Blogging

The Insecure Writer’s Support Group Didn’t Raise No Quitter

The Insecure Writer’s Support Group meets online the first Wednesday of every month to share, commiserate, and encourage each other. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds! You can sign up for the group yourself by going here. The awesome co-hosts for the July 7 posting of the IWSG are Pat Garcia, Victoria Marie Lees, and Louise – Fundy Blue! And the IWSG chose to go straight for the superior vena cava today with the question: What would make you quit…

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Why Titles are Literally the Worst

Inquiring authors want to know: What’s harder for you to come up with, book titles or character names? (It’s me. I’m inquiring authors.) My answer: Titles. Titles are the hardest thing ever. Titles are horrible, nasty, no good, very bad, brain-killing beasts. Compared to titles, naming my characters is a breeze. And not like, a fourteen-kilometer-per-hour windstorm breeze, one of those gentle zephyr kind. So many options, all of them easy breezy. I can use names I like the sound…

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Author Life: Tiptoe Through the AHHH TOO MANY BUTTERFLIES GET THEM OFF OF ME

I’m going to take a leap of faith and generalize something because this has been bothering me lately and I want it out in the world to bother you, too. Although in any other context generalizing is a BAD IDEA and I should never ever do it…in this one case I think it’s less a stereotype and more of a sterling truth. Authors/Writers live a life stuffed full of imaginings. I feel like this is true of all of us.…

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The Insecure Writer’s Support Group Getting Shelved

The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Post your thoughts on your own blog. Talk about your doubts and the fears you have conquered. Discuss your struggles and triumphs. Offer a word of encouragement for others who are struggling. Visit others in the group and connect with your fellow writer – aim for a dozen new people each time – and return comments. This group is all about connecting! The awesome co-hosts for the June 2 posting…

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Book Tropes: I Hate Everyone. Who Isn’t You.

This trope flavor du jour starts with a firm, succulent base of Brooding Big Bad. Spicy hints of Shades of Grey add to the morality, while robust kicks of Standoffish, Blunt, and Guarded finish the dish for a well-rounded palate. The discerning reader will love the fact that this character absolutely has no time for anyone in the world . . . except for that one, special someone they can’t resist. They are secretly (OH so secretly) soft and protective…

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Author Life: Putting a Book on Draft2Digital

We’re starting out with the first, basic baby-steps to independent authoring. Well, no. The actual first step is to finish a book. Truly finish not just hit 60K, write “the end”, and shove that sucker out of the nest all bare-assed without even pinfeathers. Your book must hatch: cheep loudly demanding brainworms until you think you may well lose your mind: require hand-fed edits and critiques to grow: regurgitate some re-writes: and get a few more edits just to be…

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Surprise! It’s an IWSG Posting

The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Post your thoughts on your own blog. Talk about your doubts and the fears you have conquered. Discuss your struggles and triumphs. You can find the group on social media with #IWSG. Also, ¡Feliz cinco de Mayo! Recuerda, no hay ninguna fiesta de alcohol los estadounidenses no robarán ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Every month, a group of wonderful co-hosts steers us all towards meaningful discussion. We owe our May thanks to  Erika Beebe,…

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Author Life: Setting Off on My Self Publishing Voyage

Agent querying has been what I would humbly term an “Epic Fail”. A solid year of querying the latest finished manuscript has netted exactly zero interested replies. And each publisher accepting un-agented manuscripts replied to my submission with an email which basically said “not for us, but if you do write something else—something, y’know, better—we would love to see it. Take care. Bye.” I’m still not willing to give up, though. This manuscript made it to the finals of an…

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Book Tropes: Award For Most Adorkable

Quick internet search tells me that a nerd is defined as; “a person seen as overly intellectual, obsessive, introverted, interested in obscure or not-popular things, and lacking social skills.” Basically? I am ALL OF THOSE THINGS. It’s like the internet knows my life!* *Dear NSA Agent skimming my blog: please do spend some quality time with my trope rec posts. I promise you will need reading material because my life is very boring and these books are more fun. Also…

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The Insecure Writer’s Support Group Takes Risks

The Insecure Writer’s Support Group meets online on the first Wednesday of every month for the purpose of sharing expertise, discussing struggles and triumphs, and most especially propping supports underneath other struggling writers. Come, come join us and offer your own insecurities to the fresh air and sunshine. Fresh air kills insecurities, they’re exactly like viruses. Just trust me on this. To sign up for the group yourself, click here. You can also find the group on social media by…

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