Tag: Alex J. Cavanaugh

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#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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#blacklivesmatter About Toi IWSG Videos

#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

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IWSG

#IWSG October 2020: A Working Writer Sometime Needs Leave Without Pay

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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: When you think of the term working writer, what does that look like to you? What do you think it is supposed to look like? Do you see yourself as a working writer or aspiring or hobbyist, and if latter two, what does that look like?

To me, a working writer is one of two things, depending on how you look at it. 1) Ideally, a working writer is someone who makes a living as a writer. Writing is the work that pays their bills. 2) More commonly, I feel, a working writer is someone who works another job while also writing full-time whether it pays off or not. By full-time I mean, it’s just as much a part of their daily life as their paying job, and not a hobby they pick up when the mood is right, or vacation time is plentiful. (To clarify, there is nothing wrong with that. Writing should fit into your life in whatever manner suits you best.)

I think a working writer is supposed to look like someone who has a steady income stream consisting of: book sales, branded merch, guest articles and appearances, affiliate links and endorsements on their blog/vlog (or in this day and age, their podcast), and is at some level an influencer, even if it’s just within their local community.

I used to see myself as a working writer, but I recently had to take a leave of absence without pay (Just temporary. I’m back to work now.) I’ve struggled to read, struggled to write, and struggled to stay connected via my personal blog/platform and social media. I’ve struggled to see the point in sharing my words when I feel that so many of mine, and the words of other black people and people of color, seem to just go completely unheard by the powers that be.

So, the answer to this month’s question is also my insecurity. I’ve continued to cling to a few small supportive groups where I feel mine, and other struggling voices are not only heard but appreciated. Perhaps one day, down the road, I’ll be able to write an IWSG post where, as a working writer, I’ll be offering encouragement to someone else, whether a working, aspiring, or hobbyist writer.

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Thank you, again, for the WEP 1st-place award for the Long Shadow contest. If you’d like to see the guest article I posted at the WEP blog, click on the image.

Though I’m not reading as much as I like to (hardly at all) right now, I’m still excited about the release of Frozen Crimes, the 5th book in the Disaster Crime Series by our very own Chrys Fey.

BUY LINKS: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo / iTunes

I’ve read the whole series and followed Chrys for years. Whenever I regain my reading strength, this will be at the top of my TBR.

Now, on to the personal updates.

I’m still here.

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What does being a working writer mean to you?
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:
Jemima Pett,
Beth Camp,
Beverly Stowe McClure, and
Gwen Gardner!

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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