It’s an old saying “What you gain on the swings, you lose on the roundabouts.”  I think it’s to do with the ups and downs of life, some things go well, others don’t.  Two steps forward and one step back. It’s all progress of a kind.

So, thinking of my Insecure Writers Support Group post today, I thought about the ups and down of a writer’s life, and as one picture I saw last month put it:

You can tell you’re a writer when you have more half-written novels and ideas for stories than you have friends.

Last month I was feeling jaded by Christmas.  There was all the flurry of presents, and visiting, and family, and if you’re like me, cleaning up to let people actually get into your house without recoiling in horror.  Hey, life is for writing, not for cleaning!

One month on I’m feeling more positive.  The planned releases for 2017 that seemed so far away at the end of last year are either reaching that exciting time of firm dates, or I’ve moved into the new reality of ‘maybe not this year’.  Books will be ready when they are ready.  I can plan and prepare, but the editing and rewriting process has its own ebb and flow, and like the tides, they cannot be ordered by a mere mortal.

But I would like to say a big THANK YOU to everyone who has visited my IWSG posts over the last year or so, because it’s been an up and down time, and you’ve been there to offer advice or just kind words.

Which is great, because that’s exactly why we have the IWSG.

So now let’s go and see some other people who may need some support 🙂

Check out the IWSG sign-up list here, and go hopping!

#IWSG | Swings and Roundabouts
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14 thoughts on “#IWSG | Swings and Roundabouts

  • 1 February, 2017 at 12:53 pm
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    Hi Jemima – I can see the support the IWSG crowd gives each other … yes I’ve been having a bad time – did get two tick boxes for ups today … just rather a lot to do before life settles though … take care and have a good week – cheers Hilary

    • 1 February, 2017 at 6:06 pm
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      Hope things continue on the up, Hilary. I suppose it would help if I sent those photos I owe you :O

  • 1 February, 2017 at 12:59 pm
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    Hi,
    I’m laughing about cleaning up your house to entertain family and friends during the holidays. Those are my feelings too. I even dread to let them come in my office where I write. I have papers everywhere and don’t want them to be disturbed.
    Shalom aleichem,
    Pat

    • 1 February, 2017 at 6:08 pm
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      I have finally relaxed about the state of my office. It’s my space, and if you come in you can see me as I am. Then again, only special people come in my office… those that want to meet Kevin and Midge, usually 😀

  • 1 February, 2017 at 4:03 pm
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    I got off easy on the house-cleaning front–we celebrated at the in-laws’, and I didn’t have to clean my house.

    Glad things are looking up for you, and hope the swings stay up and the roundabout behaves itself (I don’t know about in England, but over here, kids are sadly soon not even going to know what those are. No roundabouts for a whole generation already, and mostly the swings are going, too. And you can totally forget about the see-saws).

    • 1 February, 2017 at 6:09 pm
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      Yeah, all these dangerous toys for people to play on – and learn to judge when to jump off – centrifugal and centripetal forces in action… goodness knows how they teach physics these days…. mutter, mutter….

    • 2 February, 2017 at 10:06 am
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      Well, of course, that was yesterday 😀

    • 3 February, 2017 at 6:18 pm
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      Thanks, Juneta – have a good month 🙂

  • 3 February, 2017 at 3:56 pm
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    If it’s not the right time for a release, it’s all right.
    Since you have to clean for guests, be nice if they cleaned up after themselves before they leave.

    • 3 February, 2017 at 6:20 pm
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      I’m frustrated with my books at present, but if they’re not good enough, I need to work more on them. I’m nearly always happy with the Princelings books, though.
      The guests are house-trained. It’s me that was brought up in a barn 😀

  • 5 February, 2017 at 8:55 pm
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    “you lose on the roundabouts” I love that old saying! As I’ve had some unexpected (recovery) time to assess my works in progress, and given the “You can tell if you’re a writer…” adage you shared, my entire work, writer and health forecast has brightened considerably – thank you! Pleasant writing 😉

    • 5 February, 2017 at 8:57 pm
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      Thanks, Diedre! Good luck with all those ideas in your head 🙂

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