Categories
IWSG

#IWSG October 2017: personal life slipped in fiction, THE FLU, unfollowing #blogs, & my birthday

72b25-iwsg2bbadge

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: Have you ever slipped any of your personal information into your characters, either by accident or on purpose?

Yes and yes. I’ve intentionally written about places I’ve lived or visited. I’ve named characters after family members and friends, and I’ve added aspects of my personality to characters. Unintentionally, I’ve included instances similar to actual events I’ve experienced in my stories, only realizing the connection later on. I tend to have reoccurring themes in my writing that are a direct reflection of issues that are important to me, therefore they become important to my characters.

Oh, and since today is “Show Us Your Writer Insecurity” Day! Here are a few images and videos of me showing off my #IWSG swag and logo.
Facebook fan page cover | Tumblr video |  YouTube: What’s In My Bag Tag

****

Now on to the personal updates.

I am flabbergasted that my school division is waiting until November 1st to start offering flu shots. I guess there is some merit to not getting it too early, but man, with people already passing around colds, it seems risky. Still, I also recognize that some people are against the shots altogether, but for someone with a weak immune system, I have to do whatever I can to increase my chances of not ending up in the hospital again. If it’s within your means and personal lifestyle plan, please get one. If not, do whatever you do to protect yourself.

Stay healthy people! 😀

I’m writing a lot right now, but I’m not making a lot of progress on any one thing. I keep starting new projects every time I get stuck on something else. At this point, I’ve decided to simply alternate the WIPs I have, do a little here and there, whenever the muse strikes. I’ll write more on this in my monthly WIP update, so if you’re interested, come back Friday to see what I have.

Last Wednesday, I posted about how I unfollowed over 100 blogs . It was one of the best decisions I’ve made in a long time. Instead of trying and failing to engage with 20 or more blogs a day, I’m now fully engaged and sharing 4 – 8 blogs a day. I have so much time to do stuff now. I’m almost hysterical with relief over how relaxed I feel about following and commenting on blogs right now.

One reason I culled my blogs, other than making more time to write, was so I could dedicate a bit of networking and promoting time to a group of authors who blog together and support one another. I’m so happy to be a member of A Small Gang of Authors . If you’re up for it, please consider stopping by today, to see my very first post.

Lastly, it’s October and I’m so happy. Fall is here and I can finally start wearing scarves (I kinda have a scarf problem). And, to top it all off, my birthday is October 21st. To celebrate, this year I’m going to have a big Kindle sale and offer a paperback giveaway. If you’re up for it, I’d really appreciate some support for my Thunderclap campaign. It would mean the world to me.

****

Any personal information slip into your fiction?

Have you considered unfollowing blogs?

What about October/Fall are you looking forward to?

Do you have a birthday this month?
If not, “A Very Merry Unbirthday to You!”

****

After hanging out with Alex, be sure to stop by and visit this month’s co-hosts:
Olga Godim,
Chemist Ken,
Jennifer Hawes, and
Tamara Narayan!

****

Click here to visit other IWSG blogs and sites to receive and share more inspiration and support. (This month, I’m #60).

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

Categories
IWSG

#IWSG October 2015: It’s Fall & time to Par-tay!

72b25-iwsg2bbadge

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.

****

I’m in a good moon right now and hope it lasts a long time. I’m so happy to have filled up my self-organized virtual book tour for It’s Like the Full Moon, but I’d still be more than happy to take on more hosts in case anyone is interested.

I want to encourage everyone to breathe in and out and appreciate the life you have. We may not all be exactly where we want to be in our lives, but as long as we have the time and willingness to pursue our dreams and goals, we’re better off than those who’ve had their chances taken away from them … I’ll leave it at that.

October means a lot to me.

1. To me, it’s the beginning of Fall- my favorite season. I’m so ready for sweaters and SCARVES! 😀 … Sorry, but I really like scarves.

2. It’s the month of my birthday, so I’ll be putting my first novel on sale for a few days. Be on the lookout for it.

3. I’m having a Vinyl Record Themed birthday party. I’ll try to remember to share pics later.

4. I don’t celebrate Halloween, but so many other people do. I love seeing everyone let loose and pick out their costumes. It’s a great time to be around kids and to become a kid again, for just a little while.

*And special just for this year, I’m trying something new. I’m testing out a new blog schedule and attempting to start a new bookish blog hop. Please check it out to see if it’s something you’d be interested in. BooktagsBlogHop

****

Do you have any big plans for October?

****

After hanging out with Alex, be sure to stop by and visit this month’s co-hosts:
TB Markinson,
Tamara Narayan,
Shannon Lawrence,
Stephanie Faris, and
Eva E. Solar!

****

Click here to visit other IWSG blogs and sites to receive and share more inspiration and support. (This month, I’m #100).

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

Categories
Day in a Life

A Day In My Life: September ‘14: Summer’s End

dayNlife

You may or may not find this surprising, but as a writer I’ve never been much of a journaler (I like making up words). I’ve always kept writing, sketching, and poetry notebooks, but I’ve never really liked writing about myself. This monthly post is my attempt at rectifying that and is an opportunity for me to get a little personal, as I share a single event from my life.


Summer’s End

For me, summer is officially over despite the lack of an Equinox. Once the kids go back to school, and us teachers, it’s all over. Don’t let me paint you a bad picture though. While the end of Summer can be sad, the coming of Fall has its perks to. I’m ready for sweater and scarf weather, but am glad the snow is many months off.

Just as last year, here I am at the Love Jones Luau with my Family. Time with family is more precious than gold.

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