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: How do you celebrate when you achieve a writing goal / finish a story?
If I’m being honest here, sometimes just finishing a project is the celebration (boy do I wish I had more time to smell the roses). There is a distinctive feeling of accomplishment that comes with finishing any writing project, but one must ask themselves, “At what point is a story truly finished?” For me it varies; sometimes a story is finished when I write “The End” and sometimes it’s not finished until I approved the proof. Regardless, I do feel as though I should celebrate these achievements more than I have in the past. It can sometimes be a long period of time between launch parties, so finding times and ways to celebrate other writing achievements seems like a good way to stay motivated and keep on track.
I’m totally open to suggestions.
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Now on to the personal updates.
Soooooo, all H*LL broke out at my day job last week and I almost had a complete mental breakdown, seriously. With the help of co-workers, family, friends, and prayer, I’m holding it together. (For those who don’t know, I teach. That’s all I’m going to say about that.)
I finished my graphic novel read-a-thon just shy of my overall goal, and it’s motivated me to keep reading graphic novels throughout the year. I haven’t done an update video yet, but I’m working on it. I may even be doing a side by side comparison later in the year, reading a novel and the graphic novel version of the story together. We’ll see.
I’ve written three new children’s books and am almost finished with the fourth. I’ll begin the process of having the stories beta read and begin the process of illustrating them very soon. I even plan to vlog about it a bit.
I’m very excited to accept my first invitation to go and read to students at a school in my local area. This is not a sales event or a signing, though I will be reading my books. I’m happy to not have the pressure of sales. Sometimes the one thing that’s better than making a sale, is the look on a child’s face when they enjoy the words and pictures you’ve made. I’m so excited.
Last, but most definitely not least, I was honored with the Encouragement Award for the February 2018 W.E.P. challenge. Even though I don’t always meet the challenge, I can’t express how much the WEP community has helped me grow as a writer. I am so proud and happy to receive this recognition… And guess what? I did a happy dance and bought myself some ice cream (not frozen yogurt) when I found out I won. Guess I can celebrate my writing goals when I think about it. If you’d like to read mine or any of the other wonderful stories of this WEP Challenge, just click the award image.
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So, do you or how do you celebrate your writing goals?
Has all H*LL broken out in some aspect of your life? How are you coping with it?
Read any graphic novels lately or know any I should check out?
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After hanging out with Alex, be sure to stop by and visit this month’s co-hosts:
Mary Aalgaard,
Bish Denham,
Jennifer Hawes,
Diane Burton, 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 #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
