Author
INSECURE WRITER’S SUPPORT GROUP
FOUNDED BY
Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh
Twitter is @TheIWSG Hashtag: #IWSG
Not much to say here. I’ve been more worried about writing than actually writing this week. The month overall wasn’t too bad, but I was in a weird sort of flux between the fanfic I’m working on in first draft (100k in and about 1/3 of the way through, so looking to be a very long one) and planning my NaNo novel — I prefer being old school and writing a whole complete novel from start to finish during the month. There’s a certain cadence and rhythm to doing it that way.
I don’t do actual plotting unless I’m in the mood (I find that once I start writing, I end up tossing much of what I’ve planned), but I do like to know the characters and setting. I did a lot of setting work this month. I write these on Sunday, so today is actually 10/31, which means NaNo has not yet started. I do want to get a slightly better idea of the plot before I start, as well as getting to know some of the characters a little better, even though I know who they all are (well, the important ones, anyway).
Blurb. Blurb is MUCH harder than title. The title can be hard, but often one will just come, and if it doesn’t I can play around with different ideas until one does. I also have more practice with titles than blurbs since I am still mostly in the first draft phase — or, at least, pre-revision phase (most of my first drafts are done, but I haven’t started revising them yet — I’m over 5 years into my first real revision).
With characters, it’s the opposite, though. I find it much easier to summarize who the characters are than to name them. That’s one of the big problems I am running into right now with planning this NaNo novel – I have a very good sense of who and what the characters are, but no idea what their names are!
INSECURE WRITER’S SUPPORT GROUP
FOUNDED BY
Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh
Twitter is @TheIWSG Hashtag: #IWSG
The awesome co-hosts for the November 3 posting of the IWSG are Kim Lajevardi, Victoria Marie Lees, Joylene Nowell Butler, Erika Beebe, and Lee Lowery!
So this past week was my birthday week. I had some plans, but they all kind of fell through. The cabin where I was going to stay had poor management, and I spent way too much time trying to find where to check in, then find where the actual cabin was, and then try to figure out how to keep warm… There was a thermostat on the wall, but it didn’t seem to work, and a very empty and ashy fireplace with no instructions. So then I came home, expecting that if I couldn’t have a nice night in the cabin, at least I’d have more time during the day to do nifty stuff… But then my stomach rebelled. I have a stomach condition with occasional episodes, but I hadn’t had an episode in forever it seems, but no, of course it had to come back then. Thankfully, I was able to sleep through it (the usual best course of action if it works), but that meant I got up at 3pm feeling groggy and not quite well. Needless to say, not much got done.
My actual birthday, though, was the day before all of this, and I had a lovely dinner with my parents and then we watched Forrest Gump — this was the first time I’ve seen it, and it’s a movie I have long thought I needed to see. It did not disappoint, so my actual birthday turned out quite nice.
This feels like opening a can of worms. I don’t have too many limits in my actual writing. Maybe I should have more. I do have limits around writing, though. One of my hard limits is never to speak poorly of other writers, especially about their writing. Their character — thankfully, I have not actually met any writers of bad character, though I have heard many horror stories. But even there, I would not reveal names unless I was warning a particular person about someone who might harm them specifically. Again, I haven’t had the need to do anything like that. All the writers I’ve met have been great people as well. That may change if I ever have any success.
As far as the actual topic goes, though, I don’t really have lines. I will say I tend not to swear much, but that isn’t because of a line I’ve drawn, it’s more that I just don’t swear that much, and I find excessive swearing to be uninteresting. It’s not a moral opposition to swearing, although I was a teacher at one point, so have also made it a habit to not swear for that setting, which surely affects my swearing today.
As for topics, I don’t have many limits there, either. The only thing I tend not to write is pure autobiographical stuff because, again, I find it boring. I already lived my life; when I read and write, I want to live other lives.
So, in the end, I guess I only have one limit in my writing: boredom. I don’t write stuff that bores me (at least not on purpose). And while others may say that confusing the reader is the worst thing a writer can do, I still maintain that boring the reader is much worse. After all, sometimes I want confusion, but I never want boredom.
INSECURE WRITER’S SUPPORT GROUP
FOUNDED BY
Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh
Twitter is @TheIWSG Hashtag: #IWSG
The awesome co-hosts for the October 6 posting of the IWSG are Jemima Pett, J Lenni Dorner, Cathrina Constantine, Ronel Janse van Vuuren, and Mary Aalgaard!
This week, I have been working on fan fiction for Camp Nano. I am combining 3 stories I have already written or at least partially written, and then adding in a new one. Only counting new words for Camp, of course. And very glad that I found a way to eventually post the extremely self-indulgent piece I’ve become the most attached to! But, because it is so much fun, I am not much in the mood for blogging and want to get right back to it. So, this week’s IWSG offering is slim. As for the optional question about what would make me stop writing: all I could come up with were things that caused actual inability to write, such as losing my mind or being in a coma or something. And even then, I’d probably resort to making up stories in my head…
INSECURE WRITER’S SUPPORT GROUP
FOUNDED BY
Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh
Twitter is @TheIWSG Hashtag: #IWSG
The awesome co-hosts for the July 7 posting of the IWSG are Pat Garcia, Victoria Marie Lees, and Louise – Fundy Blue!
Well, this week was unproductive. It’s not so much that I haven’t been writing, but rather what I have been writing. Which is a particular fanfiction piece I started over ten years ago — around 2006 I think, but not 100% sure. There’s nothing wrong with fanfiction in general, and at some point, I may put a link to my work if people are interested, but for the moment, I am not sure about it. But this particular fanfiction piece… I can’t post it because it’s basically a fanfiction of another fanfiction, and starts in the middle of the other author’s chapter 20. Yeah. So, there is absolutely no future for this story.
But I am loving it. And I’ve done some revision, and I have some scenes that absolutely blow me away, so I am kind of stuck on it at the moment. It’s also incredibly self-indulgent.
So, there you go: writer writing exclusively for the pure pleasure of it. And: we need those sometimes.
This is a good question, so I am happy to answer it. I don’t have a specific amount of time. It takes me over 5 years to revise a novel so far (I started my current revision, the only one that I haven’t given up on, in July 2015 and I’m still not done with in). In the meantime, I have written five additional first draft novels, which, obviously, I have not started revising yet. I also had about 10 first draft novels before that one. So, basically, I start revising when I’m done with the previous revision.
As far as ideals go, I think I would like to have at least a month. But, for now, it’s going to continue being years… Until I get faster at revision.
INSECURE WRITER’S SUPPORT GROUP
FOUNDED BY
Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh
Twitter is @TheIWSG Hashtag: #IWSG
The awesome co-hosts for the June 2 posting of the IWSG are J Lenni Dorner, Sarah Foster, Natalie Aguirre, Lee Lowery, and Rachna Chhabria!
So, another long, tiring week at work, and not much done to show for it. But I will share the current covers anyway — these were made last year. Since this is an #IWSG post, it’s possible other people will see — these are just my very first attempts at this sort of thing, so feel free to offer any feedback and/or tell me which one(s) you like most.
The story is about a woman who is a funeral director whose husband has just died. She is preparing his body when something exceptional occurs. It’s not romance and there is a paranormal element. It’s connected to my Hazel Kanetzki series of cozy paranormal mysteries, but it is not a mystery itself.
Oh boy. This is a can of worms, isn’t it? Absolutely. I don’t deliberately add controversial topics, but they end up sneaking in because I mainly want to write what doesn’t exist yet. I love reading, but when I write, I want to write what I want to read but can’t find. And so that leads into what I personally and uniquely find missing, which, by definition means it’s not the usual.
And I have the problem where I like to read, and therefore write, in many different genres. At least, I have heard that is a problem. People searching on my name might run into drastically different stuff, so my Also Boughts are going to be a mess… Assuming I even get something finished.
My riskiest novel is one that has been set aside. It is a retelling of Snow White. The step-mother is only a few years older than Snow White, and the prince is her former lover who curses her, and unleashes insanity (basically the archetypal world warping everyone into archetypes — so it forces the step-mother into the evil stepmother role, for example). So all three of them are slowly going insane. It’s written in alternating first person from these three unreliable narrators. I want to get back to it at some point, but not sure when I will. Oh, and then there’s the idea (not even a first draft yet) of the sister of an abused girl who frames the abuser of serial killers and goes insane as she begins to become addicted to killing… Um, yeah. That one might never get written.
Even when I am in more mainstream genres, like the aforementioned cozy mysteries, I find myself wanting to play with the tropes and avoid the most common things (on the other hand, as far as tropes go, I love vampires, just not vampire romances, or at least not the typical brooding/protective male vampire with human female romances).
I think I am starting to ramble here, though, so I will leave you with these oh-so-amateur book covers!
INSECURE WRITER’S SUPPORT GROUP
FOUNDED BY
Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh
Twitter is @TheIWSG Hashtag: #IWSG
Thanks to our awesome co-hosts for the April 7 posting of the IWSG! PK Hrezo, Pat Garcia, SE White, Lisa Buie Collard, and Diane Burton!
So, you may or may not have noticed, but I forgot to update last week. Whoops! I’m still not used to the weekly blogging thing, I guess. In any case, I write these on Sundays, so even though you will be reading this on Wednesday, February 3, today is actually the last day of January. So it feels right to return to a monthly report. On the whole, January was, as many have been before, a rather fractured month. Inspired by the hopeful energy of the New Year, I must admit I chose to start WAY TOO MANY new classes. There’s a meditation class, a health class, a WordPress class, and a Mailerlite class, and I am now behind on all of them. The meditation, despite being one of the classes without a deadline, is the one that is doing the best. On the other hand, my routines have been solid, which is a new and refreshing thing, and possibly the reason the meditation class is going so well, since it is part of my evening routine. I now have five items on my morning routine, seven on my evening (around dinner) routine, and six on my night (right before bed) routine. I have been getting most things done every day, though there is usually one of the evening or night that just doesn’t get done. I try not to let it be the same one as the day before, but since I have been doing guided meditation in the evening, I sometimes skip the unguided meditation at night. Writing and the peripheral activities (January was for the website) have also been doing well, thanks to the routines and the new streaming on Sundays. I get a story done each week during the stream, and I’ve also been able to do a blog post each week. I stream for 3 hours, so there is plenty of time. I will see at the end of this post if I managed my 10,000 word goal for the month, but if I don’t make it, I will at least be close.
I hate to say this, but no. Actually not at all, unless you count my earliest days of online journaling when I had an Open Diary account. I made friends through that, but they have all passed on over time. Most of the friendships I have with posters on my blog have actually come from other areas, such as NaNoWriMo and Holly’s Writing Classes. I’ll give a quick shout out to those because Holly Lisle has temporarily lowered the prices to 50% off all classes over $20 due to the economic struggles we are all facing. I’ll be returning to How To Revise Your Novel in February, and I maintain that it is the very best writing class I have ever taken. Getting it for half off would be a steal. In fair disclosure, that is an affiliate link. If you prefer not to use it, you can do an internet search on Holly’s Writing Classes, and you will find all her offerings including that class. I have made a lot of friends through the forums, so even if all you get is the free flash fiction class, it comes with free, perpetual access to the forums*.
It is one of the best places on the internet, full of empathetic and compassionate people trying to help each other on the writing journey. My affiliate link to the free flash fiction course is here: How to Write Flash Fiction that Doesn’t SUCK
Of course, the lack of blog-related friendships is on me. I’m not very social. I recognize that to have good success with blogging, I need to go to other blogs and comment, and somehow, that part of the equation always gets skipped. It’s something I need to work on because when I do take the time, I am amazed by all the wonderful insights and perspectives I encounter. To link this to the previous section, it seems like, once the current routines are 100% solid rather than just mostly solid, I could add blog-reading to either the morning or evening routines (before bed would be silly!). Something I’ll have to consider!
INSECURE WRITER’S SUPPORT GROUP
FOUNDED BY
Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh
Twitter is @TheIWSG Hashtag: #IWSG
The awesome co-hosts for the February 3 posting of the IWSG are Louise – Fundy Blue , Jennifer Lane, Mary Aalgaard, Patsy Collins at Womagwriter, and Nancy Gideon!
*assuming good behavior, of course, as is true of all forums.
December was a quiet month for me. As usual, my monthly goal was just to finish up loose ends, and I am happy to report that I have finished the rough draft of Prime Tower. I wrote most of it in November for National Novel Writing Month, but didn’t quite finish. I was able to get it done on Sunday, December 27 during my weekly writing stream.
Speaking of which, that has become a new part of my life, and it has become completely habitual. I still fumble around when I don’t know what to say during the chatting breaks, but they are still nice to have, and it is enjoyable to converse with the people who show up while also getting work done!
I did create my loose yearly plan, which looks like this currently:
December 2020: Loose Ends
January 2021: Website work
February 2021: Revision of Cipher
March 2021: Covers/Copy for the Hazel Kanetzki short story
April 2021: Camp Nano: Revision of Cipher
May 2021: Revision
June 2021: Website work
July 2021: Revision
August 2021: Revision
September 2021: Covers/Copy
October 2021: Nano Prep
November 2021: NaNoWriMo
December 2021: Loose Ends
If I happen to finish the whole revision before the end of August, I think I will work on developing either the Hazel Kanetzki or Cipher series. I think it is highly unlikely, though, because I am a very slow reviser!
This is a difficult question. It’s pretty rare that I don’t finish something I have started reading. Besides being a completionist in general, I am also almost always curious about what will happen next. So, most of the things I can think of are not actually deal breakers, just things I am tired of or get frustrated with. So here they are, in no particular order:
I’m sure there are others, but these are the main ones. You may notice that I don’t have anything like “bad writing” or “grammar mistakes” or anything like that. That’s because I actually tend not to notice those things unless I am trying to. And I don’t like trying to unless I have a good reason. When I am reading for pleasure, it all goes right past me as I devour the story. But the things above will distract me and irritate me. I may not put the book down, but I may sigh . . . and wish it had been something else.
Which is why these books are often ones of great value. Because it’s these missed moments that give me the inspiration for my own works, and why I continue to write and find great joy in the writing. Because I’m writing the stuff I can’t find anywhere else. And maybe others will appreciate the novelty as well.
FOUNDED BY
Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh
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!
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.
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!
FOUNDED BY
Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh
Twitter is @TheIWSG Hashtag: #IWSG
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!
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.
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!
FOUNDED BY
Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh
Twitter is @TheIWSG Hashtag: #IWSG
The awesome co-hosts for this posting of the IWSG are Jemima Pett, Beth Camp, Beverly Stowe McClure, and Gwen Gardner!