Created and hosted by the Ninja himself, Alex J. Cavanaugh, the Insecure Writers Support Group posts the 1st Wednesday of every month. Click the image to learn more or sign up.
Monthly Question: When your writing life is a bit cloudy or filled with rain, what do you do to dig down and keep on writing?
I honestly feel like my writing life is always cloudy. It’s kind of like the rest of my life, in that I’m sick all the time. Still, I get stuff done. If I stopped and waited to be healthy to do stuff, I’d never do anything. If I waited for the rain in my writing life to clear up, I’d never write anything.
For me, I think it’s more about being patient and not forcing it. I wish I could be one of those writers who writes 100 or 1000 words every day, but that’s not my reality. I have to work on multiple projects at a time so that whenever the muse strikes, I have plenty of material to work with. I also distract and inspire myself by reading and watching creative content; and again, when the muse strikes, I write (even if it’s 3 a.m.)
And, if and when, I get discouraged or overwhelmed, I look back at the few good reviews I’ve received and the two pieces of fan mail I’ve received to cheer me up. It helps remind me why I write. I write because I enjoy sharing my stories, even if I just share them with a few friends.
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Now on to the personal updates.
I’m on spring break and, oh boy, do I deserve it! Just in time for a full recovery from Strep. I just got back in town to enjoy the rest of my break on staycation. If you follow me on YouTube or Facebook, be on the lookout for some cool pictures and videos.
Illustrating is hard when you are not formally trained. I used my computer’s paint program to draw my first children’s books, but now I’m trying to do some hand drawings for the new stories I’m working on.
I’ve been cleaning up and rewriting a few stories for a short story collection I hope to release later this year. Plus, I have my ongoing project to rewrite my Eternal Curse Series for the 10th-anniversary release. We’ll see what happens with that down the road.
Over at A Small Gang of Authors, we reached 100,000 views. I’m so happy to have found this group of amazing author-bloggers to connect and collaborate with. If you’re up for it, please stop by and congratulate us.
And last, but definitely not least, I completed my Graphic Novel Read-A-Thon and had so much fun. If you’re interested, check out the video wrap-up below. My March wrap-up video will go up this Saturday, April 7th.
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What keeps you writing?
What are you currently working on?
Are you having a vacation or staycation anytime soon?
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After hanging out with Alex, be sure to stop by and visit this month’s co-hosts:
Olga Godim,
Chemist Ken,
Renee Scattergood, and
Tamara Narayan!
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Click here to visit other IWSG blogs and sites to receive and share more inspiration and support. (This month, I’m #57).
Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you like it let me know and share it with others. See you next time, Toi Thomas. #thetoiboxofwords
35 replies on “#IWSG April 2018: Just keep writing; just keep writing; just keep #writing.”
I feel like my life is a constant staycation, in that I stay at home and don’t get anything done 🙂 I think it’s a great idea to have some good reviews you can revisit when you’re feeling a bit down. Good reminder that someone things your writing is awesome.
Hello Toi. Soak up the time now. It goes by so fast. I was on spring break a few weeks back and it was so perfect and inspiring. Keepcthe steam rolling! Our peers are our best sources of inspiration. Happy IWSG day 🙂
Thanks Erika. I am enjoying this break that does seem to be flying by.
Yes, it is nice to have written proof from someone other than my mother, that at least some of my stories are pretty good.
Whew! Yeah, if I waited for good health, or sanity, or even two second to rub together as my own, I’d never write. Sometimes I think life is like that. You have to decide how you’ll spend your energy, and then spend it intelligently.
Spring break doesn’t mean much when you home school, but we did take a quick trip to the coast. I suppose that’s something, eh?
Yes, that is something. We spent a few days in a cabin with no access to the internet just to unwind and it seemed like a week (in a good way).
So glad you are feeling better. Congrats on 100,000 viewers that is awesome. Juneta @ Writer’s Gambit
Thanks for the kind words. It feels good to be feeling better.
That’s a lot of views!
Sorry you’re sick again. Feel better soon.
I’m feeling pretty good right now. Considering I have a giant tree pouring pollen all over my house and car and I suffer severe allergies, it won’t last long, but it also won’t stop me from living my life.
Yep, I also write come what may. I hope you’re feeling much better.
Thanks for the encouragement. I am feeling better.
You are so busy and have so many different projects. My head would spin right off of my neck. hehehe
Anna from elements of emaginette
I’m always doing a lot, but not always getting a lot done. Still, by the end of the year, it all adds up and it seems like I did something really special.
I love your attitude this month! “If I stopped and waited to be healthy to do stuff, I’d never do anything. If I waited for the rain in my writing life to clear up, I’d never write anything.” So true. Very encouraging words my dear.
Keep at it and all the best.
Shalom aleichem,
Pat G @ EverythingMustChange
Thank you, Pat. Sometimes it’s best to just tell it like it is. I write when I can, whether I’m well or not. It’s part of who I am (as I’m sure it is most writers).
You’re an artist as well as a writer?! That’s amazing! Happy IWSG day. 🙂 http://www.raimeygallant.com
I don’t consider myself a visual artists, but I’m not afraid to try and put myself out there. Thanks for the encouragement.
I’m sorry you’ve been sick. That always makes it hard to get anything done, especially writing. Enjoy your staycation!
Thanks Tricia. I am enjoying my staycation. I was much needed.
I admire your attitude of writing no matter how you feel. I hope your health doesn’t plague you much anymore.
BTW: what is a staycation? It seems I’m the only one no knowing.
A staycation is when you stay at home for your vacation. You shut yourself off from all social engagements and just hang around the house doing nothing; that also means no house cleaning. 😀
You make a good point that if we sat a waiting for the rain and clouds to all go away, we’d get nothing done.
I am getting back in the writerly swing of things after sitting out for some months, giving myself much needed permission to just…BE and enjoy extra time with my daughter. Now that the writing is happening again, despite the occassional cloud or shower, I get in the words when I can. And if I don’t, I do better at not beating myself up about it.
That’s great. I agree and I look forward to those moments of just “being”; they are part of me just as much as my writing is. Thanks for stopping by.
Omigosh, yes, the only way is to keep writing! I had the same response. LOL 🙂
How does that old saying go, “keep it simple”? Too often have I complicated things, but now I’m getting better at keeping things simple. As long as I keep writing, at my own pace, I’ll be just fime. Thanks for visiting.
We are doing the staycation for my kid’s spring break because my husband’s university schedule doesn’t match with the secondary school schedule. (He had his spring break a couple of weeks back.) And it’s snowing! Nothing says Spring like an April snowfall, right? But I’m happy. I love snow. I hope to get back into writing when the kids return to school.
Yeah, it’s hard for me to get into the spring mood when it’s still so cold, but I can’t complain too much.
I did the illustrations for my children’s stories years ago and still have the originals, but I’m not talented or secure enough to try to do the illustrations myself for my published books. How great that you are working on that!
Thank you. It’s just one more way for me to stretch myself.
Glad you’re getting some rest. Enjoy your vacation.
Thanks. I did enjoy it.
Having multiple projects going is smart. If you get stuck on one, another can pull you in.
Way to go on all of the progress you’ve made!
I believe I’m following you on YouTube. 🙂
If didn’t work on more than one thing at a time, I’d never finish anything. I sometimes have to put a project down for months at a time. Yay, thanks for the follow! 😀
Hope you’re feeling better.
What keeps me writing is pretty damn boring these days, but true: necessity. It’s my job. No writing, no income. If I want to do this for a living, I need to treat it like a business.