An IWSG Day Disclosure

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 - and return comments. This group is all about connecting! Be sure to link to this page and display the badge in your post. 

And please be sure your avatar links back to your blog! Otherwise, when you leave a comment, people can't find you to comment back.

Let’s rock the neurotic writing world!

Our Twitter handle is @TheIWSG and hashtag is #IWSG.

The awesome co-hosts for the October 7th posting of the IWSG are Ronel Janse van Vuuren, Liza at Middle Passages, JH Moncrieff, and Jemima Pett!

Every month, we announce a question that members can answer in their IWSG post. These questions may prompt you to share advice, insight, a personal experience or story. Include your answer to the question in your IWSG post or let it inspire your post if you are struggling with something to say. 

Remember, the question is optional!

October 7th question - Many people are calling for writers who use AI to disclose it. Most who employ ghostwriters do not admit it - do you think authors who use ghostwriters should have to disclose that, too? (Thanks Melissa Maygrove for the question!)

So...what do you think? Should all be disclosed? At least ghostwriters actually write the material and don't just "poof" it out of thin air in four seconds. Actually, AI wouldn't really "poof" anything as it is just copying what humans have already done.

But then people are putting their name to something that they didn't actually write. Of course if they put a pen name to it then it isn't their true name, so the pen name could just be for everyone. 

Round and round the argument could go for disclosing ghostwriters.

What side do you land on? Should it have to be disclosed? Should it not? 

Does Your Story Have These 4 Types of Fear?

 

Fear and conflict feed each other, creating tension, which is why we ensure our characters experience this emotion frequently. But the real story gold lies in not the quantity of fear, but the purpose for it. In fact, all stories should include at least 4 types of fears.

A Core Fear (to Generate Inner Conflict & Shape Character Arc)

Characters have at least one deeply rooted fear that steers their beliefs, actions, and choices in unfortunate ways. More than anything else—adversaries, conflict, obstacles—this internal fear has the potential to hold them back, too. So, if your character is important enough to have an arc, this is a fear they should address, along with the painful past that caused it. The stakes are high; if they cannot subdue or minimize this fear through character arc growth they will ultimately falter and fail, meaning their story goal will remain out of reach.  

Anticipatory Fear (to Ramp Up Tension)

When the future is uncertain, fear of what may happen rears its head. For the character, it’s the strain of not knowing how things will work out—will they be able to fix a problem, get to where they are going on time, convince others that a threat exists? Will they know the right choice when it presents itself, be able to circumvent danger, and step up to meet the moment as they must to survive? For readers, it’s the strain of caring for characters who are in over their heads, facing terrible options, and stuck navigating a labyrinth of impossible situations. In both cases, tension stretches into a tight rubber band, and waiting becomes an internal agony of sorts.

This is the perfect fear to trigger a reader’s ‘need to know’ so they keep reading…and reading.

Immediate Fear (to Raise Stakes and Force Characters to Act)

When threats have teeth ready to bite, the character’s fear flips the switch to survival mode: fight, flight, or freeze (and if these aren’t good strategies, fawn). Senses awaken, focus sharpens, blood pumps faster, adrenaline surges. They are forced to act in whatever way gives them the best chance to survive the danger. Sometimes they dodge disaster by a hair, other times mistakes, missteps, or simple unknowns dump them from the frying pan into the fire. 

Immediate fear is a signal for conflict that can’t be avoided, forcing the character to step into the moment and act. It can reveal who your character really is, good or bad, and often leads to complications, unintended consequences, and other fallout that pushes the stakes even higher.

Personal Fear (to Reveal Character and Humanity)

Everyone has their own unique set of fears that may not be arc-worthy drivers of the story but do shed light on who a character is and what some of their internal struggles are. Whether it’s an existential fear like never finding happiness, or something else like a fear not fitting in, these soft spots show a character’s human side.

How your character handles difficult moments show readers how they problem-solve, work through challenges, and ultimately, their level of resilience!

Fear has a place of importance in every story. What is your character struggling with? Let me know in the comments!

If you’d like to explore fear further, The Fear Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to What Holds Character’s Back looks at 80+ deep level fears and how to write them into your story. If you need ideas for which ones your character may be wrestling with, check out this master list of fears.

A Special First IWSG Wednesday!

Special, you say?

Yes!

We're celebrating 15 Years with some very special new features. Please join us and make our next 15 Years even more special. We're going to:

link to members' books to help them get the word out about their publications
buy members' books and review them. 
As writers, we appreciate this kind of support, and we all know how helpful it is.

Don't forget to stop by our FACEBOOK page to connect with members and share more frequent book-writing experiences. 

And now for our regularly scheduled post

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 - and return comments. This group is all about connecting! Be sure to link to this page and display the badge in your post. And please be sure your avatar links back to your blog! Otherwise, when you leave a comment, people can't find you to comment back.

Let’s rock the neurotic writing world!

Our Twitter handle is @TheIWSG and hashtag is #IWSG.

The awesome co-hosts for the September 2 posting of the IWSG are Kate Larkinsdale, SE White, JS Pailly, Olga Godim, and Natalie Aguirre!  

Every month, we announce a question that members can answer in their IWSG post. These questions may prompt you to share advice, insight, a personal experience or story. Include your answer to the question in your IWSG post or let it inspire your post if you are struggling with something to say. 

Remember, the question is optional.

 Do you have a favorite character archetype you tend to gravitate toward in your writing?

This is such an interesting question. I look forward to reading what our members have to say in answer to it. 

As for me, I love the bad kid character--the one you want to shake some sense into, but hug at the same time. They're smart, sassy, rude, clever, but damaged in some way by family or society. All they need is a break, and I like that to come in the form of the right person, the one who can reach them and set them on the path to become their best selves.

When people ask me which book I've written is my favorite, I can't point to one. But if they ask me about favorite characters, I have a quick answer. 

There are two: Shawa Stone in Sliding on the Edge and Hutchinson McQueen (Hutch for short) in Double Negative. 

Both have wretched home lives, need and ultimately find a mentor, and move on to better futures than they had at the beginning of their stories.