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#IWSG: How to get past writer’s block?
The purpose of the Insecure Writer’s Support Group is to share with and encourage other writers. This month I chose a topic with which I’m currently struggling. I’ve been working on a cozy mystery for a long time and I can’t seem to get past a certain point. I did a rough outline when I first began and am past the introduction and progression of the main plot. I’d say I was in the middle third of what I hope is a novel-length manuscript. I know how I want the book to end but it’s the middle that I want to make sure is engaging and keeps the reader interested.…
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#IWSG: What’s the one thing about your writing career you regret the most?
This month’s question for the Insecure Writer’s Support Group makes me a little sad but it also addresses a topic that I’ve been thinking a lot about. I just turned 59 (isn’t that the new 39?) I regret not having a cozy mystery published by this time in my life. I’ve written articles for trade magazines. I’ve written non-fiction articles for my current position for a nonprofit and there are several for which I am proud. I also regret not carving out more dedicated writing time daily and have thought about it every day for the last 20 years. If I actually spent the time writing, instead of flogging myself…
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“Two pigs were last seen heading north …”
The notice said, “Two pigs were last seen heading north on Eighth Street … .” It was our neighborhood Facebook group page, where folks post missing dogs and cats, if one needs lawn service or there are free items in the alley. It seems they were pet pigs (not sure how you could tell. Perhaps they had better manners as they ran through adjacent yards). If someone knows of a poster stating someone had lost their dog or cat, others would try and match up the person to the pet. Surely there couldn’t be more than one set of lost pet pigs in our particular neighborhood? One helpful person thought…
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A new normal?
So, a lot has changed since October, when I last posted to my blog. I think my writing has been hibernating, afraid to come out for fear of frostbite. Is that possible? In a week, it will be April and of course that means taking part in the Blogging A to Z blogathon. I’m not sure I’ll make it – okay, that’s not the right way to go into this event. Yes, I’m sure I’m going to blog every day (except Sunday) in April, fully completing the A to Z blogathon! So, Covid 19 happened. Today the first death in our county was reported. The only data that we have…
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IWSG: Being a reader is key to writing
Question for October IWSG: It’s been said that the benefits of becoming a writer who does not read is that all your ideas are new and original. Everything you do is an extension of yourself, instead of a mixture of you and another author. On the other hand, how can you expect other people to want your writing, if you don’t enjoy reading? What are your thoughts? Above is a sculpture I liked during my recent travels to Phoenix/Mesa, Arizona. Old Scottsdale had a lot of beautiful images forged from steel and imagination. These images are just as encouraging as the reading of other people’s fiction, to an aspiring writer.…
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IWSG: First Wednesday – 9/4/19
Wanted: secluded mountain cabin for aspiring writer
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IWSG: Writing goals and 9 prompt resources
One of my new goals for generating more curiosity in my life (to defeat cynicism) is to make a point of writing more often. Even if no one else reads it or I only harvest a few kernels of good writing among whole corn cobs of yuck, I want to write more often! I have made a commitment to myself to write at least three times per week, beginning in June (okay, so I’m procrastinating just a tad). Not everything will be publishable, but I want to write for at least 30 minutes per session. Less than 30 minutes and my deeper creative juices don’t get tapped. If I can…
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Content right where I’m at …
When things are crazy busy in my life – work, home, my mind (in the form of worry) – I feel like I’m just rushing from one thing to another. Rushing to get up, get dressed, feed the dog, spend a few moments with my husband and then off to work. At work, I boot up my computer just in time to make it to one meeting, then another. I grab a bite to eat prior to the afternoon meeting, and then I find time to work on my projects. So the days go. I accomplish things and check them off my list. And more things move up the list…
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“J”ust because …
Beauty is where you find it. Just look at these sandstone rock formations in Indiana.
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“B”lessings can be …
Blessings can be unexpected and yet I need to look for them and acknowledge them.
