This is an Insecure Writer’s Support Group Post post. (Sorry, got a bit carried away with my proper nouns there.)
The IWSG meets up on the first Wednesday of every month to exchange judgment-free anecdotes about author life.
To check out the other blogs participating or sign up for the group yourself head here.
If you’re hopping don’t forget to stop by the co-host’s pages and say thanks. May’s co-hosts are E.M.A. Timar, J.Q. Rose, C. Lee McKenzie, and our own Raimey Gallant who also runs the Author Toolbox Blog Hop (when do you sleep?).
Every month there’s an optional question to get you started. This month, the question is—It’s spring! Does this season inspire you to write more than others, or not?
And the answer is, yes. Definitely. Winter does have more of a lethargic feel to it. I still work through the cold months but, to be brutally honest, there are a LOT more excuses to take a break right around the holidays. And somehow even my brain starts to seem frozen after the second straight week of snow.
Spring, on the other hand, really does feel like waking up after a long nap. I’ve been submitting more to my freelance jobs, after a long drought. Story ideas are coming together better. I finally climbed over one big old writer’s block that was stumped in my way for months. That fresh green air sweeps through me and I’m ready to write again. I’d be interested to hear if that happens for you too!
Another great thing (probably not related to the fact that it’s spring, but it is a happy coincidence) is finding inspiration from other authors on Instagram. I’m a bookstagram junkie, it’s my social media platform of choice. Lucky for me a lot of other authors are also bookstagram addicts and we trade book recommendations, ideas, memes, fun, support, nerdy things, tags, and information. We are even there for each other when it’s time to find reviewers.
visual representation of what bookstagram feels like
I was lucky enough to be able to read both of author Nico J. Genes’ books (Magnetic Reverie and Reverie Girl) and find a really unique take on losing the love of your life and finding her again in dreams. They were beautiful books, and I would have missed them without bookstagram.
The part I love the most about it is how worldwide it is. Only a few years ago Nico would have published in her country, Slovenia, and I would have published in mine. The odds of us ever crossing paths would have been amazingly small. Now, we’re both online, we both needed reviewers, voilà the path was connected.
And Nico is an inspiration. She doesn’t let the vastness of the world and the millions of other books out there beat her down. She got translators and editors and jumped in to share her stories. She put herself out there asking for reviews. Seeing how fearless she is makes me want to try harder, take a few more risks.
It’s been a pretty inspiring spring, so far.
It is amazing how the Internet and social media are bringing people (and their books) closer together.
Have you found the IWSG on Instagram yet?
I have! I’m always happy to see the Monday motivation post 🙂
It’s amazing how we can connect with kindred spirits around the world through different forms of technology. I’ve found a lot of encouragement and inspiration through the IWSG. Good luck with your writing!
Thank you!
I’m glad your spring has been inspiring. Luckily, we don’t get extreme cold in Oz, so 12 months of the year is writing time!
That nearly convinces me to move there. Except, spiders. I can’t do giant spiders. But oh do I really want to visit New Zealand!
Congratulations on conquering your writer’s block. I have never heard of bookstagram. It is amazing just how many opportunities there are to connect today. I will definitely be popping over to Instagram to check it out! Thanks.
Be careful, bookstagram will suck you in with the excellent book recommendations and pretty pictures of books and then you’re hooked.
The world seems smaller with the use of internet and all the social media platforms. As I am a true believer of ‘everything happens for a reason’ , I think that our connection just started with reading and reviewing ? thank you for the wonderful post and I agree with you, especially during cloudy winter days I don’t have much drill, but now it’s spring, actually over here almost summer ??so just take advantage of the benefits!
I hope to! Cheers to lots of published books this year!
When do I sleep, lol. I’ll get back to you. 🙂 You probably already know this stuff, but here’s the blurb I’m dropping on some of the newer hopper’s posts:
I’m co-hosting this month, and I wanted to offer some tips to our newer hoppers, just things to help you get the most out of the hop. 🙂 1) If you haven’t already, you may want to make sure your Gravatar is up to date. This is because a lot of the hoppers are on WordPress blogs, and Gravatar is the app for leaving comments there, and it allows people to click on your comment so that it brings them directly to your site so they can return your comment. 2) Another thing some people do is leave a link back to their blog directly in the comment. I do this sometimes: http://www.raimeygallant.com 3) You may also want to check out the #IWSG hashtag around social media, especially Twitter. 🙂 Happy hopping!
P.S. Can you please, oh pretty please write a toolbox post about how authors can do bookstagram, because I’m hopeless. No pressure. 😉
I always appreciate your essential info blurbs. You’re so good about welcoming newbies! I refer to your Litsy post all the time, haha. And I’m always down for an excuse to spam my nerdtopia home! I’ll get on that post 🙂
It is great that borders and language rarely hold a book back any more. 🙂
Anna from elements of emaginette
I’m delighted and amazed to find out how worldwide publishing really is now! Also a little intimidated, lol.
I have a reverse mentality when it comes to changing seasons. I am lethargic in the warm months and am energized by fall and winter. And my introverted self just loves to use a deadline (even if self-imposed) to avoid a lot of holiday craziness. Great use of Instagram, by the way!
How cool to use winter as a time to produce though! Awesome for you.
How great to find your blog today on this first Wednesday of the month. Anywhere you find inspiration is a good place, and that includes people. Here’s to spring, and thanks for the great post today.
Anytime! Thanks for stopping by.
I agree the winter holidays can stop writing momentum. For that reason, I try to complete my projects before December. As I’ve stated on other blogs, I prefer writing in autumn, on rainy days, and before normal people wake up. btw Love the animation!
Any post I can use Merlin in, is a good post! haha. I like the idea of setting a deadline of December. It’s a natural time to take a break. Having the deadline in mind would help keep me working in the months before, too. I’ll try it!