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: What is the weirdest/coolest thing you ever had to research for your story?
At this point in my writing, I haven’t really had to research anything too weird yet. I guess I could at least mention a few cool things I’ve researched, like: scientific terms and effects of two moons for a story I haven’t started yet or how to create a language for a story I’ve been developing for about three years.
For now, I’d say the most interesting thing I’ve researched is angel lore. After I completed the first draft of my first book, before I even knew it was a book, I decided to look into the different worldviews of angels to see if anything interesting could be added to my story. I bought a book online that had high ratings and was recommended by several different sites. Can’t for the life of me remember the title now. I still have the book, but it’s in storage somewhere.
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So, the month of April was a bit crazy for me. I did a virtual convention, went on Spring Break, took a trip with my sister, did a live convention, and battled and assortment of illnesses- some still in progress. I’ve had a lot of low points in the past month, but the high points made it all bearable.
I only finished one book in the month of April and I still need to write a thorough review for it. I’m struggling to finished up the first installment of “We Are Jardin”. Who knows when that will be ready to publish. My YouTube channel will suffer a bit this month. I’m working on a RavenCon wrap up video and have no real Reading Challenge update to offer. Plus, I have two more author events coming up that I’ll have to work around my ongoing medical issues.
All in all, I guess I can’t complain too much. I’m busy in a good way and my health is always an issue. If I waited around to be healthy all the time, I’d never get anything done.
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What have you had to research for a book?
Read any good books last month?
Hope this post finds you in good health.
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After hanging out with Alex, be sure to stop by and visit this month’s co-hosts:
Michelle Wallace,
Nancy Gideon,
Tamara Narayan, and
Liesbet!!
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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 #66).
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
27 replies on “#IWSG May 2017: Being Overwhelmed, Weird Research, & Another Con”
Toi, I sincerely hope you get back to feeling much better than you are now. It looks as if your plate is filled with lots of things. Take care of yourself.
All the best.
Shalom aleichem,
Pat G
Thank you Pat.
Well, I love research. It’s one of the best things about writing. But don’t ask me to interview anyone to learn more. I fall apart. 🙂
Anna from elements of emaginette
I too enjoy research, but I also think I’d like interviewing someone to learn more. I do get that it’s not for everyone.
I really hope you feel better soon! That sucks to not feel well, especially when you have so much going on.
I fully believe in hiring researchers. They’re a wonderful thing. *hugs*
I look forward to the day when I can hire anyone to do anything other than edit. I’d love to contract out many elements of the publishing process.
Angel lore would be cool.
Was Raven Con fun?
I enjoyed RavenCon. There was a small incident that keep me from loving the whole weekend, but it had nothing to do directely with RavenCon. It was just a reflection of times and world we live in. It’s a really great Con.
It sounds like you have a ton of stress on your plate around those appearances and YouTube. Here’s wishing you calming cheese and enough rest to really get back on your feet!
Yeah, sometimes having a full plate fuels me, but when I’m sick it weighs me down. Unfortunately, I’m sick a lot for many different reasons. That’s why I keep doing stuff anyway.
Wow you are busy. Take a deep breath, relax and enjoy.
‘ Juneta @ Writer’s Gambit
Thank you. Don’t if I’m relaxing much, but I’ve missed a few days of work trying to recover.
I understand about trudging onward when real life things like health get in the way. I’ve read some things on angel lore but I haven’t tried writing that angel book I have thoughts on.
Some people shy away from the subject, too afraid of offending someone, but I don’t care. There are very few angel stories I don’t like.
Our health is so incredibly important and unless anything serious happens to us or one of our loved ones, it is hard to really grasp the consequences health issues can bring to life, temporarily, or permanently. I wish you well and I hope that writing will bring some distraction from the issues at hand. It sounds to me that you have been quite busy in April, regardless!
Thank you. I’m hoping to slow down a bit in the month of June. May already seems to be another busy month for me. I’ll keep working through my health issues and make time to rest.
Health can be so fickle sometimes. All the best in getting better and pushing through in the meantime. Research can be fun and/or tough but is necessary to get the result in some stories.
I’m in recovery; thanks, and yes, I agree sometimes research is necessary.
Toi, you’ve had a busy month. Crazy for everyone, April. Hope your health is holding up. Research is fun. I’ve had to do a lot for vampires in Italy.
I recovering slowly as my May starts catch up with me, but it’s all good. I bet researching vampires in Italy is either loads of fun or frustrating.
You have been busy indeed and sometimes that can take a toll with regards to your health. I’m sorry to hear that you haven’t been feel well. I hope you get better soon.
The weirdest/coolest thing I had to research is the beginnings of the athleisure trend which to my surprise started over a century ago.
Wow, that does sound like some interesting research. Did you blog about any of that?
Creating a language sounds fascinating…and I’m wondering how on earth are you going to do that? Will you start from scratch, or will you use an existing language and work from there? 🙂
Look after yourself!
Starting from scratch is the best way to do it, but the more I research it, the more I think I’m going to have to do some short-cutting. Still, I’m excited about the prospect.
Health problems can be distracting to say the least. Both of my daughters were ill in April. One got the flu (even though we get the flu shots). I’m having little annoyances like neck pain that aren’t such a big deal, but just uncomfortable. Hope you get over your problems soon.
Thank you for your well wishes. Many of my issue are non-fatal and ongoing, but when I do get something like the flu or bronchitis, it takes weeks for me to recover. That’s where I am at the momment.
Angels are fascinating – a lot more to them than one might think.
Get healthy! Stay healthy!