Tag: ASOAAS
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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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What Can You Tell Us About A Curse of Venom & Scales?
The most important news is that I have about ten chapters left. (AGAIN.) The goal is to finish this book within the next two weeks, so watch this space! But since I’ve recently had several questions about this book, I figured it was time to update you again. Before we get going, a disclaimer. THIS…
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Birthday Freebie – Colouring Pages
I can’t even fathom the words I’m about to type, but A Study of Ash & Smoke turns 5 today. My baby is five years old. How did that even happen? The last few years have been wild. I’ve never struggled to write as much in my life, but the knowledge that I published two…
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Writing Playlists
My high school art teacher believed music helps us create. She once said you can’t paint sunshine and daffodils while listening to metal, but you needed those angry sounds to paint thunderclouds. And those words have burrowed in my heart. I need music to set the scene while I write. I find it impossible to…
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Updated Planning Methods
Planning a novel doesn’t always come easily. As a hybrid planner/pantser and an ADHD’er, I often find myself super excited at the beginning of the planning process, pouring myself into putting every minute detail to paper. Until the impatience sets in, at which point I must write. Once I’ve abandoned the planning, I hurl myself…
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A Study of Ash & Smoke AI Character Art
I learned about Artbreeder around 2020 when a bunch of my writer friends had loads of fun quickly generating portraits for their characters. As these things go with me, I only created an account around 2022. I’m always the last to jump on a trend if I jump on it at all. In that regard,…
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What Inspired Natalistide?
Even though our immigration story continues to inspire my writing, German Christmas markets are king when it comes to plot bunnies. The Fall of the Mantle holiday called Natalistide is proof of that! And as we enter the holiday season IRL, my heart fills with memories of that time, so let’s chat about it today.…
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How I Name Them (Part 2-Characters)
Hello again! Welcome to part 2 of this naming convention series. If you’d like to read about how I chose place names, check out part 1 here. Let’s dive straight in, shall we? My first and most important criterion for a character name is pronounceability. It has to be easy to say, regardless of the…
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How I Name Them (Part 1-Places)
I did a whole podcast about this way back when I was still on Patreon. And, you know, podcasting. 😆 ADHD, amirite? Anyway, a recent Instagram interaction with a reader made me realise I’d never actually written about how I name characters and places on the blog. Said reader’s best friend is named Cara Lenoir,…
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A Writing Update
So, I mean, we all know there was supposed to be another book by now. The crickets that used to hang around A Curse of Venom & Scales have either died or moved along to chirp in some other tardy writer’s office. 😅 And I’m lucky to have a really supportive group of readers, who…
Yolandie Horak 