The Insecure Writer and Forgetting Your Responsibilities

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


Why am I an Insecure Writer this month?

Because I think I may be neglecting my some of my secondary writer duties.   

Last month I moaned how I had neglected my fatherly and husbandly duties because I was so focused on writing my story. I believe I've become better at that over the past month, but now I realize it's been at the cost of neglecting other parts of my writing life.    

I'm embarrassed to admit I haven't posted on this blog since my IWSG post back in October. It's not as if I can't think of anything to write.  I have a couple of half-finished posts just begging to be completed. And it's not that I'm losing interest in this blog.  I'm just loathe to take time away from my story. Laziness may have played a small part, too. :)

Even worse, I've been neglecting my writer friends.  I don't think I've visited anyone's blog in the last month and that saddens me.  I want to be there to help celebrate your victories and to commiserate with you during your sorrows. It's my conversations with the rest of you that keep me going when the writing is isn't working. 

So I'm making you (and  myself) a promise.  I will return to my twice a week posting schedule (regular post on Wednesdays and writing links post on Fridays). I also promise to visit your blogs again.

There, that feels better.



Let's tackle this month’s IWSG question:

Win or not, do you usually finish your NaNo project? Have any of them gone on to be published? 

I've only tried NaNo once, several years ago, and failed miserably.  That's when I discovered no matter how well I outline at the beginning, my best ideas come when I'm writing the scenes.  These new ideas made a mess out of the original outline, and by the time I hit the 27000 word mark I knew there was no point in continuing. Everything I wrote from then on would be thrown out anyway. 

Besides, there's no point in me attempting NaNo again until I finish my current story. 

ChemistKen

P.S.  I won the Show Us Your Writer Insecurity contest last month, so many thanks to the judges.  I'm already using the IWSG erasers I won to correct my daughter's calculus homework, so they're coming in handy.  I also won a two chapter critique (provided by Michelle Wallace), so I'm feeling the pressure to polish the first two chapters of my story.  This will be the first time someone other than my crit group buddies will see these words, so I'm anxious (terrified) to see what she has to say.  

The Insecure Writer and Not Ignoring Your Family

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

This month I'm co-hosting IWSG , along with Olga Godim, Jennifer Hawes, and Tamara Narayan.  Be sure to stop by their blogs and say hello.

Why am I an Insecure Writer this month?

Because I think I may be neglecting my fatherly and husbandly duties while focusing on finishing my story.   

I still have a ways to go on my book, but I can at least see the end approaching, and that has me pumped to write every chance I get.  It’s also fall, the season when my creative juices are at their highest.  Needless to say, I’m using every spare minute to write.

But occasionally I look up from my writing desk and realize life is running along without me, and chores I should be doing are falling by the wayside. Normally, my wife would be there to remind me, but she’s been busy with her own projects and hasn’t noticed my lapses.

This might seem like a win-win situation, but I’m beginning to wonder what’s happening with the kids while my wife and I are off on other worlds. I assume they're eating and bathing and doing their homework and going to school, but I don't really know for sure. I suppose I should check up on them—that is, after I finish my next chapter.


Let's tackle this month’s IWSG question:

Have you ever slipped any of your personal information into your characters, either by accident or on purpose?

Not really, unless you count giving my protagonists some of my personal habits and quirks, but nothing I’d want to keep secret. On the other hand, I did use my very first girlfriend’s name for my protagonist’s ex-love interest.  Haven’t told the wife about that one though, so let's keep that little tidbit between ourselves.  Okay?

BTW, this is "Show Us Your Writer Insecurity day, so get those pictures of you being insecure posted on your blog or your Facebook page. Needless to say, I misread the directions, so my picture will be kind of lame.

In other news, today should be the announcement of the official release of the free IWSG Guide to Writing for Profit. Check out the IWSG website for more details. 

Happy Insecurities to all of you!

ChemistKen

Seven Writing Links - Volume 176

Yes!  Fall has arrived. The days are getting shorter, the weather is turning cooler, and as is usual for this time of year, I'm psyched for writing. Autumn is my favorite time of the year, and that passion always seems to carry over into my writing.  For example, two days ago, I had a eureka moment, and suddenly understood how the rest of my story will unfold. I've always had a bullet list of events that needed to occur before the story ended, but up until my revelation, I didn't know HOW or WHEN they would happen. Now I know the sequence of events that will lead all the way up to the All-is-Lost moment. 

I still have plenty of words to write, but the end of the journey is within sight. Damn, I love this time of year! 

On a side note, I came across this passage the other day and, after a little tweaking, thought it might be appropriate for writers. 

Dear Lord, 
So far today I've done all right. I haven't complained about my book sales or lost my temper because of a review. I haven't been jealous of other writers, turned grumpy on Twitter, acted nasty to my editor, or said bad things about Amazon. I'm really happy about that so far. But in a few minutes I'm going to be getting out of bed and then I'm going to need a lot of help. Thank you.

Enjoy the links and have a great week! 

ChemistKen 



Is It Ever Okay to Lose Money on Advertising?

Writing to the Beat: Translating Story Beats to Any Genre

6 Things I've Learned as a Professional Editor

Five Tips On Making Jargon And Tech Work For Your Writing, Rather Than Against It

Are Your Book’s Ads Earning or Losing You Money?

6 Ways to Make Readers Fall in Love With Your Characters

Tracking Your Banged Buck: Make Sure Your PR Pays Off Books

The Insecure Writer and the Month of September

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

What makes me an Insecure Writer this month?

The fact that it’s September. 

Why would that make me insecure? After all, it’s my second favorite month of the year (after October), and the arrival of autumn usually fires me up to do my best writing. Unfortunately, it’s also the month where I can no longer successfully lie to myself that I’ll be hitting my end of year goals. 

In other words, I’m feeling rather conflicted this week, so let’s move on to this month’s IWSG question:

Have you ever surprised yourself with your writing?

Yes. Pretty much all the time, although probably not in the way you think.

I’m surprised I started writing in the first place, especially since I used to hate writing. 

I’m surprised I’ve kept at it all these years despite my many fits and starts. 

I’m surprised my writing skills are soooooo much better than when I first began this journey. 

I’m surprised there is soooooo much more I still have to learn. 

But best of all, I’m surprised when I look back at an earlier chapter and decide I'm happy with what I wrote. That's real progress, folks!

ChemistKen

Seven Writing Links -- Volume 175

I've been on vacation for a few days and never got around to posting last weeks writing links.  Here they are now, since I probably won't have a chance to write my normal Wednesday post this week. 

Enjoy the links and have a great week! 

ChemistKen 



Is It Ever Okay to Lose Money on Advertising?

Making Characters Stuck in the Background Pop Out

Fixing the Mary Sue Character in Your Story

Common Misconceptions about Conflict #2: Conflict = Tension

Insights into Your Midpoint Scene

The Trouble With Action

Writing Secondary Characters That Pop—And Sell More Books

You Don't Know What You Don't Know

I apologize once again for the lack of activity on this blog. It’s not that I’m losing interest or running out of things to say, but I’ve hit a sticking point in my story (the same one I mentioned a couple of weeks ago) and I’m loathe to spend time here until that issue is resolved. However, the fact that I’m posting today is a good sign. I think (fingers crossed) I’ve decided how the scene should resolve itself and how the MC is going to get there. I may turn out to be wrong—it won’t be the first time—but I’m staying hopeful.

We all know how important it is to have other eyes on our work, especially those of us who are still working on our first book. We often have no idea how bad our writing is at the beginning—what our weaknesses are, what’s missing in our stories, cringe-worthy dialogue, etc. Even after we have a few stories under our belt, we still need that vital feedback because we’re often blind to our own problems.

Basically, we don’t know what we don’t know.

Last week, at one of my critique group meetings, the nominal head of the group spoke to one of our newer members about their latest submission. She complimented the writer for already being at a place on her writing journey where her words were in reasonable shape. There were still a few problems, but as the leader pointed out, new writers often have so many problems with their writing that it’s hard for the critiquers to know what to say or where to begin, and this writer was definitely past that stage.

All well and good, but as the leader was saying all this, she kept glancing back at me, as if expecting me to confirm this or something. Finally, after about the fourth look, I finally asked her why she kept looking at me, and after she hemmed and hawed for a while without actually answering, I finally realized she had been talking about me.

I’ll admit I was stunned. I’ve been getting good reviews on my submissions over the past twelve months and this very same leader had publically announced (more than once) that my writing had grown immensely over the past year or so, and how much she enjoyed reading my submissions. So all is good now, but apparently, back when I joined the group three years ago, my writing was pretty bad. Bad as in “we don’t have enough time to tell you everything that’s wrong, but here’s a partial list of where you might want to start.”

I went back and looked up some of my earliest submissions to the group, and yeah, there were some glaring problems that would have been hard to critique. Nothing technically wrong, the grammar and punctuation were fine and the sentences made sense, but my submissions were full of sentences that didn’t quite fit together. There was no glue to bind them together into a coherent whole; no mortar to smooth out the bumps and potholes. In other words, it was kind of hard to figure out where my story was going. But somehow, the advice my crit partners gave me at the time pointed me in the right direction and as a result, I’m a much better writer today.

So the next time I’m asked to look over a submission that turns out to be a mess, I’ll think back to when I first began many years ago and remember that we were all newbies once. When we didn’t know what we didn’t know.


ChemistKen

P.S. Actually, if I had known what I didn’t know back then, I probably would have given up writing right then and there. Ignorance does have its advantages.

The Insecure Writer and August's Pet Peeve

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

What makes me an Insecure Writer this month?

I'm stuck on a particularly vexing scene and the wall next to my desk has dents in it from all the head banging I've been doing trying to figure my way past that scene. Oh well, it’s not the first time this has happened and it won’t be the last.  I’ll figure it out eventually and move on, so let's jump to the IWSG question of the month.

What are your pet peeves when reading/writing/editing?

My biggest pet peeve involves reading.  Over the past six months, I’ve noticed more and more books within certain genres are beginning to sound remarkably similar.  Take paranormal fantasies, for example.  Almost every one I see these days starts out in exactly the same way. The main characters all sound the same. The eventual love interest always sounds the same. The worlds sound the same. The writer's voice sounds the same.  It's like the authors are following the same template.  I know every genre has certain conventions a writer must follow, but come on people, at least try to be a little original.

Space operas are beginning to show some of the same problems, although at least they have the advantage of having five or six standard ways for them to begin.  The ex-prisoner/retired spacer/old miner who  just wants to retire in peace, but who immediately gets pulled into something that will decide the fate of the galaxy.  Or the bounty hunter/space scavenger/salvage reclamation person who discovers an ancient alien artifact that will decide the fate of the galaxy. There's nothing wrong with these themes, but it's gotten to the point where you could swap first chapters between these books and not notice the difference.

Have any of you noticed the same trends?

ChemistKen

P.S. For those of you who write paranormal fantasy and space opera, I'm obviously not talking about you. :)