The Insecure Writer and Finally Admitting I'll Always Be A Slow Writer

 

Today is October's contribution to Alex Cavanaugh's Insecure Writers Support Group.

Why makes me an insecure writer this month?

Coming to grips with the knowledge that I'll always be a slow writer. 

I can deny it no longer. I'm a slow writer. (LOL) It's not that I haven't known this for several years now, or that I haven't mentioned it on this blog at least a hundred times before, but 2022 has shown me that even when I have a more time to write, the words don't necessarily come any faster. Editing and rewriting are where I spend the bulk of my time, and forcing myself to sit down and work on my manuscript doesn't guarantee I'll make any worthwhile progress. Sometimes I do and sometimes I don't. I've learned that I'll eventually figure out how to write a scene that's giving me trouble, but whether that process takes a week or three months is out of my hands.

For example, I've been working for nearly three months on the short story that will eventually become my reader magnet. It's almost ready for prime time now (thank goodness), but three months?  Heck, some authors write entire books in three months. Now some of that delay is attributable to me--when I'm stuck on a scene, it's easy for me to avoid going down to my office to write. But I'm officially acknowledging here and now that I don't ever expect that behavior to change. That's how I roll and it'll be how I always roll. No sense fighting it. Accept it and move on, I say.

Just keep writing.

October question - What do you consider the best characteristics of your favorite genre? 

For me, that genre would be science fiction and fantasy, and the best part of those genres is the sense of wonder evoked when I'm reading those stories. These days, my taste tends more toward urban fantasies, and the aspect of the story that gives me the most goosebumps is when the author creates a magical system that allows the main character to be clever with the magic, usually inventing news ways to use the magic we're already familiar with. That's the main reason I enjoy reading the Alex Verus series by Benedict Jacka.

Take care!

ChemistKen

The Insecure Writer and Determining Priorities

 

Today is September's contribution to Alex Cavanaugh's Insecure Writers Support Group.

Why makes me an insecure writer this month?

Dealing with all the non-writing related duties an author has to worry about. 

As a soon-to-be debut author, I have all sorts of tasks that need to be taken care of ASAP. Setting up my author website, preparing my author Facebook page, setting up my email collection system… the list goes on and on. Trouble is, I’ve been so fixated on writing the sequel, I haven’t been able to focus on the more mundane tasks that need to be finished before I publish the first book. Basically, the guilt I feel when I’m not writing prevents me from working on those other tasks.

 

So last month I made the decision to stop working on the sequel and  focus on writing my reader magnet, the free short story I’ll use to entice readers to join my email list before the first book is published. It’ll be quicker than writing the sequel, and I’ll feel as though I’m accomplishing something.

Of course, being a slow writer means a short story that most of you guys would write in a week will take me a month just to finish the first draft. In fact, I’ve already spent six weeks on it, and I still have a way to go. But at least I’m making progress, and that makes me feel less insecure as a writer.

September question - What genre would be the worst one for you to tackle and why? 

Romance, without question. I have a hard enough time evoking emotions in my fantasy stories. Writing a book dedicated to evoking emotions would kill me.  Besides, you have to read what you write, and I’m not interested in reading romance.

BTW, just in case you think me an emotionless robot, know that I cry when watching romantic comedies.  But knowing how to cry is far different then knowing how to make my readers cry.

My question of the month. What kind of reader magnets do you use?

 

Take care everyone, and stay safe! 

ChemistKen

The Insecure Writer and Being on Vacation

 

Today is July's contribution to Alex Cavanaugh's Insecure Writers Support Group.

Why makes me an insecure writer this month?

Right now, nothing. I'm on vacation up in northern Michigan, so today's post will be short. 

I'm still waiting to hear back from my editor that she's ready for me to send her the changes I made to my manuscript after her first pass. Thanks to some lingering effects from Covid-19, she's still not working at one hundred percent, so I don't know when the final draft will be ready for publication. In the meantime, I've been working on the sequel. I was hoping the writing would proceed more quickly this time around, but I'm realizing that's not necessarily the case. It's easier to spot where the problems lie within a scene now, but figuring out how to fix those problems is still the hard (and slow) part for me. Sigh.

July question - If you could live in any book world, which one would you choose? 

I know this may sound like a trite answer, but I'd want to live at Hogwarts. I don't want to meet any of the characters of that world. I don't want to relive any of the adventures from the books.  I just want to live there. Teaching Potions in a castle that's filled with magic would be my dream job. Oh, and the fact it's in Britain would be an added bonus. Sure, I'd miss the Internet and my smart phone, but it'd be worth it. I just don't know what I'd do with my family in the meantime. :)

P.S. I suppose I could solve that problem by using a portkey to commute to and from Hogwarts every day, but it sounds like all the fun stuff happens late at night over there, so I'd rather sleep at the castle too.

 

Take care everyone, and stay safe! 

ChemistKen

The Insecure Writer and Developing An Email List

 

Today is June's contribution to Alex Cavanaugh's Insecure Writers Support Group.

Why makes me an insecure writer this month?

Fretting over my email list--or more specifically--the fact that I don't have one yet.

As authors, you've probably all heard that we need to gather an email list. A list of readers who have voluntarily subscribed to receive our newsletters. A list of readers eager to hear about our books. Of course, some of this information can be delivered via social media, but an email list belongs to you, and you only. It can't be taken away from you the same way your social media followers can. Just ask Facebook.

My problem is how to get people to sign up for my list. I've yet to publish a book, so I have no readers who might be interested in subscribing. There are ways of gathering subscribers before your debut book comes out, but those usually depend on having a reader magnet--a freebie that you give readers in order to entice them to join your list. Unfortunately, I don't have one.

I'm currently working on a reader magnet, a short story that details the adventures of one of my characters that occur before the events in the book. Unfortunately, this story only makes sense if read after finishing the book, so while this "magnet" may be a great way to attract new subscribers who've enjoyed my book, it's not a particularly good incentive for those who haven't.

The standard advice would be to write a short story in the same world that doesn't require having read the book, but that won't work in my case. Learning about the world and how the magic system works is such a big part of the actual book. I'd either have to ruin it by explaining everything in the prequel, or let the reader be confused for much of the story. 

I suppose I could write a standalone short story that has nothing to do with my debut book or its world, but I'm not sure what that would be or how well that would be received.

Any suggestions from you guys?

June 1 question - When the going gets tough writing the story, how do you keep yourself writing to the end? 

I'm a slow writer and really like to think about a story for a long while before beginning to write, so by the time I'm ready to type, I'm already so invested in the story, I'll keep writing until I reach "The End." Period. I may hit some rough patches, but I will doggedly keep plugging away until it's done.

P.S. A few of you expressed disappointment last month when I didn't reveal the cover for my debut urban fantasy, so here it is. If I do manage to put together an email list before the book is published, I may still do a cover reveal for my subscribers, so if I do, pretend you haven't seen this yet. :)

Take care everyone, and stay safe! 

ChemistKen

The Insecure Writer and Working with a Cover Designer

 

Today is May's contribution to Alex Cavanaugh's Insecure Writers Support Group.

Why makes me an insecure writer this month?

Dealing with my cover designer.

Now I’m not suggesting my cover designer is hard to work with. On the contrary. She took the vague ideas I had in mind for my debut urban fantasy cover and turned them into reality in an amazingly short period of time. I had her tweak a few things, of course, but for the most part, I would have been happy sticking with her first draft. Even my family loved the cover, although I’ll admit they probably don’t know enough about such things (genre conventions, for example) to be  a proper judge.

No, the problem with my cover designer comes from all the decisions I’m required to make. Like the series title, for instance. I thought I’d already decided what it would be, but once it was time to lock it in, I suddenly wasn’t so sure. Even the decision as to whether I should separate the series title from the book number with a colon or bullet left me reeling. And that’s only the book cover.

Me trying to decide how my name should appear on the book

Since I’m a debut author, I need lots of graphics for my website and Facebook pages. The cover design package I purchased includes a wide range of promo materials from which to choose. Banners, cover reveal templates, book teasers, Facebook ad images, etc. I’m only allowed to choose so many, but which ones should I pick? I have no clue as to what I'll want or need in the future. I simply don’t have enough experience to know yet.

Still, all in all, I’m pretty happy with life. I have a cover, which puts me one step closer to publishing my book.  And as long as I keep moving forward, it will eventually happen.

BTW, I'm one of the IWSG co-hosts this month. The other co-hosts are Kim Elliott, Melissa Maygrove, Lee Lowery, and Nancy Gideon. Be sure to stop by their websites and say hello. 

Question for you guys. What was it like for you the first time you worked with a cover designer? Is it true what they say about you never forgetting your first one?

Take care everyone, and stay safe! 

ChemistKen

The Insecure Writer and Preparing for My Foray into the Publishing World

 

Today is April's contribution to Alex Cavanaugh's Insecure Writers Support Group.

Why makes me an insecure writer this month?

Doing all the non-writerly stuff that writers need to do to be successful.

Now that the writing part of my story is finished, I’ve turned my attention to those other niggling details I’ve been putting off for a while now. Setting up my Facebook author page. Setting up my author website. Signing up for an email service. At least I already have my domain name. I bought it over a year ago and it’s just been sitting idle ever since. ☹

Image courtesy of 3D Animation Production Company

I have a Facebook page now, but without any art for the banners, it’s not anywhere I’d send people yet. Hopefully no one stumbles across it in the meantime.

Encouraged by my success with Facebook, I worked up the nerve to purchase hosting for a Wordpress website. I’ve been having fun downloading themes, website builders, and generally mucking about trying to make it look like a real author website. I’m studying other author websites for inspiration, but as I don’t have any books yet, or any reader magnets with which to convince people to join my newsletter, or any cover art for the banner, my website is pretty sparse. Heck, I’m not even telling my mother about it until it’s a lot more polished.

In another surprising burst of productivity, I signed up for a Mailerite account. Don’t expect to get any emails from me for a while though. One of Mailerlite’s requirements is a link to my website so they can see I’m not a spammer, and I’m currently too embarrassed to show them my site until it looks as though it wasn’t built by a second grader.

Not that there's anything wrong with being a second grader.

So progress on all fronts. Now all I have to do is talk to my prospective cover designer and keep the ball rolling.

Question for you guys. How long did it take you to get set up at the beginning?

Take care everyone, and stay safe! 

ChemistKen

The Insecure Writer and Entering the Publishing Phase

 

Today is March's contribution to Alex Cavanaugh's Insecure Writers Support Group.

Why am I an insecure writer this month?

Because I’m just about finished with the edits suggested by my editor.

Now that may seem like a strange reason to be insecure, but with that hurdle almost cleared, I’m nearly done with the writing phase of this journey and about to move into the publishing phase. 

(Shudders)

Before I can publish, I need to find a cover designer, a proofreader, and either find an formatter (both ebook and paperback) or learn how to do it myself. 

I have to decide if I want to stick with Amazon exclusively or go wide with all the major retailers. 

I need to write the back matter content, sign up for accounts at all the retailers, and decide if I should go through each store separately, or go through a distributor such as Smashwords.

These little details probably don’t seem a big deal to those of you who have published multiple books, but right now, it seems as if there’s just as much to learn about the actual publishing process as there was for the writing part of it. I’ve been scanning publishing blogs for tips and tricks on the subject, and it seems there are traps and pitfalls everywhere. I'm quickly learning that I don't know what I don't know.

I know I can go back and fix any mistakes later, but I’d rather just do it right the first time, especially for my debut book.

What kinds of problems did you have when you published your first book?

March 2 question - Have you ever been conflicted about writing a story or adding a scene to a story? How did you decide to write it or not? 

The only conflict I've had in this regard was deciding whether or not my story needed an additional scene to tie up loose ends, and if that scene was strong enough to stand on its own. Nothing worse than an unnecessary, bloated scene bogging down a story.

Take care everyone, and stay safe! 

ChemistKen

The Insecure Writer and Being Efficiently Productive

 

Today is February's contribution to Alex Cavanaugh's Insecure Writers Support Group.

Why am I an insecure writer this month?

Because it’s beginning to dawn on me that I may not have what it takes to be a productive writer.

You may wonder what I’m talking about. After all, I’m finishing up the edits on my debut urban fantasy, and I’m already deep into writing the sequel, so I am being productive. But I’m not being efficiently productive.

It took a depressingly high number of years just to get to this point in my writing career, and while that may not be all that unusual for early writers who are still learning the craft, I kind of figured things would begin speeding up at some point. Unfortunately, after spending all of January working on my revisions, my progress has been dismal.

 

I’m a slow writer, and that doesn’t change when I’m in editing mode. In particular, I find it especially difficult to make significant changes to a scene that I already deemed finished. Not that the problems pointed out by my editor aren’t real, but trying to reimagine the way to write a scene after it’s already been put down on paper (or hard drive) is amazingly hard for me. I stare at the words for hours at a time without a clue. I pound away at the words for days or weeks, trying this and trying that, seeing what sticks to the wall. Usually with little success.

Eventually, I hit that paradigm shift that allows me to see how the scene should be written. It’s my “Eureka!” moment. My vision clears. The seas part. I breathe a sigh of relief, then get on with the writing. But up until that “a-ha” moment, I’ve done nothing but bang my head against a stone wall.

But that’s my process. It’s who I am, so I can’t do too much about it. What really bothered me this month is the realization that part of the reason my revising has been so slow is because I’ve been avoiding my manuscript. I spent way too much time doing chores around the house or watching TV shows or checking out social media or sleeping. Anything to avoid sitting down in front of that laptop and facing that damn stone wall. If I’d just forced my butt into that chair and concentrated more often, I might have been finished my now.

 

And that’s on me.

In these heady days where a person who only writes three books a year is considered to be a slow writer, I’m absolutely glacial. If I hope to have any success with this writing thing, I’ll need a lot more determination and grit. Some way of making myself write even when the writing is tough. That’s what real writers do.

 

Take care everyone, and stay safe! 

ChemistKen

The Insecure Writer and Marching Forward Into 2022

 

Today is January's contribution to Alex Cavanaugh's Insecure Writers Support Group.

Why am I an insecure writer this month?

Because I look back at all the goals I set last January and see how few of them I actually met. Even worse, last January’s IWSG post was all about how I’d failed to meet my 2019 goals. Hmmm… I’m beginning to see a trend here.

But dang it all, I’m putting all that behind me this year. This year I'm going to meet my goals. I’m feverishly working my way through the edits sent to me by my editor, and while some of them will take a bit of work to solve, they’re not insurmountable. I will finish them and my manuscript will be ready to publish this year. 

Except that I need a cover first. And a final proofread. And for the manuscript to be properly formatted for both electronic and print versions. Oh, did I mention that I don’t plan on releasing this story until I have the sequel all ready to publish too? Hmmm…. No wonder I’m feeling insecure.

Then there’s setting up my author website, collecting an email list, starting a newsletter, and all the other little things that need to be done in the meantime. In other words, all the goals I’ve failed at the past couple of years. 

Hopefully, with my manuscript ready for publication, I’ll find the drive to get all that other stuff done too. I can't put them off much longer.

Here’s wishing that all your New Year’s resolutions work out too.

January's question: What's the one thing about your writing career you regret the most? Were you able to overcome it?

My only regret is that I didn’t begin writing earlier in my life, and that I waited so long before truly taking writing seriously. I'm not sure it's possible for me to overcome those actions, because I'll never get the time back that I frittered away. Unless one of you science fiction writers come up with a time machine or something.

This month’s co-hosts are Erika Beebe, Olga Godim, Sandra Cox, and Sarah Foster! Be sure to stop by their blogs and wish them a Happy New Year!

Take care everyone, and stay safe! 

ChemistKen

The Insecure Writer and Hiding From Editorial Critiques

 

Today is December's contribution to Alex Cavanaugh's Insecure Writers Support Group.

What makes me an insecure writer this month?

The fact that my editor returned my manuscript, and I have yet to open it.

Yep, it finally happened. The editor returned my manuscript with all her suggested changes. That was twenty-three days ago.  Now I'll admit life’s been busy this November. We're preparing for our son to return home from school. We had a Covid scare just before Thanksgiving. It took a few days to recover from Thanksgiving dinner. But this is procrastination of the highest order. I’m simply too chicken to start the editing process. 

Photo by Zachariah Smith on Unsplash

I did read the editorial letter that accompanied the manuscript (Yay, me!), and all things considered, it sounds as though I don’t have too many major issues to fix. But that hasn’t prevented me from finding other projects to occupy my time. Heck, I only think about the manuscript when my editor writes me and asks me what I thought about her comments. 😔

It’s not like I’ve been ignoring my writerly duties. I’m already working on the sequel, and although first drafts can be stressful (see this month’s question), I’m finding it much less stressful than reading the editor’s comments and figuring out what to do about them. It's not like I'm in a hurry. I won't be releasing this book until the sequel is done, so there's no pressure to start. Thank goodness I'm not depending upon writing to feed my family.

December's question: In your writing, what stresses you the most? What delights you?

Putting words down on the paper stresses me. I know this sounds strange for a writer to say, but it's the truth. I’m not a natural writer, so it often feels like pulling teeth to knock out a scene. Even after I write the first draft, beating it into shape can be exhausting for me, often taking days or weeks (or occasionally months) to fix.

What delights me is when the scene finally comes together and I can sit back and be proud of what I’ve written. For a guy who grew up hating to write, that’s saying something.

This month’s co-hosts are PJ Colando, Diane Burton, Louise – Fundy Blue, Natalie Aguirre, and Jacqui Murray! Be sure to stop by their blogs and say hello!

And on a totally unrelated note... for those of you who love cats and Jurassic Park, enjoy the video.

Take care everyone, and stay safe! 

ChemistKen

The Insecure Writer and Being Happy the Editor Is Still Working On My Manuscript

 

Today is November's contribution to Alex Cavanaugh's Insecure Writers Support Group.

What makes me an insecure writer this month?

The good news is that my editor only has fifty pages left to edit. The bad news is that she only has fifty pages left to edit. 😔😔

I'm been pretty relaxed (meaning unproductive) on the writing front these past couple of months. I work on the sequel whenever I can, and I spend lots of time reading about marketing. But as far as my original manuscript is concerned (the one with the editor), out of sight means out of mind. I hardly ever think about it--except when my editor sends me a update on her progress and my bowels tighten a little more. 

Eventually the manuscript is going to be returned, and that's scary. God knows how many changes I'll have to make, or how long it will take to make them. I've sometimes found it hard to buckle down and work on the sequel, but once I get my manuscript back from the editor, I suspect I'll be finding all sorts of reasons to work on the sequel instead of dealing with the edits.

November's question: What's harder to do, coming up with your book title or writing the blurb?

Writing the blurb, definitely. A blurb has to convey so much to the prospective buyer. Who the main character is. What he/she wants. What's stopping them from reaching that goal, and what are the stakes?  

A title just has to sound cool and make the reader say hmmm....

Besides, a title is way shorter.

 

Take care everyone, and stay safe! 

ChemistKen

The Insecure Writer and All The Little Publishing Decisions

 

Today is October's contribution to Alex Cavanaugh's Insecure Writers Support Group.

What makes me an insecure writer this month?

To be honest, not all that much. My editor is currently busy editing my story, and I’m keeping myself occupied working on the sequel. It’s progressing nicely, BTW, so it probably won’t take five years to finish this one. I hope. 😊

What does keep me up late at night are all the decisions I’ll eventually have to make before I publish. What software should I power my author website with. (I know I’ll be using Wordpress, but what template should I use? Which engine gives me the most flexibility?) Who should I hire to create my cover? Should I format my books myself, or should I hire someone else to do it? Should I go Amazon only, or should I go wide? There are dozens of decisions to make and I’m simply not ready for that.

I monitor blogs and Facebook groups where questions like these are discussed, but if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that for every answer I find, I discover ten more questions I haven’t even thought of yet. I could dedicate a year combing through all the old posts and I still wouldn’t be ready. I understand this is a learning process, but I don’t want to publish a dozen books before I have a clue either.

 

October's question: In your writing, where do you draw the line, with either topics or language?

I’m not into foul language (although that doesn’t stop me from using them occasionally in real life), so I’m not into characters that use them frequently. You’ll rarely see words in my story that I wouldn’t use in front of my mom.

As far as topics are concerned, I want my stories to be fun romps into escapism, so you won’t see me tackle controversial or uncomfortable topics. I have a hard enough time trying to transform the thoughts in my head down onto words on a page, so the last thing I need is to incorporate any topic that’s particularly deep. I’ll leave that to the writers who know what they’re doing.

 

Take care everyone, and stay safe! 

ChemistKen

The Insecure Writer and Sending Your Baby Off To The Editor

 

Today is September's contribution to Alex Cavanaugh's Insecure Writers Support Group.

What makes me an insecure writer this month?

The fact that I just sent my debut manuscript off to my editor.

I’ve always felt I had a pretty good handle on my manuscript, at least as far as typos and errors were concerned. I have a knack for spotting them, and considering that I’ve reread every chapter in my manuscript at least a hundred times (minimum), I assumed simple errors would have been stamped out by now. But as I read through the manuscript one last time before shipping it off to the editor, it became clear to me just how easily errors can slip through.

And that keeps me up at night.

Well, so what, you say. Who cares if a few errors slip through now? I’m still in the editing stages, and more errors will inevitably slip in later while I’m revising based on the editor’s suggestions. But what about later when all the editing is done and I’m finally ready to publish the darn thing? Will I be able to click on that "upload manuscript" button, or will I keep searching my manuscript over and over again, searching for that last elusive error?

I know that errors are inevitable, and that all books have them, but that doesn't make me feel any better.

September's question: How do you define success as a writer? Is it holding your book in your hand? Having a short story published? Making a certain amount of income from your writing?

I’ll consider myself a successful writer the instant I upload my first book to Amazon. Period. It’ll be an ebook, of course, but that’s okay by me. I’m sure I'll eventually put together a print version, if only so I can have a physical copy or two of my own to sit on my desk. 

As far as income goes, I do have  a target in mind, but whether or not I meet that goal won't determine if I'm a successful writer or not. All that will determine is whether my writing is a career, or an expensive hobby.

 

Take care everyone, and stay safe! 

ChemistKen

P.S. Do any of you know any good proofreaders?

The Insecure Writer and the Pleasure of Pushing Back Deadlines

 

Today is August's contribution to Alex Cavanaugh's Insecure Writers Support Group.

What makes me an insecure writer this month?

Actually, not much.

Some of you may remember from last month that I was worried my editor was about to send me an email announcing she was ready for my manuscript--a manuscript that I was still deep in the middle of revising. In fact, I received the dreaded email about three hours after my IWSG post. Yikes!

The good news, and the reason I'm much more relaxed this month, is that she was able to switch my editing slot with that of another writer, which means she won't need my manuscript until sometime in September. Woohoo! And if that wasn't reason enough to celebrate, it turns out my revisions are moving along at a nice, steady pace, so I should have my manuscript ready long before September rolls around. Nothing like an extension to relieve the pressures of editing.

Of course, if I haven't finished my edits by next month's IWSG post, then my insecurity levels will once again skyrocket.

August's question: What is your favorite writing craft book? 

To be honest, I'm probably much more interested in reading everyone's answer than answering the question myself. Plot and Structure by James Scott Bell was my go-to book back when I was first learning to write. Since then, I've been so busy trying to finish my manuscript, I've neglected my pile of craft books. 

Bad author! Bad, bad author! 

P.S. I am reading craft books these days, but they're all about marketing books, not writing them.

 

Take care everyone, and stay safe! 

ChemistKen

The Insecure Writer and Waiting For Your Editor's Email

 

Today is July's contribution to Alex Cavanaugh's Insecure Writers Support Group.

What makes me an insecure writer this month?

The fact that it’s almost time to send my manuscript to the editor.

Back in January, I finished adding the final touches to the manuscript I’ve been working on for well over five years. It had already been through two critique groups by then, so I felt it was time to send it off to an editor. Turns out my preferred editor is in demand, so she couldn’t pencil me in until July. At the time, I was disappointed at the delay, but after a beta-reader pointed out some problems with the story a few months ago, I was grateful for the extra time to fix things up.

But now it’s finally July, and the editor will be emailing me any day now, asking for my manuscript, and that makes me anxious. What will she think of the story? How many changes will she suggest? How much work will it take to fix them? I’m not so wedded to my words that changing things here and there will bother me overmuch, but what if she points out problems I’m not a good enough writer to fix?

Those of you who have worked with multiple editors on multiple projects may chuckle at this last concern, but to me it's a real possibility. I want this story to be as good as it can be, and I'm deathly afraid I'll be the biggest factor holding it back.

July's question: What would make you quit writing? 

Very little, as I’m having too much fun doing it. Only if it became too painful to write, either physically or because of severe emotional trauma, would I consider stopping. Oh, and I suppose going blind would probably do it too. I need to see the words on the page for me to write.   

By the way, be sure to stop by the other co-hosts for this month: Pat Garcia, Victoria Marie Lees, and Louise – Fundy Blue.

Take care everyone, and stay safe! 

ChemistKen

The Insecure Writer and Dealing With Revisions

 

Today is June's contribution to Alex Cavanaugh's Insecure Writers Support Group.

What makes me an insecure writer this month?

The tedious process of revising my debut manuscript.

It’s not as if I haven’t already edited the heck out of my novel over the past five years. It’s been through two critique groups, and I’ve gone through it myself so many times I practically have it memorized. In fact, I felt it was in good enough shape to schedule a copy edit with a professional editor. All seemed to be good.

Then I sent a copy to a beta reader who has some experience with urban fantasies (Thanks, Loni).

Unfortunately, she found a few problems in areas I hadn’t considered. I won’t go into a lot of detail, but she basically had a problem with both the protagonist and the antagonist. Arg! Nothing that can't be fixed, mind you, but some of those fixes will require major modifications to the story and that’s what’s setting off my insecurities.

I’ve always had difficulty making changes to scenes I felt were essentially finished. Once I have the scene the way I like it, I have a hard time imagining the scene happening in any other way. It's a mental thing. I’m making my way through my manuscript, tackling scenes one at a time, but it's slow process. Changes in one scene often necessitate making changes elsewhere in the story. My biggest fear is that after I finish all these revisions, the professional editor will come back with all sorts of new problems, requiring yet another painful rewrite.

And I thought writing the first draft was hard.

June's question: For how long do you shelve your first draft, before reading it and re-drafting? 

Maybe this isn’t the best way to write, but I’m constantly going back and editing chapters even as I’m working on the first draft. Since I’m such a slow writer, however, it may be six to twelve months before I return to a chapter I’ve already worked on, which gives me plenty of time to look at the words with fresh eyes.  

Take care everyone, and stay safe! 

ChemistKen

The Insecure Writer and Frittering Away My Writing Time

 

Today is May's contribution to Alex Cavanaugh's Insecure Writers Support Group.

What makes me an insecure writer this month?

The worry that I might not have the drive to be a commercially successful writer.

Don’t get me wrong. I like writing. But life keeps you busy, and a writer has to be strong enough to stay productive even when life is happening all around them. Between my tutoring schedule, my wife’s car accident, doing the taxes, and all the other stuff life threw at me lately, I simply haven’t done much in the way of writing. 

It’s not like I haven’t had some time to write. I just haven’t made use of the time I did have available. I read so many stories of writers working full time jobs, taking care of their families, and still pumping out story after story. And here I am, frittering away the spare moments I do have. Heck, it's 11:50 pm and I'm scrambling to finish the day's IWSG post. 

What's going to happen when I have to worry about marketing the book?

Thanks for listening. 

ChemistKen

The Insecure Writer and Not Knowing What Life Has Planned For You

 

Today is April's contribution to Alex Cavanaugh's Insecure Writers Support Group.

What makes me an insecure writer this month?

Not knowing what life is about to deal you.

I’m a bit late with my post today. Not particularly unusual for me, but this time I have an excuse. Instead of spending Tuesday writing a post about the insecurities of editing your manuscript based on your beta reader’s input, I spent most of it in the emergency room after my wife and son were in an automobile accident.

 

Long story short, a car ran a red light and T-boned the passenger side of our car. My son was driving, so my wife took the brunt of the impact. The ambulance came and took her to the hospital. I took my son there a few hours later when he started developing some pain too.

Notice the several deployed airbags

As a writer, I suppose I should wait until the end of the post to let you know how it all came out, but since we’re all friends here, I’ll let you know that, besides some aches and bruises, everyone is okay. 

But that doesn’t mean the ten hours we spent in the emergency room were not without some scares. They found a fracture in my wife’s C1 vertebrae, the one at the very top of her spine, so they put a neck brace on her. The neurosurgeon told us that, assuming my wife didn’t need surgery, she’d have to wear the brace for at least 6 weeks. They did some more tests, then an orderly came by to do a COVID test, suggesting that they were planning on admitting her to the hospital. Then they performed another test or two, and then finally two hours later, the doctor came by to announce that my wife could take the brace off. The fracture was small enough it would take care of itself.

Talk about a relief. I thought my wife’s eyes were about to bug out when the doctor told us. So now we're back home, resting and recuperating.

The moral of the story is simply this. While you’re sitting in front of your keyboard and slaving away on your story, always remember that you never know what life has planned for you. Maybe your next story will be a success, maybe it won’t. It doesn’t matter. You’ve always got another story waiting inside you. Your job is keep pecking away at the keyboard and let life figure out what’s going to happen with it.

Oh, and always wear seat belts.

Take care everyone, and stay safe! 

ChemistKen

The Insecure Writer and Those Darned Roadblocks

 

Today is March's contribution to Alex Cavanaugh's Insecure Writers Support Group.

What makes me an insecure writer this month?

The inevitable stoppages in my writing progress. 

Some of you may remember that even though I'm working through edits on my debut urban fantasy, I’ve already begun working on the sequel. When you’re a slow writer like me, it’s best to keep the pipeline moving at all times. Progress has been good, but this month I finally hit one of those irritating roadblocks where the writing comes screeching to a halt.

Photo courtesy of Pixabay

I didn’t expect this scene to be particularly tough. The protagonist has to sneak into the bad guy’s lair and steal something. But this was a scene I hadn’t initially planned on writing and the decisions I was forced to make brought the writing to a standstill. What would be the setting? Where would the bad guys be located and how many would there be? What special obstacles would be present that made this scene unique? And how would I weave it all together in a way that maximizes the reader’s entertainment. Needless to say, after a week or two of ineffectual floundering , I moved onto to the next scene, if only to retain my sanity.

This is how my writing always seems to work. I make good progress for a couple of weeks, and just when I think I've finally figured this whole writing thing out, something like this comes along and nothing gets written for a couple of weeks, bringing my productivity back down to its usual annoyingly slow pace. Who says writing is easy?

March's question: Everyone has a favorite genre or genres to write. But what about your reading preferences? Do you read widely or only within the genre(s) you create stories for? What motivates your reading choice? 

Several years ago, I read both science fiction and fantasy, both paranormal and urban, but now that I’m writing urban fantasy, that’s pretty much the only genre I read these days. If I had more time to read, I’d probably read more genres, but slow writers don’t have that luxury.

 

I’m proud to announce that I’m one of this month’s co-hosts. Please be sure to stop by the other co-host blogs and say hi. 

Natalie Aguirre    

Victoria Marie Lees  

Jacqui Murray 

Sarah - The Faux Fountain Pen  

J Q Rose  

Take care everyone, and stay safe! 

ChemistKen

The Insecure Writer and Tackling the Sequel

 

Today is February's contribution to Alex Cavanaugh's Insecure Writers Support Group.

What makes me an insecure writer this month?

Working on the sequel to my debut urban fantasy.

It may seem strange to be working on the sequel when the first story hasn’t even seen an editor yet. I should be occupying my time with finding a cover designer, or polishing up my website, or reaching out to other authors, but here I am, typing away on my next story. 

Don’t get me wrong; I am working on those other tasks, but my editor isn’t free until July, so I’ve got plenty of time for writing. And if there’s one thing I’ve learned about book marketing, it’s that it’s best for a debut author to have at least two books ready to go before publishing the first. And since it took five years to write the first one, it behooves me to begin the second one as soon as possible.

I have a better handle on my writing process now. I know when to obsess over something during the first draft and when to move on. I’m better at showing versus telling. Many of my characters are already developed. But as I look over what I’ve written so far, my stomach cringes at how much work it will be to polish those words to the same sheen as my first story.

I did it before, so I know I can do it again. I just wonder if we’ll be facing another presidential election by the time that day comes.

February's question: Blogging is often more than just sharing stories. It’s often the start of special friendships and relationships. Have you made any friends through the blogosphere? 

OMG, yes.  When I first began writing, I did it in a vacuum. I had no idea what I was doing or how many other authors were out there. Now, between critique groups, IWSG, and social media, I've made so many author friends I can't begin to count them. Some of them have come and gone over the years, but I still count them as blessings. Thanks for all the support guys!

Take care everyone, and stay safe! 

ChemistKen