Tag: The ToiBox of Words

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IWSG

#IWSG Oct. 2024- Ghost Stories?

IWSG

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 site has been experiencing outages. If you are able to see this post, thank you bunches for stopping by. I look forward to spending time with you this month.**

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: Ghost stories fit right in during this month. What’s your favorite classic ghostly tale? Tell us about it and why it sends chills up your spine.

I’ve read many scary stories in my life, but most of them make me feel either sad or mad. There have been a few that stuck with me long after reading simply because of how scary they were.

When I was much younger, I didn’t think Poe’s Tell-Tale Heart was that scary, yet it stuck with me. The madness of the killer and the depiction of paranoia made me feel sorry for the guy. Still, I would have called the cops on him if someone else hadn’t (Wink Wink). It was later in my early twenties when the story took on a level of terror that I still can’t fully explain. It was then that I learned that ravens can actually mimic human voices and words, even to a greater degree than parrots if they are properly trained. Before I simply imagined the madman hearing the bird say “nevermore”, after learning that, I could envision the scene playing out, where the raven is talking to him from above the door. That’s what got me. To this day, it’s one of the scariest stories I re-read each year.

Update- After writing this post, I realized that I was mashing two stories together- The Raven and The Tell-Tale Heart. I still think the talking raven is spooky but the beating heart from Tell-Tale is what really sticks with me. I always imagine the raven is a call back to the other story letting the reader know, “I know what you’ve been doing.”

On a slightly different note, there is one fairly recent scary book I’ve only read once. It’s so scary that I may never read it again, but if a sequel comes out, I will definitely pick it up. You can click the image to read my Goodreads review and I’ve also included a purchase link in case you are interested.

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And now, on to the personal updates…

I have plenty to say, but I’m not yet ready, so nothing to update at the moment.

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What are your favorite or worst ghost stories?
It may take some time, but I promise, I will eventually 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:
Nancy Gideon,
Jennifer Lane,
Jacqui Murray,
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 #25).

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 Sept. 2024- Writing Rules

IWSG

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: Since it’s back to school time, let’s talk English class. What’s a writing rule you learned in school that messed you up as a writer?

I haven’t given this topic much thought. My dog passed away recently and I’ve been struggling to get back into my regular writing routine. Off the top of my head, I suppose “not ending a sentence with a preposition” has always been tricky for me when going between narrative and dialog.

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And now, on to the personal updates…

Nothing to update at the moment.

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What writing rule do you struggle with?
My response time has gotten slower but I’m still making my rounds.

**Updated 9/12/24** If you have been able to leave me a comment on this post, I greatly appreciate it and will be making my rounds. This site has been experiencing outages for several days, almost a week, and I’ve been preoccupied with trying to address it. I’ve been approving comments as I’ve been able to, but haven’t had a chance to visit other bloggers. I miss you all and am on my way to saying “hi” soon.

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After hanging out with Alex, be sure to stop by and visit this month’s co-hosts:
Beth Camp,
Jean Davis,
Yvonne Ventresca,
and PJ Colando!

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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 #25).

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 July 2024- A.I. is Sneaky

IWSG

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: Do you use AI in your writing and if so how? Do you use it for your posts? Incorporate it into your stories? Use it for research? Audio?

I haven’t been intentionally using A.I. in my writing. In fact, I’ve been intentionally trying not to use it, since it seems to be popping up and inserting itself everywhere whether you want it to or not. The reason I use the word “intentionally” is because I saw a news report about a college student suing to have fraud charges removed from her record after submitting a paper spellchecked by Grammarly. Even though it was deemed, after the fact, that she didn’t do anything wrong, she still has charges of fraud based on the original claim that she used A.I. to draft her paper. If using spellcheck software is considered using A.I. to write something, I don’t know if I have a place in the writing industry anymore. I may not be smart enough to call myself a writer since I’ve been using some form a spellcheck since I was in high school. I understand that Grammarly does more than spellcheck but it seems like that same issue could apply to editors who want to stake a claim on someone else’s work. Just because you write something doesn’t mean it’s yours anymore unless you are also the one who edits and distributes it. Perhaps, writers aren’t really writers unless they are using typewriters or pen and ink.

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Here’s a video explaining some of what I’ve been doing for the last two months…

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And now, on to the personal updates…

Well, I’m here. Not sure if it feels right to say I’m back. I’ve been part of this community for a long time, but I haven’t felt like a member of it for a while. So, that’s why I say “I’m here.”

I hope that if I stick around long enough, I’ll feel the sense of community I once felt, or I’ll receive a sign telling me to step away completely. Whatever I do, I want to be clear when I say that this is a wonderful community, and it can be helpful for someone seeking a way to connect with writers or bloggers and learn from them.

Also, I must admit that my participation in the hop has become a struggle over the years. I’ve not been able to visit blogs the way I want to. I can never visit on Wednesday because that’s when I usually put in a 10-hour work day. I try to read blogs on the weekend but that’s also when I have to do all my meal prep. As much as I’d like to be the victim here, the truth is, I haven’t been able to be part of this community the way I once could.

I fear that I am moving in a different direction that this community cannot support. I guess I’ll see how things go.

I’m taking a break from my publishing to help an aspiring writer pursue her publishing dreams. I’m hoping that by helping her, I’ll rekindle my love of publishing. As of right now, I have no desire to ever publish again. And though I’m still writing, I have no desire to share what I’m writing, mostly because I don’t think anyone is interested in what I’m writing.

So, I’m back to where I started before I even joined this community- writing for myself. At this time, I’m still attempting to share what I’m writing with my small Patreon community, but I am making a major change to how I do that. It sounds nice to have people financially supporting you when they believe in you, but when it seems like they’re doing it out of habit, it does the opposite of motivate. For my own mental health, it may be time for me to simply walk away from public writing, but I’m going to give it one more go (keeping my writing to myself wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world).

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Are you intentionally using A.I. in your writing?
It may take some time, but I promise, I will eventually stop by your blog.

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UPDATE 8/9/24 – I was hoping to visit blogs today, but my dog passed away yesterday I can barely write this update. I hope to be back in better spirits next month. Sorry for not responding to those who’ve already commented, I will come back later to address this.

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After hanging out with Alex, be sure to stop by and visit this month’s co-hosts:
Feather Stone,
Kim Lajevardi,
Diedre Knight,
C. Lee McKenzie, and
Sarah – The Faux Fountain Pen!

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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 #25).

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.