tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22491413845077605172024-02-21T05:27:31.532+11:00The Write ObsessionLanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00002224549199474383noreply@blogger.comBlogger261125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2249141384507760517.post-18202121645073517262018-03-07T20:44:00.006+11:002018-03-07T20:44:53.964+11:00Insecure Writer's Support Group: Reaping the Rewards. Or Lack Thereof. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmMnbssNqxYWsvJ3xjXF9eiSYQwHKYsYEwVwtu31c5jBIr4DVPes8aLKuKGIXATDKyL9jK9sEcRT6xlN7FNgS6rk2wS0hoKLP0oiOaRoMtnta9GUWi223Hb2bJjsap_-bLCrAhDZb1OTc/s1600/InsecureWritersSupportGroup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="274" data-original-width="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmMnbssNqxYWsvJ3xjXF9eiSYQwHKYsYEwVwtu31c5jBIr4DVPes8aLKuKGIXATDKyL9jK9sEcRT6xlN7FNgS6rk2wS0hoKLP0oiOaRoMtnta9GUWi223Hb2bJjsap_-bLCrAhDZb1OTc/s1600/InsecureWritersSupportGroup.jpg" /></a></div>
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Insecure Writer's Support Group is a blog hop hosted by <a href="http://alexjcavanaugh.blogspot.com.au/p/the-insecure-writers-support-group.html">Alex J. Cavanaugh</a> where totally insecure writers can get together and share the things that are making us go argh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="color: #202020;">IWSG Day Question:
</span></b><span style="color: #202020;">How do you celebrate when you achiever a writing goal / finish a story?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #202020;">I
think the sad answer to this question is that I don’t celebrate. I
always mean to, and often use rewards as motivation when I’m trying to
complete a writing challenge like NaNoWriMo,
but when the month is over I tend not to follow through. Nowadays, I don't even give myself time off to relax. It's just straight on to the next project. </span></span></div>
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I guess I’m one of those people who is really good at delayed
gratification. That or I am one of those insane people who lives for the chase rather than the kill (Sorry. Bad imagery. Have been writing too much shifter romance). </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #202020;"> I know it isn't sustainable though. This kind of pace with no reward or down time will likely end in a breakdown. Maybe this is a timely reminder to be kinder to myself. </span></span></div>
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<br />Lanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00002224549199474383noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2249141384507760517.post-84818157817186480522018-02-07T22:36:00.000+11:002018-02-07T22:36:25.870+11:00Insecure Writer's Support Group: Genre Love<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvuOLe1c4dd7anmeMkEp695m8qou7l_Gs_4ERgIHEkgCSymLpxqmEQuAnOGDPqvZBoEy0-dF0E5PplijbWhaCeY3QyS40hJtEm8xH1BgR8F9cBXyWq2mxKAJqQcSwsQ8fkjJNiyjpNRxM/s1600/InsecureWritersSupportGroup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="274" data-original-width="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvuOLe1c4dd7anmeMkEp695m8qou7l_Gs_4ERgIHEkgCSymLpxqmEQuAnOGDPqvZBoEy0-dF0E5PplijbWhaCeY3QyS40hJtEm8xH1BgR8F9cBXyWq2mxKAJqQcSwsQ8fkjJNiyjpNRxM/s1600/InsecureWritersSupportGroup.jpg" /></a></div>
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Insecure Writer's Support Group is a blog hop hosted by <a href="http://alexjcavanaugh.blogspot.com.au/p/the-insecure-writers-support-group.html">Alex J. Cavanaugh</a> where totally insecure writers can get together and share the things that are making us go argh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!<br />
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<b>IWSG Question: What do you love about the genre you write in most often?</b></div>
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If someone had asked me this question a few years
ago I would have gone into a lengthy tirade about how great
sci-fi/dystopia is. But as I sit here trying to formulate a plan for my
publishing career this year, I realise that my growing
WIP list now includes quite a lot of urban fantasy, contemporary YA
romance and most recently some adult paranormal romance. Usually when
I’m done writing a novel in one series I’ll jump straight into editing
or writing the next book in another series. So
right now it’s hard for me to pin down what genre I write in most
often.</div>
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What my novels have in common across all these
genres is strong female characters, lots of action and some sort of
fantastical element. Even in my contemporary romances some far out
things tend to happen (kidnappings, stolen identities,
hacker culture etc). This isn’t a huge surprise because these are the
kinds of books I like to read. I can read any genre as long as it
doesn’t have a shrinking violet heroine and a really slow plot.
Lanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00002224549199474383noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2249141384507760517.post-26346938071189527102018-01-04T06:51:00.004+11:002018-01-04T06:51:52.509+11:00Insecure Writer's Support Group: Resolutions Anyone? <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmMnbssNqxYWsvJ3xjXF9eiSYQwHKYsYEwVwtu31c5jBIr4DVPes8aLKuKGIXATDKyL9jK9sEcRT6xlN7FNgS6rk2wS0hoKLP0oiOaRoMtnta9GUWi223Hb2bJjsap_-bLCrAhDZb1OTc/s1600/InsecureWritersSupportGroup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="274" data-original-width="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmMnbssNqxYWsvJ3xjXF9eiSYQwHKYsYEwVwtu31c5jBIr4DVPes8aLKuKGIXATDKyL9jK9sEcRT6xlN7FNgS6rk2wS0hoKLP0oiOaRoMtnta9GUWi223Hb2bJjsap_-bLCrAhDZb1OTc/s1600/InsecureWritersSupportGroup.jpg" /></a></div>
Insecure Writer's Support Group is a blog hop hosted by <a href="http://alexjcavanaugh.blogspot.com.au/p/the-insecure-writers-support-group.html">Alex J. Cavanaugh</a> where totally insecure writers can get together and share the things that are making us go argh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="color: #202020;">IWSG Day Question: What steps have you taken to put a schedule in place for your writing and publishing? </span></b></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 16px;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">Can I just state first of all that I am loving these monthly questions? It really takes the hassle out of figuring out what I'm going to write about each month. And they always seems to be especially relevant to me. But I digress...</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">I've spent the past few days trying to decide what will be happening with this writing and publishing thing that I appear to have decided to do. I've mentioned previously that I published my first and only novel in September 2015. Since then I've allowed myself to go off on a tangent and write all kinds of other novels in other series. As an indie, I can tell you now, this is not good practice. Any traction that I had with my first novel is now gone. The few people on my mailing list probably don't even remember who I am anymore and the face of indie publishing has changed so much in the past 2 years that when I do publish again I'll have to essentially relearn everything from scratch. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">I guess what I'm saying is that I went into this whole publishing thing with my eyes tightly shut, hoping to just wing it on luck. I'd been writing the same novel for over 4 years and was thoroughly sick to death of it and just wanted it out so I could work on other things. Which was all well and good except that I had nothing to follow it up with. There's a saying that the best way to promote your novel is to write the next one. Well I broke that rule right off the bat. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">The other night someone on one of my FB groups shared <a href="http://kriswrites.com/2017/12/06/business-musings-sustainability/" target="_blank">this blog post</a> about sustainability as an indie author. It's all about treating your writing as a business and setting long term goals so that you don't burn out. There's advice in there about how to sustain the business now that the indie market has matured and it got me thinking about where I eventually want to go with my writing career. How much I can write a year, every year, to sustain my love of writing. I haven't quite figured it out yet but what I do know is that I can't be one of those writers who chases trends and writes what the market demands. It's just not who I am. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">I guess I'm lucky in some ways because when I do write (Mostly during NaNoWriMo months), my word counts can be staggering. I could probably comfortably write 4-6 novels a year if I really needed to. I've realised too that the drafts I write are pretty clean so editing, though mentally tedious, isn't as awful as it once was. I think it's the marketing and self-doubt side of things that makes me pause and want to stick my head in the sand. That's the part that I need to focus on this year. I have about 9 novels in various stages of readiness to publish. If I don't do them soon, it's never going to happen. So I guess that's my rough plan for this year. Publish as many novels as I have ready and figure out what a sustainable number of novels I can write in year will be.</span></span></div>
<br />Lanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00002224549199474383noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2249141384507760517.post-86120222151957792412017-12-06T21:12:00.001+11:002017-12-06T21:12:35.177+11:00Insecure Writer's Support Group: Ahh Hindsight<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf27vrJELZprukz1tFDYUllWLFGB3gTctSd-nuLEHo3aLvnZL1GppycQOPgXcj1qtn9WrKBIkvRYgz1u_xHnnjU2i_ensQKYJSlT5M7pcOGYdwHpYpA7DJX0XWeZWTGfpG1i5SKm0v7gU/s1600/InsecureWritersSupportGroup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="274" data-original-width="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf27vrJELZprukz1tFDYUllWLFGB3gTctSd-nuLEHo3aLvnZL1GppycQOPgXcj1qtn9WrKBIkvRYgz1u_xHnnjU2i_ensQKYJSlT5M7pcOGYdwHpYpA7DJX0XWeZWTGfpG1i5SKm0v7gU/s1600/InsecureWritersSupportGroup.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
Insecure Writer's Support Group is a blog hop hosted by <a href="http://alexjcavanaugh.blogspot.com.au/p/the-insecure-writers-support-group.html">Alex J. Cavanaugh</a> where totally insecure writers can get together and share the things that are making us go argh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="color: #202020;">IWSG Day Question:
</span><span style="color: #202020;">As you look back on 2017, with all its successes and failures, if you could backtrack, what would you do differently?</span></b></span></div>
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Isn’t hindsight just the greatest and worst thing
at the same time? I have just come off a month of brutal NaNoing and can
barely think so this post is going to be in list form:</div>
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-I ended up writing just a little over 162k this
NaNo. That was on top of working full time and also dealing with a few
real life issues. Though I’m proud of the amount I wrote, from a
self-care perspective, I’ll never do that again. Over
the course of the month I got so many headaches and migraines from the
stress of trying to keep on top of everything that in the end it just
wasn’t worth it. I’ll always participate in NaNo but I will be much
better prepared and I won’t have such high expectations
of myself next time.</div>
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-I can’t really say I’ve had much success in my
writing career in 2017. Aside from having written a whole bunch of
words, I have gone another year without publishing again. My first and
only book was published in 2015 and for an indie the
lag time has been too long to make it worthwhile. I've got plans to publish quicker from now on but I need to somehow
stifle the insane perfectionist in me. One thing I would do very
differently is not allow my focus to diverge so much. I could have
published so much more if I didn't just allow myself to write whatever
new story came to mind. Right now I have 6 unfinished series underway.
All at various stages of completion. That has to stop. </div>
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- I think I spent too much time this year stalking people and groups on
social media to the detriment of my own writing. I read somewhere that
if you want to be successful you need to focus on your own progress and
not compare yourself to others. I found myself lamenting why someone
else's writing career was going well when mine wasn't and then came to
the realisation that if I spent as much time writing as I did stalking, I
would probably be much further ahead. </div>
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So I guess to sums things up, 2017 was a year where I learned a great deal about myself and it will lay the foundation for 2018 which is looking to be a very busy year!</div>
Lanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00002224549199474383noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2249141384507760517.post-8476678524636328462017-11-01T23:54:00.000+11:002017-11-01T23:54:19.003+11:00Insecure Writer's Support Group: NaNoWriMo Edition<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7_vvQpv1GR246RaeeWT68qw-wR0JERi1JC69U3_oGEG9kEj_8rf2xSBt8Nl0MxGzkYstE3MC1acS0MLw-xPmkOd4AxdB20uquKZ6vu7r6H6DUzPqd00fYn5JaFbWc67vS5JCvdVTPUTg/s1600/InsecureWritersSupportGroup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="274" data-original-width="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7_vvQpv1GR246RaeeWT68qw-wR0JERi1JC69U3_oGEG9kEj_8rf2xSBt8Nl0MxGzkYstE3MC1acS0MLw-xPmkOd4AxdB20uquKZ6vu7r6H6DUzPqd00fYn5JaFbWc67vS5JCvdVTPUTg/s1600/InsecureWritersSupportGroup.jpg" /></a></div>
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Insecure Writer's Support Group is a blog hop hosted by <a href="http://alexjcavanaugh.blogspot.com.au/p/the-insecure-writers-support-group.html">Alex J. Cavanaugh</a> where totally insecure writers can get together and share the things that are making us go argh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!</div>
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<b>IWSG Question: Win or not, do you usually finish your NaNo project? Have any of them gone on to be published?</b></div>
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I think I’ve mentioned before in previous posts
that NaNo is just about the only time these days when I get any writing
done. I fact, I’m currently working to change that because I
obsessively write for a month only to burn out and not
write for months after. As a result, I always finish my NaNo projects.
In fact, I got in to NaNo and Camp NaNo with the express intention of
writing my next novel with a view of eventually publishing it.
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This year I took leave of my senses and decided
that on top of NaNo I would also join a yearly writing challenge called
Get Your Words Out. This is a challenge done out of LiveJournal and
Dreamwidth in which participants pledge the amount
they’re going to write for the year. For some reason that I now cannot
remember, I chose to pledge the insane amount of 500k. At the moment I’m
sitting on about 300k words written. So I have another 200k to write
before <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1752229489" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ">31 December</span></span>
or I fail. Suffice to say,
my anxiety level is through the roof right now. I know I should cut
myself some slack but the thought of not winning really bugs me. Hence
the reason for the word obsession in this blog name. I just hope I don’t
burn out completely by doing this.
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To all those participating in NaNo, good luck! See you all on the other side.
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<br />Lanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00002224549199474383noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2249141384507760517.post-6041655272972810912017-08-03T05:39:00.000+10:002017-08-03T05:39:46.611+10:00Insecure Writer's Support Group: Pet Peeves or This is my Life<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj85vTFXI7wggA2Mxlii4fKtNeTS9G5yI85QSMoqy60BZkutCWwZBpCFeISgrkq44wWG8gfyfxriEM6QY4TXa56RxUSUWzloHWO2Ck4DMMoobp-uVyYx47cC0sg50_OuHBxCEZcpSYfJyw/s1600/InsecureWritersSupportGroup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="274" data-original-width="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj85vTFXI7wggA2Mxlii4fKtNeTS9G5yI85QSMoqy60BZkutCWwZBpCFeISgrkq44wWG8gfyfxriEM6QY4TXa56RxUSUWzloHWO2Ck4DMMoobp-uVyYx47cC0sg50_OuHBxCEZcpSYfJyw/s1600/InsecureWritersSupportGroup.jpg" /></a></div>
Insecure Writer's Support Group is a blog hop hosted by <a href="http://alexjcavanaugh.blogspot.com.au/p/the-insecure-writers-support-group.html">Alex J. Cavanaugh</a> where totally insecure writers can get together and share the things that are making us go argh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!<br />
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<b>August’s Question is: <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">What are your pet peeves when reading/writing/editing?</span></span></b><br />
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This post is super late I know! Thanks to post Camp Nanowrimo madness I seem to have lost the ability to think about anything else writing related.<br />
This topic is probably a little too close to my heart. I'm one of those people who gets ticked off really easily by small things and because of my obsessive personality, those small things can then turn me off of something completely.<br />
When reading, stuff like love triangles and stupid characters are a death sentence for a book in my eyes.<br />
Writing is such a lonely pursuit sometimes that I think about giving it up for all the stress it causes me but that's not really a pet peeve. It's life.<br />
So then there's editing. If you know me at all or have read any of my past IWSG posts, you'll know that I despise editing with a fiery passion. I just write 175k words in July for Camp Nanowrimo. The thought of editing any of those words is almost physically painful. It doesn't feel productive to me (which is known is crazy). It feels like grinding the same axe all over again and that's tedious. In the time I'm editing I could be writing so many more words.<br />
Then today something occurred to me: I write so quickly that I sometimes conjure up worlds, fall I love with characters and then before I have a chance to enjoy them, the story is over. Editing is my chance to slow down and remember why I loved the writing in the first place. It's a chance to revisit old friends I didn't know I was missing. I don't know if I'll feel the same way after re-reading my novels dozens of time before I press edit but anything is better than the no editing limbo I've been in for the last 5 years!Lanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00002224549199474383noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2249141384507760517.post-55629932038872309712017-06-07T19:18:00.000+10:002017-06-07T19:18:04.403+10:00Insecure Writer's Support Group: Over the Edge<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic_TU0F13f8NG1GLBYeR1F9uuQqjTrw-eraK_NX9reSzVEIzalSlSapy9c_A1UD81lw1aYRhK5TAFATxpbr3ez7aUH_DJVfgvWaU-wOoGQfThECd5teP8shsHLgdvhDszhxDDyiQ-j1zo/s1600/InsecureWritersSupportGroup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="274" data-original-width="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic_TU0F13f8NG1GLBYeR1F9uuQqjTrw-eraK_NX9reSzVEIzalSlSapy9c_A1UD81lw1aYRhK5TAFATxpbr3ez7aUH_DJVfgvWaU-wOoGQfThECd5teP8shsHLgdvhDszhxDDyiQ-j1zo/s1600/InsecureWritersSupportGroup.jpg" /></a></div>
Insecure Writer's Support Group is a blog hop hosted by <a href="http://alexjcavanaugh.blogspot.com.au/p/the-insecure-writers-support-group.html">Alex J. Cavanaugh</a> where totally insecure writers can get together and share the things that are making us go argh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!<br />
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<b>June’s Question is: Did you ever say “I quit”? If so, what happened to make you come back to writing?</b></div>
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I actually feel like I want to quit right now! It’s
not the writing that gets me down as an indie, it’s the marketing and
keeping up with everything that needs to be done in order to stay on top
of my game. It doesn’t help that I’ve recently
joined an indie FB group with over 10k members, a lot of whom are very
experienced and make over six figures a year (some even make six figures
a month!). It’s hard not to do the comparison thing when I see their
posts and it makes me feel like no matter how
much time and energy I put into this pursuit, I’m already so far behind
and I’ll never catch up. On top of that is the fact that I despise
technology. It’s a miracle that I even have a blog. So to think about
all the things I need to do just to make sure I
remain relevant makes me feel exhausted before I have even finished
writing. The only thing that keeps me going is stubbornness. I refuse to
be that person who gives up when there are so many out there making it
work!</div>
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<br />Lanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00002224549199474383noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2249141384507760517.post-36729246041531024342017-05-03T19:03:00.000+10:002017-05-04T08:21:43.408+10:00Insecure Writer's Support Group: Bane of My Existence<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlT5R3pre1cFfB05KzGPXXr5lgIdCaJIhRo6dPg42BXff1YI8D8XAdn1qRr2wKbEz3VQ8jcr4ZFwEaUs1HQ2QuSRrlLBWenyGvmF4wZV5U9Gk5QhcaSF7pRlncrZDfBr3tbZpMtIHdypE/s1600/InsecureWritersSupportGroup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlT5R3pre1cFfB05KzGPXXr5lgIdCaJIhRo6dPg42BXff1YI8D8XAdn1qRr2wKbEz3VQ8jcr4ZFwEaUs1HQ2QuSRrlLBWenyGvmF4wZV5U9Gk5QhcaSF7pRlncrZDfBr3tbZpMtIHdypE/s1600/InsecureWritersSupportGroup.jpg" /></a></div>
Insecure Writer's Support Group is a blog hop hosted by <a href="http://alexjcavanaugh.blogspot.com.au/p/the-insecure-writers-support-group.html">Alex J. Cavanaugh</a> where totally insecure writers can get together and share the things that are making us go argh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!<br />
<br />
<b>May's question is: What is the weirdest/coolest thing you ever had to research for your story?</b>
<br />
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I think I’ve complained on here a number of times
about how much I dislike research. It’s number two on my list of things I
hate about being a writer after editing. Sadly, much like editing,
research is unavoidable. Which is why I try and
write what I know as much as I can! Most of my characters so far have
been gardeners/florist/<wbr></wbr>horticulturalists. For my novel Poison which
has its base in genetically modified organisms, I watched a lot of
documentaries just to get a bit of a big picture idea
of who the key players are. If you haven’t seen Food Inc. I really
recommend it. I don’t know if I would class it as cool but all the
things Monsanto do to our food supply is eye opening.
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
I’m going to be starting an urban fantasy series
soon that’s going to require a lot of research. Though I’m not exactly
looking forward to it, I’m hoping the copious amounts of research that I
do early on will mean writing will be a breeze.
Only time will tell! <br />
<br />Lanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00002224549199474383noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2249141384507760517.post-23995335043752563942017-02-28T21:30:00.000+11:002017-02-28T21:30:01.204+11:00Insecure Writer's Support Group: What's Old is New Again<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcEp10_kDtAQR7XJ7LrfapvZniUTx0EdongOW0lfT1sfxFpP1U5NWstJbGxSG_4fGn898NQx3WRl48jfaGV_I9lWSJf9b_dQ3mx02-ZIkJJlK5guE-O9B3QKXA_vrSOMetnVBOcCdhmi0/s1600/InsecureWritersSupportGroup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcEp10_kDtAQR7XJ7LrfapvZniUTx0EdongOW0lfT1sfxFpP1U5NWstJbGxSG_4fGn898NQx3WRl48jfaGV_I9lWSJf9b_dQ3mx02-ZIkJJlK5guE-O9B3QKXA_vrSOMetnVBOcCdhmi0/s1600/InsecureWritersSupportGroup.jpg" /></a></div>
Insecure Writer's Support Group is a blog hop hosted by <a href="http://alexjcavanaugh.blogspot.com.au/p/the-insecure-writers-support-group.html">Alex J. Cavanaugh</a> where totally insecure writers can get together and share the things that are making us go argh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!<br />
<br />
<b>February's question is: Have you ever pulled out a really old story and reworked it? Did it work out?</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
When I saw this question in the IWSG newsletter, I couldn't help wondering if the universe was trying to give me a sign. When I was 16, I started writing a YA story about teenagers with telepathic powers. Twelve years later I dusted off the idea and wrote my very first novel. It wasn't the greatest thing ever written but I thought it was good enough to query to agents. It wasn't. After a couple of rejections, I put the manuscript aside and started working on something else.<br />
Then, in 2013 I was struggling to come up with an idea for camp NaNoWriMo when two days before the start it hit me. I suddenly came up with an idea for a novella based on my old story idea and lo and behold it only took me eight days to complete the 30k needed to win. Since then the reworked story has spawned two additional novels and a villain origin story. I worked on the second novel during last NaNo and plan to continue writing the series until the whole thing is done before I even think about publishing.<br />
The story as it currently stands is more nuanced in every way than the original. The voice is stronger. The characters are better. The world building is far and away the biggest difference. I know a part of it is probably that I'm slowly becoming a better writer. But there's a part of me almost thinks that I needed to take such a long break in order to see the story more clearly. It makes me wonder if writers who have already published sometimes look at their novels and wish they'd waited because they've come up with a better way to tell the story!Lanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00002224549199474383noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2249141384507760517.post-16905469382754705592017-02-01T21:34:00.000+11:002017-02-01T21:34:19.388+11:00Insecure Writer's Support Group: The Evolution of a Reader through Writing <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj94E_SWmQQbQSSKW_NQBxM8aDEP2P0DOc92MM2ZDg4NnPj1QV4WkGcFduazP6qaPNCPeb_0_wCNAgRMYiraZGv_Lj4h9aMxjFJoC7mvMeNEoGHgfQom20v7YeZiN2-mGCWADUnFt9vook/s1600/InsecureWritersSupportGroup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj94E_SWmQQbQSSKW_NQBxM8aDEP2P0DOc92MM2ZDg4NnPj1QV4WkGcFduazP6qaPNCPeb_0_wCNAgRMYiraZGv_Lj4h9aMxjFJoC7mvMeNEoGHgfQom20v7YeZiN2-mGCWADUnFt9vook/s1600/InsecureWritersSupportGroup.jpg" /></a></div>
Insecure Writer's Support Group is a blog hop hosted by <a href="http://alexjcavanaugh.blogspot.com.au/p/the-insecure-writers-support-group.html">Alex J. Cavanaugh</a> where totally insecure writers can get together and share the things that are making us go argh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!<br />
<br />
<b>February's question is: How has being a writer changed your experience as a reader?</b><br />
<br />
I think I actually considered a similar question a while back. It had to do with whether as writers we should continue to review books. At the time I was coming at it from the standpoint of someone who didn't want to lose credibility as an objective reader simply because I also happen to write. I didn't want to become one of those writers who has to tiptoe around book reviews for fear of it coming back to bite me.<b> </b>I thought nothing could ever change the way I read if I just refused to let it.<br />
And then a few months ago I realised that the number of one star reviews I gave got fewer and further between. I stopped caring about forcing myself to read the popular books no matter how much I was hating it along the way. I began to see the effort that would have gone into a book regardless of whether it was one that I was enjoying reading. I began to be less finicky about small things like typos (unless they were rampant!). I wasn't fixated on coming up with snarky one liners for book reviews. If anything, my reading became less about the technicality of writing and more about the storytelling. It's made me see that there's always more than one way a arc can go and a character can act.<br />
In short, I find that I have begun to give authors the benefit of the doubt. I might still not enjoy the novel but I'm less inclined to be disparaging of anything but the most glaring diversion from my own values. <br />
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<span style="font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>Lanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00002224549199474383noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2249141384507760517.post-23911513013403983892017-01-05T09:32:00.001+11:002017-01-05T09:32:52.364+11:00Insecure Writer's Support Group: The Curse of Unpopularity <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7sA6yuE0TmNlc1iGK1yJkqaiGCFk64QOcFPhvVDXh8APYkQWHUsmP4W0ELF3BAHqlg1yj8UGVOl0szVYoyU4N5iw80scG_wM6LxVL2SsGEw54xSxn61hM8qMxkhCti6YK4YLqpZeKp8A/s1600/InsecureWritersSupportGroup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7sA6yuE0TmNlc1iGK1yJkqaiGCFk64QOcFPhvVDXh8APYkQWHUsmP4W0ELF3BAHqlg1yj8UGVOl0szVYoyU4N5iw80scG_wM6LxVL2SsGEw54xSxn61hM8qMxkhCti6YK4YLqpZeKp8A/s1600/InsecureWritersSupportGroup.jpg" /></a></div>
Insecure Writer's Support Group is a blog hop hosted by <a href="http://alexjcavanaugh.blogspot.com.au/p/the-insecure-writers-support-group.html">Alex J. Cavanaugh</a> where totally insecure writers can get together and share the things that are making us go argh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!<br />
A while ago , I wrote about not having the natural writing
skill that some others are just born, this month I want to address the
other thing that I have always lacked: popularity. Or rather my ideas
have never been popular. I’ve
always been somewhat of an outlier but it’s never really bothered me
until recently when I’ve come to the realisation that the way I see
things, my plots and characters, just don’t have mainstream appeal. As
much as some writers and some readers will pretend
that certain popular tropes don’t exist, they do, and they’re not the
kind of thing I enjoy reading or writing.<br />
None of my novels have love
triangles, not all of my characters are attractive, often my heroines
aren’t “nice,” and I don’t prescribe to competitive
female behaviour which is so prevalent in the YA genre. For a long time now I’ve thought of myself as a
writer in the way that Michael Bay is a director. I like all the flashy,
action stuff without much emotional substance behind it. I don’t care
that it makes sense as long as things are blowing
up.<br />
In an attempt to break out of my comfort zone I tried to write one of these tropey novels. I've written all of two lines in two weeks. Clearly this isn't working out and I am now trying to make peace with the fact that what I write will never be wildly popular but maybe I can find my small niche of readers one day if I JUST KEEP WRITING. <br />
<br />Lanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00002224549199474383noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2249141384507760517.post-6724999092690023302016-12-07T21:39:00.002+11:002016-12-16T13:16:28.475+11:00Insecure Writer's Support Group: Many Years From Now<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEcymeOj16JSKo2jiBAoOlyQ9v4wj88961xMaB57_Ws1jMvHbQ54K-l534ckFrBjCHGeXVSCimX3pNvQcZ3UmHrtcSYDnoRBldJBeeOeExfjvioq3p8CRvjiqgvueOwh8dcssasIVzZbE/s1600/InsecureWritersSupportGroup2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEcymeOj16JSKo2jiBAoOlyQ9v4wj88961xMaB57_Ws1jMvHbQ54K-l534ckFrBjCHGeXVSCimX3pNvQcZ3UmHrtcSYDnoRBldJBeeOeExfjvioq3p8CRvjiqgvueOwh8dcssasIVzZbE/s1600/InsecureWritersSupportGroup2.jpg" /></a></div>
Insecure Writer's Support Group is a blog hop hosted by <a href="http://alexjcavanaugh.blogspot.com.au/p/the-insecure-writers-support-group.html">Alex J. Cavanaugh</a> where totally insecure writers can get together and share the things that are making us go argh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>December’s question: In terms of your writing career, where do you see yourself <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1609609640" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ">five years from now</span></span>, and what’s your plan to get there?</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I really want to do the unrealistic thing and write where I <i>
want</i> to be <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1609609641" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ">five years from now</span></span>
and not where I actually see myself. But I’m going to be really
pragmatic and not waste the opportunity talking about Hollywood movie
deals. Given that I’ve managed to publish one novel in the last five
years with the second
novel still in production, I think productivity is a bit of an issue
for me. Not so much the writing part because I write quickly. It’s the
editing and publishing that makes me cringe. Sadly, it doesn’t look like
that’s ever going to change. So I’m going to
give myself a bit of leeway and say that <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1609609642" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ">five years from now</span></span>
I would hope to have my three novel series completed and published and
to be working on something new. I also want to try and write something
in a genre that I’m not comfortable with like romance
or historical fiction. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I make plans all the time that I often don’t follow
for one reason or another. This coming year I’m going to work on
breaking down goals into smaller tasks so that it’s not so overwhelming.
I’m hoping this will mean my productivity will
be constant instead of huge spikes of writing during NaNo months and
then nothing in between. I guess <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1609609643" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ">five years from now</span></span> we’ll see if this plan has worked!</div>
Lanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00002224549199474383noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2249141384507760517.post-14086767717009575852016-11-02T20:29:00.000+11:002016-11-02T20:29:29.331+11:00Insecure Writer's Support Group: The Pen is Mightier Than the Sword<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj94E_SWmQQbQSSKW_NQBxM8aDEP2P0DOc92MM2ZDg4NnPj1QV4WkGcFduazP6qaPNCPeb_0_wCNAgRMYiraZGv_Lj4h9aMxjFJoC7mvMeNEoGHgfQom20v7YeZiN2-mGCWADUnFt9vook/s1600/InsecureWritersSupportGroup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj94E_SWmQQbQSSKW_NQBxM8aDEP2P0DOc92MM2ZDg4NnPj1QV4WkGcFduazP6qaPNCPeb_0_wCNAgRMYiraZGv_Lj4h9aMxjFJoC7mvMeNEoGHgfQom20v7YeZiN2-mGCWADUnFt9vook/s1600/InsecureWritersSupportGroup.jpg" /></a></div>
Insecure Writer's Support Group is a blog hop hosted by <a href="http://alexjcavanaugh.blogspot.com.au/p/the-insecure-writers-support-group.html">Alex J. Cavanaugh</a> where totally insecure writers can get together and share the things that are making us go argh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!<br />
<br />
This month’s question is: What is your favourite aspect of being a writer?<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
There are many things that I enjoy about being a
writer. I’d like to think that all the altruistic stuff like creativity
and love of the craft is what’s more important but if I’m honest, my
favourite aspect is the sense of control I have
over the worlds I create. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’ve spoken often and quite flippantly
about the fact that I suffer from OCD, but in reality, it’s not that fun
to live with. My triggers often stem from the lack of control over any
situation I’m faced with and the unfairness of
the world at large. </div>
If you know me at all you’ll know that I’m a
huge superhero fan. Part of that has to do with the fact that the hero
more often than not gets the bad guy in the end and justice prevails.
This doesn’t happen in the real world and
sometimes it makes me really angry. At times like these I turn to my
writing to make sense of it all. I have complete control over everything
that happens in my stories and though I often put my characters through
hell, it’s a hell of my own making. So there
you have it, a bit of a messed up answer but an honest one at least.<br />
<br />Lanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00002224549199474383noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2249141384507760517.post-41919018870608728802016-10-28T20:51:00.000+11:002016-10-28T20:51:20.239+11:00NaNoWriMo 2016! <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPpXdJ9W3FVylmDkjQLsL4YFT_2ZxcZPqzdNlu4EGgTovlo0C5nHFxmqDWnk_pKMEAp1WYNfd62lXQ4x5Yc9S32fFUPaLAbFfnpsWxSI9Apkv9XBr7Ao3Xxg64qCYK6OO924GRAiuD4fk/s1600/NaNo.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPpXdJ9W3FVylmDkjQLsL4YFT_2ZxcZPqzdNlu4EGgTovlo0C5nHFxmqDWnk_pKMEAp1WYNfd62lXQ4x5Yc9S32fFUPaLAbFfnpsWxSI9Apkv9XBr7Ao3Xxg64qCYK6OO924GRAiuD4fk/s1600/NaNo.png" /></a></div>
<br />
It's that time of year again! I looked at my author info and it says I've been participating in NaNo since 2011. That year getting through the 50k was hell. The stress of writing so much made me physically sick and I had to stop for almost two weeks in the middle. I only won that year thanks to my OCD and stubbornness not allowing me to give up on something I had set out to do.<br />
Fast forward five years and it's a whole different story. My writing group did our own NaNo in September. I wrote 85k in two weeks. A full novel in two weeks. I'm still amazed just thinking about it. Don't get me wrong, it's nothing pretty. Thanks to poor planning the characters completely flipped a quarter of the way through the story and every second word is a typo. But it's a framework that I can build upon with edits.<br />
Now that I know I can write insane amounts I've set myself a goal of writing a full novel this November. Since I can't for the life of me seem to be succinct, the novel will probably end up being about 100k. On top of this, I want to edit the novel I wrote in September and get out a few pieces of fic that I've had in my head for months that just don't seem to want to cooperate.<br />
Having checked my buddy list, only about a quarter seem to have created novels and are participating. It would be nice to have people to chat to during the month when I'm stressing out about everything. So if you're participating this year, my username is Write_Obsession.<br />
See you on the other side! <br />
<br />
<br />Lanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00002224549199474383noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2249141384507760517.post-38807352619125322762016-10-05T20:10:00.004+11:002016-10-05T20:10:53.574+11:00Insecure Writer's Support Group: Ready or Not<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1s0yYRAdKRgfDr9gnxp0EZ6KzDjgimT3CB_gJbquKgWyhhWM3oKPFEFA_ObqTwY2-eNDjg6KkaJifwfXN4oZjeeGS7mkjQ2BYr-EO6zrZAACIP0-QSfeMCSAHJ0mVkFAkyTqbpjQyl7Y/s1600/InsecureWritersSupportGroup2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1s0yYRAdKRgfDr9gnxp0EZ6KzDjgimT3CB_gJbquKgWyhhWM3oKPFEFA_ObqTwY2-eNDjg6KkaJifwfXN4oZjeeGS7mkjQ2BYr-EO6zrZAACIP0-QSfeMCSAHJ0mVkFAkyTqbpjQyl7Y/s1600/InsecureWritersSupportGroup2.jpg" /></a></div>
Insecure Writer's Support Group is a blog hop hosted by <a href="http://alexjcavanaugh.blogspot.com.au/p/the-insecure-writers-support-group.html">Alex J. Cavanaugh</a> where totally insecure writers can get together and share the things that are making us go argh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
This month’s question is: When do you know your story is ready?
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;">
This is a difficult one to answer and it depends on
so many factors such as world building, length, genre and the dreaded
perfectionism. I’m sure I’ve mentioned before that my first novel took
three years and eleven drafts before I even
considered it ready to publish. I was new to self-publishing and just
couldn’t let go of the fear that there was a massive plot hole or the
story was boring. I pored over every draft to make sure the world
building made sense and because I know I tend to be
verbose, I tried to tighten the narrative as much as I could to keep
word count down. With each of the initial drafts, I saw a vast improvement in the quality
of my story, which was partially why it took so long for me to come to a
decision that it was ready to be published. Eventually, the later drafts only had minor improvements and any more tweaks were just me moving parts around to stall the inevitable. That's when I knew it was ready.<br />
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<br /></div>
Lanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00002224549199474383noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2249141384507760517.post-80411210425916255582016-09-08T06:42:00.000+10:002016-09-08T06:42:16.333+10:00Insecure Writer's Support Group: Stealing Time<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4Ehne7ZVL-D5U6Ly1mhfPl_uPo5UdPuYjta-jifbG3KkIGH4_cPcqdYDYjJ5oISGp8n-dKD1QkAMzLFrJW939TPd1jxzdczcKQEXsHqqI-uLeRaRHZlHld2TD47ZliDzLjlEGruwJDj4/s1600/InsecureWritersSupportGroup2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4Ehne7ZVL-D5U6Ly1mhfPl_uPo5UdPuYjta-jifbG3KkIGH4_cPcqdYDYjJ5oISGp8n-dKD1QkAMzLFrJW939TPd1jxzdczcKQEXsHqqI-uLeRaRHZlHld2TD47ZliDzLjlEGruwJDj4/s1600/InsecureWritersSupportGroup2.jpg" /></a></div>
Insecure Writer's Support Group is a blog hop hosted by <a href="http://alexjcavanaugh.blogspot.com.au/p/the-insecure-writers-support-group.html">Alex J. Cavanaugh</a> where totally insecure writers can get together and share the things that are making us go argh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!<br />
I am such a bad newsletter reader that I hadn't cottoned on to the fact that there are monthly questions that we're supposed to answer for IWSG! I had another post ready but instead I'm frantically trying to answer this month's question, which is one I've been wrestling with for the past few months anyway: "How do you find the time to write in your busy day?"<br />
The answer to this is that I usually don't. Which has become a bit of a problem because unless I take time off work it can mean months on end with no writing done at all. Lately, the thought of not writing has been bugging me a lot more and I've taken the drastic measure of forgoing seeing friends during lunch at work to either read or work on my writing. Needless to say I'm not very popular at the moment. Since doing this, I've realised that while most people are supportive of my writing, they don't actually understand the sacrifices that have to be made in order for me to sustain my writing as well as hold down a full time job and have some kind of life outside of either of these things.<br />
So this morning I tried something new, I woke up half an hour earlier before work and am using that time to get some writing done. Eventually I'm hoping that I can wake up a little earlier each day so that my morning writing sessions, along with my cloistered lunch times, will turn into a habit. Fingers crossed!<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Lanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00002224549199474383noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2249141384507760517.post-89743739945234397752016-08-04T07:00:00.000+10:002016-08-04T07:00:02.753+10:00Insecure Writer's Support Group: Ideas vs Execution <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh93LYdfTOuwZq-QYL1X9tFd8ztYUvlc_re48qKVtJmhq5jXWBl6UjlGBz9shKMtfaHbjAXi0C-3fDfITScBqA0PEht9Tma_bKqidvoi_BTVOGHrmfzWO1guyhrFn8Rc8Cf2SfjgBQnbSw/s1600/InsecureWritersSupportGroup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh93LYdfTOuwZq-QYL1X9tFd8ztYUvlc_re48qKVtJmhq5jXWBl6UjlGBz9shKMtfaHbjAXi0C-3fDfITScBqA0PEht9Tma_bKqidvoi_BTVOGHrmfzWO1guyhrFn8Rc8Cf2SfjgBQnbSw/s1600/InsecureWritersSupportGroup.jpg" /></a></div>
Insecure Writer's Support Group is a blog hop hosted by <a href="http://alexjcavanaugh.blogspot.com.au/p/the-insecure-writers-support-group.html">Alex J. Cavanaugh</a> where totally insecure writers can get together and share the things that are making us go argh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!<br />
In 2009 I wrote my first ever novel. I finished it in 20011 and started querying. Needless to say with my total lack of experience I got a lot of rejections. In 2014, I took the idea for this novel and turned it completely on it's head. In a way I lamented all the work I'd put into the first draft (and its sequel) but mostly, the new idea was by far the superior version.<br />
It got me thinking about how much I have developed as a storyteller in the few years that I've been writing. Then of course all the insecurities set in and I started to wonder whether I'm using up all of my good ideas now while I'm not that great a writer when I should be saving them up for when I'm matured a little and can do them justice. I'm terrified that by the time I can write a good enough narrative all my ideas will have been used up. Which of course has made me look at the works in progress I have going on and how I can completely overhaul them. Which of course means I'm not producing enough. And the cycle goes on and on.....<br />
<br />Lanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00002224549199474383noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2249141384507760517.post-68524264963642291622016-07-07T18:12:00.000+10:002016-07-07T18:12:29.024+10:00Insecure Writer's Support Group: When Good Isn't Good Enough<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7sA6yuE0TmNlc1iGK1yJkqaiGCFk64QOcFPhvVDXh8APYkQWHUsmP4W0ELF3BAHqlg1yj8UGVOl0szVYoyU4N5iw80scG_wM6LxVL2SsGEw54xSxn61hM8qMxkhCti6YK4YLqpZeKp8A/s1600/InsecureWritersSupportGroup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7sA6yuE0TmNlc1iGK1yJkqaiGCFk64QOcFPhvVDXh8APYkQWHUsmP4W0ELF3BAHqlg1yj8UGVOl0szVYoyU4N5iw80scG_wM6LxVL2SsGEw54xSxn61hM8qMxkhCti6YK4YLqpZeKp8A/s1600/InsecureWritersSupportGroup.jpg" /></a></div>
Insecure Writer's Support Group is a blog hop hosted by <a href="http://alexjcavanaugh.blogspot.com.au/p/the-insecure-writers-support-group.html">Alex J. Cavanaugh</a> where totally insecure writers can get together and share the things that are making us go argh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
I picked up the paperback of my novel the other day
and started reading through it. By the time I’d finished a paragraph I
think I might have cringed at least five times. The scary things is that
the novel was only finished less than a
year ago. I don’t think it’s even a case of my writing skills
improving, but more of one of comparison.
</div>
Recently, I’ve been
dabbling in fanfic and have come across some really amazing writers.
It’s got me thinking that if these writers are able to craft their
stories so well at something they’re not wanting to publish
professionally, then what hope do I have of capturing a reader’s
attention with my meagre skills? I know I’m not terrible and I’ve come a
long way from when I first started, but it also feels like there’s a
limit to how much I will ever be able to improve.
Writing is stylistic and some people are just born with the ability to
wield words in a more pleasing style. I also know that very few writers
get by on talent alone and I should just keep going regardless. Which is
what I will definitely do. It’s just hard
is all. Lanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00002224549199474383noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2249141384507760517.post-19395980049985364822016-06-01T20:14:00.000+10:002016-06-01T20:14:44.513+10:00Insecure Writer's Support Group: Writer vs Reader<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
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<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI79Oagu4E0GEEo9CgBSyFL5oElDyTVwsQacgduN57lmb3cdFOAA5fmqmkj0EvVRyWY7r-P1WjqZeL5ren3vFwQrbEac6GKQ9R7GAhKqt3VJrDK0WC5JKA_Zm6aeD-rv5lQr_KSywnEAI/s1600/InsecureWritersSupportGroup2.jpg" /></div>
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</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Insecure Writer's Support Group is a blog hop hosted by <a href="http://alexjcavanaugh.blogspot.com.au/p/the-insecure-writers-support-group.html">Alex J. Cavanaugh</a> where totally insecure writers can get together and share the things that are making us go argh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! <br />
For all intents and purposes, this is meant to be a
book review blog as well as my author blog. I can’t remember the last
time I read a book with the express purpose of reviewing it. My review
policy is up and I’m still taking requests
but I have a sneaking suspicion that most people who submit are just
ignoring the guidelines and trying their luck. This is why I delete 99%
of the requests I get. Most of them don’t even refer to me by name but
just called me “Blogger.” A lot of the novels
I’ve been asked to read aren’t in a genre that I enjoy. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The thing is,
the more I write the more critical I have become. I feel like I’m
treating every novel I read as though I’m doing edits on it for a friend
and often this is what makes me not want to read
a book or stop reading it altogether. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
To date I’ve started at least four
requested novels and at best I’ve read them to the ten per cent mark and
then put them down and have never picked them up again. Once upon a
time I used to be one of those people who would finish
a book no matter what. Now the slightest thing can make me stop
reading. If the plot is slow, I lose interest. If the romance is cheesy
or if there’s any hint of a love triangle, I lose interest. I find
myself making notes not in an attempt to write a review
but with the aim of providing the author with constructive editing
advice.
</div>
I long for the days when I used to be able
to read just for pleasure. But I’m starting to worry that because my
mind is so geared towards writing, that those days are over. <br />
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<br />Lanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00002224549199474383noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2249141384507760517.post-13120229630121737552016-05-05T07:04:00.000+10:002016-05-05T07:04:52.238+10:00Insecure Writer's Support Group: Failing in Epic Proportions<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI79Oagu4E0GEEo9CgBSyFL5oElDyTVwsQacgduN57lmb3cdFOAA5fmqmkj0EvVRyWY7r-P1WjqZeL5ren3vFwQrbEac6GKQ9R7GAhKqt3VJrDK0WC5JKA_Zm6aeD-rv5lQr_KSywnEAI/s1600/InsecureWritersSupportGroup2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI79Oagu4E0GEEo9CgBSyFL5oElDyTVwsQacgduN57lmb3cdFOAA5fmqmkj0EvVRyWY7r-P1WjqZeL5ren3vFwQrbEac6GKQ9R7GAhKqt3VJrDK0WC5JKA_Zm6aeD-rv5lQr_KSywnEAI/s1600/InsecureWritersSupportGroup2.jpg" /></a></div>
Insecure Writer's Support Group is a blog hop hosted by <a href="http://alexjcavanaugh.blogspot.com.au/p/the-insecure-writers-support-group.html">Alex J. Cavanaugh</a> where totally insecure writers can get together and share the things that are making us go argh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! <br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
My debut novel POISON is a young adult dystopian.
It involves quite a lot of action of epic proportions and took me a
number of years to write and rewrite and then edit. The second novel in
the series is mostly written and just needs a
touch up before it goes to a professional editor. I worked on book
three for Camp NaNoWriMo and am having the hardest time advancing the
plot. Due to all the earlier epicness in the first two books, I feel
like whatever happens in book three needs to be bigger
and badder. I’ve already pulled out the big guns for the previous books
and am left with what I can only describe as plot exhaustion. So much
has happened to the main character that it’s a wonder she’s still
functioning. With each new chapter I have to try
and find ways to increase the tension but everything that could happen
has happened and now I’m delving into territory that is just plain
unbelievable in order to keep from stalling. So this month I’m having a
hard time completing the novel and it makes me
regret not having a more solid outline when I began writing. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I guess if I get nothing else from
this experience I will have learned that I should pace my novels better
so that I have something left for the grand finale! What about you guys?
What’s making you insecure this month?
</div>
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><br /></span></b>Lanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00002224549199474383noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2249141384507760517.post-26636959270924320102016-04-16T10:21:00.001+10:002016-04-16T10:21:26.316+10:00Review: Adorkable by Cookie O'Gorman<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiinaz1OsXzlQCGxc0Tc_HaFNbkkYHy6auXrVzatVgKhP9QDHGD2J6XAX7hgyOehiBpgOO1MvPUexvfrkgL8TPr33NYrTdTrwkPNgEijwvLHpLts0dOSpefC8AJ2smEYtsf4B_6ejMDo8A/s1600/Adorkable.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiinaz1OsXzlQCGxc0Tc_HaFNbkkYHy6auXrVzatVgKhP9QDHGD2J6XAX7hgyOehiBpgOO1MvPUexvfrkgL8TPr33NYrTdTrwkPNgEijwvLHpLts0dOSpefC8AJ2smEYtsf4B_6ejMDo8A/s320/Adorkable.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>THE STORY:</b></div>
<br />
<span id="freeText17927828530915768260">Adorkable (ah-dor-kuh-bul): Descriptive term meaning to be equal parts dorky and adorable. For reference, see Sally Spitz.<br /><br />Seventeen-year-old
Sally Spitz is done with dating. Or at least, she's done with the
horrible blind dates/hookups/sneak attacks her matchmaking bestie,
Hooker, sets her up on. There's only so much one geek girl and
Gryffindor supporter can take.<br /><br />Her solution: she needs a fake boyfriend. And fast.<br /><br />Enter
Becks, soccer phenom, all-around-hottie, and Sally's best friend
practically since birth. When Sally asks Becks to be her F.B.F. (fake
boyfriend), Becks is only too happy to be used. He'd do anything for
Sal--even if that means giving her PDA lessons in his bedroom, saying
she's "more than pretty," and expertly kissing her at parties.<br /><br />The problem: Sally's been in love with Becks all her life--and he's completely clueless.<br /><br />This book features two best friends, one special edition Yoda snuggie, countless beneath-the-ear kisses and begs the question:<br /><br />Who wants a real boyfriend when faking it is so much more fun?</span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span id="freeText17927828530915768260">MY THOUGHTS:</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Adorkable is just as the name suggests. It is full
of all the things that make a YA contemporary fun to read and had the
added bonus of one of my favourite tropes. The friends to lovers plot.
I’m a sucker for well written relationships
between two people that becomes more and Adorkable had this is spades.
Sally and Becks are great together and it wasn’t hard to see them as a
couple even when they were meant to be just friends. They spent time
together, had a believable history and knew each
other’s favourite things. There was an easy friendship built upon years
of familiarity and I was glad that it wasn’t just one of those things
where the two characters suddenly realised the other was hot and were in
love. I went into this one fully prepared
for it to be light and fun and I got what I wanted. If there was one
thing I thought would improve Adorkable it would probably be the
characterisation of Sally’s best friend and to a greater extent the
female population of Chariot High School. But more about
that later.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I think for me what really made
this novel was Sally. She was sweet but not naive and snarky but not
nasty. I really enjoyed her love of everything fandom related and was
glad that O’Gorman chose to add specific references
to the films and books that Sally worshipped. Too often a main
character is meant to be a geek but that isn’t shown in how they behave
or the things they enjoy. It was also refreshing to see a character who
wasn’t apologetic about her geekery and wasn’t teased
mercilessly for it. Sure Sally wasn’t the most popular girl but she had
her friends and her social projects and they made her happy. The only
thing I found a little frustrating about Sally was that she was perhaps a
little too clueless about some of the things
that were happening even when they were blatantly obvious. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Becks was very sweet and if
anything probably unrealistically perfect. But hey, this is YA and we’re
not here for your average teenage boys are we? What I liked most was
that Becks had his own drive and motivations. His
defining characteristic wasn’t that he existed to be Sally’s love
interest. He had his own passions and he pursued them. Sure he makes
compromises to be with Sally but they don’t change the nature of his
dreams.
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Then we have Ash. *<b>Please look away now if you don’t want any spoilers because the fact that I’m talking about him might be a spoiler in itself</b>*
I want to start off by saying that I think Sally and Becks should be
together. They’ve got a fantastic connection and their affection for
each other was palpable. But my God Ash. I can’t even begin to
articulate how much I loved him and I usually want to kill love
triangles with fire. Were it not for Becks, Sally and Ash would
have made an incredible hatred leading to love story. For me he had the
most character development throughout the whole novel and I adored that
he thought Sally was strange but was still attracted to her. I know
that was meant to be a strike against him but
you don’t have to love everything about another person to be attracted
to them. Who wouldn’t love a boy who works at the school newspaper,
plays soccer like a pro, speaks fluent German and has the confidence to
put himself out on a limb knowing that he’s at
a disadvantage from the start? <b>* End Spoiler. </b>Please, please, please Cookie O’Gorman
if you haven’t already thought about writing a spin off involving Ash
could you please do so? Post haste?
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So I mentioned Hooker earlier and I
don’t want to go on about it too much because she had her great points
as well. Hooker’s heart was in the right place and she was loyal,
confident and funny but I just couldn’t bring myself
to approve of the way she doggedly set Sally up on random blind dates. I
know it was essential to the setup of the novel but she was so pushy
and to make matters worse she kept trying to throw her own castoffs at
Sally and expected Sally to jump at the chance.
I would have liked for Hooker’s motivations to be deeper than simply
that Sally was seventeen and had never had a proper boyfriend. It
concerned me that so much importance was placed on settling for any guy
at all rather than being happy with yourself.
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In a similar vein I didn’t really
care for the portrayal of the other minor female characters. I know this
is a YA novel and more often than not the “sisterhood” gets pushed
aside in favour of highlighting how different
and thus special the main character is, but I don’t think Sally needed
it. She was obviously unique on her own and having gorgeous, sexually
and socially aggressive girls as competition didn’t really add anything
to the story. At times, it was almost too much
to have girls coming up to Becks and dismissing Sally when she was
standing right there. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and not every
woman is going to find someone attractive but this wasn’t the case with
Becks. Even women twice his age seemed to want
to jump his bones and they weren’t shy about telling him no matter how
rude it was. Thankfully, this wasn’t a huge part of the novel. The female competition trope is a big no no for me so it says a lot that I could still
enjoy Adorkable despite some of these aspects
popping up. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;">
Overall, Adorkable is a
fantastic debut novel and one that represents the best friend trope very
well. If you’re looking for something heart-warming with loveable main
characters and some very noteworthy kissing
scenes, this is the book for you. </div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span id="freeText17927828530915768260">THE RATING:</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span id="freeText17927828530915768260">4/5 </span></b></div>
<br />Lanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00002224549199474383noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2249141384507760517.post-3649077794438672202016-04-06T19:09:00.000+10:002016-04-08T13:46:12.857+10:00Insecure Writer's Support Group: Can I Get Another Lifetime?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Insecure Writer's Support Group is a blog hop hosted by <a href="http://alexjcavanaugh.blogspot.com.au/p/the-insecure-writers-support-group.html">Alex J. Cavanaugh</a> where totally insecure writers can get together and share the things that are making us go argh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! <br />
By the time this post goes live it'll be the beginning of April which means that Camp NaNoWriMo will be in full swing. Even though I've taken the first week off work I know I'll probably be behind in my writing because aside from taking on Camp I've also got other projects happening on the side and the masochist in me has decided that it's a great idea to start writing Marvel fan fiction.<br />
I don't know how some people do it. I've been internet stalking again and there are people on the web who have multiple accounts on social media, have a gazillion hobbies outside of writing, children to look after, day jobs to work at. And still they're producing more books than I have. This is incredible to me.<br />
If I had another lifetime to play with I don't know if I'd be able to go any faster or focus any better. There are just so many things that I would love to be good at but which require time and dedication that I am sorely lacking. I would so love to be a graphic artist and be able to produce images from my own novels. Or learn a trade of some kind. But I guess for now I'll just be happy with winning Camp and possibly catching up on all of the reading that I should have done months ago. Lanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00002224549199474383noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2249141384507760517.post-68743702346327043042016-03-27T11:15:00.002+11:002016-03-27T11:15:21.546+11:00Random Thoughts<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGH_S2fFDUi5zi-K6u75lOhpK3vhqMX4hHUSE8C-1U4VgiA8MbIYiVsHW46Y4Ona4j-LxMkkId8rwOAqJyo1R_WBKF66iYQ-LynK1wvD9QmNEU6Eyou1SOeNGKsVDAZTvSl7svQOuVIQo/s1600/Writer%2527s+Rant.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGH_S2fFDUi5zi-K6u75lOhpK3vhqMX4hHUSE8C-1U4VgiA8MbIYiVsHW46Y4Ona4j-LxMkkId8rwOAqJyo1R_WBKF66iYQ-LynK1wvD9QmNEU6Eyou1SOeNGKsVDAZTvSl7svQOuVIQo/s320/Writer%2527s+Rant.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
It's the Easter long weekend this weekend and I have four days in which to either work furiously and get a whole bunch of stuff done, or flit it away procrastinating on the internet. Guess which one is winning out at the moment?<br />
My thoughts are too scattered at the moment for any kind of structured blogging so I thought I might just jot down a few things that have been going through my head:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Multi-tasking seems to be the thing which threatens to kill all my productivity. Ironic isn't it? I get so caught up wanting to do so many things at the same time that I end up nothing finishing any of them. </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Reading has taken a huge back step in the last few months now that I've gone back to work. Even though I've been enjoying books more than I did in the last few years I'm still having a hard time pinning down quiet time to read. </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>I have started writing fan fiction for the MCU instead of working on my actual novels. Part of it is because I am annoyed that the pair I ship isn't very popular (even though they are the best!) and the other part is that I've had all these stories pop up in my head since I first saw The Avengers in 2012 and if I don't get it down it'll just distract me during Camp NaNoWriMo.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Oh yeah I'm participating in Camp NaNoWriMo yet again. Despite my best efforts to make writing a daily habit the only way I seem to be able to write anymore is during some kind of NaNo. So next month I will be trying to sprint to that 50k again. </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>My garden is looking totally worse for wear now that summer has ended. I'll admit I was pretty slack this summer and with the possibility of mice in the garden I really didn't want to be in there more than I had to. This meant a lot of my stuff is overgrown and/or dying because I couldn't be bothered watering it. I've made a concentrated effort to try harder in Autumn. Feel kind of bad that the two things I love most (gardening and writing) are always the things I let slip when I'm stressed. </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Blogging has taken a huge hit. Mostly because this is meant to be a book/writing blog and I have done neither with much consistency in the last 6 months. Apologies to all my friends whose posts I missed. I am working on a better schedule so that I'm not MIA so much from now on. </li>
</ul>
Anyway, that's all from my end for now. See you on the other side of April! Lanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00002224549199474383noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2249141384507760517.post-75635616169428416482016-03-03T07:09:00.000+11:002016-03-03T07:09:27.930+11:00Insecure Writer's Support Group: Novel Fatigue<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwUd2EblCSsnMIsMJgAWl2u1n0PmLKznBnvIn2aSjAFtkkTb1RnQzMKiiOo_UTpWFaX79NnEsfF2JOcmvEVcaqgsPR1lJIUEta5hnP1WOnVrs0YfUtauX7IWcoIpPZd_nlePrc0Ql5F6c/s1600/InsecureWritersSupportGroup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwUd2EblCSsnMIsMJgAWl2u1n0PmLKznBnvIn2aSjAFtkkTb1RnQzMKiiOo_UTpWFaX79NnEsfF2JOcmvEVcaqgsPR1lJIUEta5hnP1WOnVrs0YfUtauX7IWcoIpPZd_nlePrc0Ql5F6c/s1600/InsecureWritersSupportGroup.jpg" /></a></div>
Insecure Writer's Support Group is a blog hop hosted by <a href="http://alexjcavanaugh.blogspot.com.au/p/the-insecure-writers-support-group.html">Alex J. Cavanaugh</a> where totally insecure writers can get together and share the things that are making us go argh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!<br />
During the last few months I haven't been doing much writing. As a result I've had more time on my hands and have been able to offer critiquing to my author friends. I've been critiquing for a while now and one of the things I've found to be a pattern is that as writers we often get sick to death of reading our own novels over and over. It was only when a friend of mine mentioned this about her novel that it clicked to me why I haven't been able to keep writing: I am sick of reading my own work. I am sick of editing the same thing time after time. I rewrote Poison eleven times before I was happy with the plot and structure. I edited it another four times after critiques. By the time it was published, I really just wanted to set fire to the MS and be done with it.<br />
I'm so happy that I've finally figured this out because it means that it's not writing that I cannot stand. It's the editing process. Which is a problem but since I've done it once I suppose I can do it again. <br />
<br />Lanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00002224549199474383noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2249141384507760517.post-27156333689220227862016-02-04T08:47:00.001+11:002016-02-04T08:47:13.702+11:00Insecure Writer's Support Group: Getting On With It<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeC8MOHzv8EIg_FVW6bQvctD5Eks_QRb5yRCAV4HEr2iMZ-2ie86nM9aj7Sbxw4r0XxcnY31S77I-EonJaA2mN9yqAtgjc3YxDNgyltTzufaK4dgGM_P3wAariIKg_hh5egHoPqZuKG0I/s1600/InsecureWritersSupportGroup2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeC8MOHzv8EIg_FVW6bQvctD5Eks_QRb5yRCAV4HEr2iMZ-2ie86nM9aj7Sbxw4r0XxcnY31S77I-EonJaA2mN9yqAtgjc3YxDNgyltTzufaK4dgGM_P3wAariIKg_hh5egHoPqZuKG0I/s1600/InsecureWritersSupportGroup2.jpg" /></a></div>
Insecure Writer's Support Group is a blog hop hosted by <a href="http://alexjcavanaugh.blogspot.com.au/p/the-insecure-writers-support-group.html">Alex J. Cavanaugh</a> where totally insecure writers can get together and share the things that are making us go argh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!<br />
Last month I wrote about how difficult I was finding getting back into writing after NaNoWriMo last year and having real world issues occupy my thought space. Then, recently, a friend pointed me towards <a href="http://www.hughhowey.com/so-you-want-to-be-a-writer/">This Article</a> by megastar indie author Hugh Howie and I read it and decided that I wasn't going to let myself give up without at least trying to get my full series published.<br />
But when I went to start editing book two in my Wind Dancer series, the motivation just wasn't there. So I got talking to some writer friends and we came up with the outrageous idea of writing novels in genres we neither read not enjoy. These novels would be for us only, as a way of letting us write without the need to publish at the end of the line and to also take us out of our comfort zone.<br />
So this month, instead of working on my series, I have started writing a romance novel. Romance is my least favourite genre to write in because I've dallied with the popular indie romance novels making big money and they all make me wish the zombie apocalypse would hurry up and destroy us all. For the first few days, I just couldn't get much written because there just wasn't any real plot point to write towards. But the more I write, the more I'm remembering that no one is ever going to see this novel. So I've given myself lease to write rubbish and lo and behold it's working!<br />
Hopefully, if this keeps up I'll be on my way to writing what I actually love in a month or two! Lanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00002224549199474383noreply@blogger.com7