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#IWSG May. 2024- Writing While Distracted

Created and hosted by the Ninja himself, Alex J. Cavanaugh, the Insecure Writers Support Group posts the 1st Wednesday of every month. Click here to learn more or sign up.

This post contains affiliate links. If you click through to make a purchase, I may make a small commission at no additional cost to you. Any amount I make goes towards my dream to host a book fair in Hampton Roads, VA. Please see my About page for more details. Thank you for your support.

Optional Monthly Question: How do you deal with distractions when you are writing? Do they derail you?

I feel like I’m distracted all the time, which is probably why I don’t write as much as I’d like. Still, there are times when I’m determined to write, and I find a way to deal. I’ve learned to put on headphones and play white or pink noise. I can sometimes face away from people or distracting things and that’s enough to help. Soft music can be helpful sometimes, but I find that I use music to help set the mood when I’m writing something specific, so it’s not always helping with distractions.

Ideally, I’d love to be able to write mornings but I’ve learned to get words in whenever I can. The only time I can recall being derailed by a distraction is when I have to tend to my dog or someone’s child. I’m never going to try to split my attention between writing and tending to the needs of a living being. Sometimes, I have to take my dog for a walk knowing that I’ll only have 15 minutes to write because her walk will take 20-30 minutes. It is what it is.

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Speaking of my dog…

New Release!

Book Description

Margie is a bit skittish. She’s a hunting dog who doesn’t know how to hunt, but she loves a good walk. Living in a shelter with other dogs, she has no idea that she could have a home and a set of humans all to herself. This is the story of how Margie “The Scaredy Dog” Finds a Home.

Amazon.com
eBook $2.99
Print Book $12.99 (for a limited time)

I’m so happy to share Margie’s story with the world.

Find it at Amazon.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Toi Thomas (@toithomasauthor)

If you’d like a chance to win some Margie Merch, share your pet story below. Be sure to visit this link http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/0e47765341/ or enter the giveaway below to validate your entry. Open internationally. Ends May 31st at midnight ET.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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And now, on to the personal updates…

I just came back from a wonderful vacation. I spent a few days at a cabin to unwind and then attended Raven Con as one of the guest speakers. It was a lot of fun. I’ll be sharing a wrap-up video soon on social media.

I’ve been writing more than usual, but that is mostly due to being on vacation. (Hey, I’ll take what I can get.) I’m excited to update my Patreon community with more installments of my ongoing projects as well as adding some items to my shop.

Don’t know if I’ve mentioned my food memoir here much, but it’s really coming along. I’m so proud of what I’ve done with it and am excited to begin incorporating contributions from others who’ve agreed to share their stories.

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How do you handle distractions when writing?
It may take some time, but I promise, I will eventually stop by your blog.
My response time has gotten slower but I’m still making my rounds.

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After hanging out with Alex, be sure to stop by and visit this month’s co-hosts:
Victoria Marie Lees,
Kim Lajevardi,
Nancy Gideon, and
Cathrina Constantine!

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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 #27).

Did you know you can join my community for FREE over at Patreon to receive a monthly update on the creative projects I’m working on? I tell you the truth, it’s better than a newsletter!

Thank you for making it this far down the virtual page. Kudos to you! I’d love to know what you thought of this post in the comments below. Stay safe and be blessed.

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IWSG

#IWSG April. 2024- Am I Still Blogging?

Created and hosted by the Ninja himself, Alex J. Cavanaugh, the Insecure Writers Support Group posts the 1st Wednesday of every month. Click here to learn more or sign up.

This post contains affiliate links. If you click through to make a purchase, I may make a small commission at no additional cost to you. Any amount I make goes towards my dream to host a book fair in Hampton Roads, VA. Please see my About page for more details. Thank you for your support.

Optional Monthly Question: How long have you been blogging? (Or on Facebook/Twitter/Instagram?) What do you like about it and how has it changed?

I started blogging back in either 2010 or 2011 with my 40 Days and Nights of Eternal Curse blog. I moved on to several other blogs that I ran all the same time before streamlining my efforts into this blog, The ToiBox of Words. I started this blog in 2012 and may be ending it in 2024 because I’m really NOT happy with my server. We’ll see what the future holds.

I’ve been trying really hard to build up my Patreon community. I can’t figure out why so many people are willing to sign up for newsletters but not this. It’s just as free as a newsletter and comes in your email just like a newsletter. Oh, well. I guess if it’s meant to be, it will be. If it’s not, it’s not.

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My book about Margie, my rescue dog, is up for digital pre-order and I plan to release the book on April 29, 2024. That’s my wedding anniversary and it seemed like a good day to release it. I’d planned to post the giveaway information this month, but I’ll have to wait until May because of life circumstances. I’m very excited about what I’m giving away and how people can enter. I think it’ll be a lot of fun.

Coming April 29, 2024. Pre-Order Now!

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Now, on to the personal updates.

I’ll be at Raven Con in Richmond, VA in the middle of the month and look forward to recapping that experience with you all next month.

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How long have you been blogging?
It may take some time, but I promise, I will eventually stop by your blog.
My response time has gotten slower but I’m still making my rounds.

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After hanging out with Alex, be sure to stop by and visit this month’s co-hosts:
Janet Alcorn,
T. Powell Coltrin,
Natalie Aguirre, and
Pat Garcia!

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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 #27).

Did you know you can join my community for FREE over at Patreon to receive a monthly update on the creative projects I’m working on? I tell you the truth, it’s better than a newsletter!

Thank you for making it this far down the virtual page. Kudos to you! I’d love to know what you thought of this post in the comments below. Stay safe and be blessed.

Categories
IWSG

#IWSG Mar. 2024- A.I. is here & #ebookweek24 #Smashwords

Created and hosted by the Ninja himself, Alex J. Cavanaugh, the Insecure Writers Support Group posts the 1st Wednesday of every month. Click here to learn more or sign up.

Optional Monthly Question: Have you “played” with AI to write those nasty synopses, or do you refuse to go that route? How do you feel about AI’s impact on creative writing?

I’m glad that A.I. is there to help some people achieve their creative goals, but what I’ve mostly seen of it is people using to be lazy writers. I’m all for assisted writing where the A.I. helps you with research and organization, but when it’s drafting paragraphs for you in the style of some other writers, that’s just lazy and wrong. I’ve tested out one creative brainstorming application and it freaked me out. To quote myself from a Patreon post on June 27, 2023 (https://www.patreon.com/posts/06-23-original-85201435), “I tested out an A.I. writing feature just to see what it’s all about. Needless to say, it worked, but it worked too well. It was creepy. I wrote a small poem on a piece of paper to compare the poem A.I. generated in my style. I will not be doing that again. The similarity and closeness still have me twitching. With that said, I combined what I wrote with what the A.I. generated to produce the poem at the start of this piece.” For that poem, I generated a 153-word combo of my words and A.I.-generated words. The rest of the story is 1,232 words of my original content and creativity. I feel no need to revisit this experience.

I’ve also posted an abbreviated response to my social media accounts. I’d love to see you over at Instagram, YouTube, or TikTok.

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I posted a goals update last week to explain my absence from social media, if you’d like to check it out. Instagram | TikTok.



Happy Read an Ebook Week! Don’t miss the massive celebratory sale going on right now at Smashwords! There are deep discounts on thousands of books, but only until March 9. Check it out my Ebook sales here: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/toithomas

I have a novel, short stories, nonfiction, and picture books on sale right now.

I finally worked out the kinks with my digital ARC of Margie “The Scaredy Dog” Finds a Home. Now I just need to finalize the print proof. In the meantime, I think I’m ready to start promoting it. I’ve decided to do a giveaway with Margie merch, dog treats, and more, (I will have an alternative prize for winners outside of the U.S. and Canada) where entry is all about people sharing their pet stories online. They can share on their blogs, vlogs, podcast, or social media. As long as they share the link with me, they will be entered to win. I am going to keep it very simple and use Rafflecopter to track progress. I’m also seeking individuals who’d like to read a digital ARC. I’m hoping the recipients will review the book, but they don’t have to. I hope to launch everything next month.

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No additional updates at this time.

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What are your thoughts on A.I. and creative writing?

My response time has gotten slower but I’m still making my rounds.

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After hanging out with Alex, be sure to stop by and visit this month’s co-hosts:
Kristina Kelly,
Miffie Seideman,
Jean Davis, and
Liza @ Middle Passages!

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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 #27).

Did you know you can join my community for FREE over at Patreon to receive a monthly update on the creative projects I’m working on? I tell you the truth, it’s better than a newsletter!

Thank you for making it this far down the virtual page. Kudos to you! I’d love to know what you thought of this post in the comments below. Stay safe and be blessed.