogs and birds here. We also have a grown-up daughter who lives in London.
What inspires you to write?
The main reason I am writing is that I want to use this medium of stories, whether novels or movie scripts, to inspire people to live a full life. I believe we all deserve to live up to our potential. I believe that when humankind focuses on fulfilling their potential, we can create a better world. My main purpose in writing is to bring kindness and harmony into the world.
Tell us about your writing process.
In the battle between “Plotters” and “Pantsers”, I am definitely on the side of the “Plotters”. I can’t think of starting to write without a structure or a goal for that specific writing period. The thought of staring at the blank page is so scary for me. I have to start by having a clear idea, structure, and goal in front of me before even sitting down to write the poetic part of the writing.
I start with a huge Whiteboard that I have on my wall in my office, and from there, I use the Beat sheet option in Final Draft Software, whether it would be for scripts of novels, I MUST have a beat sheet before I start writing.
As part of my "Plotter", I create what is called "Bible", where I describe the characters in general, but not to too many details as otherwise I will get lost. That way, I know where I am going, but I leave space for the creative part to appear once I start writing and the characters take off the page and lead me.
How do you develop your characters?
As I wrote, I am a big believer in having an outline. I know each character before I start writing them. However, I'm a very auditory person, so when I finally sit to write, it's a dangerous period at home as I keep on talking as I write. Therefore, there is always a sign outside my office on the door: "If you hear any loud talking from this room, it's only me talking to myself, so there is no need to take it to heart or respond."
Sometimes, the characters answer me back, and I need to listen to what they have to say to me, and that's when creativity takes off and the planning and charts are thrown out of the window.
What authors inspire you?
This is an unfair question. I have so many of them. I used to be a lonely child, and books were my haven. I used to say that people can disappoint and betray you, but books are always there for you, so I surrounded myself with books.
I would go through periods of reading the Classics like Dickens and Jane Austin and the Bronte Sisters, and then expand to Dostoyevsky and Tolstoy and Kafka and, on the other side of the world, authors like Gabriel García Márquez and Paulo Coelho.
Today, my favourite genres are historical fiction, fantasy and women's literature, but I also read many non-fiction books about philosophy, personal development, spirituality and, of course, the craft of writing.
So, as you can see, I have an eclectic influence. What they all inspired me to write about was human nature and human relationships. They inspired me to write stories that would bring light into the world, even during hard and dark times, stories of hope, kindness and love.
How do you keep going in the midst of distractions?
I'm fortunate enough to be writing at an age when my kids are grown up and out of the house. I also live in the most peaceful area one can imagine, so there are no outside distractions.
To avoid the inner ones – I turn off my mobile phone and work offline to avoid the temptation of surfing the net and falling down the rabbit hole of websites. If I realise that I need to check something I write it down on a Post-It note and check it out later.
What are your hobbies when you need a break from writing?
I work on our small homestead farm, walk with my dog in the mountains around us and dance to tribal music when I need to release some frustrations and emotions.
What romance genres do you write?: Chick Lit, Women's Fiction and Historical Romance
Do you write in genres that are not romance related?
I write Historical Novels and these days I started writing a "cosy mystery" novel and mainly Women's Fiction and Family Saga
What formats are your books in?: eBook, Print
Where to find out more about the author
Website(s)
Vered Neta Home Page Link
Link To Vered Neta Page On Amazon
Link to Author Page on Barnes and Noble
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All information in this post is presented “as is” supplied by the author. We don’t edit to allow you the reader to hear the author in their own voice.
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