Artist • Author • Blogger
So, I’m a published author now. (Look, Ma, I’m famous.) A Study of Ash & Smoke was written, then edited and produced by Skolion, and they wrote an article on how the book was made. In that article, we linked to this post I wrote in 2017, all about my writing process. It’s been just […]
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I’ve recently read a few books where major characters died–and I’m talking viewpoint or main cast characters–only to be resurrected. Then, you know, they all live happily ever after. When this dead-but-resurrected-thing happened the first time, I was annoyed but okay. My mood elevated to disgruntled by the second time, then shot into the orbit […]
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The way to hook this reader is easy. Write a character who is always dressed to impress, has the wildest charm and self-confidence, flirts with everyone, says things the protagonist thinks but would never utter, and is willing to take the quickest route to get the job done–even if that means doing morally questionable things. […]
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Furyborn by Claire Legrand was one of those random books I picked from the library, based solely on its cover (and what a cover it is). I wasn’t disappointed. Lovers of YA and Sarah J. Maas’s writing style will probably adore this book. It’s action-packed features female characters who take no prisoners, and a delicious […]
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I’ve been trying to up my Instagram game. I stumbled into the whole thing because the Dragon Writers group on Facebook ran an Insta challenge back in January, and my good friend Tallulah encouraged me to keep going when the challenge ended. So, since January, I’ve tried my hand at Bookstagram. I really enjoy taking […]
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Or maybe your beta reader/s had some less than ideal feedback. You’re freaking out, and don’t know how to handle this negative take on your book baby. I wrote a post about writing a review the other day, and I’ve also written something about being a beta reader and how to give feedback. Then, last […]
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I’ve never really talked about those books that inspire me, which is sad since there’s a lot of them. The obvious answer is Lord of the Rings. Tolkien is king, and the worlds created by the master are incredible. But to say I read and write fantasy because of Tolkien is wrong. First, before anything […]
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Folks, after all the effort it took to get the book written, edited, revised, edited again (and again, three more times) then prepared for print, proofread, revised, and finally ready to publish–my mind has gone blank. The words, it seems, have fled me. It’s probably an oh-boy-my-book-is-published phenomenon. The project is finally out of my […]
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People of the world, it’s finally here. After five (official) drafts, almost five years, two titles, all the sweat and tears, extreme keyboard bashing, lots of swearing, squeezing in moments to write while also being a mother, general anxiety, crying because none of it worked, celebrating because it wasn’t so bad, threatening to toss the […]
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This post exists just because so many of my close family and friends have been asking about reviewing a specific book *cough, wink*. I figured I’d write something about reviewing, since I’m part of the indie writer community and so many of my friends have books coming out soon too. Most people don’t believe me […]
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Friends, I had something else planned for today, but then this happened. My incredibly epic best friend Liani and her husband Franco took some time out of their hectic schedules to make this little video montage for Ash & Smoke. Can we just take a moment to appreciate how fabulous they are? I could sit […]
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I don’t know if you know this, but A Study of Ash & Smoke is officially available for pre-order. Can you even? I can’t even. Everything is happening so quickly now, it’s almost unreal after all the time I’ve spent working on this book. And let me tell you, it’s looking good. I’ve been assisted […]
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I have an intense book hangover and I’m struggling to get over it. Let me tell you why (and this might spoil my entire review in the second sentence) but Six of Crows was wonderful, then Crooked Kingdom was next level epic. The problem with Crooked Kingdom is that every book you pick up to […]
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I’d never heard of death of the author until a few months ago. It blipped on my radar because of this phenomenon where some authors make us privy to facts about their worlds or characters after the novel came out, and this new knowledge somehow changes the way we read the book. What is Death […]
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Here’s the story. To spice up my reading life, I try to pick a random book by an author I’d never heard of whenever I’m at the library. I usually aim for two or three from a to be read list I keep on my phone, but let fate decide the last book. That’s how […]
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I was pretty excited to find this one at the library, since I’d read some mixed reviews and didn’t want to buy it until I knew for sure if I liked it or not. Especially not at around $18 a copy. I’m glad I did that. This will be a spoiler free review, except where […]
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Magic is an epic thing. I was so young when I got into high fantasy and kept coming back because of magic. More than anything, levitation fascinated me. I didn’t want to be able to hurl fireballs or cast things in a foot of ice, I wanted to fly, just by thinking it. Still do. […]
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I was excited to get lost in the pages of this book. The protagonist of Sayde Scarlett‘s Clouds and Earth is a former military operative, tech-wiz, and all round bad-arse. The book is delivered in third omniscient, is 242 pages long, and follows multiple point of view characters. ***DISCLAIMER – I was gifted a review […]
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The internet. A place of abundance. You can learn almost anything on YouTube or blogs. Unfortunately, many of these instructional sites will just as easily help you fail as help you learn. Others won’t set you up for failure, sure, but your growth process can still be stunted by bad advice. Which brings us to […]
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I’d never heard of Tsarpunk before a friend recommended this series and asked me if I’d ever heard of Tsarpunk. Which I hadn’t. 🙂 Now that I have, I’m glad to know the term. There will be spoilers in this post. This is your stop here warning if you’d like to read these books spoiler […]
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Another huge bomb has dropped on the world of indie authors. If you haven’t heard about the #copypastecris disaster, this is where it started. The TL;DR version of what happened is this: Cristiane Serruya copied sections from over 50 romance books by over 30 authors and hired ghostwriters to thread those copied scenes together, then […]
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I was supposed to do this tomorrow, but who can wait until tomorrow when today is still here? I’m out of my mind with excitement, if you couldn’t tell. The incredible Tallulah from Covers by Tallulah joined forces with Cat Hellisen, a magician of endless talents, to make this lovely work of art. I wanted […]
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I picked up this book in hardcover for $7–what a steal. I’d never heard of Bradley P. Beaulieu before this, but I’m really glad a book on sale introduced me to his work. Twelve Kings in Sharakhai is the first instalment in The Song of Shattered Sands trilogy. The story is set in the desert, […]
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Ah, tropes. The building blocks of all the stories ever crafted. What’s a trope? Well, those themes and elements we find over and over in novels, movies, games, series. For example, a princess with a mean stepmother. A cop who joined the force because their father was killed in the line of duty. A fairy […]
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It’s been a long while since I devoured books like I devoured these ones. The series has been recommended to me a few times, but I never got around to reading them. Last week, Amazon had a special. And, well. Here we are. It doesn’t hurt that this series is New Adult (it certainly isn’t […]
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There’s this thing all around the internet. Advice paired with a general outcry–write strong female characters. I’ve had multiple conversations about this in the last few weeks, and I thought we could continue chatting about it here. People want Strong Female Characters (from here on SFC) to the point where they come down really hard […]
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It’s no secret that I have no idea what I’m doing. I know zero about writing movements, picking a trendy title, or putting something on a novel’s cover that will attract the right audience. Luckily I know people who know these things. 🙂 I had a Skype session with my wonderful editor and mentor, Nerine […]
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It’s so good to be back in the swing of things with a writing post, especially one that adds to the Let’s Write Series. Now, I see you doing a double take there. Didn’t this used to be called the writing emotions series? It did, but then I had so many ideas to add to […]
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Now, by this time you know how I feel about this series. I’ve reviewed both The Babylon Eye and The Real, and I’ve been waiting for this book. The wait has paid off. You know that feeling when the first book in a series is ALL CAPS FANTASTIC, but the second is just meh and […]
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Cross-country move aside, this has been at the top of the FAQ pile in my life lately. So let’s talk about if and what I’ve been writing today. The Physician’s Apprentice is in the later stages of production. It had initially been scheduled for release somewhere around September, but life happens, and it’s been delayed […]
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It’s Preptober! I’m not participating in Nanowrimo, but I figured this post was long overdue anyway and could be relevant to those of you preparing for Nano. If you’re wondering about my previous Nanowrimo experience, I wrote a little piece on the Sophie Melissa Blog. She also asked some other authors for their ideas and […]
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My little obsession with Dragon Age and the world of Thedas has never been a secret, nor has my adoration for the roguish dwarf, Varric. Maybe I love him the most because Varric and I are both storytellers, super loyal, and empaths. It’s likely just the chest hair though. 😛 If you’ve ever played Dragon […]
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Quick fact – the average horse and the average person travel about the same distance per day. As in, giving your hero a horse may not actually bring them to the epic battle faster than they’d have gotten there on foot. No, I didn’t make that up. Hollywood, gaming houses, and other media tell us […]
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If you’re here for the first time, I’ve been writing a series of posts on the body language of various emotions, so authors have a quick reference when they get stuck writing diverse characters. It’s so easy to fall into the same old repetitive action tags. I can’t tell you how many times I used […]
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From a fright when the spider lands on your arm, to being scared of the weird guy on the blind date, to full-blown terror when a dragon sticks its head out of the cave and you left your sword at home, fear is one of the most complex emotions that we’ve all had to deal […]
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I’ve never done a post discussing what this book is actually about, and I honestly don’t know how that’s happened. So, considering I’ve completed the final round of edits and the novel is out of my hands again (WHOOOOOHOOOOO) I thought I’d break down the story for you. I’m not particularly skilled when it comes […]
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Welcome to part three of the Writing Emotions series! You can check out the others here, and come back in two weeks for the next part. Today we’re chatting about nervousness and excitement. Since these amount to the same thing in terms of body language, I figured I’d group them. Of course, there are some […]
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Picking up from where we left off, we’re talking about sadness or grief today. The topic was suggested to me by someone in the writing group I belong to on Facebook. Love was also suggested and I’ll definitely delve into that one, but I think it might need to be spread over more than one […]
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If you know me at all, you know what an enormous geek I am. And just the slightest bit addicted to the Dragon Age games and the world of Thedas. So you can imagine the euphoric and awed state I entered when my husband gave me this book for my birthday. “A book about a […]
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Friends. Writing is difficult. Especially emotions, which are the slightest bit important to make your characters come alive. At first, you really try to have your cast do interesting things, show interesting body language and have interesting expressions. But then, you slip into that easy repetition. He gave a look. She nodded. They shrugged. Or […]
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It’s been a hot minute, I know. I fully intended to blog at you last week, but then the plague struck again. I tell you, we’ve been sick at least once a month since we arrived in Canada, lucky us. More on this in another post, though. I used the time away from the blog […]
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We’re back to reality today, after a week-long break (if it can be called that, considering we were so sick we could barely move). Kayla’s been dropped off at school, which means it’s back to work for me too after a mini-break from writing. Well, writing The Physician’s Apprentice anyway – I’ve been sporadically working […]
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Not to give away my thoughts on the novel in the opening sentence of the blog post or anything, but wow, what a read this was. Having said that, I didn’t understand the hype around this novel until I’d read over a hundred pages. Before we get to that, though, a quick summary of the […]
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Hang around writer’s forums long enough and you’ll soon see that there are many fake service providers out there. People who claim they’ll help you polish your manuscript before the world sees it, but then disappear with your cash. And since so many people are self-publishing these days, the demand for indie service providers is […]
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You know what I mean. That so-out-of-my-depth feeling that hits us all from time to time. Like you’ve brought a football to a ping pong match and you’re going to smash your paddle to smithereens with your first serve. (Where are these sports metaphors even coming from?) Lately, this has been my reality. You’ve seen the trend in […]
Read More… The last few weeks of my life have been intense. Not in the way you’d probably picture intense, because most of my time was spent in front of the screen, typing and reading aloud what I’ve typed, over and over and over. To my neighbour on the left, despite the number of times you’ve seen me […]
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It’s been a while since I wrote one of these. 🙂 If you know me at all, you know that I’m a huge fan of John Green. He inspires me in many ways, because he manages to be a thoughtful and giving human being, despite living with a crippling mental illness. I’ve been a nerdfighter for a […]
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Today is one of those days where blank pages intimidate me, but somehow, no matter how fervently my fingers slam against the keyboard, the words just aren’t up to standard. These are also the days where everything is more interesting than the screen, from the single leaf that managed to escape being covered with snow to […]
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I love Tolkien. I’ve loved his work since I first discovered his stories when I was about fourteen. After that first time I broke the spine of The Fellowship of the Ring, I’ve read LOTR every year (sometimes more than once a year) until around 2013 when Kayla was born. Which reminds me, you know. […]
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So you’re a writer. Welcome to the club, please pick your t-shirt from the pile and have a seat. You’ve probably been around the interwebs and have no doubt found an article or two on the topic of said. You know, dialogue tags. There are two firm groups of thought here. Okay, okay – two […]
Read More… It’s already September, I know. I’ve had a lot on my mind lately. 🙂 I certainly didn’t think I’d be doing this with all the insanity going on in my life right now, but I’m happy to report that I’ve been writing something amid the chaos! My good friend Tallulah and I just finished a […]
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I’m by no means an expert on the topic, just a noob who’s learned a thing or two from writers much more experienced than I, willing to share their knowledge. These are three little things any writer could use to hone their craft – some so obvious, it’s blinding. Who felt like an idiot after […]
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You were supposed to see this post at the end of July, I know. Apologies. I’m more scatterbrained than usual lately and I forgot. But better late than never, right? The writing has been going exceptionally well. After The Great Word Draught of 2017, I never imagined I’d be writing so much, especially now that The […]
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This post, born in the darkest corners of my mind, is probably a direct result of my own novel being in the hands of a group of beta readers. Right now, I’m in that I-can’t-write-at-all-and-I-totally-suck-phase. Let’s talk about giving good crit. As if I’m the expert here. Bah. But, having been on the receiving end […]
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I read an article this morning about why you should write romance novels only in third person point of view. In the past few weeks, a few people made comments on the writer’s groups I belong to about writing in a certain point of view and being criticised for their choice. I gag a little in […]
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Writing about writing is tricky. People will often try to sell their way as the only way, but no art is as black and white as that. I’m not talking about the rules of grammar and style, I’ve seen firsthand how those will make or break a novel. Leave out the rules, and your story […]
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A year or so ago, I read a writing exercise idea on a blog that changed the way I view watching TV. The blogger in question would make notes of, then dissect the episode she was watching. She’d figure out which plot points worked, which didn’t, where the dialogue fell flat, where it rocked, and […]
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I had a conversation about writing with my cousin, as we often do. Afterwards, I kept thinking how great it would have been if I’d known which mistakes to avoid when I just started writing. Yes, I could have googled something stupid, like how to write a novel. Today, the ‘duh’ is weighty enough to […]
Read More… Here’s an interesting turn of events. I don’t know what to blog about. At first, I couldn’t understand what the hell this caused this sluggishness. Sure, blogging is difficult sometimes. I’ve been doing this for six years and I know ideas dry up at some point. That’s why the blog changed its direction even before […]
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Some days, it’s difficult to get inspired. I’m having one of those days. I talked about this problem on Friday too, so you’ll know about my predicament if you’ve been around the blog. The recap version? Today, I have no idea what to blog about and I don’t have the drive to put in any real effort. […]
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Everything is quiet again. Back to normal. It’s been a month since our visitors left (I can’t even) and, with the vacation posts out of the way, I can’t ignore the elephant in the room anymore. Too many people have been asking.
Read More… At this stage, I’m unable to think straight, but I’ve had some questions from friends and family and I want to answer them. Question 1 – How’s it going, Yolandie? *nervous laughter* Added to the fact that I’m revising like a madwoman, it’s been an icky week on the sleep scale. AKA, I’m not getting […]
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It’s a well-known fact (at least if you’ve hung around the blog) that I really admire my editor, Nerine Dorman. She’s taught me so much about writing that I barely recognise my old work these days, and I’m hopefully still improving. A while back, I grabbed a compilation four of her stories on Amazon. No, […]
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Nothing feels real in my life anymore until I share it here. ◄ That’s healthy. 😛 I had some awesome news this week and I want to share it with you. You know, so it becomes real. I belong to a writer’s group and they’re releasing an anthology later this year. Submissions opened November 2016, […]
Read More… The truth is, I’m not good at writing reviews. Not at all. It’s difficult to explain why you love something without including spoilers, nerve-wracking to find the good points in something meh, and I don’t even want to go into didn’t-like territory. This book though, speaks for itself. It made me feel things. I held […]
Read More… When you tell people you’re writing a novel, they’ll probably react in one of three ways. 1) You’re insane. 2) Ooh, that’s cool! 3) You know, I’ve always wanted to write a novel (this, by the way, is said with the greatest frequency). This post is for everyone in the third group. I’ve been following […]
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Wel, lookie here. A brand new month. I’ve been gone for a week, I know. A mini-plague descended on my house and we’ve been recovering. Meanwhile, I’ve also been up to my eyebrows in edits. Even sick, obsessive nature won’t let me go. It’s a blessing and a curse. This is going to be a […]
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The thing is, it’s tough sometimes. Last year was a wild one, and not always in the good sense. Everybody I know struggled. We struggled. And I don’t just mean with little stuff, though there was some of that. People were sick, some died, some lost or quit their jobs, families split up and hearts […]
Read More… When I heard about this book, I knew I had to read it, because the story seemed so unique. So, when I was sent a copy to review, I was pretty much over the moon. Also a little worried, because I so hate giving bad reviews. I’m one of those people who’ll praise the things […]
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Hi there, folks! I’m not doing the Story Cube thing today, because I have some admin to share with you. Nothing serious! But some stuff has been going on behind the scenes, and I want to fill you in. Somewhere in the last few months, I mentioned on Facebook, Twitter and Google + that I’ve […]
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Hello there, folks. I’m honestly just popping in to say that today’s post will be delayed. I’m sorry about this, the past few days have gotten away from me. I’ll resume posting on Wednesday. Have a good one! Yolandie
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My kid will turn three in under a week, can you believe it? I struggle to. Kayla is a happy, sweet little person. She loves to cuddle and kiss and say ‘I love you, Mama’, which obviously melts my heart. She and I have a blast together, and that’s a good thing, considering she’s home […]
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When I first started writing, I had no idea what I was doing. I still don’t, but I’m growing. If there’s one thing in life I hate, it’s stagnating. I’ve mentioned this before. Where writing is concerned, I really think I have grown and I try to learn more with every word squeezed out through […]
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Hi there! I’m happy to report that I’ve broken the 10,000 word mark for this week. Coming up for air to type this post feels strange, as if I’m going to be struck by lightning for doing anything other than work on my book. This isn’t even really coming up for air, because I’M STILL […]
Read More… Hello there. You may have noticed that things look a little different here. This is due to a bout of website-altering creativity that took me by surprise during the week. I was never completely satisfied with the way things looked on the website, but I’m glad to report that I feel a lot better about […]
Read More… Hello there. So, this is week 8 of the #storycubechallenge. Once again, I left my story to the last possible moment. I don’t know why I do this to myself, but in my defence, it was a crazy week with a sick 2-year old. At least I wrote something. I’m also working on a short […]
Read More… Hello there, friends! So, this is week 7 of the #storycubechallenge already. This week, I actually wrote something. Yeehaw for schedules. The cubes for this story certainly made more sense to me than those ones did last week. 😛 If you’re new to this, here’s where it all started. I also have a Pinterest board […]
Read More… Hi there. So, this week I didn’t manage to get a story from week 5’s cubes. I tried, but I couldn’t connect the dots there. I think it was the alien. 🙂 I’ll try again next time. Here’s the hero for week 6 :
Read More… Yes, indeedy. It’s almost that time again. Last year, my Nanowrimo experience wasn’t so great (I seem to have misplaced the post where I updated you on that). To be fair, I had just gone through a bunch of stuff, including finding a new editor and living through one of the lowest points since moving […]
Read More… You’re not going to believe this. This week, I actually wrote the story cube story on Monday. No, not so late last night that I couldn’t focus on the keyboard anymore, on MONDAY. What’s happening? I feel like I don’t know myself anymore. I don’t want to jinx everything by saying that writing all of […]
Read More… Hello there. It’s that time of the week again! I seriously hope someone out there is doing this challenge with me, because I don’t have anyone to complain to. 😛 It’s challenging, that’s for sure. But it’s also kind of fun. It is getting easier to get the story going, once I have a basic […]
Read More… Why do weeks move so quickly when you’re supposed to be writing for a story challenge you created yourself? I find myself doing anything BUT working on the cubes, until the night before. I really need to time manage better and procrastinate less. In the words of my friend Charlie Brown. Good. Grief. Before I […]
Read More… Well, that was more interesting than I anticipated… Here we are in week two of the story cube challenge. I’ll just say that this thing lived up to it’s name. Making a story out of pictures was challenging, but heck, I did it! Woot woot! Did you? Please link me to your story, I’d love […]
Read More… This year for my birthday, I wanted something different. When Jan spotted Rory’s Story Cubes on Amazon, I was immediately sold. You think I’m mad, don’t you? What would a 31-year-old mom want with story cubes? Well, inspiration. I find, as a writer, that the writing prompts online are few and far between, and the […]
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I find it kind of weird that the question I’m asked most often about writing is what I listen to when I write. Sure, this question leads to a variety of other questions, but a lot of the time, conversations about writing are started with this one. What do I listen to when I write? […]
Read More… You’re wondering where I am. I can hear you think it like a shout off a mountaintop. 🙂 This image below about sums it up. In my world, ‘lunch’ can be replaced by coffee. Because, you know, coffee has replaced blood in my veins.
Read More… Yes, I’ve been MIA this week. Lemme tell you something. Writer Yolandie is obsessive to a fault. I’ve been doing little else than write or work on stuff related to my novel (except for this fanfic that pulled me off course for a moment) and I’m more than a little anxious to get back to […]
Read More… I’ve been following a lot of writing coaches, editors and authors via social media and blogs lately, and I’ve learned a TON about writing. The things to avoid, to embrace and habits to form to become a better writer have really impacted me. It also scares me. When I sit down to write now, I’m […]
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First of all, I’d like to thank everyone for their condolences and beautiful words concerning my grandmother. If you missed it, my gran passed away last week. It wasn’t a surprise, because she was sick for a long time before she passed. It still hurts though. I wrote a tribute to my grandma here. Since […]
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So, it’s finally happened. I got the notes back from my editor a while ago and since then, only writing has been on my mind. Let me first fill you in. I went through a bit of a bad patch last year with an editor. Not because of bad critique, but because of the complete […]
Read More… I’m obsessive. Very, very obsessive. It’s just the way I’m wired. If you’ve read this blog for a while, you’ll probably recall other instances where I’ve admitted to this flaw in my personality. Maybe it isn’t always a flaw, but still. Just the other day, I told you that my new novel is done. I […]
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