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Hey Kayla! If you're looking for a treasure hunty-type show, have you checked out Outer Banks? It's not super pirate-y but there are a lot of references to (fictional) historical pirates and it heavily features a treasure hunt and is super vibey. It's not a fantasy or anything so I don't know if you will be into it as far as needing the vibes for your story, but it's definitely my favourite show on Canadian Netflix right now!

Hi Kayla, congrats on the website and Your Progress on the book. I have had that happen before and its amazing. Signed up for the newsletter also and cant wait to read it as well. If you need another beta reader hope you will remember me. Take Care

Love love love this! So excited for you and to read BTW! ❤

I really enjoyed this vlog. I hope you get the ending the way you want it and am excited to see how everything goes!

Loved this vlog so much!! So sweet hearing you talk about how the beta reader applications made you cry :’) can’t wait to hear more about this part of the process once you get the feedback!

So excited to hear about the beta reader feedback in a few weeks! I hope finishing your ending goes smoothly for Thursday. ❤

as long as you keep going, you can't fail!

That last part was so candid and humbling! 🥹 I have huge dreams of being a full-time indie and I'm like 80% sure my debut will be meh - BUUUT, it's gonna be a learning experience! ♡ Thanks for being so transparent about your process.

Kayla I need to know where you got that purple hoodie!! It's soooo pretty

I feel like if I wrote a "script" for my novel, it would make things a lot easier for me. Especially if I did it by chapter... hmmm

I'm going to try the dialogue first tip! I always get stuck when writing action scenes, and I think this will really help. Excited that your project is getting into the hands of beta readers, too.

Enjoyed this vlog so much, new subscriber here 😉

1:28 okay yes felt I’ve been feeling this more and more too!! I’d love to be doing this full time too 🥹 we will get there!!!!!!

I do dialogue first, too, and then I add the details in later. I hate writing descriptive scenes, but they’re needed. 😅 I like to watch CZcams videos while I write because it helps me focus. I have a few scenes I need to scratch and rewrite as I finish my second book. I had my first burnout for my first book because I would only write.

Thanks for the inspo - brought my laptop for the airplane and planning to CRANK!! 😉

You have no idea how much I needed this video. Our writing journeys seem to have been very, very similar to each other, though you’re farther along in yours. Thank you so much!

I actually love the long vlogs. Also, I love that you came to the realization by the end of this vlog that beta readers are there to help you clean up your manuscript. A lot of the concerns you have will be addressed when they do their part. That's the best thing about a beta reader. If you have something super specific, I suggest that you let them know. This way they can specifically look for that and give you feedback on top of everything else they are addressing.

This will certainly be a fun part of the process. Under better circumstances I'd take on a read of your material, having really enjoyed your poems ... alas, June is destined to be among the most dumpster-fire months of my life. Good luck on this.

The note in the library book was SO CUTE ☺You've reminded me I need to pick up the third book in that series! I remember loving the second book! Also I looove longer vlogs!

I filled out the form early too! (We’re excited! 😂) I’m absolutely open to a relationship/critique partnership as the story grows, I think that’s an excellent way forward! ❤

I was too interested about filling the form so I didn’t even watch this whole video but I’m also interested about the beta change/ critique back and forth thing

Please don't apologize for the long vlogs!! I really love the longer form content it's so motivating

I filled out the form before I finished the video and heard your comment about that, but I would definitely be down for a long-term beta/critique partner relationship! 😊

This is the form of the Law. Beta read for beta read? ❤

AHH!! ♡ It's happening, it's really happening 🥰 Congrats on moving to the next step! 👏🏾 Already jealous of the beta readers and they haven't even been picked yet lol

it's getting there! aaah, I can't wait for you to continue on with this story *-*

I think I may have answered the publishing part wrong haha, I'm Tia and I haven't been published (this sounds like a support meeting 😂)

So exciting, congratulations!

Settling back in always starts in the doldrums but becomes very satisfying. In regards to those revisions: challenge yourself with those moving parts. March into the eye of the storm, pin down everything that DOES work, and let the rest blow away.

Guess who peeped your indie author stack at 19:00? 👀 I totally feel you though! Pacing and productivity is subjective... but I _promise you_ - Your timing couldn't be more perfect ❤ We're all seeing your progress and I'm sure your beta readers won't mind letting you know too!

Have you considered finding a writing group in your city or online to participate in? It can be really helpful to do more regular critiques, it kind of helps you iterate on a project rather than building it up as one huge event when you finally do a beta read. Just an idea that could maybe make the process more joyful and supported, and the prospect of critique less weighty!

Hey! I emailed you about sending you a journal and apparently my email address has been funky lately so just wanted to make sure it went through! 🫶

Here for the rambling and the long videos (I listen while I do mundane housework and it makes me happy😊) and the real author talk. Also thanks for sharing your reads! This whole video just made me so happy and eager to work on my own writing (and to go hiking soon! I miss it:) Best of luck as you continue your work on Between the Waves. You have absolutely got this!

Long vlogs for the win 🥳

I have never heard such truer words spoken about false assumptions between plotting and pantsing. Thank you.

I’m feeling the same! I’m worried my book won’t go well as a first time romance author and I’ve watched so many book tubers that I’m scared about the critique. 😅 I prefer reading on my Kindle. The proofreading is hard and I don’t think I’m going to do a 200K word project again.

Ugh I felt this so bad! I think most of writing is pushing through self doubts and those voices in your head, or even just trust that eventually things will make sense. and i feel like hardest part is not having people who can "relate" to that struggle that is so particular to writers.

This chaos is part of life. 😄

"As long as I keep writing, I never technically failed." Yep, getting tatted across my forehead. That's a neat way of looking at consistency and creativity 😮🙌🏾

This was so relaxing and informative to watch. You just made the video more natural rather than everything bombarding at once so its difficult to keep up. Well done. Something i was wondering is you say youll be using this but how do you carry on from this point? Is this just a reference tool? or are you going to go more in depth with like actual writing in this app? Like is it only for note taking or do you have more use for this? Another question does this not get overloaded with too many references? Say like I have a to do list for the week but i dont want to search for my novel notes just to find my to do lists. You know what i am saying? Like say I want to take a hike or bike ride. But when i look through my notes when im writing content for a book i dont want to see my hiking trip in the search results with my novel scenes...you know? what im trying to say is can you separate your life notes/journal from work from personal projects? Or is it all jumbled together in a "all-in-one" note book? If im at work/school I dont wanna be writing research documents and find my home recipes. You get what im saying? Thanks.

I love this! It's refreshing to see the beginning of a writer's journey. Most people i have seen have already published at least 1 or 2 books. I am just trying to get started on my own book and many of the fears you have described here are just like mine. Especially the one about knowing your characters extensively before writing. This fear, the fact that everything about the character isn't decided as well as many plot holes that I don't know how to fill are the reason that I haven't gotten past the planning stages at all in about 1.5-2 years.

Great video!!

The link for your book won't let me buy it, I'm in the USA and my guess is that the link is for regions outside of the USA.

I love your take on characters, I couldn't agree more! I just filmed a video last week about developing my characters. I don't think it's helpful to answer questions about what my character eats for breakfast or what their favorite color is, especially before I even start drafting and get to know them!

I am still trying to relearn that it's okay to skip around. I think because I'm such a heavy plotter, I'm afraid I'll miss something vital and the idea of multiple drafts trying to fix my mistakes sound so daunting. this is great advice though. writing is a journey and it's not meant to be "hard". I just want to have fun haha

The thumbnail confused me a little, but in the end I got it.

Hi Kayla, it’s Kari! My first comment on CZcams. I do not plot but I do write my ideas down. I’m always changing scenes if it doesn’t work out, but it’s definitely a hassle. I’ve changed my book so many times and I eventually burned out, but now I have learned from my mistakes, I can improve my craft. My first book was a nightmare and its second book is going really well. I always have the beginning and ending written out, but the middle is always the hard part. I’m content with my first book, but it’s not my best. I’m starting to read again to get better at writing. ❤

I used to feel awful whenever I abandoned a story, especially when I had spent so much time on it. But following my intuition and moving on ended up being the best decision for my writing. Thanks for sharing! 😊

I hope you enjoy Howl’s Moving Castle! I really like the movie, but I love the book even more. 😊

Hiiii! Do you think you could make a video on resources you have used (aside from college) that have helped you hone your writing? Not sure if you already had something like that out. Thank you thank you <3