IWSG July: Fear of Waiting

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Insecure Writers Support Group

Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!

Posting: The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Post your thoughts on your own blog. Talk about your doubts and the fears you have conquered. Discuss your struggles and triumphs. Offer a word of encouragement for others who are struggling. Visit others in the group and connect with your fellow writer - aim for a dozen new people each time. Be sure to link to this page and display the badge in your post.

Let’s rock the neurotic writing world!

Our Twitter hashtag is #IWSG
The awesome co-hosts for the the July 1 posting of the IWSG will be Charity Bradford, S.A. Larsen, AJ, Tamara Narayan, Allison Gammons, and Tanya Miranda! 

 Writers do a lot of waiting--waiting for contest results, query responses, submission results, publication dates, etc. We all need a healthy dose of patience. Some days we run out of that very trait. I know I'm waiting on a contest right now. Soon, she says hopefully, I'll be in the query results segment of this writing game.  One helpful hint is to start working on your next book, story, poem, or play. I'm about to do just that after my latest polishing run on Mother's Day.

What about you? What are you waiting for on your writing journey? How do you find the patience to wait?

Next Week: The latest Author Interview: Kindle bestseller Barbara Claypole White. Pssst! There's a book giveaway, too. ;-)

IWSG: The Terror of Completion

{Note to followers: if you want an email when a new post goes up, go the the left column and subscribe for emails. Thanks.}

Insecure Writers Support Group

Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!
Posting: The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Post your thoughts on your own blog. Talk about your doubts and the fears you have conquered. Discuss your struggles and triumphs. Offer a word of encouragement for others who are struggling. Visit others in the group and connect with your fellow writer - aim for a dozen new people each time. Be sure to link to this page and display the badge in your post.
Let’s rock the neurotic writing world!
Our Twitter hashtag is #IWSG

The awesome co-hosts for the the June 3 posting of the IWSG will be M. Pax, Tracy Jo, Patricia Lynne, Rachna Chhabria, Feather Stone, and Randi Lee!

The manuscript for the first of my Cherry Hill stories--Mother's Day--is complete in the hands of my beta readers. (Love y'all to pieces!) So what's next? (I'll admit to a bit of terror at this point.)


Good question. My first answer, in light of my first contest responses (95, 70, 61), is that I'm not ready to query. I could stare at the list of things to do:

• Write a query
• Research agents
• Read a ton of craft books (Thank you for that suggestion)
• Etc.

I could take a break and rest while my beta readers read, but I think that's a dangerous course. Would I ever start again? Possibly not. So I'm not stopping. I'll read craft books (notably: Monica Wood's Description, Don Maass's Writing 21st Century Fiction, and Desmond Morris's "little" sociology text Man Watching.) The last book is an attempt to make my body language more realistic, more varied than grins, winks, shrugs, and frowns. I'm planning an online workshop with Barbara Rogan sometime this summer. I'll also keep my hand in writing as I work through Cherry Hill book 2--Friendly Fire.

Wish me luck! What do you do when you're waiting and know you need to retrench a bit? Got any suggestions for me?

Next Week: the first of three mini book reviews...Yes, I've been reading. ;-)

March Tip: Five Helpful Links on Queries

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Source

Querying is always a daunting task for writers. Here's some of the latest posts I've seen about them.

What No to Do When Querying K. Whipkey has a great list of dos and don'ts.

The Hunt is On: How to Find an Agent Janice Hardy has six steps in the process.

And some oldies from the Books and Writer's Forum. If you've ever been curious about a writing forum, this is the place to be. The Research and Craft and Writers Exercises folders are golden. (Can you tell I'm a member? ;-)

Advice Please! Dig around in this one. Though is specific to Fantasy writer Julie, there's a lot of general info, too.

Query Help Dig in this one, too. Check out the query checklist for some lovely advice.

Query Based on First Twenty Pages This is a great resource, too.

Next Week: I'll have four more lovely reads to review. See you then! ;-)