Tuesday, March 5, 2019

IWSG: I wrote something!


Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds! 
Posting: The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Post your thoughts on your own blog. Talk about your doubts and the fears you have conquered. Discuss your struggles and triumphs. Offer a word of encouragement for others who are struggling. Visit others in the group and connect with your fellow writer - aim for a dozen new people each time - and return comments. This group is all about connecting! Be sure to link to the IWSG page and display the badge in your post. And please be sure your avatar links back to your blog! If it links to Google+, be sure your blog is listed there. Otherwise, when you leave a comment, people can't find you to comment back.

This month’s awesome co-hosts are Fundy Blue, Beverly Stowe McClure, Erika Beebe, and Lisa Buie-Collard!
Be sure to drop in and visit them all!

And now for my post:

Well, another month has passed, and I only spent (counts on fingers) 13 days of it on the road, so I actually managed a little writing this month! I’m ridiculously proud of myself for what I’ve accomplished, even though it’s neither as much as I hoped nor as successful as I would wish. 

Here’s the report:
— The novel: I’ve read through 15 chapters (out of 21), making some changes and a lot of notes. On the drive home Saturday from our Milford Track adventures, I also thought through a plot point that bugged me, and came up with something that I think makes it work. Still have to get that worked into my notes, not to mention the book itself, but I wrote my thoughts down and they have so far stood the test of further contemplation.

—Short stories: I actually managed to finish and edit my story for the WEP post, and even read about a dozen of the other stories (still working on that one).

—I also revised and edited a chapter from a draft from NaNo 3 years ago (sigh) and submitted it as a free-standing short story. It got rejected, but hey, I submitted it! And I think it’s good enough to try to find other places for it.

—I made a first cut on editing (or at least pruning) the approximately 3000 photos I’ve taken so far here in New Zealand. Final edits, which I can’t do until I get back to a real computer, may take years :o

—Made my #Fi50 (Fiction in 50) post with story.

—Wrote 3 book reviews for my blog, and one photo post

Okay, not much compared to my usual efforts, but pretty good for what really amounted to just 2  weeks, during which time I had to deal with a lot of logistics as well. Just to keep myself honest, I’ll make a vow this month to re-submit both the recent story and the one I sent in for the IWSG anthology.

Now for the IWSG question of the month:  do I like to write from the perspective of the hero or the villain? 

Honestly, I’ve never tried writing from the villain’s POV. I can’t really see myself doing so, as I have trouble imagining myself into the mind of a murderer. In any case, I have to admit that I’m kind of a law and order and justice person, so I like to be on the side of the angels. Still, I guess it would be a good exercise.

I’ll let you all know if I try it!

How about you? Any triumphs, large or small, this month? 


21 comments:

  1. Any progress is progress. Congrats on what you did. Traveling tends to exhaust me, so I'm impressed at all you got done.

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    1. I only get things done when we are stationary. Any day we hike or drive much, all I can manage is to keep my journal (which is really just travel notes).

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  2. I think you've accomplished a lot given that you've been on the road part of the month. Personal things you need to do when your gone can pile up when you get back so it's awesome that you committed some time to your writing too.

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    1. To make it even more fun, there’s no “back” to get to. Just places where we perch longer. And I’m trying to do everything on an iPad, which is driving me nuts, especially as Blogger works very very poorly on iOS. And now I need to address the issue of taxes... :(

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  3. Congratulations, Rebecca! While it's a writer's curse to never be fully satisfied with what we accomplish, I'm glad you're celebrating your successes.

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    1. Thanks! The last couple of days I’ve actually put some effort into promotions, with the Smashwords event. That’s the area I *really* dodge.

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  4. That's huge progress especially considered you've been on the road for half the month!

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    1. Yeah, when I counted up how much of our “resting” month we’d spent traveling, I felt a lot better about not getting as far as I hoped. As you know, I’d fantasized I’d have a beta copy ready for you and others by now. At this point, it’s unlikely to happen before we go back on the road in April, which is bad news for a timely release.

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  5. Your motivation is very inspiring. I wish you the best in your editing and writing process. This month I am reviewing a book series but it will definitely span the course of several months. Happy IWSG Day :)

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    1. Thanks! Good luck with the series. That’s a lot to take on.

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  6. Hey, that's great progress while/after being on the road for that long. Good for you!

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    1. Sure is hard to get/keep my head in my work when part of me also thinks I should be out exploring NZ every single day (even though we built in this time because we knew we’d burn out if we didn’t!).

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  7. You know, the longer I'm in this writing business, the more deeply I believe that success comes (for most) with persistent baby steps. Glad to hear you're finding gold when mining older stories. I have a few on the shelf that need a total re-do, and I will get to them one day. Congratulations on your persistence, and happy writing in March.

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    1. I’ve written so much flash fiction, and the story I’m hawking started from one of those, then another, then another... then I felt he needed a book, but I struggled with the draft and I’ve let it sit all this time. I hope I can get my inspiration back this way!

      It’s not always easy to look at the stories on the shelf, but they can be a gold mine, and especially if your writing time is crunched.

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  8. That sounds like a productive month, especially for the time frame! My own productivity is all over the place, but it's good to stop and take stock of everything you've accomplished, so that you know you're making progress. I know I should do that more often.

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    1. Yes, whenever I feel like a failure, I make a list of things accomplished. It really does help.

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  9. I think you've done well during your trip. But I love the photos when you can find time for them!

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  10. Considering how much you were on the road, I'd say that was really impressive.

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