Reflections on Good Writing and Good Writers

What makes good writing, and how do I become a better writer?  

If you are a writer you have likely considered these questions.
Certainly I have, as a writer and as a teacher of writing for many years.

Surely writing is one of the most complex things we do as humans,

and pinning down what makes good writing

is as slippery as trying to catch a pollywog in a stream.

We know good writing when we see it, but understanding what it is

and applying that understanding to improve our writing is an ongoing challenge.

Not everyone takes up that challenge the way that writers do.

Many people learn enough to be proficient writers

for their chosen path in life, plumber or phlebotomist.

And that's okay.  It's practical and proactive.

But for those of us who have chosen to write, that challenge is a lifelong passion.

Morning Pages

Aurora, Colorado, USA

June 29, 2024

© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue. All Rights Reserved

Do you remember the childhood magic of discovering

that you could make marks on paper and tell a story?

Few of us do because we were so young, perhaps as young as when we were toddlers.

I don't remember a time that I couldn't read or write,

but I have spent enough time in the company of young children

to see the wonder and delight in their eyes when they realize 

they can tell a story by making marks on paper with pencils, crayons, or markers.

I think storytelling must lie at the heart of what it is to be human. 

Just Scribbles?

This is my sister Bertie's earliest preserved writing at 2 years and 3 months old.

Lac Seul, Ontario, Canada

Circa June 1961

© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue. All Rights Reserved

At its simplest writing is visibly forming symbols

on a surface to communicate thoughts and ideas.

Whether it was a prehistoric man scratching with charcoal on a rock wall 

a Sumerian pressing a reed stylus into damp clay,

a Medieval scribe putting quill to parchment, 

or a contemporary person writing with a ballpoint pen on a notepad

or thumbing words into an iPhone,

humans have been compelled to communicate and to preserve their thoughts and ideas.

These intentions often start when we are very young.

Just scribbles?  

Take another look at my sister Bertie's earliest preserved writing,

a letter to our father.

Perhaps you missed the face, the body, or the arms holding something.

I was stunned when the scribbles first resolved into a definite image for me many years later.

Twenty-seven-month-old Bertie worked very hard on the middle section of her letter, 

and I am convinced that the person is holding our dachshund Gretchen in his or her arms.

I can see Gretchen's nose, eye, ear, and front paws.

Of course, as a reader, I am bringing my knowledge and ideas to her story,

but that is what readers do.

Bertie grew up to become a teacher,

but also the author of two published books, one fiction and the other nonfiction.

The intention to tell a story was innate in her, as it is for many writers.

Author Roberta (Bertie) Heembrock Shares Her Book Oscar the Herring Gull with Penny Graham

Penny has been a friend of our family for over 50 years.

She owns Mariner Cruises, a popular whale-watching business on Brier Island in Nova Scotia.

On the Bay of Fundy out of Westport, Nova Scotia, Canada 

July 31, 2014

© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue. All Rights Reserved

When we write we have the intention of communicating effectively.

The general consensus is that good writing includes structural and stylistic components,

with an additional literary component if the writing is creative. 

As writers we want to connect with our chosen audience in a meaningful way.

We want to engage readers, impact them, make them remember our writing,

whatever form it takes.

Good writing also has an emotional component, especially in creative fiction or nonfiction.

Connecting with an audience emotionally

makes writing more compelling, meaningful, and memorable.

Some might argue that Bertie's scribbles aren't true writing, 

because she is not using a recognizable language and its conventions.

Perhaps, but for its intended audience, my father, 

Bertie's scribbles would have had a lasting emotional impact.

He was flying around Northern Ontario in bush planes visiting remote Indian schools,

while my mother, we five, and Gretchen were living in a fish camp on Lac Seul.

Our father missed us terribly and was dreadfully lonely.

Portrait with Fish

Barbie, Me with my arm around Bertie, Roy, and Donnie

with three lake trout

Two Point, Lac Seul, Ontario, Canada 

Late June 1961 

© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue. All Rights Reserved

Gretchen with Roy, Me, Mom and Bertie

We don't have a lot of photos from this time ~ Film was expensive to buy and to process.

Attawapiskat Lake, Northern Ontario, Canada 

Early June 1961

© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue. All Rights Reserved

It is the emotional impact of Bertie's "story" that makes it unforgettable for me,

long after the death of my parents and our beloved Gretchen.

It makes toddler Bertie as vivid and alive to me as current Bertie. 

I would argue that her "writing" was compelling, meaningful, and memorable;

good writing.

As an IWSG Admin I have been given this platform to post on now and in the future.

My intention for new posts is to look more closely

at some of the elements of effective writing and how writers can become better writers.

What do you think makes good writing?

How do you work on becoming a better writer?

I look forward to hearing your thoughts in the comments. 

Till next time ~

Fundy Blue.

 

How to Research When All You Have is Bones and Dirt

Thank you for inviting me to your blog today, Alex, to talk about how I research. I love researching a new book almost as much as writing it, but this is the first time I’ve explained how I do that. Let me know in comments if I miss anything.

Most authors flesh out stories by reading other books or visiting digital and physical sites, but my stories occur in a time before the written word or oral stories, up to 1.8 million years ago. Events from those ancient time frames are mostly rough guesses based on whatever artifacts survived the ravages of time. Nothing preserves about the characters’ dreams, passions, inspirations, or emotions, how they handled illness, worried about threats from vicious predators, or solved problems. For a fiction story, I need to know about family, community, culture, but bones, dirt, and rocks tell little about those. As a result, the story I first wrote was more textbook than life.

It took me a long time and much outside-the-box thinking to answer the questions that would breathe life into my characters. Here’s how I did it:

• I explored the great names in my topic.
I read everything written by topical experts like the Leakey’s, Donald Johanson, Desmond Morris, Ian Tattersall, and Christopher Wills. Each time I came to a question they couldn't answer, I dug deeper, found new experts. For example, (see below), answers about counting from experts didn’t satisfy me so I read the amazing Lev Vygotsky as he explained how different societies did or didn't use numbers and counting.

• I explored academic resources like JSTOR, Google Scholar, university libraries.
At first, the words and phraseology of papers from places like the Library of Congress and the University of Notre Dame sounded foreign, but eventually, I demystified the language. Once learned, it didn’t change.

• I visited museum websites (like the Smithsonian) for early man collections
Not just one—as many as I could access. Each has its own take on evolution with varied shading and nuances. After exploring a dozen (or more), I distilled a personal understanding that breathed life into my story.

• I read raw data from archaeological digs.
It’s easy to rely on a researcher’s opinions in his published work, but I wanted the raw data so I could peek behind the curtain, draw my own conclusions. In my case, this was archeological digs like East Africa's Olduvai Gorge, South Africa's Rising Star cave system, China's Dragon Bones, and many more. 1.8 million year old remains were primarily skeletons, tools, scat, and the animal bones around them, but these told me a lot about my characters’ health and diet, communities, and more. An example is these remains never included pottery which meant berries and water must have been collected in gourds, skulls, or the intestinal sacks of large animals.

• I didn’t just seek answers to questions. I sought understanding.
For example, I wanted to know the food Neanderthals ate. Scientists provided clues from what they found in teeth and bones, what was indigenous to the land, how climatic changes drove early man one direction or another, animal routes based on land bridges that came and went. I kept at it until a picture formed in my mind of the characters' lives, what inspired their movements, what shaped their decisions. Was it herds? Water? Or maybe a search for salt?

credit – Deposit Photos

• I became them.
When writing about our oldest human species, Homo habilis, though they are extinct, their evolutionary predecessors (chimpanzees and Great Apes) remain much unchanged today. I postulated that understanding these creatures would bring sense to earliest man. So I read everything about them from the authorities like Jane Goodall, Birute Galdikas, and Dian Fossey.
Additionally, my early man characters were primarily hunter-gathers, so I explored living tribes who still practice that way of life. I read everything possible about the San, Pirahã, Pygmies, the American Indians (OK--no longer hunter gatherers, but much is written about their early lifestyle). I spent hours--days--watching videos, walking in their footsteps, hunting for food and digging up roots with them, finding water where there seemed to be none.

• I made myself aware of their surroundings.
For example, necklaces and wall paintings didn't exist in man's evolution until Neanderthals arrived. Then, something in their brains made it important to string teeth and feathers around their necks and paint symbols on the walls of their caves. It was intriguing that they'd evolved as a genus to consider those important (for reasons we don't yet know).
“The content presented in this blog are the result of creative imagination and not intended for use, reproduction, or incorporation into any artificial intelligence training or machine learning systems without prior written consent from the author.”

• Google Earth has a time slider that will take you back 100 years into the past so you can see what the land looks like. This didn’t work for me, but if you're writing about that era, it is a boon.

Overall, researching what will primarily be raw data is both exhausting and exciting, challenging and gratifying. I would always choose to find my own connections over using someone else's.

Jacqui Murray is the author of the popular prehistoric fiction saga, Man vs. Nature which explores seminal events in man’s evolution one trilogy at a time. She is also author of the Rowe-Delamagente thrillers and Building a Midshipman , the story of her daughter’s journey from high school to United States Naval Academy. Her non-fiction includes 100+ books on tech into education, reviews as an Amazon Vine Voice and a freelance journalist on tech ed topics.
Find Jacqui - Amazon, blog, Pinterest X, and website

Badlands: Print, digital, audio
Badlands trailer

How to Prepare an eBook in Word

Getting a manuscript ready to convert into an eBook isn’t difficult, but it’s easy to miss or skip some important details. A checklist helps. Even if you’ve never formatted one at all, this will be a great step-by-step guide.

Step 1 – clean up the manuscript

Remove any headers or footers.
Single space with no spacing before or after. (Unless it is non-fiction – often there is no indent, so spacing between paragraphs is needed.)
Justify all of the text. (You’ll adjust chapter titles later.)
While the text is highlighted, select a standard font for it. (NEVER use Times New Roman!)
Also while highlighted, set it for size. (11 is a good place to begin.)

Turn on the Show/Hide in Paragraph and look for these issues:
* Tabbed indents – use Replace to get rid of all of them and set the indentation in Paragraph instead. (.3-.4 is good, unless for non-fiction – then NO indents.)
* Two spaces instead of one between sentences. Again, use Replace to get rid of the extra space.
* Extra spaces at the beginning of paragraphs. (They will indent a space too many.)
* All paragraph returns end with the giant reversed P, not the arrow sign.
* Extra spaces anywhere (two or more) and extra tabs removed.
* Any other strange formatting fixed or removed.

Step 2 – format

With an eBook, no space is needed before the name/number of the chapters, so you can start near the top.
Select a font for your chapter titles. See list below of standard ones.

Under Styles, select one that says Heading. Then, go in and modify it – centered, no indent, font, color, spacing, etc.)
Highlight your chapter one title and click that new heading you just created – do that for every chapter title.
Now, select the first letter of the chapter. Find a fancy font that fits the mood of the book well. Make it larger than the rest of the text. Then go into Paragraph and remove the indent. Do this for every first letter of a new chapter.
Once chapters, first letter, and their spacing is set, you need to add a page break at the end of each chapter.
Place curser under last sentence in a chapter. Go to Layout, select Breaks, and then select Next Page. Adjust the spacing leading into the next chapter and then add breaks at the end of every chapter.

Step 3 – title page

Title (graphic of title used for cover art is best!), author name, publisher name (because even if self-publishing, you should set yourself up as a publisher,) and the website (active link) of the publisher. You can also place your publisher logo above the address.

Step 4 – reviews

The first time you format your eBook, this page won’t be there. But after you have made your eBook and print book and sent them out for review, then you can add those reviews as they come in to this page. You want people sampling the book to see great reviews right away.

Step 5 – copyright page

Set it up as shown in the sample. Some eBook distributors don’t require an ISBN, but it’s always best to buy them yourself from Bowker – then it shows that YOU are the publisher, not Amazon or Draft2Digital. (Red flag to big reviewers, distributors, and bookstores.)
If you are doing both print and eBook, you can register the print book with the Library of Congress and get a PNC number (free Library of Congress control number) that you can use for both print and eBook.

Step 6 – dedication page

Don’t forget to dedicate your book!

Step 7 - table of contents

Type “Table of Contents,” highlight it, go to Insert, and select Bookmark and name it. (TOC works.)
Then type out the chapter numbers or titles. Be sure to include anything extra at the end of the book, such as a glossary, author bio, acknowledgments, etc.
Highlight the first chapter, go to Insert, and select Link. Click on Places in this Document in the popup box, and a list of your chapter titles will appear. Select the first chapter and hit Okay – do this for the remaining chapters. Now your Table of Contents is hyperlinked!

Step 8 – about the author and links

Set up your About the Author page with a short bio, photo (if you want), and links to your sites. Be sure to use the http address for your website & social sites so it hyperlinks directly there.

Step 9 – other books

This can be included either at the end or after the dedication. List your other books and their ISBNs. Do NOT include buy links unless you are creating an individual eBook for each platform. (Barnes & Noble frowns upon books on their site with links to Amazon. Imagine that!)

And there you have it – an eBook formatted and ready to take into whatever program you are using to convert to ePub. If you have someone who formats for you, doing most of this process will greatly help them, too.

Feel free to ask any questions you might have about this process.

3 Unconventional Ways to Market Your Book Using Only the Cover

Today Savannah Cordova from Reedsy is giving us some very helpful tips on marketing. Thank you, Savannah, and welcome!

Insecure Writer’s Support Group Day, AI Using Books Without Permission, and IWSG Member Releases

It’s time for another group posting of the Insecure Writer’s Support Group! Time to release our fears to the world – or offer encouragement to those who are feeling neurotic. If you’d like to join us, click on the tab above and sign up. We post the first Wednesday of every month. I encourage everyone to visit at least a dozen new blogs and leave a comment. Your words might be the encouragement someone needs.

The awesome co-hosts for the April 2 posting of the IWSG are Jennifer Lane, L Diane Wolfe, Jenni Enzor, and Natalie Aguirre!

April 2 question - What fantasy character would you like to fight, go on a quest with, or have a beer/glass of wine with?

AI Using Your Books!

Is AI using your books to train without your permission?

Check here

Complain here

We’d also like to celebrate the release of books by our IWSG members:

Reuben Hayes by Sandra Cox
Find it on Amazon

Behind the Catcher’s Mask by Jennifer Lane
Find it on Universal Book Link or Amazon

Murder Down Memory Lane by Elizabeth Spann Craig
Find it on Amazon

What fantasy character would you like to fight, go on a quest with, or have a beer/glass of wine with? Are your books being used by AI without your permission?

Author Swag and Merch: Does it Help Sell Books?

Should you create swag? How about merchandise? What is it? Does it help? I’ll tackle these questions, plus tips on how to get started.

These are marketing techniques. You can make them as simple or as complex as you want.

How Swag & Merch Can (Potentially) Sell Books

• They build a sense of belonging, exclusivity, and loyalty.
• They build a connection to the author.
• Personalized items, like signed bookplates, create emotional connections.
• They give your brand a deeper meaning, fostering brand loyalty and repeat customers.
• Digital swag can boost pre-order sales.
• Items like bags and mugs keep your book in the readers’ thoughts, so when the next book comes out, they’ll buy it.

Swag VS Merch

Swag

Swag is something free that’s given away., usually at book fairs and conventions, to help readers remember you and your book. Sometimes the reader will share it with others, which is free advertising.

Swag includes business cards, stickers, buttons, bookmarks, trading cards, notepads, posters, pens, even candy and hand sanitizers. The first five cost less to make and buy. However, the last five last longer and can make a bigger impression. To make a bigger impression, choose items that tie into your genre. For example, lip balm for romance.

Staples® or your local print shop can make business cards, notepads, notebooks, and Post-it Notes. The cost will vary and can get expensive. I printed my business cards through Staples. It was incredibly simple, inexpensive ($20 for 250 cards), and the results were fantastic.

For pens, pins, stickers, bags, etc., several authors recommended Imprint. I haven’t used their services, but I have received products from companies that do, and they look professional.

When you order swag, you typically buy in bulk, like 300 pens at a time. So, you should only buy them if you plan on going to a convention or book fair.

Is it worth it?

Business cards, absolutely, bookmarks as well. Maybe buttons. When I checked, they were about $28 for 50 two-inch buttons, not including shipping.

Does swag sell books? Also, a maybe. Suppose you sell five books after distributing 50 buttons. If your book’s royalty is $3, that’s a total of $15. You’d need 10 people to buy your book just to break even. The odds of that happening are low. Even so, buttons are quite fun!

The odds are different if you have several publications. The more books you have, the better your chances become.

FINAL THOUGHT

The low return on investment (ROI) makes this a poor investment for debut authors.

Digital Swag

This includes deleted scenes, bonus content, a look behind the scenes, maps, coloring pages, character art, recipes for food and drinks mentioned in the book, and a playlist. You can make all these available for download or post to your newsletter. And you can do this at no or little cost to you.

Digital swag is so fun to receive. I enjoy getting a closer look at the world of the author.

I created a website for my fictional town. At the end of my book, I have a travel poster for the town with a URL. The website includes places and things mentioned in the book and in upcoming books.

FINAL THOUGHT

Overall, the ROI is great. Worth it.

TIP: Swag should have your name and your book somewhere easy to spot on it.

Examples of merch I made

Merch

Merchandise refers to goods offered for purchase. It can act as advertising, but it’s really a side hustle. Merch includes all the swag, plus items like T-shirts, bags, mugs, water bottles, journals, and totes.

Merch can have your book info on it, but it’s often more creative, like “Team Edward” and “Team Jacob.” Your product could feature a quote from your book or have an illustration of a character, location, or item from your book. I’ve seen authors add to their inventory by creating designs about their genre or generic designs like “future best-selling author.”

You can sell merch on your website using Printify. Or you can sell through a print on demand (POD) shop like REDBUBBLE and TEEPUBLIC. I recommend doing one of those over printing and selling them yourself. That’s an entire business on its own!

Does merchandise help sell books?

No, it’s the other way around, your books will help sell merch. Merch is passive income. Once made and uploaded, you’re done. Will you make a lot of money? Maybe not, but you could make enough for a nice dinner now and then.

If you like to see some of the merch I made for my book, click here.

FINAL THOUGHT

Overall, the ROI is good. And it’s pretty cool to see someone wearing a shirt you designed.

Tips on Making Designs

Whether you make your design just typography, your book cover*, a doodle, or detailed art, consider the audience and the medium.

For shirts and mugs, opt for simpler artwork with a limited color palette. Complex designs or those with hundreds of colors often appear muddy or fuzzy when printed.

Always use a transparent .png at 300dpi.

*If you use your book cover, make sure you have the rights to put it on merchandise. If you used stock imagery for your cover, you must also have commercial rights to each image. Book covers work best on business cards, trading cards, notebooks, and bookmarks.

If you’re not a designer or artist, places like Canva and Kittl can help you design your image.

Have you created swag or merch? Any tips you’d like to share? If you have any questions, leave a comment.

H. R. Sinclair is an urban fantasy author and artist. She was born and raised in Southern California, but now lives and works in New England. Her debut book BLOODSTONE has a witch, a ghost, and a secret. Follow H. R. and learn more about her and her books by visiting her website. Her merch shop here: shop.

A Guilt Trip

Have you ever gone on a guilt trip? Have you ever given one? You must be nice if you give trips. I have never seen guilt trips show up on all those ads you see here, there, and everywhere though. Maybe it should just be guilt since you go nowhere. Actually, you could be going many places, which causes the guilt. I should just go jump off the dock above now, huh?

Thanks. but no thanks. Too cold. Plus, fish poop there. Seagulls do as well. People probably have too. Let's not feel guilty about avoiding pink eye, okay?

What am I going on about? Haven't I guilted you into it yet? I guess I should feel guilty that I didn't do my job. Pfffft to that. I'll just double down and beat it into the ground. No guilt here.

Do you ever let yourself feel guilty because you are doing other things instead of writing? Do you spiral afterwards? Does that rabbit hole need a flashlight? 

Nah. It needs a shovel. Fill in the hole and leave the guilt there. There is no reason to feel guilty about not writing enough if life is in the way. It doesn't matter whether it is in the way because you have work or are out enjoying it. It just doesn't matter.

You need to eat and pay the bills. You need to feed the kids, dogs, cats, etc. You need to do such things. So unless you are a millionaire author, there is nothing to feel guilty about when you are doing what needs to be done.

When it comes to enjoyment, you are doing such things to gain experience and because you enjoy them. I know. Imagine that. Joy from enjoyment. You can't spend all your time behind a computer. You are only able to do such things at certain times, ages, etc. So do them without guilt.

The writing will be there. You'll get to it when you get to it. No need for a guilt trip that literally goes nowhere. That is unless you are sitting in your underwear 24/7 for months on end and literally doing nothing or going nowhere. You can feel a little guilty in that case. You may also want to seek professional help.

Do you feel guilty when not writing? Do you realize it isn't something you need to feel guilty about? Ever taken a guilt trip? Where did you end up? Timbuktu? Was it cheap? I don't feel guilty asking.

Let's bury the guilt in that rabbit hole with a shovel because when you are the one buried you won't feel guilty about nothing. You'll be dead. Harsh, but true. I have no guilt saying it.

Write when you can and kick the guilt to the curb. 

The IWSG has a guest article at the My Story Doctor site! Quite the honor. We talk about dealing with negative, so please check it out.

Podcasting as an Author: Expanding Your Reach and Embracing Imperfection

By Tyrean Martinson

How I Got Started

For years, I thought about starting a podcast but I was unsure if I had the right equipment or expertise. When my church podcast started and I was asked to join, I realized I had the basic tools I needed—I just had to go for it. We had minimal equipment and no prior experience, but we learned as we went. That experience showed me that anyone can start with what they have, improve over time, and build something meaningful.

Start Where You Are—Perfection Not Required

Like writing, podcasting is a journey, and growth comes with experience. Your first episodes might not have perfect audio or flawless delivery, but they will have you, and that’s what listeners connect with. If you wait for perfection, you may never begin—so start with what you have and improve along the way.

In the current age, it’s more important than ever for readers to hear and/or see you being authentically human.

The Basics: What You Need to Get Started

Podcasting doesn’t require an expensive setup. Many successful podcasts started with minimal equipment and upgraded as their audience grew. Here’s what you need:

1. A Recording Device
Your smartphone is a recording device. If you’re starting with little to no budget, apps like Voice Memos (iPhone) or Voice Recorder (Android) work well enough. As you progress, investing in a USB microphone (such as the Blue Yeti or ATR2100x) can improve sound quality.

2. A Recording Space
Sound quality is just as much about the space around you as it is about equipment. The best recording space is quiet and free from echo—think small rooms with carpet, curtains, and bookshelves to absorb sound. If you don’t have a dedicated space, a car can be a recording studio due to its soundproofing.

3. Hosting and Distribution
Once you record an episode, you need a way to share it with the world. Free platforms like Substack now offer built-in podcast hosting, making it easy to get started. Other free or low-cost platforms include Anchor (by Spotify) and Podbean. If you feel comfortable with video, you can also record and upload your podcasts on Youtube, Rumble, or on Instagram and Facebook live.

Vocal Warmups for Podcasters

Just like singers and public speakers, podcasters can benefit from vocal warmups to enhance clarity, control, and confidence. Here are a few simple exercises to prepare your voice before recording:

Deep breathing exercises–Inhale deeply through your nose for four counts, hold for four counts, and exhale slowly through your mouth for four counts. This helps relax your vocal cords and improves breath control.

Tongue twisters—Practice phrases like “Red leather, yellow leather” or “She sells seashells by the seashore” to improve articulation and pronunciation.

I do these warm-ups every time I podcast because I have some speech differences—because I was partially raised by my grandmother who had a late cleft palate surgery and who also had a stroke. I spoke with her daily from the age of two onward, and I mimicked her way of speaking, along with mimicking my parents’ way of speaking—and my mom had one deaf ear, while my dad had a strong regional Oregonian accent. Knowing that I have those differences of speech, I work on my vocal clarity regularly, although honestly, there are days when I get complacent, and later… well, if I’ve recorded, I can hear it. Instead of closing my podcast down in embarrassment, I keep going and I keep working at it.

The Power of Podcasting for Authors

Podcasting is an opportunity to engage your audience in a way that shows your authenticity as a human. You can share insights into your writing process, discuss themes in your books, interview other authors, or even serialize your own stories. Podcasting allows for deeper conversations and long-form storytelling, creating stronger connections with readers.

Another benefit of podcasting is that it can prepare you to speak publicly. Many authors prefer not to publicly speak, but there are times - like at in-person book events - when it is helpful to be able to speak about our books. Podcasting can help us practice this skill from the comfort of our own individual space before we speak to people in public.

Where to Start Listening

Here are some podcasts that showcase the breadth of what’s possible:

The Creative Penn Podcast—Hosted by Joanna Penn, this podcast focuses on writing, publishing, and book marketing with a mix of solo episodes and guest interviews. She also hosts the Books and Travel Podcast.

Self Publishing with ALLi—A podcast by the Alliance of Independent Authors covering everything from self-publishing strategies to book marketing and industry news.

Mysteries, Monsters, & Mayhem—Hosted by Shannon Lawrence and MB Partlow, this podcast delves into all things creepy, mysterious, and intriguing—from true crime to cryptids, and everything in between. Each episode is served with a sense of humor, making for an engaging and entertaining listen.

The Truth About Storytelling—this is my podcast which I hope inspires writers, readers, and creatives. Each week, I delve into topics such as the writing process, sharing work, the perseverance required to continue creating, and finding joy throughout these endeavors. I also have the Tyrean’s Tales channel on Rumble, and have uploaded some episodes on Youtube.

Embrace the Journey

Starting a podcast as an author doesn’t have to be overwhelming or expensive. It’s okay to begin with just a phone and a free platform and build from there. The key is to start and keep going—because the more you podcast, the better you’ll become. Your readers (and listeners) don’t need perfection; they just need you.

Hit record, speak your story, and let the world hear your voice.

The First Wednesday in March

 

Join Us 

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!

The awesome co-hosts for the March 5 posting of the IWSG are Ronel Janse Van Vuuren, Pat Garcia, and Liza @ Middle Passages!

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!

March 5 question - If for one day you could be anyone or *thing* in the world, what would it be? Describe, tell why, and any themes, goals, or values they/it inspires in you.

Planning a Conference: A Big Job and an Adventure

 I believe there is no greater opportunity for networking and finding inspiration for writers than attending an in-person writing conference.  I’ve attended many conferences over the years that were hosted by varied writing organizations and have never been disappointed.

Having coordinated a number of conferences myself for Pennwriters, a multi-genre writing organization, I’ve learned to appreciate all the work that goes into such an event. But I can say, it’s been rewarding in many different ways. I’ve made hundreds of connections to other writers and industry professionals including, agents, editors, and publicists.

Where does one start to plan a writing conference? The first decisions are where, when, and for whom.

Where? How much room do you need? Pennwriters Annual Conference usually offers 4-5 workshops per hour with a total of 56-60 workshops total over a weekend. The best venue for us is a conference hotel. A reservation for a space that large needs to be made two years in advance. It involves a long contract with guarantees of room reservations and food purchases. We try to include most meals in our conference prices, though that will raise the registration prices for attendees. It’s a big challenge to make attendance affordable. Pennwriters needs to have space for 200+/- attendees.

A one-day mini-conference can usually make do with a smaller space and will often have fewer choices for workshops and fewer attendees. There are often banquet facilities that can meet those needs.

The ‘when’ can be important. For Pennwriters, this is our 38th Annual Conference and we’ve always held it the third weekend in May. This allows us to avoid college graduation weekends for the most part. It’s always best to put thought into the date. A winter conference held in the north may run into weather problems as may conferences held in the south during hurricane season. Summer conferences may lose possible attendees to vacations.

And for ‘whom’ will you hold your conference? Pennwriters is state-wide, with many out-of-state members, so we always plan our workshops for multi-genres. The great thing about this is how much attendees learn from other genres. It’s a huge draw. But some conferences are directed at certain genres such as literary, poetry, mystery, etc. Another way to go is by picking a part of the writing business to focus on such as craft, marketing, self-publishing, etc. The only concern about narrowing your conferences’ focus is it also narrows the pool of possible interest in attending. Another part of the whom, is the experience of the writers you hope to draw to your conference. Pennwriters tries to provide workshops for writers at every stage of their careers from beginners to multi-published authors.

After all the above, you have your plan. But there are big decisions still to make. If you want to bring in a big-name author as a draw, you need to reach out to them 18-24 months in advance. Decide what your budget is ahead of time because some are very expensive. Pennwriters in the past have hosted authors such as Hank Phillippi Ryan, Jonathan Maberry, James Rollins, and this year, Natalie Richards. We already have our 2026 and 2027 Keynote speakers lined up. You don’t have to have a famous keynote, but we find that they usually pay for themselves with the attendees they draw in.

At twelve months out, you need to find presenters who will give the quality of workshops you want. If you have an email list of writers or connections to writers’ groups, you have a ready-made pool of presenters. Ask your keynote guests to lead workshops. They are usually glad to do so.

During the same time frame, you have to reach out to editors and agents. Even more than your keynotes, writers want a chance to pitch their writing to an agent or and editor.  This is the most difficult part. It’s especially difficult to find agents willing to attend at a price you can afford. Fortunately, Zoom has provided an option that works well for everyone. Editors from major publishing houses are also difficult to bring to your conference, even with the Zoom option. They often only attend large conferences who can afford to pay them premium fees. Small press editors are usually more amendable to work with conference coordinators. They are always popular and lovely to work with. Many writers start with small presses and build amazing careers. IWSG’s own L. Diane Wolfe was a guest at the 2024 Pennwriters Conference and the attendees loved her.

Once you find your venue, schedule your guests, select your workshops, and plan meals, you are ready to open registration. That would take another long post, but so much of the work is done by this point which should be no shorter than four months out.

Then you have to work on promotion. Another long, long post to even touch on that. As you can see, putting on a conference is a lot of work, but that is why more than one person should take it on.

After years of doing this, Pennwriters has many experienced conference workers. Numerous people serve as chairpersons to help the event run smoothly. If you want to see what it looks like, or if you’re interested in attending, visit Pennwriters to see an overview.

It takes hours and hours to plan a conference, but it is more than worth it. And if you have a chance to attend one, even better for you.

Susan Gourley is past-president of Pennwriters, current Pennwriters’ Conference Coordinator. She is a retired high school teacher and now a fulltime writer. She is multi-published in epic fantasy and space opera romance. You can find more about her and her books on her blog, Susan Says, and follow her on Facebook, Instagram, and X.

Five Benefits of Reading for Writers

It’s been fun in recent weeks reading about the most enjoyed and/or best books of 2024, whether it was an article by a blogging buddy, Barnes & Noble, or the New York Times.  Without readers, writers would be out of work.  

Writers need to read too.  But, as a writer, are you reading enough?  It’s an important question to ask, especially with all the demands in our busy lives.  

But shouldn’t you devote all of your available time to writing rather than allocating some of it to reading?  Definitely not!

Reading ~ A Worthwhile Pursuit

Aurora, Colorado, USA

January 9, 2019

© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue. All Rights Reserved

If you research what authors say about the importance of reading to writing, you will find many thoughts on the connection between the two.  One of my favorite quotes is Stephen King’s, “If you don’t have the time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that.  Reading is the creative center of a writer’s life.”  Stephen King’s On Writing.  A Memoir of the Craft  

Another favorite of mine is Annie Proulx’s “You should write because you love the shape of stories and sentences and the creation of different words on a page.  Writing comes from reading, and reading is the finest teacher of how to write.”  Goodreads

Here are five benefits of reading for writers:

1.  Reading improves our language and writing skills:  When we read, we unconsciously pick up writing techniques like extending our vocabulary, improving our phrasing, using effective dialogue, and understanding structure.  

If we consciously read like a writer, we can analyze the writer's word choices, grammar, point of view, plotting, pacing, setting, and characterization and decide what makes it effective or not. Then we can use this knowledge to improve our writing.  

When I read a great book, I often read it a second time to understand how the author made it great.  And sometimes, I'll reread a not-so-great book to understand how the author missed the mark.  

Great Fun!  Reading a Friend's Books and Asking Him Questions About His Writing

Fellow IWSG Admin Pat Hatt and I

Smith's Cove, Nova Scotia, Canada

July 27, 2024

© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue. All Rights Reserved

2.  Reading improves our thinking:  We are bombarded daily by eye-catching social media that is fragmenting our attention and decreasing our ability to concentrate.  By engaging with more complex texts, like an essay or a book, we can learn to focus our attention better and to improve our ability to concentrate.  This in turn sustains us when we grapple with the challenges of writing.

3.  Reading broadens our experience:  George R. R. Martin wrote in A Dance with Dragons, “A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies, said Jojen.  The man who never reads lives only one.” Goodreads

When we read widely across genres, we expose ourselves to different perspectives, cultures, places, and times.  Reading increases our ability to understand and to have empathy for people different from us.  These experiences can ignite our imaginations and inspire ideas for our own writing.

4.  Reading helps us understand the publishing market:  Reading books in the genres you write helps you know what has already been written, what trends are emerging, what your target audience prefers, and how to improve your writing for the current market.

5.  It's fun!  If it's not, you might ask yourself why you are writing.  Would you want to eat a meal prepared by a chef who didn't like food?  Or dive with a divemaster who hated the ocean?  

So, as a writer, are you reading enough?

Perhaps you can share other reasons for spending some of your valuable time reading.  

I'd love to hear them!

What was your favorite read in 2024?

Mine was actually the last two books in Cixin Liu's The Three Body Problem series:  The Dark Forest and Death's End.  Mind blowing story, compelling characters, brilliant writing, philosophy, and quantum physics ~ After reading this series, I can never look at the universe in the same way as I once innocently did. 

Pam Allyn, a renowned literacy expert, educator, and author said,  “Reading is like breathing in; writing is like breathing out.  literacy worldwide   

May you breathe deeply, in and out.

Till next time ~

Fundy Blue.

 

An Interview with Tom Bromley

The Insecure Writers' Support Group is excited to introduce our readers to Tom Bromley. He's spent many years in the key aspects of this writing business and offers his expertise to those who are pursuing a career in this challenging field.

And now...meet Tom!

Interview

Your writing journey started with a passion for storytelling. What inspired you to write your first book, and how did that experience shape your career as a writer?

I started writing when I was playing in bands after college and everyone else got up later than me, so I had some time to myself! The first book I tried went nowhere, but when the band split up, I wrote a novel based around my band experiences and that became my first published novel. I learned on the job writing that book – I did five drafts over five years and taught myself how to write in the process through trial and error. Mainly error!

Having spent over two decades in publishing as an editor, publisher, and ghostwriter, how has working on so many different projects – and areas of publishing – influenced your perspective on writing?

I would hope it gives me a more rounded approach. So I try to remember the writer’s sensibilities when editing and bring that editorial eye in when rewriting my own work. Working on all those books tends to reinforce your beliefs about writing, and to understand how trends may come and go, but good writing lasts.

What’s one key lesson you’ve learned from working in the publishing industry that you think every aspiring novelist should know?

That getting published isn’t a panacea. You’re still there, at your desk, staring at the computer, working out what to write next. And those insecurities don’t go away, they change: instead of ‘am I good enough to get published?’ they become ‘am I good enough to stay published?’ instead.

Are you a plotter or a pantser? Can you tell us more about how you prepare to write your books, and the importance of preparation more generally?

I personally think that split is a little too binary – it’s more of a sliding scale between the two and the key is to work out the sweet spot of freedom/planning that works for you. I like to keep things fairly simple in terms of plotting for my fiction: I have an overall story arc of where I want to get to, but don’t know how I’m going to get there. That said, I do tend to base my books around specific real-life events, which helps create a natural structure in the background to work with.

For writers starting a new project, why is understanding their story’s theme crucial? Can it evolve as the story develops?

Possibly slightly controversial, but I’d disagree with the question. What is important when starting a project are the characters and the plot, and everything else falls into place after that. The theme should come out of what you write, rather than trying to fit the writing around it. For me, approaching a novel by beginning with a theme feels like the wrong way around.

Outlines can provide a helpful guide when writing, but stories often take unexpected turns. What are some of the signs that it’s time to deviate from the original plan, and how should writers approach these changes?

As I say, I don’t outline too heavily in my writing. That’s partly because I like the freedom to discover the story as I write, but it also allows for the narrative to change as you write it. I’d say that the key to a lot of plotting is character – as long as the change fits into their progression as a character, then go for it.

What’s your favorite piece of advice for writers looking to finish their first draft, especially those feeling stuck midway?

Don’t go back! It’s so tempting to rewrite but that leads to an endless loop of trying to get things perfect. You’re in a much better place having a full draft to work with as you can see the bigger picture at that point. The midway point can be hard – it’s a bit like being at sea when the wind drops. But the wind will pick up again – you’ve just got to keep going and you’ll see land eventually!

You’ve created a 3-month novel-writing course for Reedsy. Can you walk us through how the course is structured and what makes it unique?

The course is 101 days in length, with a daily video lesson every Monday to Friday and a panel of authors each weekend. The weeks are themed around different writing topics to guide you through the process of writing. We want you to get to the end of the draft by the end of the course. Think of it as Masterclass meets NaNoWriMo!

Who would benefit most from this course? Is it suitable for beginners, or can it also help more experienced writers looking to develop their writing skills?

The course is suited to anyone wanting to write – and get the support to write – the first draft of their novel. It works best when you come to the course with some idea of what you want to write; coming without an idea, you might struggle to begin with. I’ve tried to calibrate the teaching so you’ll learn something new whatever level you’re at. We have lots of first-time writers, but many experienced ones too – some who are published authors who want group support, others who have done MFAs or written non-fiction books in the past.

For writers planning to write a novel this year, what advice would you give to help them stay motivated and on track?

Keep writing. That sounds a banal thing to say, but even if you can only carve out thirty minutes a day, you’ll be surprised how those words add up. Give yourself a target but don’t beat yourself up if you get behind. You’ll have good days and bad days, so roll with the punches. Finding a support network can help – whether fellow writers on a course or a local writing group, their encouragement and feedback can prove invaluable in getting over the line. Good luck!

Conclusion

Registrations are now open for Tom’s novel-writing course, How to Write a Novel, which starts on March 3rd. If you’d like a sneak peek of the course, create an account to get a free lesson on creating compelling characters.