Category: Writing

Looking Ahead: Woolent Turning 25

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20yearcollage
Collage from W.E.’s 20th Birthday

 

December 2017 marks Woolaston Entertainment’s 23rd birthday. While I am excited to celebrate the anniversary of the wonderful thing I created back when I was twelve, I’m even more excited at the prospect of Woolent turning 25, in 2019. In fact, I’m already working on the birthday present.

Before I was a published author, I hand-wrote several (okay, 125 or more) books for myself. I have been publishing them one by one, over the past few years, beginning with Fortune’s Wing.  Every other year or so, I would write a Compendium, which would summarize and explain all of the books, comics and artwork I had produced for the year (or years, depending). This is what I would like to do for Woolent’s 25th birthday: release a compendium, which will cover all of my books, comics and artwork, from the handwritten materials to the published works. In order to accomplish this, I literally need to get started now. Fortunately, I have my previous compendiums from 1998 through 2007 to fall back on, along with the one I started gathering materials and making notes for just a few years ago. This book will contain illustrations, and background info about Woolent, and everything I will have created up until that year. It’s going to be very interesting. 

If you’ve published a number of books or artwork, etc, a writing a compendium may be something you’ll want to consider. You really don’t know how much you’ve created, or how special it is to you, until you begin to archive it.

http://www.woolastonentertainment.com

Yes, I Changed This Site

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With another book nearing completion, I find myself with more time on my hands than I would care for. I’m so used to working on a book, that when I finish one, it’s time for a much needed (but not wanted) break. So, here I am, with nothing better to do than play around with my Word Press site…again. If you’ve been keeping up with me, you may have noticed I have changed the background color several times over the past two weeks. Today, I changed the entire theme. I’m happy with it…for now. We’ll see. 

 

http://www.woolastonentertainment.com

The Witch of Fulton Lane

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WOFL_whole_cover

 

One good thing has come out of this year’s NaNoWriMo for me. I actually managed to finish a book!  I had the idea for The Witch of Fulton Lane floating around in my head for several months before I sat down to commit it to paper. Yesterday, I completed the first draft. Now I’m editing and adding a few more details. While I continue to work on the manuscript itself, I decided to go ahead and work on the cover. The image featured above, is what the cover currently looks like. I may or may not change it. We’ll see. 

punc·tu·a·tion and gram·mar

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Let me begin by saying, I don’t have a Masters in English Literature or Creative Writing. I have never labeled myself an “expert” when it comes to writing, however, I know the difference between good grammar, and poor grammar. I’m also capable of identifying the misuse of punctuation. I’ve been reading the work of other writers lately–mostly self-published authors like myself—and I’ve come across a few things I feel I need to point out. I’m not going to name any names or books, but if you catch yourself doing any of the things I mention here, you may want to go back and do a bit of editing. 

Dialogue

Dialogue should be enclosed with quotation marks, like this: “It’s not a problem,” she said. You shouldn’t use an apostrophe, ex: ‘It’s not a problem’ she said. Also, you shouldn’t use parentheses , ex: (It’s not a problem) she said.  And please, don’t use double parentheses, either! Ex: ((It’s not a problem)) she said. 

I’m mentioning these, because I actually came across all of these problems in books I have recently read. 

There, Their, They’re…

Using the wrong word, or using a word in the wrong tense can be a problem. As a writer, I always keep certain tools handy: a dictionary, a thesaurus, and Google. I have come to appreciate all three, especially the speech function for Google. If I’m not entirely sure how to spell a word, or which tense to use it in, I can always read the sentence out loud, and let Google help me. Plus, I’m still a fan of the old fashioned method of flipping through the pages of a dictionary or thesaurus. 

 

I’m not trying to pick on anyone, but as a writer, the misuse of punctuation and grammar, are two things I take very seriously. I’m a self-published author, so I have to be very mindful of the writing I publish. I don’t have an editor to help me catch my mistakes; I have to do it all on my own. Whenever I read a piece of writing that was self-published, and contains several errors such as the ones mentioned above, it adds to the belief that “self published books are not real books”. There are many people who are against self-publishing, because pretty much ANYONE can publish a book now. The quality of these books can be incredible, but there are books which are seriously lacking the attention to editing every book needs. If you see any of the things I mentioned in your writing, please go back and fix it. If you have allowed someone else to help you edit your work and it still contains these kinds of mistakes, it may be time to look for another editor. edit

Monday Blog: NaNoWriMo 2017

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NaNoWriMo

 

Welcome to the first Monday Blog for the month of November! November is National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo for short. This is the month writers push themselves to finish their current project. Some writers are concerned  with the number of words their novel contains, while others focus on pages or chapters. Generally, I don’t focus on words. While I try to write a lengthy book, I also know when its time to stop. I don’t know about you, but I become bored very easily with a story which contains too much “filler”. The goal of good writing, should be telling the story. You don’t want the story to move too quickly, however, you don’t want to drag it out, either. I’m currently working on The Witch of Fulton Lane, ​and I already know I need to go back to the earlier chapters and add more details.

​If you want to visit the NaNoWriMo website, here is a link: https://nanowrimo.org/.  Their website helps you track your progress , and provides tips and support.

I’m going to track my word-count for The Witch of Fulton Lane on the top of the Woolaston Entertainment website homepage. My goal is 50, 000 words or more.

Until next week…

Monday Blog: Erin’s Emo Playlist!

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megothic3

 

It’s another Monday in the fabulous month of October (sort of, I’m late!), so it’s time for another Monday Blog. This week, I’m using Erin from Our Lady as a medium, and I’m posting a playlist of her favorite music to listen to, when she’s feeling extra Emo. Some of the songs may not make anyone else’s EMO list, but I think they still work. If you find a song here you’ve never listened to before, give it a try! And feel free to share your own playlists on Twitter , @NicoleWoolent.

Sugar, We’re Goin Down–Fall Out Boy

Ohio is for Lovers–Hawthorne Heights

Helena–My Chemical Romance

Boulevard of Broken Dreams–Green Day

At Your Funeral–Saves the Day

The Middle–Jimmy Eat World

Screaming Infidelities–Dashboard Confessional

Miss Murder–AFI

Spaceman–The Killers

I Don’t Wanna Be in Love–Good Charlotte

Sign of the Times–Harry Styles

Still Breathing–Green Day

That Black Bat Licorice–Jack White

Desert Song–My Chemical Romance

Millions–Gerard Way

Drugstore Perfume–Gerard Way

The Reason–Hoobastank

Creep–Radiohead

Sleep–My Chemical Romance

Expand Your Readership With The Public Library!

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SELF-e_Logo_Web

 

I wanted to share some info with my fellow indie authors. Self-e, is a terrific program, which helps authors connect with new readers, by making their books available through the public library. I have had success with this system, and two of my titles are currently available as ebooks through the Queens Public Library, in New York. So, if you’re an indie author, and you have published an ebook, you may want to consider using this program. Here is a direct link to their website: https://selfe.librariescreate.com/self-e/

FYI: you will need to fill out a short form, which includes agreeing to their terms and conditions, entering your name, email, state and name of your local library, and uploading a copy of your ebook (ex, PDF), and info about the book (ISBN, etc). Best of luck to everyone!

Valentine in Queens Public Library

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Valentine_QueensLib

 

This is pretty big for me: 2 of my ebooks are available on Queens Public Library’s website! So, if you have a QPL card, you can borrow 2 of my ebooks!! How cool is that! Here’s a link: http://www.queenslibrary.org/search/apachesolr_search/nicole%20woolaston?filters=tm_a:nicole%20AND%20tm_a:woolaston

I’m working on adding more titles to their collection, but to have 2 so far, ain’t half bad!

woolastonentertainment.com

Monday Blog: A Vigilante, A Witch, and An Update

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Greetings, everyone! Monday Blog time! This week, I wanted to discuss Valentine 5: The Queen’s Fold, The Witch of Fulton Lane, and provide an update about Righteous.

Valentine 5: The Queen’s Fold

If you’ve been keeping up with the previous blog entries, you may have been wondering, “Is that all she’s going to say about Valentine 5?” Fear not! I’m going to talk more about it, right here. When I first introduced Val Entienne, she was on a road trip to save her father. She wanted to find him alive, but if he was dead, she was going to avenge his death. Val ended up helping Melinda St James, a fourteen-year-old girl whose parents had died, and was on her way to live with her grandparents. Instead, she joins Val on her trip to L.A., and ends up living with her afterwards. This is where Val’s real adventure begins: she gets into a fight with a mob boss, shoots a few people, and puts her life on the line to keep her friends and family safe. She even travels to Italy, and learns about the history of the Entienne family. So, after all of the fighting and shooting and killing, between meeting and befriending hitmen and accepting her place in the Syndicate, how does the story of Valentine end?  It ends the only way it can end: with a bang. There’s a difference between reputation and action; a legend and the truth. The final book, brings everything full circle.

The Witch of Fulton Lane

I had been wanting to write this book for a very long time, but other books stood in the way, and I wasn’t even sure of where or how to start. Finally, I figured, time’s a-wasting, so I needed to get started. I’ve been into astrology, the paranormal, and psychic powers for years. I’ve had many readings done, and I also read tarot cards. So, there’s a little bit of me in the main character, Dylan Maycriss.  Dylan is a witch, and I’m not just name-calling here. She is a Wiccan, is a believer in the occult, and, as you will read when the book comes out, she does have supernatural powers. But what Dylan can do, won’t be the heart of the story. Of course, you’ll have to wait until the book is available to see what I mean.

Update on Righteous

I don’t want any of you to think I’m shelving this book forever. Between Righteous, The Witch of Fulton Lane, and Valentine 5, I was stretching myself way too thin. Plus, I have a few side projects I’ve been working on for other people. In order to give Righteous the attention it deserves, I thought it would be best to postpone working on it until January 2018. This way, I’ll be able to give you the best version of the book I can possibly give, instead of rushing through it.

Until next week folks…