• Insecure Writer's Support Group,  writing

    #IWSG: What about journaling?

    My Insecure Writer’s Support Group monthly post for November is about journaling. I’m a fits and starts-type of journaler. I aspire to be a daily journaler for several reasons. I think it keeps my creative part of my brain exercised so when I need to write for either business or pleasure, it comes easier. The ideas and concepts flow much easier. I also think it’s a good practice that can fuel my other writing projects. Recently I bought a fountain pen and enjoy writing with it. Writing is a lot like using the fountain pen – if I continue using it, the ink flows freely and beautifully. If I stop…

  • #IWSG,  inspiration,  writing

    #IWSG: Oct. 6 entry

    Monthly question: Where do you draw the line in your writing? Answer: I’m answering this question in a bit of a different vein than most. These days, I’m having trouble “drawing the line” at what is interesting enough to read? What can I post that will resonate with more people versus just my own thoughts? As I get older, this question seems to get harder. Often, something will strike me as funny and I want to write about the experience. But, I’m unsure as to whether others will feel the same way that I do. Is it worthy to publish for anyone else? When writing about real-world experiences, and many…

  • #IWSG,  communication,  writing

    Favorite writing resources

    What is my favorite writing craft book? This is the question for this month’s Insecure Writer’s Support Group blog. I actually have a few. I have several tried-and-true inspiration resources and then a few new ones that I’m checking out. First, the ones that I rely on: Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg, Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott, Stephen King On Writing and The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. There are some just for specific genres like writing a mystery novel (which I am attempting to do): Writing and Selling your Mystery Novel: How to Knock ’em Dead with Style, by Hallie Ephron and Writing Mysteries edited by…

  • #IWSG,  life after 50,  writing

    IWSG: What would make you stop writing?

    The purpose of the Insecure Writer’s Support Group is to share and encourage other writers. Content is posted the first Wednesday of every month. Answer to July question/writing prompt: In February, I had a detached retina and emergency eye surgery to repair it. They put a buckle around my eye and filled it with gas so it was like looking through a snow globe with my right eye. For almost three months I couldn’t see well (unless I closed one eye). Believe me, I now understand why God gave us two eyes – it’s very hard to see, or keep your balance when walking, or drive with one eye. I…

  • #atozchallenge,  faith,  writing

    Delight!

    Did you know that the Lord God delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in His unfailing love? Psalm 147:11 says so! If I’m asked what gives me joy, I’d have to say that creative writing delights me! When I write, something amazing happens. I receive inexplicable joy. Don’t think for a minute that it’s because I am a great writer. I’m not. It’s just joyful for me to create something, from an inspirational well inside of me, and it’s delightful and liberating. No one person’s writing is like another’s. It as individual as our DNA. According to Holley Gerth, and her book “Coffee for Your Heart,”…

  • Insecure Writer's Support Group,  women over 50,  writing

    IWSG: First Wednesday Favorites

    As writers, we can be our own worst critics, right? Sometimes we look to our favorite authors to keep us encouraged along the journey. This First Wednesday for the Insecure Writer’s Support Group blog hop, I thought it would be fun to mention a few of my favorite authors of all time. You know, those authors you had to read when they had a new book published? You finished the last book only to feel a certain loss that there wasn’t another book in the series to begin? Here are my top (5) Janet Evanovich – Stephanie Plum series This series will have you laughing out loud with the characters…

  • #amwriting,  #IWSG,  life after 50,  writing

    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…

  • #atozchallenge,  flowers,  nature,  spring,  writing

    “P”ansies

    Pansies have been one of my favorite flowers since I was a child. I love the color combinations (deep blues and purples with dots of yellow and white). These pansies were just planted at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods where I work, and a few days later, we received a cold, wet snowfall. I walked by them and they were all curled up, as if they were trying to keep warm. I thought for sure they were dying, and that our late-spring weather had done them in. Several days passed and they sprung back as hearty as ever! The weather warmed up again, spring has continued, and so have these pansies. Although they…