Our Insecure Writers Support Group theme of the day is: Did you ever say “I quit”? If so, what happened to make you come back to writing? Before I get around to answering the question… a big THANK YOU to
#IWSG | I Quit! Or do I?
#IWSG – a question of writing research
Doing writing research is not something I do a great deal (see my U post for the A to Z Challenge to discover why). This month the Insecure Writers Support Group suggested tackling the question: What is the weirdest/coolest thing
Zanzibar’s Rings #AtoZChallenge
Zanzibar’s Rings is the working title of the third book in the Viridian System series. It seems a bit daft, really, since I haven’t republished The Perihelix yet, which I withdrew after it got reviews which showed it really needed
News Round-up #AtoZChallenge
A news round-up is a generic term for Monday posts on my blog. This is my spot for discussions, events, things I’ve discovered or done, announcements and sometimes “I don’t know what to say today so I’m making it up
Illustrations in children’s books #AtoZChallenge
Illustrations in Children’s books (older children – 9 to 12 years old, or middle grade) has been a hot topic over at the Goodreads Great Middle Grade Reads group. Every time I find a book with illustrations I notice them
Distractions #IWSG #AtoZChallenge
Distractions from the A to Z Challenge No.1: the first Wednesday of the month is the Insecure Writers Support Group. Today is also letter D in the A to Z Challenge. Now there’s a distraction from the proper job of writing. Tips
#IWSG | Swings and Roundabouts
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.
#IWSG – Things I wish I didn’t know
If it’s your first day back, Happy New Year. Welcome to the January edition of the Insecure Writers Support Group post. You can sign up or visit other insecure writers here… What we do is write about our troubles, or
#IWSG December – the five year question
Welcome to December’s Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. If you haven’t joined in yet, why not? It’s a way of sharing the ups and downs of our writing lives with others who know what they went through, and can appreciate your
#IWSG | Not the NaNoWriMo post
Welcome to this month’s Insecure Writers Support Group post. You can join in by signing up at insecurewriterssupportgroup.com where you’ll also find the long list of people to visit each month. I tend to visit all my ‘follow’ blogs and at
#IWSG – When is your story ready?
The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. You can join in with your own post and sign up here, or just go to the list and hop around, seeing what other gems people have posted, or
#IWSG – Reading and Writing
This is my Insecure Writers’ Support Group post for September. There is often a question prompt from the hosts, but as usual, I’m writing it ahead of time when there’s something on my mind I think would help other writers. You
Writing the sequel is hard
I had nothing in mind to write for today until I skimmed this post on Chuck Wendig’s site (take care if you’re allergic to swearing, since Chuck doesn’t hold back). It’s a guest post, though, so should not be too
Camp NaNoWriMo Round-up
Yes, I finished camp and got back last week, but I was too busy with the Question of the Month and the Beach Reads Giveaway to update you then. As you know from my postcards, the target was to finish
#IWSG | Dealing with Writer’s Block
I was asked a question on Goodreads the other day, and in answering it, I scrolled through the other answers I’d given. I updated what I was writing now, but looking at the answer to “How do you deal with
Postcard from Camp; 23rd July
Dear All Ah! The heat! Temperatures soared into the 90s at the start of the week, which I know is low for some of you, but for the UK, it’s roasting. The guinea pigs and I put a lot of
#IWSG for July | Is it worth it?
I’ve been seeing a number of the authors who have become friends over the last five years questioning whether it’s all worthwhile lately. I know what they mean because I’ve been thinking that too. If you’ve been going some time
#IWSG – is ‘it’s okay’ good enough?
This month’s Insecure Writers’ Support Group gives me a chance to talk about pulling a published book and revising it. Not necessarily the technical side of it – more the emotional bit. That is what the IWSG is all about really,
Report from Camp NaNoWriMo
The price of doing both Camp NaNoWriMo AND the A to Z Challenge in April was that my reading time disappeared completely and my email answering time was sadly neglected. In fact, I only dealt with urgent emails. When I
#IWSG – Is the force with you?
May the fourth be with you. Having got that out of the way, it’s appropriate really, because today my insecurity about my work is going to crop up again, and this time, it’s the realisation that I don’t like today’s
#atozchallenge Round-up post | World-building wisdom
Wow! It’s over for another year – but then again, it’s not really over, since there are all those new friends I made when visiting – and all those I missed out. Although I feel I did better than some
V is for the Viridian System
Well, today V hits Viridium, the spur for my world-building theme for this year’s A to Z. I have a detailed description here which is an edited version of that on the Viridian system website. Then I’ve answered my own question
#IWSG – Creativity and trauma
I saw a number of posts last month about writing and depression, or writing your way out of bad places even if you weren’t actually depressed. Lots of comments about friends who’d lost their jobs and thrown themselves into crafts
#IWSG – On launching a new book
If you have an agent and a publisher who handle all this stuff between them, and just tell you where and when to be places, or to approve some copy or to check your local paper, or whatever they do,
#IWSG | If in doubt, make a plan
My first Insecure Writers Support Group post of 2016 wraps around my Goodreads Giveaway for the Traveler in Black and White. I was hunting for a place to post the giveaway on the blog, and I thought, well, it’s part