Tag: Alex J. Cavanaugh

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IWSG

#IWSG January 2021: Reading As A Writer

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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.

Optional Monthly Question: Being a writer, when you’re reading someone else’s work, what stops you from finishing a book/throws you out of the story/frustrates you the most about other people’s books?

I’ve talked to many writers who don’t believe it’s important to read, and to that I say, WHAT! To each his own, I guess. I get the idea of not reading a lot while you are actively working on a story so that you aren’t overly influenced by what you read, but for me, a writer should also be a reader- no quota or nothing, just read something at some point that you didn’t write.

But, to answer the question being asked, I feel like I’m a more flexible reader than many other writers. I think sometimes we writers can be too harsh. Still, that’s not to say that writers shouldn’t be a little critical of their peers. For me, every reading experience is a learning one. I can learn what I’d like to be better at and what I hope I’m not doing or plan to stop doing immediately. With that said, the few reading pet peeves that make me want to put a book down are as follows:

-Too much profanity.
-Really bad grammar, not a few typos or misplaced commas, but grammar so bad I can’t figure out what’s happening.
-Gratuitous sex. I like a little steam as much as the average adult, but I do also need a reasonable plot.
-Too much snark. I like a laugh but again, plot. I need this to all be going somewhere not just endless jokes.
-Too many unnecessary descriptions.

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IWSG BOOK CLUB ON GOODREADS

Our book club is changing things up!
We will have quarterly book selections now, giving us more time to read. We will also have one fiction book selection and one writing craft book selection. Members can read both or choose between them. Finally, we won’t be offering 5 optional discussion questions anymore. Instead, we will be utilizing the polls that our members enjoy, so there will be one poll question for the fiction book and one for the non-fiction book on Discussion Day.

Our December/January/February reads are…

Ghost Light by Joseph O’Connor, a book written in second person. Since many readers haven’t read a book in second person, and many writers haven’t written in second person, we figured this is a great chance to explore something new.


Preparing to Write Settings that Feel Like Characters by J Lenni Dorner. This will be our writing craft book, with a focus on settings.

Discussion Day for both books will be February 24, 2021!

JOIN US! 

Now, on to the personal updates.

So, my husband and I just bought a house. The whole experience was horrible, stressful, and painful, but at least it’s over. I’m so happy on so many levels.

I just launched a Patreon page because I have a few people who expressed an interest in the idea but then none of them supported it when I launched it on the first. Still, I love the idea and will continue to work at convincing those people that using Patreon is no different from shopping at Amazon. We’ll see how it goes.

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Is reading as a writer more or less fun for you?
What are your reading pet peeves?
It may take some time, but I promise, I will stop by your blog.

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After hanging out with Alex, be sure to stop by and visit this month’s co-hosts:
Ronel Janse van Vuuren,
J Lenni Dorner,
Gwen Gardner,
Sandra Cox, and
Louise – Fundy Blue!

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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 #37).

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 #blacklivesmatter

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IWSG

#IWSG December 2020: The Best Time of Year to Write

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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.

Optional Monthly Question: Are there months or times of the year that you are more productive with your writing than other months, and why?

I used to have a job that made me cry every day, but it came with lots of vacation time and summer’s off. I used to get so much writing done on my paid vacations that I stayed in that horrible job for 10 years. I now work a job I love, but it comes with no time off. It’s really a pain for me to plan to take time off and then enjoy my time off because it’s always so brief. I have no time to write (I know that doesn’t make me special or unique in any way, but it’s harder for me to write now than it’s ever been). Still, I don’t cry 5-days a week on the way to an abusive job, so that’s nice. Not sure I’ll ever get to a point where I write like I used to. I’ll always be a writer, just not sure I’ll ever get to publish anything again.

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WEP October and December Challenges


It was an honor to come in as Runner-up in the October “Grave Mistake” challenge. Be sure to check out the emotional guest post from challenge 1st-place winner Rebecca Douglass.


Briefly, the December challenge “Unmasked” was canceled due to time constraints and stressors of the season, but the WEP admins have come up with a very casual and laid-back approach for this challenge to continue for anyone interested. Click the image to see what’s in store for 2021 and see any stories that may be shared for the December prompt. You can read my entry here if you’d like.

IWSG BOOK CLUB ON GOODREADS

Our book club is changing things up!
We will have quarterly book selections now, giving us more time to read. We will also have one fiction book selection and one writing craft book selection. Members can read both or choose between them. Finally, we won’t be offering 5 optional discussion questions anymore. Instead, we will be utilizing the polls that our members enjoy, so there will be one poll question for the fiction book and one for the non-fiction book on Discussion Day.

Our December/January/February reads are…

Ghost Light by Joseph O’Connor, a book written in second-person. Since many readers haven’t read a book in second-person, and many writers haven’t written in second-person, we figured this is a great chance to explore something new.

 

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Preparing to Write Settings that Feel Like Characters by J Lenni Dorner. This will be our writing craft book, with a focus on settings.

 

 

Discussion Day for both books will be February 24, 2021! JOIN US! 

Now, on to the personal updates.

I’ve been reading a bit and writing a bit, but not as much as I’d like of each. Honestly, it’s not as bad as it would usually be because it’s 2020. I’ve simply decided that this is a trial year- everything will pretty much be a do-over in 2021. In 2021 I’ll work on actually reaching some writing goals, I’ll give my Goodreads challenge a legit effort and post reviews on time, and I’ll stop phoning in my blog efforts. For now, I’m just focusing on getting to 2021 without a complete breakdown, so that means I read less, write less, and blog less. At least I’m still moving forward- even if I’m moving very slow and don’t really have a destination.

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Is there an ideal time of year for you to write?
If you don’t write, have you considered it?
It may take some time, but I promise, I will stop by your blog.

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After hanging out with Alex, be sure to stop by and visit this month’s co-hosts:
Pat Garcia,
Sylvia Ney,
Liesbet @ Roaming About,
Cathrina Constantine, and
Natalie Aguirre!

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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 #37).

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 #blacklivesmatter

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#IWSG November 2020: Why I #Amwriting

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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.

Optional Monthly Question: 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. Why do you write what you write?

I used to think the only reason I wrote anything was because of an internal compulsion- something within me that compelled me to write. I just always felt that, “I write because I am”. In the past, I’ve mostly stuck to writing fiction, only dabbling a nonfiction and poetry from time to time (and I never shared any of it).

A few years back, when still working in Special Education, I started writing and illustrating picture books to reach young people- to help them grasp complex concepts. Still, long or short fiction had remained my passion. Then 2020 happened and I couldn’t write what I wanted to anymore. My compulsion had changed. I started writing to help me cope with all the things in the world that were causing me to feel hurt. I wrote for myself to help me cope, but when I wrote and illustrated two children’s books to help me cope with COVID and the Black Lives Matter movement, I decided to share them with the world- not to make money (especially since I released them for free initially), but to put it out there in case someone else could relate and get something out of it.

On my blog, I traded my usual flash-fiction for poetry and narrative, exploratory, nonfiction as I addressed my growing concern for a large portion of the world that views my skin color as a threat, a commodity to be exploited, or a statistic to be ignored. Only in the last few days have I been able to return to my worlds of fantasy, science fiction, or romance and resume my many WIPs, though many have taken on some major transformations. My writing has changed because I’ve changed. I’m the same person and writer I’ve always been, but for the first time, I’m not censoring myself to suit any audience. I’m at the point where I write exactly what I want. People can love it, like it, be indifferent, or hate it. It is what it is.

So, in essence, “I [still] write because I am”, I’m just writing more honestly than I ever have before- even when I’m writing fiction.

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Now, on to the personal updates.

I turned 40 since last we met and posted a fun video in an effort to get back into the swing of things. I’d love for you to check it out.

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So, why do you write?
If you don’t write, have you considered it?
It may take some time, but I promise, I will stop by your blog.

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After hanging out with Alex, be sure to stop by and visit this month’s co-hosts:
Jemi Fraser,
Kim Lajevardi,
L.G Keltner,
Tyrean Martinson, and
Rachna Chhabria!

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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 #37).

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 #blacklivesmatter