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You Know What They Say About Nothing Ventured...
Last year I queried my novel multiple times, and I submitted several short stories dozens of times, all to no avail. Even though it was...
allieyohn
Mar 102 min read
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Writing Motivation
This post could also be called "what keeps you going when rejection is a constant response to your work?" Except that wouldn't be quite...
allieyohn
Jan 284 min read
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Educational Disadvantages and the Writing World (Part Two)
Uneducated does not mean stupid. Merriam Webster's definition of Uneducated is "having or showing little or no formal schooling." Things...
allieyohn
Jan 185 min read
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Educational Disadvantages and the Writing World (Part One)
I have what many in the writing community would consider a dirty secret. And that secret is that I could no sooner diagram a sentence for...
allieyohn
Jan 124 min read
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The Class Problem in Crime Fiction (Part Two)
Trigger warning- Mentions of rape and violence When I was considering the way finances impact writing, there were two focus points for...
allieyohn
Jan 87 min read
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The Class Problem in Crime Fiction (Part One)
One of the writing groups I'm involved in for Sisters in Crime (Guppies) has a listserv type system where members can post and join...
allieyohn
Dec 31, 20246 min read
106 views
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Rejections are a part of writing (a lesson I'm REALLY learning this year)
“Work like hell! I had 122 rejection slips before I sold a story.” ― F. Scott Fitzgerald I got a rejection on my novel query (one of the...
allieyohn
Nov 26, 20242 min read
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November without NaNo
Aside from 2020 (which was a dumpster fire in every possible way), I've participated in NaNoWriMo every year since 2015. Up until last...
allieyohn
Nov 13, 20244 min read
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Being Smart About Fire Safety
Fair warning, this blog is link heavy, but with good reason. October 6-12 is National Fire Prevention Week . Fires have impacted my life...
allieyohn
Oct 8, 20247 min read
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Marketing (and Other Dirty Words)
I have a mentor for Sisters in Crime, the ever wonderful and patient Michele Drier . She is pushing me in every Zoom meeting to get out...
allieyohn
Sep 20, 20242 min read
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Writing About Death
Many people, maybe even most people, are afraid to talk about death. It 's as if they're worried that speaking about death will make the...
allieyohn
Sep 16, 20243 min read
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We Love Libraries
I wrote a piece this month for Sisters In Crime's " We Love Libraries " newsletter. Per their website: In 2010, Sisters in Crime...
allieyohn
Aug 20, 20242 min read
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Writing Conventions
I was lucky enough to attend StokerCon 2024 in San Diego at the end of May. It was my first convention and was an enlightening, and...
allieyohn
Jul 12, 20246 min read
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Mentorship in the writing community
I've been writing for decades, with little success. Turns out that combining imposter syndrome, severe mental illness, and hyper...
allieyohn
Apr 18, 20243 min read
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All Good (on the Surface) Things Must Come to an End
Trigger warning: Mention of child exploitation & sexual assault In 2015, I participated in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) for...
allieyohn
Mar 15, 20247 min read
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The missing stairs in the writing community
One of those things that you somehow never expect about the writing community is the number of super creepy men who use it to prey on...
allieyohn
Jan 26, 20243 min read
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Unmasking a Pen Name (with link to said pen name at the bottom)
That I am not the most prolific writer in any of my writing groups is not in dispute. I have, by far, the least amount of publishing...
allieyohn
Jan 5, 202410 min read
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The Temptation of a New Writing Project
There comes a moment when I'm working on a piece/story/novel for a while where I start to hate what I'm writing. And that's where the...
allieyohn
Dec 8, 20235 min read
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1 comment
Giving and Receiving Feedback
One of the biggest mistakes you can make as a writer is to decide you don't need feedback. No matter how long you've been writing or how...
allieyohn
Nov 28, 20234 min read
21 views
1 comment
Doing NaNoWriMo When You Know You Won't Win
This is my eighth year of doing NaNoWriMo. And this will be the first one at which I will fail. For anyone who hasn't heard me, or...
allieyohn
Nov 5, 20234 min read
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