nicolewoolaston

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The Monday Topic July 28, 2025: Should There Be A Happy Ending?

When we’re young, we tend to learn things by starting out as simply as possible. When I first learned about how to write a story, I was told I needed a beginning, a middle and an end. When I became a little older, I learned story writing was more complicated than that. I also needed exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution. Later, I learned about protagonists,…

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New Book Dropping Soon!

It feels good to finish something. I have several projects in the works, and I wasn’t sure which one I was going to complete first, but it looks like it’s going to be the tenth book in the Our Lady of Righteous Rage Companion series. I’m three chapters away from completing The Edwards Sisters. It began its debut on the Woolaston Entertainment Patreon page, and will be released in ebook and…

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The Monday Topic July 21, 2025: Research Doesn't Have To Be Boring

Welcome to another Monday Topic, everyone. I’m sorry for not posting last Monday, but my library is in the middle of switching to a new system, and most of my time has been split between learning to use it and keeping up with my other tasks. Needless to say, things have been extremely busy. I managed to get some writing done over the weekend, and it inspired today’s topic. Research! Ugh, I used…

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LOUDER Than Ever

It’s fun to write a book in which your characters go through life changes and family drama, while you yourself are also going through life changes and family drama (try boomers fighting over an estate and the need to find a new apartment, pronto). It makes you feel more connected to your writing. I’m working on several things, but nothing gives me more pleasure than writing an Our Lady of…

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The Monday Topic July 7, 2025: Failure Is A Wonderful Thing

Yes, I know what you’re thinking: she must be crazy. How could failure be wonderful? No one wants to fail at anything ever! Ah, but failure is a wonderful thing, because it’s one of the best teachers you’ll ever have. “To do something that you feel in your heart that’s great, you need to make a lot of mistakes. Anything that’s successful is a series of mistakes.” —Billie Joe Armstrong, frontman…

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The Monday Topic June 30, 2025: Best Platform To Build An Author Website

Happy Monday, ladies and gentlemen, and everyone in between. Today’s Monday Topic is designed to help you find the best platform to use to build an author website. Some of you are probably thinking: Do I need an author website? The answer, in my humble opinion, is YES, YOU DO! An author website is a great way to connect with your readers, as well as other writers. You can promote your writing,…

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Publishing Q & A Box: Is It Okay To Have Quiet Days When Writing?

Good morning everyone! There was a question in the Publishing Q & A box that I’d like to answer, and it’s a good one. First, let me say I’m sorry for answering this one so late. But, here we go: “Is it okay to have quiet days when writing? Say if, you’ve been working on your writing for the past few weeks then you just go quiet…nothing to say, nothing to jot down…nothing to put together. You…

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The Monday Topic: June 23, 2025 Traditional or Self Publishing?

You’ve written a book! How extraordinary! You want to publish it, but the question is: how? Should you use a traditional publisher, or should you self publish? It’s a very important question. Both options are going to require some work on your behalf. How much or how little effort you’re willing to put it, may determine your results. Let’s say you decide to use a traditional publisher. First,…

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The Joy of Writing For Yourself

Thriller author Dana Haynes once said, “The First Reader for your story is you”. When I read that, I had to pause. As writers, when it comes to our writing I think we focus on our audience first when truthfully, we should focus on ourselves. This is especially true of anything we’re planning to publish. We want people to like our writing. But the real question is: do you like your writing? I…

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The Monday Topic June 9, 2025: Content Warnings

Warning: the following post is going to talk about content warnings. Hello dear readers and writers. Today’s Monday topic: Content Warnings. You’re probably wondering what a content warning is. Think about the ratings you see on the movies you watch. There’s G, PG, NC-17, and the dreaded R. These ratings are designed to inform the viewer of what type of material or content is in the movie, and…

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From the Woolaston Writing Workshop...

The Monday Topic June 2, 2025: Don’t Let Writer’s Guilt Get You Down

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The Monday Topic June 2, 2025: Don't Let Writer's Guilt Get You Down

Look up in the sky! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s…it’s just the Monday Topic. Sorry, no Superman here. There is something every working writer must deal with at some point. When I say working writer, I’m referring to the fact that not every writer is able to financially sustain themselves on their writing alone. Oh, what a wonderful world that would be! Alas, it’s not true for every writer.…

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Moving In Silence

Have you ever heard of “quiet quitting” ? It’s when an employee does the minimum that is expected of them at work. In other words, doing just enough to keep your job. I have a natural tendency to work harder than I probably should, which often leads to me feeling tired and burnt out at the end of my work day. I used to think quiet quitting was wrong, but lately it’s been looking better and…

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Farewell Can Be Bittersweet

It’s Good Friday, everyone. I hope you had a good week. My week has been a bit stressful. On Tuesday morning, my grandfather passed away. Grandpa James was 97, and the last of eight children; the last of his generation. I have a few fond memories of him. One of my favorites is walking with him in Central Park. I was about ten or eleven, and he could easily out-walk me. Sometimes he’d stop and…

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Thumbs Up for The Edwards Sisters

I just wanted to share the comment that was left on my Patreon Page for The Edwards Sisters. Little moments like this can really brighten a writer’s day. Thank you Enunny (aka Ebunnygirl) 🙂

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Writers Can Be Murderers

I am a murderer. It took my some time to realize this, but it’s true. I have killed. In fact, I’ve killed more than once. When I was working on the draft for Valentine R: Book Two, I knew someone close to Val needed to die. She’s never lost anyone close to her (I won’t say who died in this post for those of you who haven’t read the book yet. For those who have, please don’t mention them in the…

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"The Edwards Sisters" on Patreon

Happy Friday, everyone! I just wanted to drop an update. Chapter One of The Edwards Sisters, Our Lady Companion Book #10, is available to read on Patreon. I’ll add some artwork as soon as I finish it. Enjoy!