Tag: writing

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About Toi IWSG

#IWSG April 2018: Just keep writing; just keep writing; just keep #writing.

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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: When your writing life is a bit cloudy or filled with rain, what do you do to dig down and keep on writing?

I honestly feel like my writing life is always cloudy. It’s kind of like the rest of my life, in that I’m sick all the time. Still, I get stuff done. If I stopped and waited to be healthy to do stuff, I’d never do anything. If I waited for the rain in my writing life to clear up, I’d never write anything.

For me, I think it’s more about being patient and not forcing it. I wish I could be one of those writers who writes 100 or 1000 words every day, but that’s not my reality. I have to work on multiple projects at a time so that whenever the muse strikes, I have plenty of material to work with. I also distract and inspire myself by reading and watching creative content; and again, when the muse strikes, I write (even if it’s 3 a.m.)

And, if and when, I get discouraged or overwhelmed, I look back at the few good reviews I’ve received and the two pieces of fan mail I’ve received to cheer me up. It helps remind me why I write. I write because I enjoy sharing my stories, even if I just share them with a few friends.

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Now on to the personal updates.

I’m on spring break and, oh boy, do I deserve it! Just in time for a full recovery from Strep. I just got back in town to enjoy the rest of my break on staycation. If you follow me on YouTube or Facebook, be on the lookout for some cool pictures and videos.

Illustrating is hard when you are not formally trained. I used my computer’s paint program to draw my first children’s books, but now I’m trying to do some hand drawings for the new stories I’m working on.

I’ve been cleaning up and rewriting a few stories for a short story collection I hope to release later this year. Plus, I have my ongoing project to rewrite my Eternal Curse Series for the 10th-anniversary release. We’ll see what happens with that down the road.

Over at A Small Gang of Authors, we reached 100,000 views. I’m so happy to have found this group of amazing author-bloggers to connect and collaborate with. If you’re up for it, please stop by and congratulate us.

And last, but definitely not least, I completed my Graphic Novel Read-A-Thon and had so much fun. If you’re interested, check out the video wrap-up below. My March wrap-up video will go up this Saturday, April 7th.

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What keeps you writing?

What are you currently working on?

Are you having a vacation or staycation anytime soon?

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

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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

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About Toi IWSG

#IWSG March 2018: Is it time to celebrate a #writing goal? Why, I think it is!

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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: 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

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Excerpts Fun Hops

In Too Deep #WEPFF Challenge No. 6 featuring Anybody, Save Me #amwriting #flashfiction

This time around, I took the writing prompt to heart and made sure to actually include the words in my story. I hope you find this piece amusing and will consider the request I’ve posted at the end. So glad to be back in the WEP challenge again. It’s the best writing challenge I’ve come across.

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Anybody, Save Me

How can my throat be so parched when I’m surrounded by water? No matter how hard I try I keep gulping down pounds and pounds of sharp grains. Throbbing constricts my efforts to push forward. My nostrils blister as the particles scratch and burn my nasal passage. The notion of weightlessness is but a faint, cruel, memory now. My feet are lead; my hands are clawing nubs. Coarseness rushes to my lungs and punches out any remaining air leaving behind only a saline sludge. Stabbing blindness and stinging deafness are also claimed by the sludge and I know now, I’m in way too deep. This must be what it feels like to drown at sea.

But, wait. There’s something pulling me. It’s pulling me down even further than I thought possible, aiding the death that lingers in my final thoughts. No one should have to experience their last seconds of existence so vividly. Why – am – I – not – dead – ye…?

>Ping<

What was that? Where am I? Why aren’t I dead?

>Ping. Ping.<

Wait. I can see. I can hear. What the heck? I can breathe, but I’m still under water. Wonder if I can talk?

Yep. I must still be pretty deep. All the colors are somehow a bit grey. But… it’s not cold. At least I don’t feel cold. He he he. I do feel weightless though. I feel like I could float, maybe even fly. Ha ha he he. There’s no reason I should be feeling this good. Pretty sure I just drowned to death, but …

Whoa, am I seriously bound? What the effen heck is happening? Why am I chained to the – the – I guess, the sea floor?

>Ping. Ping. Glur glur. Glur glur. Wooosssssssshhhhh.<

“Ah, there you are. You’re awake.”

Did I seriously just see a green fish person whoosh up to me? “What the holy heck are you?”

“Oh, my love. My sweet mortal. I am your savior?”

“Uh, no you’re not.” Are its eyes fluttering at me? “You’re some magic welding sea monster who brought me back from a death I was just beginning to accept. Please, I beg you. Send me back to my doom?”

“Aren’t you silly. I know this will be quite an adjustment, but once you acclimate, everything will be fine. You’ll see. You’ll be happy here with me.”

“No. This isn’t right. I died. I should be dead.” I sure as heck shouldn’t be trapped by a sea monster. “I’m guessing you’re a nice sea monster and all, but I’m pretty certain what’s dead is supposed to stay that way.”

“First of all, I’m not a monster; just because I look different from you. Secondly, you died a horrible death and I saved you. Would you really rather go back to being a bloated sinking corpse?

A bloated corpse sounds terrible, but if I’m dead, it’s not like I’ll know. This situation, on the other hand, is downright scary. “Sorry, you’re right. I had no right to call you a monster. It’s just that I’m not used to talking to creatures with scales and green skin. Oh, is creature offensive?”

“No, creature is fine. Besides, you’re my favorite creature in all the world. That’s why I saved you.”

“But, don’t you see. You didn’t save me. You brought me back to life. Why would you do that?”

>Ping. Ping.<

“Oh goodness me. I’m so glad I set these alarms. We’ll be late if we don’t hurry.”

“Late for what? You haven’t told me why you brought me back. And while you’re at it, why can I breathe underwater now?”

“Oh you, silly guppy. We’ll have our whole lives to learn about each other. We really must hurry.”

“What do you mean we have our whole lives? Please, for all that is decent in this crazy world, will you tell me what’s going on?”

“Fine. If you must know, I’m Fae of the sea. I grant wishes from time to time. And your wish was irresistible.”

“My wish? What wish?”

“Your last dying request. ‘Somebody, anybody, save me! My lover’s trying to kill me! Save me, please! Save me! I’ll do anything to repay you!’”

“Wait. I didn’t say those words to you. I was pleading for my life. I was being thrown overboard. I wanted someone to pull me out.”

“Well, I heard your plea, and unfortunately I can’t pull people out. I can only pull them down. I also can’t restore human lives, but I can reshape a mortal soul into something else. You have been given a second chance. A new life among the merfolk. A life you will spend wed to me.”

“Wait, merfolk? Wed? What the holy…” I can’t believe a scaly webbed hand just mushed my face.

“Sorry, we don’t look like your human fairy tales. But when you live this deep, what do you expect?

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816 words in progress– Anybody, Save Me 2018 Copyright © Toinette J. Thomas

So, I tried something a little different this time. I wanted to be as descriptive as possible while not using any gender-specific words. I was hoping to tell a story where the reader could decide for themselves the sex/gender of the characters, but I’m not really sure if I pulled it off. I’ve seen other writers try to use gender-neutral pronouns, but most of these efforts have left me feeling disconnected from the story. When I thought I didn’t like romance and could never write it, I challenged myself to dive in and do it. While the work I produced may not be award-winning, it’s not too bad and it’s made me appreciate the genre and those who write it so much more. So that’s what I’m trying today. I’m diving in to see if I can write a gender-neutral story and have it actually make sense. Please let me know if this worked or not; this really is a learning experience for me.

Updated 2/28/18

I’m so honored to receive this recognition!

If anyone is interested in the finale to my five-part series, Music My Muse, head over to A Small Gang of Authors to check it out.

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