It’s the 1st Wednesday of the month again. That’s when I take part in Alex J. Cavanaugh’s Insecure Writer’s Support Group. The awesome co-hosts for the July 7th posting of the IWSG are Pat Garcia, Victoria Marie Lees, and Louise – Fundy Blue! This month, I will be answering the optional July 7th IWSG question: What would make me quit writing? “Nothing could make me quit writing.” A few years ago, I would have said, “Nothing. It could never happen!” And I would have been confident that I was right. I have always been a writer. Even before I could read and write, I made Read more…
It’s the 1st Wednesday of the month again. That’s when I take part in Alex J. Cavanaugh’s Insecure Writer’s Support Group. The awesome co-hosts for the November 4 posting of the IWSG are Jemi Fraser, Kim Lajevardi, L.G Keltner, Tyrean Martinson, and Rachna Chhabria! Albert Camus once said, “The purpose of a writer is to keep civilization from destroying itself.” Flannery O’Conner said, “I write to discover what I know.” Authors across time and distance have had many reasons to write. Join me this week as I answer part of the November 4th question: Why do you write what you write? I Write Like a Baseball Player Read more…
It’s the 1st Wednesday of the month again. That’s when I take part in Alex J. Cavanaugh’s Insecure Writer’s Support Group. The awesome co-hosts for the June 3rd posting of the IWSG are Pat Garcia, J.Q. Rose, and Natalie Aguirre! Today I will be looking at how I deal with my strong opinions in my writing as I answer the June 3rd IWSG question: Writers have secrets! What are one or two of yours, something readers would never know from your work? Strong Opinions I have strong opinions about everything. Part of being an insecure writer is a reluctance to share my feelings and opinions Read more…
Today I thought I would do something a little different and answer 25 Not-Too-Scary Life Questions from Karen Hume’s blog, Profound Journey. Profound Journey is based in Canada, so those aren’t spelling errors in the questions, but rather the Queen’s English (which I am rather partial to, myself). Even though these questions are “not-too-scary,” I’m not always comfortable plumbing the depth of who I am with the online public. I typically refrain from sharing much about myself with people unless I’ve gotten to know well. But, today I will share with you all since I know that you are nice Read more…
My daughter Sam has charisma. When I asked her when she first knew she had charisma, she said, “It’s like knowing the color of your skin. You might not know what to call it, but you know you’ve got it.” She has always known how to get what she wants. At the age of 8, she struck up a conversation with a comedian who was selling CDs of his Christian comedy act. She asked him about one of the CDs that had a scratch on the cover. She convinced him (with very little effort) to give her the CD. Then, Read more…
One of the few arguments my husband and I had was about something beneath the surface. At the time, we were dealing with some discipline issues with our kids. They were typical teenaged issues, but one of our daughters, who is autistic, was taking it personally. So, I felt he was being too hard on her. Normally, it would have been fine, but my concern was that she might question his love for her. Yet, I didn’t want to say this. I didn’t want to say, “What about when you die? What if she doesn’t feel loved by you, and Read more…
Throughout my childhood, and even in my teenage years, I was brave. I lettered in drama by the end of my sophomore year in high school. I was in every play, on the speech team, the debate team, and even the captain of our mock trial team. Then, I went on to art school where I focused on literary art. I was never afraid of failure or making a mistake. Now, I often play it safe, because I’m afraid of making a mistake. I’m not sure why I get so hung up on it, because I’m not the kind of Read more…
Some writers you may have the ability to let ‘er rip and say whatever you darn well please. Or maybe you question your conscience about whether certain things are appropriate to include in your fiction writing, or not. Things that might be sensitive include: Violence content of a sexual nature vulgar language biographical information which could harm the reputation or sensibilities of another living (or dead) person anything else that the particular writer is afraid to share authentically Genre Sometimes it all comes down to the genre. There are certain genres where taboo topics and anything graphic is a strict Read more…
This month I’ve been looking at authenticity and what makes being authentic so scary for most people. Last week we talked about why the fear of rejection can make authenticity so elusive. This week we will focus on the judgments we make and those that are made about us. Once we have a deeper understanding of the judgments we make, every day, we can take control over that part of our psyche and overcome it, leading to a more authentic life and more authentic writing. We all do it Even though it’s not politically correct to make snap judgments about Read more…
As Halloween approaches, thoughts turn to the frightening things in life (and death). So this month we’ll be taking a look at one of the scariest things for many new (and some seasoned) writers: Authenticity. One of the reasons it can be difficult to be authentic in your writing is fear of rejection. Fear of Rejection and Judgement The fear of rejection in person, on social media, and in writing, is something nearly everyone has experienced (to some extent). Cyberbullying is on the rise. “In fact, according to the anti-bullying website NoBullying.com, 52 percent of young people report being cyberbullied Read more…
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