Tag: #IWSG

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IWSG

#IWSG December 2017: A do-over or a fresh start?

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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.

Monthly Question: As you look back on 2017, with all its successes and failures, if you could backtrack, what would you do differently?

To say that I tried a lot of new things this year would be a huge understatement. This has been a monotonous year. It wasn’t all bad, but it wasn’t very good either. The two good things to come out of the new things I tried have been the IWSG Book Club and my new blog friends over at A Small Gang of Authors.

If I was to do something differently, I think I would have said no more often and been more selfish. I’m all the time trying to help others, and I realize now that no one wants my help, and that’s okay. There are those who want to work with me and I’m happy to work with those people. I’m not going to stop being a decent person, but I’m not going to continue slaving away silently in the background while other people gang up on me and point the finger when things don’t go the way they want. I can only do what I can do, and pleasing people isn’t something I’ve ever been good at, so it’s time I stopped. If I do what I think is right and people are pleased with it, great; if not, oh well. I did my best.

In 2018, I’ll be more selfish and less involved, but I’ll never turn my back on anyone who’s truly in need.

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No personal updates this time.

Happy Holidays everyone!

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What would you have done differently in 2017?
Is there anything you’re letting go of or embracing in the new year?

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After hanging out with Alex, be sure to stop by and visit this month’s co-hosts:
Julie Flanders,
Shannon Lawrence,
Fundy Blue, and
Heather 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 #58).

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

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IWSG

#IWSG November 2017: No #NaNoWriMo for me ‘cause I’m stuck in a rut.

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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.

Monthly Question: Win or not, do you usually finish your NaNo project? Have any of them gone on to be published?

I’ve never attempted NaNo simply because I know it’s not a format that suits me, though I’ve heard it’s done wonders for other writers. The idea of trying to force 50k words in 30 days stresses me out. That’s not to say I haven’t done it before, but when it just happens, naturally, over a weekend with little sleep and lots of caffeine, it’s great. Outside of that, I’ll stick with my meager word counts and finish when I finish.

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Now on to the personal updates.

I think I’m stuck in a rut. Not sure how I got here or how to get out. I feel so… blah. I’m behind on writing book reviews and updating my vlog, though I’ve had time to do both. I think a lot of it has to do with the dissatisfaction of my day job and my growing desire to stop sharing my writing. I absolutely do not want to stop writing, I just don’t know if I want to keep sharing what I write. I don’t think anyone would really miss my words if they were no longer there, and I’d be content to just write them for myself. IDK. Perhaps if I had a few close friends who enjoyed reading and or writing it would be different, but since I don’t, all my writing feels like a solitary act. So, why not just keep it to myself?

Then there’s blogging. Not sure about this at the moment either, at least where to do it that is. I still enjoy blogging even if it does take up a lot of my time. Right now, I’m challenged with how often I should blog here, at The ToiBox of Words. Since I’ve started contributing to A Small Gang of Authors, and might start contributing to another blog (assuming I ever submit something they actually like), I been wondering if and how much of my presence is still desired here? Again, IDK. No matter what, I’ll always do this hop here and The Cephalopod Coffeehouse, as long as they are running.

In any case, if you’re up for it, check out this Halloween post that went up yesterday and this part 2 of my Angel Lore series that went up today.

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Are you doing NaNo? Why?
Are you stuck in a rut? Any ideas on how to get out?
Should I continue posting once a week or stick with my two hops only?

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After hanging out with Alex, be sure to stop by and visit this month’s co-hosts:
Tonja Drecker,
Diane Burton,
MJ Fifield, and
Rebecca Douglass!

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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 #58).

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

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About Toi AdventuresNBlogging

#Giveaway Winner Announced & the #BloggerAmbush Blitz

This is an unexpected Monday post for me. Usually, I leave this day open to reblogs and promoting others but since I wasn’t booked and realized I had way too much content to stuff into my IWSG post on Wednesday, I thought, ‘Why not do a Monday blog?’ It’s not that unusual for me… In any case, here’s what I got.

I had a rough birthday this year, but there were some highs that made it all worth it. Oh, and I have a winner for my birthday, Top 5 Angel books, giveaway.

Sherry Fundin
 I hope you enjoy this prize!

Now let’s talk about one of my current pet projects that means so much to me, the Blogger Ambush Blitz, hosted over at #ReadingIndie.
The idea of this blitz isn’t something I came up with, by far, but it’s an idea that I thought was great the first time I saw it and think it’s worth giving a go time and again.

The original idea was for bloggers to unite to visit and support one blogger among the group all at once to give them a boost, engagement, and simply make their day. It was such a good idea that the blogger list grew to outrageous proportions. While I loved getting the notification that it was time once again to spotlight someone, I think many became defeated with the notion that their turn would never come. Plus, the spotlights were sporadic, not giving members a sense of routine or stability. I’m not sure if this original blitz is still going on.

My idea for the Blogger Ambush Blitz is simple. We ambush one random blogger from the list of members each week until everyone gets a turn. Our aim is to grow the list to 25 members, offering each member a chance to be ambushed (or spotlighted) twice a year. For me, I personally hope the idea catches on and grows to the point where I can set up multiple blogger lists. I can imagine having Blogger Ambush Blitz’s for major fiction genres, just for writers, just for inspirational quotes, and so much more. With the blitz only requiring members to visit ONE blog a WEEK, I don’t see why this can’t be the next step in blogger support and networking.

At least, that’s my dream 😀 .

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