Category: Writing
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Let’s Write – The Basics of Self-Editing
The editing process has always intrigued me—a fascination that most authors don’t share, I know. But it still blows my mind how applying grammatical and stylistic rules can take a manuscript from so-so to great, and that with minimal effort. And the best part is that self-editing is an easy skill all authors can learn…
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Let’s Write – Tenses
Back in the olden days, storytelling was often limited to a shallow or omnipotent third point of view set in the past tense. Nowadays, authors utilise deeper points of view to submerge readers, and we’ve seen an uptick in stories written in the present tense. And I’m totally here for it. But as storytelling changes,…
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March Writing Update
I wanted to start this post with something witty, but then I remembered my actual writing-related news and needed a moment to celebrate. It’s been a journey, friends. Setback after setback made me hate A Curse of Venom & Scales for a moment there, but I’m ECSTATIC to announce we’re back on track. What’s fourteen…
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Tips for Changing Genres
I grew up reading Tolkien, Lewis, and Eddings, and if you read my work, you can see how those OG wizards influenced my writing. I tend to tell a slower story—the intrigue unfolds in increments. And that’s okay because I write epic fantasy, and we expect a fair amount of world-building and setting up from…
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ADHD & Writing
I’ve been working on this post for literal years. And if that doesn’t illustrate exactly what it’s like to be a writer with ADHD, I don’t know what will. Still, since my diagnosis, several regular readers of my blog have reached out to me to write about this topic, so I put it on my…
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First Listen – A Curse of Venom & Scales Playlist
The plague has once again descended on my house, and while we’ve all been Covid-ridden, I haven’t been in the mood to do much of anything. As always, though, music (and the odd audiobook) perked me up. And that made me think of the playlist I created while writing A Curse of Venom & Scales.…
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Let’s Write – Sequels
I’ve finished A Curse of Venom & Scales!! Okay. Because I schedule most of my content, I’m a tad late in sharing the news. I officially finished the manuscript on the 23rd of August. I’m so late, in fact, that the first beta readers have given me their feedback, and others are progressing swiftly on…
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My Least Favourite Trope: Resurrection
Friends, this was a close race. Just as I have a long list of adored tropes, the ones I don’t like are myriad. I don’t read Dubcon and I hate Born Sexy Yesterday. But the most commonly recurring trope that has the power to ruin a book or series for me until the end of…
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How To Implement Feedback
Welcome back to this accidental mini-series on beta reading feedback, reviews, and handling said feedback. The past four weeks have really been one of Bob Ross’s happy little accidents. We talked about: Today, we’ll chat about implementing feedback. How do we dissect our beta readers or editors’ comments, figure out what they mean, and find…
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How To Handle Negative Feedback
Over the last two weeks, we discussed How To Review a Book, and How To Be a Great Beta Reader. Let’s chat about handling negative feedback today. This can be in the form of a poor review or comments from beta readers. Now, we’re all human here. There will always be that bit of feedback…
Yolandie Horak 