Write Here, Write Now

Hello! It's IWSG time! I can't tell you how weird but wonderful it is to be doing this again! So, this month's question is:  Did you ever say “I quit”? If so, what happened to make you come back to writing? To be completely truthful, as hard as writing can be sometimes, I don't think I've ever truly wanted to quit. What tends to happen are times of intense frustration, during which I question why I write, and tell myself I suck at it so I SHOULD just give it up. But I never do. I can't. Writing is just something I do - something I can't shake off. To quit writing would be a painful thing. I tend to experience things in real life very intensely, so I need a place to channel it all. I think I would lose my mind without it!  ** Quick reminder about the #MilesofSmiles hop! It's happening on Monday - not just on blogs but on ALL social media. Clare Dugmore and I are attempting so spread huge amounts of joy across the internet - to find out more ...

IWSG is brought to you by Alex J. Cavanaugh, and is a place for insecure writers to share their concerns and support each other! Click for the list of participants! Hmm, this is has been quite a tough month for many reasons. Mostly because my WIP has been challenging me to the point of wanting to throw my laptop out of the window! There have been days when I've questioned every word I wrote, wondered if I'm just kidding myself thinking I can be a writer, and letting everything negative settle into my head, knocking out the positive. I know we all have those days/weeks/months when everything is a struggle, so I know I'm not alone. But it definitely FEELS lonely when you're there. And it's not always solely about writing. When other factors creep in - and for me it is the sheer frustration of having plans and not being able to carry them out - everything just feels worse. The dark clouds roll in, and everything just sucks. (Hold on, I'm getting to the goo...

Welcome to the first IWSG of 2013! Alex J. Cavanaugh set up this awesome event so writers can discuss their insecurities and find support within the blogging community! Thank you, Alex! When I first started blogging, I threw myself into it by commenting on a million blogs, entering every bloghop in existence and basically running myself ragged trying to get everything done. Frankly, it was the best thing to do because it helped me find some awesome people and taught me a whole bunch of things I'd never have learned otherwise. By the end of 2012, I was tired. I found myself skipping bloghops, and posting and commenting a lot less. For 2013, I'd like to find a balance. I LOVE blogging and communicating with people but I also need to remember that I can't do everything. I have to live in the real world, I have to write, I have to do many other things as well as blogging. So, I guess my insecurity is that I might not be able to find that balance, and that if I take too m...

The Insecure Writer Support Group is brought to you by the wonderful Alex J.Cavanaugh , and unites writers once a month to share their insecurities! I want to start with an apology for being way behind with replying to blog comments. I am SO busy, you wouldn't believe and it's taking me away from ... well ... everything fun. But I am reading, I still love you all, and if you stick with me, I will be back to normal soon (hopefully!) Also, this being busy thing means I won't get to as many blogs today as I'd like - but I will do the best I can. :D So, my insecurity this month is all about NaNo! I'm off to a decent start, and I'm actually a day ahead of myself word count-wise. But my biggest fear is that I'll waste this whole month writing something that is absolute crap. I suppose everything is salvageable if you put the time in, but right now, I'm looking at what I've written and thinking ... meh. I don't want to bust my butt writing someth...

IWSG time! I'd like to start by thanking Alex J. Cavanaugh for this fab bloghop, and today in particular, it is just the motivation I need to get me blogging again! Today, I'm talking book sales. Now, I don't really know if there is any kind of "average" amount of books sales when you're an indie author. I don't know what is considered a good amount of book sales per month, or whether I am doing better or worse than others. What I do know, is that I am happy with the amount of books I've sold. I self-published because I want people to read my work - and people are reading it - yay! My concern is - what if the sales stop? I know after a time, everyone's book sales will slow down, but I have this fear that I'll check my sales every couple of weeks to find that nobody cares about reading my books anymore.The dreaded 0 will show on my Kindle sales, and I will plummet into a pit of despair. It hasn't happened yet, but Game On has onl...

Yup, it's that time again! Hosted by the amazing Alex. J Cavanaugh , this bloghop is intended for writers to share our insecurities, and support others! I don't have much in the way of new insecurities, so I am going to keep this one fairly short, and focus on the positive side of negative reviews. I laugh as I write this because I didn't think I would ever have anything positive to say about bad reviews! :P The thing is, when Game On was released, I was terrified that everyone would hate it. Whenever I checked the reviews, I was nervous, just waiting for one to come up that told me what a terrible writer I am! Thankfully, most of the reviews have been positive, and the ones that haven't ... well ... that's okay. Not everyone likes the same things, not everyone will connect with the characters, and ultimately, I'm happy with my book. So ... if you find yourself with negative reviews - learn from them. Use anything that is constructive, and let the rest wa...

Welcome to the August edition of IWSG, hosted by the amazing Alex J.Cavanaugh ! So, as most of you know by now - because I haven't shut up about it LOL - my first novel, Game On, has been released. The blog tour officially starts next week (YAY!) but I find myself becoming increasingly nervous. A blog tour not only highlights my book, but me. What if people don't like me? What if my guest posts suck, and everyone thinks I'm boring? If I can't engage people in 300 words on a blog, they probably aren't going to pick up my book. And then there's the "what happens next" question. I plan to make Game On into a series, which feels a bit arrogant of me. I don't know how many people are going to like the first book, should I really be planning to keep the series going? So far, Game On has actually been incredibly well received. I've had great reviews, so maybe I shouldn't worry about people not liking it, but what if Book Two isn't as goo...

Happy IWSG Day! This genius idea created by Alex J. Cavanaugh is a place for all of us insecure writers to gather together to talk about our worries, and cheer each other on. Check out the full list of participants here ! Think right now about your favourite writers. How do you feel when you know they have a new book being released? It's usually something like, "HURRY UP, I CAN'T WAIT ANYMORE!" right? And also, think about when one of your super talented blog buddies announces they've got a book coming out soon. That is even more exciting because it's someone you know, someone you may have seen struggling to reach their goal of publication. Someone you've seen go through the rough times, and have finally made it to where they want to be. I can tell you that when Jolene Perry, or Nyrae Dawn announce a book release - I bounce up and down like a crazy person! These two awesome ladies are writers I absolutely adore for their ability to write so natural...

Some of you will have seen this already - I accidentally posted it yesterday by mistakes lol! *blushes*  Can you believe it's time for another round of the Insecure Writer's Support Group ? Time is flying by at the moment! Today, I'll be having a mini nervous breakdown about publishing. I am SO close to having my WIP complete, but there are some things on my mind that just need to be released so I can move on! First of all, I still don't have a title for this bloody book! It's about soccer, it's chick-lit and obviously I need something lighthearted and attention-grabbing but I can't figure it out. No doubt I will whine about this a few more times before it's done! Second, I need to organise a front cover for the book. This isn't actually as big a problem as I first thought because I know what I want it to look like and I know a couple of people who may be able to make it happen for me. However, I can't do anything abou...

Thanks to everyone who commented on my IWSG post yesterday. You all had great points, and got me thinking about different ways to tackle the issue of what might be missing from my writing. I was so inspired, I decided to get some more editing done this morning - with huge motivation from Clare - thanks chick! <3 My WIP now has two full chapters that don't make me gag when reading them, so I'm gonna call that progress! While I was working, something new occurred to me. Once I am done editing, I am one step closer to my goal of publishing. The thought stopped me in my tracks. Me? Published? Really?? And just who do I think I am?! I believe that evil thought process is probably what has been slowing me down. So I shouted at it. (Not literally, my mother is in the house, and I didn't want to scare her!) As a direct result of me telling the evil voice to go away, I got a lot of work done. I should be freelancing this afternoon, but as I have nothing urgent due, I am go...

It's time for my first IWSG post! If you haven't heard of it before, it's a bloghop hosted by Alex Cavanaugh, which allows writers to vent about things are troubling us, and to support others who are struggling! There is a link in my sidebar, so if you scroll down, click on the IWSG image, and it will take you to all the details! My insecurity at the moment has to do with a lack of ... something ...  in my writing. People who have read my work often comment on how real my characters feel, and how the emotion shines through, and that makes me happy. My writing is usually character-centric, so I guess I am doing that part right. However, I am editing my WIP at the moment, and there are places where I feel that something is missing. I recently discovered (and I don't know if this is true for everyone, or just me) that if I am struggling to write a scene, it's because it probably doesn't need to be included. But some of the scenes I have are necessary, but th...