About
Welcome to HearWriteNow. You’ve stepped into a place where you can relax for while and tune in to the other side of your brain.
Come on in, kick off your shoes, grab a cup of coffee, and have a look around.
HearWriteNow is the official website of storyteller Elsa Neal and an online magazine for writers and those looking for creative and lateral perspective. HearWriteNow is a haven for tired and overwhelmed writers; a place to find something interesting to read, or to get some help with your writing.
Elle has taken the plunge into motherhood, so please be patient with pages that have managed to break themselves or smear sticky code on the Windows while her back is turned. Thanks 
In 2004 Elsa retired from her career as an executive assistant to continue her vocation as a storyteller. She began her online presence as a teacher for Inspired to Write before moving to BellaOnline where she was the Creativity Editor from October 2005 to January 2008, and the Fiction Writing Editor from August 2006 to September 2008.
The moment Elle discovered as a child that the books she loved were created by people – talented people called “authors” – she knew she wanted to join them. She was already a popular storyteller at the tender age of eight; her impromtu stories in demand at sleepovers and her “theatrical productions” tolerated by family members. She created her own stapled-together books and filled their pages with her yarns.
Elsa also writes under the pseudonyms Elle Neal and Elle Carter Neal.
Comments from Elsa’s former critique clients:
(Elsa is not currently taking critique clients due to extended maternity leave.)
Your ability to isolate the pivotal points of the novel and show how they can be improved is nothing short of astonishing.
Michael Woods
I can’t believe how helpful it is to have my work picked apart the way you’ve done it. What I learned from your critiques about my writing was just as valuable as the hundreds of dollars I spent on “How-To” books on writing.
It’s one thing to review the examples from real world examples of literature in those books, but it’s entirely different and much more helpful to have the weaknesses of my own writing shown to me. I’m really glad I chose to use your service.
Paul Perron
Elsa has critiqued many of my stories. She has a real eye for plot and character motivation and can see clearly when you’ve gone astray. Her grammar is spot on as well. Thanks to her, my story “The Rich People’s School” recently appeared in the prestigious U.K. based literary magazine, Mslexia. I would highly recommend her.
Lauri Kubuitsile – author of The Fatal Payout (Macmillan) and Can He Be the One? (Sapphire Press)
Thank you so much for your peer critique… I really hadn’t expected such a detailed response. I am immensely grateful to you for the good, solid advice you have given. You only had a small excerpt to work with, yet you understood perfectly the problem I’m having… I’m considering all the possibilities you suggested.
Your comments concerning the prologue are spot on and easily put right; yet I would never, never have seen it had you not pointed it out. Thanks.
You’ve given me a great deal to think about. And a lot to work on. It goes almost without saying, I should like to submit further excerpts and possibly the final draft in due course.
Michael Woods
elsa AT hearwritenow DOT com
Lake Gunn, New Zealand © Peter Neal
