#IWSG

Twitter is @TheIWSG Hashtag: #IWSG

The awesome co-hosts for the January 6 posting of the IWSG are Ronel Janse van Vuuren , J Lenni Dorner, Gwen Gardner Sandra Cox, and Louise – Fundy Blue!

Slumps and Spurts #IWSG 12/02/2020

December 2, 2020 By ravenofiernan Leave a Comment

Monthly Status Report

So first off, I missed an IWSG post for the first time last month. I should have done it at the end of October, but I was working on the stories for the Storytime blog hop (mine and V. S. Stark’s – not writing hers, obviously, but getting it set up), which were due October 31, and then suddenly it was November.

And November is National Novel Writing Month. I did write something for IWSG, but I never got around to revising. And because the first Wednesday of December is the second… Well, it is STILL November, but this time, I am writing directly on my website and being careful so it actually gets done.

On the upside, November is National Novel Writing Month, and probably my favorite time of the year! This year got off to a slower than usual start, but I am making up for it. I may not get to my 111,111 word dream goal, but I am currently at 82,000 and nearing the end of the novel, so it’s been a good month.

I also discovered something else about myself this month. I don’t actually want to write better first drafts. I mean, I do, but not that much. I received an email newsletter containing some advice about when to write description, and my immediate response was to dismiss it — not as bad advice, but as advice for revision. I started thinking of all the times I have needed to write badly in order to get a better story, and I realized that I’m not actually willing to let go of that. My fear of stifling my writing into boredom is stronger than my desire to have less revision work. It was an eye-opener to be sure, but a valuable one. Of course, that does mean I need to actually finish my revisions, yes?

I also started streaming on Twitch. I will need to add a button alongside the other social icons I have on this website, but in the meantime, you can catch me at https://www.twitch.tv/ravenofiernan where I will be streaming writing sessions and answering questions. Overall, November has been a fun and productive month.

Optional Monthly Question

December 2 question – Are there months or times of the year that you are more productive with your writing than other months, and why?

If you have gotten this far in the post, you can probably guess the answer. YES! I am NOT a tortoise in the writing world. I am definitely the hare, and I have to agree with the moral of that story: slow and steady WOULD be better. I have serious spurts and slumps, even within the month. Yesterday was my wordiest day of the year so far at 13,645 words, but on the 19th, I only wrote two words. And let’s not talk about the rest of the year.

As for why? I don’t know actually. I think I just go through cycles. There are times when I am very productive with writing, and then other times when I am more productive with other things (cooking, modding Skyrim, doing cover/website work, etc.), and still other times when I just want to curl up and do nothing but read or watch TV/movies, or consume fiction in other ways.

I would like, at some point, to actually level these out a bit, but in the meantime, I enjoy my process. I am never truly bored!

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The awesome co-hosts for the December 2 posting of the IWSG are Pat Garcia, Sylvia Ney, Liesbet @ Roaming About Cathrina Constantine, and Natalie Aguirre!

What is a Working Writer? #IWSG 10/07/2020

October 7, 2020 By ravenofiernan 2 Comments

Monthly Status Report

It seems odd that a whole month has gone by. I got an idea for NaNoWriMo, so there is that, but otherwise, really nothing much happened at all. Life was pretty much the same, both writing-wise and in general. I had off for a whole week for my birthday, but mostly just relaxed and enjoyed myself. The food situation has gotten off track, so I definitely need to tighten up there in October. I have a lot of food in the freezer, but it wouldn’t hurt to have more. I also started working on mods for Skyrim again, and have been enjoying that.

Optional Monthly Question

October 7 question – When you think of the term working writer, what does that look like to you? What do you think it is supposed to look like? Do you see yourself as a working writer or aspiring or hobbyist, and if latter two, what does that look like?

When I think of the term “working writer” I generally think of someone who works at the business of writing every work day, and for “work days” to be at least four per week, probably the same days each week, as if it were another type of job. I think it can coincide with another job, so it does not have to be full time to be considered “working”, but it does need to be more than 10 minutes a day or just on week-ends or during NaNo or something.

I think the work can and should include things other than actual first draft writing, things like revision, editing, promotion, book covers (if doing them yourself), formatting, cover letters, synopses, etc. In other words, the business side as well as the creative side. If you have a platform and fans, this would also include maintaining the platform and engaging with fans.

Where I fall? Well, lately, more of an aspiring writer or hobbyist… I have not been working consistently. But there have been times in my past where I would say I absolutely was a working writer. It’s probably something I should get back to, but not sure when or how. I will be doing NaNo, but for me this year, that definitely doesn’t count since I will be writing something that will actually take me away from my current “working writer” goals and adding to my pile of more revision work. I might do some “working writer” work in October, but since it is only one month, that’s not really consistent, so maybe December as a good, real starting place? I guess we will see.

Wishing everyone a great month!

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The awesome co-hosts for this posting of the IWSG are Jemima Pett, Beth Camp, Beverly Stowe McClure, and Gwen Gardner!

Qualities I Look for in a Beta Reader #IWSG 09/02/2020

September 2, 2020 By ravenofiernan 4 Comments

Find out more at The Insecure Writer’s Support Group

Monthly Status Report

This was a very scatterbrained month. Maybe I am not cut out for self-directed work. I have not gotten much done on the writing front at all, though I have spent every day doing at least some reading/analyzing of The Firm. Very minimal progress, though, and nothing of my own writing. I still have the two short stories I finished in June sitting on my table to read and revise. I also signed up to be a Municipal Liaison for NaNoWriMo, this year, which I’m excited about, and starting to learn about. Lots of new stuff, just very little actual writing.

As for food, I did much better this month than last month, but as usual, still struggling with food prep. I did get some frozen vegetables, which might help in that department, but haven’t actually used any yet since, well, it’s summer, and there are so many good fresh vegetables.

Optional Monthly Question

September 2 question – If you could choose one author, living or dead, to be your beta partner, who would it be and why?

I don’t know, honestly. I don’t think I know anyone well enough to know if they would be a good beta partner. I look more for personality traits than writing traits, to be honest. And my writing goals are very personal. My number one reason for writing is to write the stuff I want to read, but that doesn’t exist because everyone is convinced no one wants to read it, so advice on what will increase my readership based on what “everyone is reading” is not going to be at all helpful, and I could see it leading to conversations that make me look like I am not interested in improving or not willing to take advice from people who are more successful, when that’s not the issue at all. I do want to improve, I just want to improve in a way that leaves my core values and core reason for writing untouched. I think that’s probably true of most writers, but I think a lot of people are afraid to say so.

So, understanding that motivation and willing to put up with my countless “Yes, but what about . . . ?” types of responses would be at the top of my list. I don’t want to just take a suggestion that might end up messing up a different part of the story. It doesn’t mean I don’t want to solve the initial problem, it’s just that I’m not likely to take the very first suggestion I get. I want to be able to have a lot of give and take and discussion to find the very best solution, rather than just the first one.

I’m also highly sensitive. I have a post on why I think writers don’t need thick skin, because I take the metaphor to mean not letting things affect you in the first place, and I think part of what makes us good writers is the fact that we DO feel things, we ARE affected. We need to learn not to act unprofessionally based on our feelings, but to me, this is very different than not feeling it at all. So, another quality I would look for in a beta reader is someone who understands that I will probably be upset when I get their feedback, and to give me time to process it, rather than chiding me for not having “thick skin”. Granted, I tend to throw it back on myself first (“I’m a terrible writer, there’s no point in fixing this because it still won’t be any good,” etc.) rather than aimed at the critique-giver (I don’t think I’ve ever had a reaction of “You’re so stupid to not see how brilliant this is” — though I was flabbergasted once when I was told my secondary character wasn’t believable because he drove a truck, and the vehicle he drove was a Dodge Spirit, which is a sedan), but it’s something I need to get out of my system before I can look at it with a clear head, so I would want a beta willing to get that out of my system without thinking I’m a “special snowflake” who can’t take criticism.

I guess these are similar in that I don’t want to be pegged as a defensive crybaby just because I don’t immediately agree with everything they say and might specifically ask if there are any good points that make the story WORTH revising, rather than just throwing out.

I didn’t think I was going to have much to say about this topic, but I see I was wrong! Have a wonderful September, and let me know your own thoughts on finding a good beta reader, and whether you look for similar or different qualities. Thanks for reading!

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The awesome co-hosts for this posting of the IWSG are PJ Colando, J Lenni Dorner, Deniz Bevan, Kim Lajevardi, Natalie Aguirre, and Louise – Fundy Blue!

Another Quick Update #IWSG 08/05/2020

August 5, 2020 By ravenofiernan 4 Comments

I had a lot of overtime at work and have been extra involved in my Bright Line Eating program, so here I am on August 2, knowing that this short time while my laundry is in the washer is all I really have to write before the post is due on Wednesday. So, this one is even quicker than last month’s, and doesn’t have all the bells and whistles I usually like to have. Luckily, I can copy a lot of it from the previous post and the IWSG sign up page.

As for writing, my July Camp NaNo goal was to analyze the book The Firm by John Grisham. I did not finish, but I got over half-way, and have had a lot of great moments of understanding that I will be able to use in my book once I get back to revising it.

So, that is the first plan for August. If I finish that before the end of the month, I plan to go back to finishing up all the covers for the Hazel Kanetzki short story so I can get feedback on them. So August is looking to be very much a “loose ends” kind of month, and I hope I can get it all done by September, so I can get on to something new. But we will see.

I also have decided to forego traditional publication of my Tarot series, so expect to see those begin to pop up here again, starting with a re-post of 0 – The Fool for the October Storytime Blog Hop. That one will always be available for free on my website. The others will be available for free at first, but then removed over time. I have not yet decided whether to leave them up until I publish the first collection (which will be the Major Arcana) or to take each one down as soon as the next one goes up.

With that, here are the important links for the Insecure Writers’ Support Group! May you all have a wonderful month!

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Twitter is @TheIWSG Hashtag: #IWSG

The awesome co-hosts for the August 5 posting of the IWSG are Susan Baury Rouchard, Nancy Gideon, Jennifer Lane, Jennifer Hawes, Chemist Ken, and Chrys Fey!

Short and Sweet Update #IWSG 07/01/2020

July 1, 2020 By ravenofiernan 4 Comments

Monthly Status Report

June was still focused mostly on the eating, and while I didn’t do as well as I wanted, I have gotten rid of the biggest offenders (chips, ramen, etc.) and in general, I am feeling better, though the food prep is still frustrating at times.

Near the end of the month, I got back to writing, though, and have been writing some short stories for anthologies! One of the deadlines IS July 1, so while I am writing this post early, I’m not done with the story and there is still a chance I will get it done it time. That is why this post is so short this month. Darn deadlines!

Optional Monthly Question

July 1 question – There have been many industry changes in the last decade, so what are some changes you would like to see happen in the next decade?

Wow. I am such a newbie on this. I think the main thing is that I want there to NOT be a monopoly. I want other companies besides Amazon to continue to thrive and grow. Yes, it might be more difficult to market on multiple platforms, but I just like lots of variety and options, so I want to participate everywhere.

And that’s all for this week. Have a fantastic July everyone, and see you again in August!

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Twitter is @TheIWSG Hashtag: #IWSG

The awesome co-hosts for the July 1 posting of the IWSG are Jenni Enzor, Beth Camp, Liesbet @ Roaming About, Tyrean Martinson, and Sandra Cox!

Secrets #IWSG 06/03/2020

June 3, 2020 By ravenofiernan 2 Comments

Monthly Status Report

May started out pretty much the way April ended. Still working on covers, still hanging out in my house, that sort of thing.

However, I noticed that my thoughts and actions concerning food and drink were getting a little out of hand, so near the end of May (exactly one week ago as I write this, about a week and a half from when it will be posted), I started doing Bright Line Eating (BLE) again. It’s an eating plan meant to minimize addiction to food; I don’t have a high addiction to food itself (at least according to the little quiz they have), but I struggle a lot with entitlement and rebellion, so am not where I want to be. I’m not a proseltyser and this is a writing post, so I’m only going to share a few more things, and no link. If you are interested, searching on Bright Line Eating should get you there.

The only other thing I will say is that it is NOT keto, though it does map well onto the more generous guidelines Dr. Fung lays out in The Obesity Code, aside from meals: BLE recommends exactly three meals a day and not skipping breakfast, while Dr. Fung recommends skipping breakfast and potentially starting intermittent fasting. Note that I am specifically talking about that one book. When surrounded by other Dr. Fung followers, I was occasionally accused of “cheating” because in other areas, his recommendations are much more specific. In this book, he allows whole grain and fruit, and any number of whole vegetables, which I understand are NOT recommended by him in other places and not part of a keto plan (the book is also NOT a keto book, and he mentions it as one of many plans you can follow). BLE by contrast recommends LOTS of vegetables (so many I can’t usually finish them all), fruit at breakfast and lunch, and whole grains at breakfast. Anyway, it worked for me before, so that is why I am doing it again. If keto or Weight Watchers or whatever else you are doing is working for you, that’s great! And if just living and eating the way you normally do works, that is even better!

On the writing front, not much new in the way of words, but I finished some more covers, and I should be done shortly. After that, I plan to continue preparing my short story for publication and figuring out the spam issue with my website so that I can then offer the story as a free sign-up bonus for my newsletter.

Optional Monthly Question

June 3 question – Writers have secrets! What are one or two of yours, something readers would never know from your work?

Well, at this point, I suppose it is not a surprise that I am going to talk about addiction and habits. I have a very addictive personality and can get caught up in whatever it is that holds my interest at a given point. This is one of the reasons NaNoWriMo is so successful for me. I tend to have one major area of focus, and the rest of my life kind of fades away. I clean irregularly, whenever I happen to notice that it is just way too bad or when I am in the mood. I’ve finally gotten to the point where my dishes get done regularly and the clothes laundry is done every week. Sheets and towels — I try for once a week, but usually don’t manage that.

I have tried countless exercise and yoga plans, but I usually don’t get much longer than a week or two. And sometimes (gasp!) I even forget to brush my teeth. Yeah, not pretty!

But I am making progress on all of this. While I still have near obsessive focus with whatever my main interest is, I’ve started being able to combine things. Last year, I was able to do my writing for the day, and then play some Skyrim — something that would have been impossible two years ago (it would have either been the writing OR Skyrim).

I have found some success in morning, evening, and night routines, though sometimes I only do one of the things that’s listed as part of the routine (for example writing (which for me includes anything that is moving me forward, including these blogs and the covers, etc.) almost always happens in the evening routine, but the dishes are much rarer). But over time, I am getting better, and I know that if I continue to show up, overall, the progress will be good, even if not linear.

So that’s my secret today! Thank you for reading.

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Twitter is @TheIWSG Hashtag: #IWSG

And here are the awesome co-hosts for the June 3 posting of the IWSG!

Pat Garcia
J.Q. Rose
Natalie Aguirre

Ritual #IWSG 05/06/2020

May 6, 2020 By ravenofiernan 4 Comments

Monthly Status Report

April, of course, was another strange month in terms of what’s going on in the world. For me, pretty much status quo. I am missing meeting with my writing friend, and the retreat I’ve gone to for the past two years was canceled, but otherwise, things are pretty much the same for me. The huge influx of work the middle of March at my day job settled down, and is also sort of back to normal. In positive news on that front, they love me and gave me a raise! I know that makes me extremely lucky in these times where many are losing their jobs, being laid off, or having to close their businesses.

April is also Camp NaNoWriMo — being an online free event, it still proceeded with gusto. If you read my report from last month, you know that I have been working on covers for my reader magnet. I finished twelve more of them during Camp as my Camp project. I also was part of a wonderful cabin and had a lot of fun. I even did some writing and finished another short story and started a new novel idea… but I don’t know when I will get back to that. I really don’t need any new novel ideas right now.

For May, I plan to finish the still remaining 4 covers and add the little series branding logo I created for one of the middle covers to all the covers that came before it. Then I am going to work more on my website. You may have noticed that I removed my email newsletter sign up form. I looked in my Spam folder and found thousands of bad email spam from this website with my name on it, so I don’t want to open it back up until I figure out how to stop it. I haven’t even started investigating yet, but it is definitely something I need to get to. Then get a new newsletter set up once the spam problem is dealt with.

Optional Monthly Question

May 6 question – Do you have any rituals that you use when you need help getting into the ZONE? Care to share?

I love ritual. But strangely, my ritual to get in the zone is very minimal, and more a routine than a ritual. I know many people use the terms interchangeably, but for me, a ritual involves a kind of spiritual attention and purpose, while routine is just the actions. I don’t usually have a ritualistic mindset when I write, which, again, I actually find rather odd. Anyway, the main thing is getting set up with something to drink (coffee in the morning, water or black tea in the afternoon, and water or green/herbal tea at night — I used to have wine, but wine puts me to sleep and gives me a headache, so not really good for writing). Then I put on my hour-long playlist, which is a bunch of classical pieces that are 1) the right length for the playlist and 2) associated with Halloween for me or at least seem somewhat sinister. The actual list is:

J. S. Bach – Toccata and Fugue
L. Beethoven – 5th Symphony
A. Vivaldi – Winter, first movement
J. S. Bach – Cello Suite #2, 6. gigue
C. Saint-Saëns – Danse macabre
C. Gounod – Funeral March of a Marionette (Alfred Hitchcock theme)
P. Dukas – The Sorcerer’s Apprentice
M. Mussorgsky – Night on Bald Mountain
P. Tchaikovsky – Marche Slave
K. Jenkins – Palladio: I. Allegretto (the Zales diamond song)

So, I have my (usually warm) drink, my document open, and music playing, and my fingers just fly! Not as fast as some, but I average around 2,000 words an hour, which is pretty good, I think.

One last thing: I do all my drafting (not revision or planning) in the free program FocusWriter. I have my own theme set up with amber Courier on a dark blue background with a raven. Here is a screenshot with some lorem ipsum:

Get FocusWriter here: https://gottcode.org/focuswriter/

That also puts me in the right mood for all the magic and mystery of my first drafts!

What sort of routines and rituals do you have?

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Feather Stone
Beverly Stowe McClure
Mary Aalgaard
Kim Lajevardi
Chemist Ken

And here are the awesome co-hosts for the April 1 posting of the IWSG!

Attitude #IWSG 04/01/2020

April 1, 2020 By ravenofiernan 4 Comments

Monthly Status Report

It’s been an interesting month on the writing front. More on that with the optional question, but the main thing is that I had a good conversation with someone about newsletters, and we decided that my primary focus right now needs to be getting my reader magnet ready. She had several resources, but probably due to the virus, never got around to sharing them, so I am doing everything myself.

In particular, that means covers. Lots and lots of covers. I am taking Holly Lisle’s Title. Cover. Copy class (which I bought ages ago either at a discount or when I had extra funds — not sure which at the moment), and it involves coming up with 6 titles (voted on by others) and then creating four covers for each title. That’s a LOT of covers: 24 for those of you not counting at home. For a short story. But it is good practice, and I enjoy it. I have pretty much finished the first eight.

The story is a prequel to the Hazel Kanetzki series of witch cozy mysteries, which features her first encounter with her ability to go into trance when in the presence of the dead bodies she prepares. It also explores her relationship with her late husband.

I have no ETA on when I will have it available, but keep watching this space for when it does.

Optional Monthly Question

Every month, there is an optional question you can answer. I like them because they usually allow me to share more about myself as a writer and as a person in a way I might not have thought of myself. So, here is this month’s question:

April 1 question – The IWSG’s focus is on our writers. Each month, from all over the globe, we are a united group sharing our insecurities, our troubles, and our pain. So, in this time when our world is in crisis with the covid-19 pandemic, our optional question this month is: how are things in your world?

Surprisingly well. The answer may change the further into Virus-land we go, but for now, I find myself in an exceptionally lucky position.

Physical Health: My own health seems to be fine. I am cautious and staying at home.

Mental Health: Mentally, I am only spending a short time on the news and deliberately seeking out more informative/less sensationalized outlets. I feel I have a handle on the things I need to know (state orders, medical advice, etc.) without going down the rabbit hole of everything that could go wrong or that is going wrong in other places. By other places, I mean not my home and not my parents’ home. It’s possible a lot is going wrong even in my city. The fact is, we aren’t testing anyone hardly, so no one really knows how many have it.

Also, I am an introvert, so for now, my reaction to “must stay at home” is more like “get to stay at home” and “don’t have to go anywhere”. That may change, but right now, I’m not going to try to make myself more miserable just because I might be frustrated later. I’ll be frustrated then anyway.

Financial Health: Good. Better than planned actually. My job is one of the few that is not suffering in this crisis. I do telephone interviews from home for people who are applying for life insurance (or disability, etc. but not health). I was already working from home, so did not need to change anything about how I do my job. Not only that, but instead of having cut hours we have been having overtime the last few weeks and the calls have been going crazy. This may die down as more and more agents are unable to get out, but hopefully, more of them will switch to Tele-sales anyway. As it is, it is really worrying to hear about agents going into the homes of 70-some year old people to sell them life insurance.

I have pretty much everything I need. I happened to get extra toilet paper before the shortage (but extra is starting to be less than extra now), and have been making sure to have enough food and other supplies if I need to actually be stuck at home for 14 days.

Social Health: Probably not that great, but it wasn’t that great to begin with. See above about being an introvert. The main disappointment was the cancellation of the writer’s retreat I was looking forward to and the meetings with my writing friend every Sunday. I’m not good at (read: don’t enjoy) social media much, so my main “socialization” has been my calls to my parents.

My main concern through all of this is my parents’ and other people’s health. I am not really worried about experiencing the virus myself. I am more concerned about the possibility of NOT having symptoms and inadvertently passing the virus on to someone else who suffers more. That thought really bothers me and is enough to keep me at home most of the time and to be extremely cautious when I go out.

So on that note: I wish you all the best. And – does anyone know where I can get some toilet paper?

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