IWSG - Success

Insecure Writer's Support Group

Purpose of the IWSG: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds! Join us HERE!

The Question:

How do you define success as a writer? Is it holding your book in your hand? Having a short story published? Making a certain amount of income from your writing?

My Answer

All the above. Success is typing 'The End' at the finish of that first draft and then highlighting it bold after the final edit. It's also hitting publish button on Amazon or signing that contract for publication. Signing your first copy to a reader. Getting a five-star review. Winning a place in a popular anthology or placing in a writing contest.

This year, for me, it's finishing a series, and starting a new one.

Each incident has its own feeling of satisfaction, and they should all be celebrated!

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&

DON'T FORGET TO JOIN US

FOR THE wep'S NEXT

 CHALLENGE

October's scream

*****

 Remember to say hi to the co-hosts Rebecca Douglass, T. Powell Coltrin @Journaling Woman, Natalie Aguirre, Karen Lynn, and C. Lee McKenzie!

KEEP WRITING!

KEEP READING!

and thanks for stopping by!

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IWSG - On Writing

Insecure Writer's Support Group

Purpose of the IWSG: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds! Join us!

The Question:

What is your favorite writing craft book? Think of a book that every time you read it you learn something or you are inspired to write or try the new technique. And why?

My Answer

On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, by Stephen King. When doubts crept in, this book helped to inspire me to continue. And I love trying new things, always.

Here are some of my favorite quotes from his book On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft

 

"The scariest moment is always

just before you start.”

 

“you can, you should,

and if you’re brave enough to start,

you will.”

 

“Description begins in the writer’s imagination, but should finish in the reader’s.”

 

“Write with the door closed,

rewrite with the door open.”

 

“Writing is not life,

but I think that sometimes

it can be a way back to life.”

 

The next one though is the most important:

 “You cannot hope to sweep someone else away

by the force of your writing

until it has been done to you.”

 

―Stephen King, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft

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&

DON'T FORGET TO JOIN US

FOR THE wep'S NEXT

 CHALLENGE

fREEDOME OF SPEECH

*****

 And don't forget the outstanding co-hosts this month:

PK Hrezo, Cathrina Constantine, PJ Colando, Kim Lajevardi, and Sandra Cox!

Be sure to say hello!

KEEP WRITING!

and thanks for stopping by!

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IWSG - News & Announcements

Insecure Writer's Support Group

Purpose of the IWSG: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds! Join us!

The Question:

What would make you quit writing?

My Answer

I don't think anything other than significant health issues could make me quit. I might take a break now and then, but I always come back to it. When an idea forms, it won't go away until it's on paper.

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I'm also thrilled to report that I'm guest posting at

https://dencovey.blogspot.com/

regarding my newest release 

 A Passion for Murder

&

announcing 

Denise Covey is determined to make 2021 her year.

Starting with the release of Fast & Furious Short Fiction,

an introduction to her soon-to-be-published books! 

Get your copy HERE!

Sign up for her Newsletter HERE!

'Denise is trying her hand at Bookfunnel promotions to build her newsletter list. She'd love it if you clicked on some of the Paranormal Romance books in the link she's shared with me. You'll see her first in a four-book series Paranormal Renaissance Romance, Betrayed, is amongst them. 

She's happy with the downloads of her free short story so far - her introduction to her hero, Duke Vipunin de Castellina. 

How about helping Denise out? 

Click on this link now, find Betrayed, and download your freebie.'

https://books.bookfunnel.com/hauntedpnrpromo/gihk72cf02

GREAT THINGS ARE HAPPENING FOR DENISE

DON'T MISS OUT ON YOUR OPPORTUNITY

TO BE PART OF IT!

*****

 And don't forget our outstanding co-hosts this month:

 Pat Garcia, Victoria Marie Lees, Chemist Ken, & Louise – Fundy Blue!

Be sure to say hello!

KEEP WRITING!

and thanks for stopping by!

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WEP - When to let go...

Insecure Writer's Support Group

Purpose of the IWSG: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds! Join us!

The Question:

For how long do you shelve your first draft, before reading it and re-drafting? Is this dependent on your writing experience and the number of stories/books under your belt?

My Answer

It depends on many things, but I've never felt that I released a book too soon.

My latest WIP, A Passion for Murder, has been shelved many times this last year. It's the final book in my Alaskan Mystery Series, and I want it to be worthy of that title. I've sent it out to beta readers, and while I received positive responses. I still wasn't happy.

I've done another re-write, and now, finally, I think it's ready. I'll know for sure after a read-aloud edit, but I don't regret taking my time. It may frustrate the readers, but time, I've found, only makes the story better.

 The outstanding co-hosts this month are:

J Lenni Dorner, Sarah Foster, Natalie Aguirre, & Rachna Chhabria!

Be sure to say hello!

KEEP WRITING!

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Announcing!

GREAT WAVE!

The Great Wave is an iconic work created in the 1820’s by Hokusai. Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849) was a  Japanese artist from the Edo period. He was a master of Ukiyo-e, a genre of woodblock prints and paintings very popular at the time in his country. Ukiyo-e translates loosely as ‘images of the floating world.’ The Great Wave of Kanagawa, also condensed to The Great Wave, is part of a series called Thirty-six views of Mount Fuji, is Hokusai’s most well-known work. Have a peek at the series here. And read more about Hokusai here.

The immediate response to this prompt could be to relate it to the tsunami of 2004 or the Japanese nuclear disaster. And it is a small step from there to jump to the climate issues we are facing round the world, the unprecedented weather patterns and natural disasters small and large.

But a great wave need not be always of water – it can be a great wave of refugees. And of soldiers. Or protesters and last but not the least, voters.

Equally a great wave of an emotion – pain, love, bitterness, rage, nausea, which one will your characters feel?

It could even be a small wave, we'll leave the size up to you – the wave of a hand, the flutter of a flag. Or cravat/tie.

So many places to float away to, which one will you choose with this prompt?

Join the WEP for the third challenge

of a very

artistic year!

IWSG - Break Out of the Mold

Insecure Writer's Support Group

Purpose of the IWSG: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds! Join us!

The Question:

Are you a risk-taker when writing? Do you try something radically different in style/POV/etc. or add controversial topics to your work?

 The Answer

I'd like to think so. I know that formula writing goes against my grain. Mostly, though, I just write what I like to read. And as an avid reader, I read everything. I find it hard to understand limits, but many have refused to read my work because of the subject. 

Still, to each his own...I write for the love of writing and because I have something to say.

 The outstanding co-hosts this month are:

PK Hrezo,

Pat Garcia,

SE White,

Lisa Buie Collard,

&

Diane Burton!

Be sure to say hello!

KEEP WRITING!

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Announcing!

FREEDOM MORNING

Freedom Morning is a watercolor by Claude Clark, the African American artist, and art educator painted in 1941.

“As a child in the churches, the schools, and the community, I dreamed of a destiny. My search became a single purpose for the dignity of Black Americans.”

Claude Clark was born in Georgia in 1915. His art characterizes the African American diaspora experience. He faced prejudice, poverty, and racism but did not allow these to deter him. He mixed his own paints from the trashed tubes in art schools. When he could not afford the expensive brushes and cleaning agents, he developed his unique technique with the palette knife. Read more about his remarkable life here.

The interpretation of art (and prompts!) is in the eye of the beholder, and this artwork is rich with possibilities.

Will you let Freedom Morning spark a flash of hope for a systematically suppressed character?

Will someone break free - of chains, of the past, of a closed mindset - after years of living with them?

Or maybe someone will watch a brand-new sunrise and decide to start life afresh? Rise to a challenge? :) Overcome a hardship?

Take the artwork as a whole or in part and seed that into imagination. Your canvas is unlimited.

Thank you, Nila!

Join the WEP for this second challenge

of a very

artistic year!

IWSG - Friendship

Insecure Writer's Support Group

Purpose of the IWSG: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds! Join us!

The Question:

Blogging is often more than just sharing stories. It’s often the start of special friendships and relationships. Have you made any friends through the blogosphere?

 The Answer

I have so many lovely friends through my interactions in the blogosphere, and I cherish each and every one. I've improved my writing with each interaction, but I've developed as a person with each close relationship.

 The outstanding co-hosts this month are:

Louise - Fundy Blue, 

Jennifer Lane, 

Mary Aalgaard, 

Patsy Collins at Womagwriter, 

&

Nancy Gideon!

Be sure to say hello!

KEEP WRITING!

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Announcing the first challenge of the

New Year!

FIRST KISS!

Join us for this first challenge

of a very

artistic year!

IWSG - Unnecessary Prose

Insecure Writer's Support Group

Purpose of the IWSG: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds! Join us!

I hope you all had a glorious holiday 

and have started the New Year 

with confidence and purpose!

Once again I'm relying on the 

Question posted to fill my post.

Question - Being a writer, when you're reading someone else's work, what stops you from finishing a book/throws you out of the story/frustrates you the most about other people's books?

 Answer: - I just finished a mystery set in the English countryside, one of my favorite places. The mystery was a good one, a who-done-it with great characters, and well written,  but filled with constant rehashing of the clues and motives.

It drew me out of the story continuously. At first, I thought it was the author's first book and understood because I know I did the same thing in my first attempt, but it was the third book. By then, the editor should have caught that, if not the author.

I finished the book, but I won't be reading another. There are very few books that I just couldn't finish. That's because they simply didn't hold my interest, usually because I find myself not caring about the characters or the storyline. It's very disappointing when the description fails to fit the book.

 The outstanding co-hosts this month are:

Ronel Janse van Vuuren 

J Lenni Dorner

Gwen Gardner 

Sandra Cox 

Louise - Fundy Blue!

Be sure to say hello!

KEEP WRITING!

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