IWSG 82: Taking Chances

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This post was written for the Insecure Writer’s Support Group where we share our encouragement or insecurities on the first Wednesday of the month, to join the group or find out more click here.

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Co-Hosts

PK Hrezo | Pat Garcia | SE White | Lisa Buie Collard | Diane Burton

OPTIONAL IWSG DAY 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?

Yes, my style and voice changes with each story, and I’ve been known to discuss controversial topics within my work.

That said, one of my favorite things to practice is third-person omnipotent point of view. If anyone wants to give this a try, you must read this post from Scribophile. It really puts it in perspective. 😉

When giving third-person omnipotent point of view a try, it can get pretty ugly. I don’t hold back and often paint myself into a corner. It can be a slog to revise and more than once I’ve lost interest in a piece because I landed up stomping through the paint to escape.

My only compensation for all my hard work is I keep them short, and I tell myself that what I’ve learned is in there somewhere and once assimilated; it will come out in organically—eventually.

In Other News: ProWritingAid is doing a Crime Writing Week this month. Here’s the webinar link if you’re curious: https://prowritingaid.com/crimeweekhub.

Hope to see you there.

What’s the best thing you’ve learned and tried in your writing?

IWSG 81: You Are What You Read–apparently

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This post was written for the Insecure Writer’s Support Group where we share our encouragement or insecurities on the first Wednesday of the month, to join the group or find out more click here.

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Co-Hosts

Sarah – The Faux Fountain Pen Jacqui Murray | Chemist Ken | Victoria Marie Lees | Natalie Aguirre | JQ Rose

OPTIONAL IWSG DAY QUESTION:

Everyone has a favorite genre or genres to write. But what about your reading preferences? Do you read widely or only within the genre(s) you create stories for? What motivates your reading choice?

I have a feeling I’m going to sound like everyone else this month. You probably read as much or more than I do.

I read everything from how-to-write manuals to the classics and everything in between.

I spent a few months reading Terry Pratchett’s Discworld. All the stories were inspirational and hilarious. Moved on to Jane Austen and Charles Dickens.

Note: Since the classics were free to read, I downloaded them from Project Gutenberg: Free eBooks. They focus on older works for which the copyright has expired.

Then after the classics I jumped into an Atwood trilogy, and that’s where I’ve been living for the last few days.

So I’ve broken away from my usual favorite mysteries by Janet Evanovich, JD Robb, Michael Connelly, James Patterson to name a few. This may mean I’m growing, but don’t count on it. I’m still a child at heart.

I did tons of reading my courses through my local library. They ranged from Writing Effective Web content to Romance Writing. All interesting, but I went too fast, and now I feel I need to stop and revisit each course. This time I’ll take a long hard look and do each exercise with more enthusiasm than just trying to get it done.

And just to add a bit of spice to the mix I attended Fantasy Week Webinar through ProWritingAid and watched several FREE videos which were educational and really fun. Apparently they are doing another called Crime Week sometime in April if you’re interested.

It’s no wonder I don’t write much and when I do I never know where to start. Kidding, actually. I think I’m finally getting a handle on things. What about you, where to do you land in your reading world, and how do you nourish it?

IWSG 80: Hope in the Publishing Industry

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This post was written for the Insecure Writer’s Support Group where we share our encouragement or insecurities on the first Wednesday of the month, to join the group or find out more click here.

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CO-HOSTS

Louise – Fundy Blue | Jennifer Lane | Mary Aalgaard | Patsy Collins at Womagwriter | Nancy Gideon

OPTIONAL IWSG DAY 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?

This is going to be short. I keep wondering if I should go back to writing for personal enjoyment and leave the industry to the masters.

It’s not the pain of rejection, surprisingly enough. It’s the combo of the stress of submission, almost constant rejection and my partial success.

Being published years ago then making into a recent anthology only to be dropped because there were not enough high quality submissions.

If there is a crack, I seem to find it.

I need someone to hold up a flashlight in this damn dark tunnel that never seems to end.

Is it worth it? Share some success from yesterday, last week or even ten years ago. Tell me there is a light at the end and I just need to take one more step to see it as you do.

 

 

IWSG 79: We are Part of the Publishing Team

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This post was written for the Insecure Writer’s Support Group where we share our encouragement or insecurities on the first Wednesday of the month, to join the group or find out more click here.

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CO-HOSTS

 Ronel Janse van Vuuren | J Lenni Dorner | Gwen Gardner | Sandra Cox | Louise – Fundy Blue

OPTIONAL IWSG DAY 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?

All of us need to remember that all books are a team effort: writer, editors, and artist.

Substandard copy

I’ve closed books because the copy was substandard. In not talking about a couple of mistakes. I’m referring to every page has an error. The story is incoherent. Because the team who should have cleaned it up to a squeaky clean finish, didn’t do their job.

After it’s published, there really isn’t much left to do. But before it gets out there? We should rally and help whoever asks us for honest input.

Yeah, I’m looking at you. 😉

Lots of work doesn’t get published because the critters didn’t bump it up.

What makes the difference?

Us. We are a community, and we are also on the publishing team. We are the critters, the beta readers and critique partners.

I warn everyone I read that I’ll be brutally honest because I know no matter how gentle I try to be, what I’ll say could hurt. I want the writer to be prepared—to strengthen their resolve—before they read a word of what I have to say.

Truth is truth. Being honest is hard. And each writer deserves nothing less.

No one is perfect. We all have weaknesses. For me, it’s mostly homophones and spelling. No editing program can point out all of them. Only my brave critters can save me there. I depend on them more than they know.

Bravery

We all want to improve our craft. That takes bravery. Baring our soul and our words. So when agreeing to give feedback. Remember two things: be honest and be as gentle as possible. We trust you to be there for us and not stroke our egos.

Have you ever been let down by a critter? What did you change the next time around?

IWSG 78: Emotions Feed My Scenes

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This post was written for the Insecure Writer’s Support Group where we share our encouragement or insecurities on the first Wednesday of the month, to join the group or find out more click here.

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CO-HOSTS

  Pat Garcia | Sylvia Ney | Liesbet @ Roaming About | Cathrina Constantine | Natalie Aguirre

OPTIONAL IWSG DAY QUESTION:

Are there months or times of the year that you are more productive with your writing than other months, and why?

Like most of the IWSG questions, I had to give this one a long think.

I can’t say that my writing has to do with a time of year, or season, or even what the weather is doing on a specific day.

I don’t know about anyone else, but sometimes my history with all its demons kicks my behind and I can’t seem to make it stop. Or I couldn’t, until I discovered that every event that haunted me could enhance my writing.

It didn’t matter what emotion bounced around my head; there was a perfect scene it could feed. I remember the fear of the unknown when I left home, the excitement of making my own decisions and later discovering that with freedom came consequences.

I look back at how naïve I was. That one weird memory I’m not sure I even remember correctly. It’s been 40+ years.

But why I write is about me and Why someone would read my work is another thing completely

So I dove into research again.

Overly emotional scenes

Apparently when writing an emotionally charged scene, going too deep can make some readers uncomfortable. I can confirm this because when I can’t cope with what’s on the page, I skip ahead.

OR Skipping Scenes

Swinging the other way is just as bad. Anticipation rises mercilessly, then the huge emotional moment  about to happen, and for some reason only known to the writer, they skip forward to after the event.

Has the reader been robbed? I don’t know. I noticed that in the Game of Thrones series that some—not all but some—of the bigger plot points on-screen were skipped in the books. My choice was taken away on the page. Although the characters discussed the turn of events to fill in me in, I missed the experience. Some scenes were pretty gross, so maybe it was a blessing.

What I discovered during my reading was, there is a safe zone. Getting feedback will save us from the extremes, and apparently that is what most readers want. They want to feel connected to the MC, enjoy the shared journey, but not be overwhelmed or feel left out.

What do you think? Is there a line that should never be crossed?

Gleaned from:

• https://rachelpoli.com/2018/07/26/4-tips-to-writing-an-emotional-scene/
• http://novelrocket.com/2012/06/dont-cheat-reader.html/
• https://jamigold.com/2012/06/3-tips-for-writing-heavy-emotional-scenes/
• https://theeditorsblog.net/2011/01/30/creating-emotion-in-the-reader/