The Insecure Writer’s Support Group – Anniversary Edition

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!

The awesome co-hosts for the September 3 posting of the IWSG are Kim Lajevardi, Natalie Aguirre, Nancy Gideon, and Diedre Knight!

September 3 question - What are your thoughts on using AI, such as GPChat, Raptor, and others with your writing? Would you use it for research, storybible, or creating outlines\beats?

This month marks the thirteenth anniversary of the IWSG website and fourteenth anniversary of the beginning of the IWSG with the monthly blog posting.

We would like to thank those of you who have been with us on this journey, some from the very beginning. If you are new to our site or the group, here are the accomplishments of the past fourteen years:

• A website with a huge database of information for writers: writing tips, querying, self-publishing, contests, marketing, and conferences.
• A monthly blog hop on the first Wednesday of every month.
• Anthology contests, producing seven IWSG anthologies.
• #IWSGPit, a Twitter pitch party that resulted in countless writers finding publishers.
• IWSG Facebook group with 5.1K members.
• IWSG X/Twitter with 10.9 members.
• IWSG Instagram with 1900 members.
• Our own monthly newsletter with tips and features.
• Two IWSG books–free writing guides–compiled from member contributions.
• IWSG swag – t-shirt, notebooks, mugs, and more, created to help with the funding of the domain name and email.
• Partnerships with Reedsy, Medium, Mary Kole, The Ninja Writer’s Club, Carolyn Johnson-Howard, and more.
• Hundreds of articles from industry experts.
• The honor of being a Writer’s Digest, The Write Life, and Best Writing Blogs award winner many years in a row.
• And over the years, dozens of admins who kept it all going by donating their time and efforts.

You can find links to everything listed above either in the navigation bar at the top or in the sidebar to the left.

While we have scaled back on some items (and will be scaling back in two areas this month) we are still dedicated to bringing you the best in the writing-editing-publishing-marketing world.

We hope you will continue on this journey with us.

What is your favorite aspect of the IWSG? What would you like to see more of from us?

The Insecure Writer’s Support Group and Changing Old Stories

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!

The awesome co-hosts for the February 5 posting of the IWSG are Joylene Nowell Butler, Louise Barbour, and Tyrean Martinson!

February 5 question - Is there a story or book you've written you want to/wish you could go back and change?

Perhaps it’s a trunk story you just haven’t pulled out again for whatever reason.
Maybe it’s a short story you submitted without success.
It could be a published story, one that you know you need to edit but haven’t done so or felt it easier just to take it down.
And there’s the possibility it’s a story or book through a publisher that you might not be able to change.

Do any of your stories fall into any of those categories? If you want to change or edit it, why haven’t you/can’t you?

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Last month, we partnered with Reedsy for their writing prompts contest. The theme was Great Expectations and there were hundreds of entries. The IWSG admins were the final round of judging and we selected “Humanity’s Rebirth” by Reese Blaise as the winner. You can view the top three winners and read their entries HERE. Congratulations to the winner and top entries and thank you to everyone who entered.

Is there a story you’d like to change and why?

Insecure Writer’s Support Group Day and Writing Distractions

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 co-hosts for the May 1 posting of the IWSG are Victoria Marie Lees, Kim Lajevardi, Nancy Gideon, and Cathrina Constantine!

May 1 question - How do you deal with distractions when you are writing? Do they derail you?

Distractions can be anything.

Your children
Your pets
Housework
Yardwork
The phone
Emails
Social media

Some distractions need your attention.

Some are self-inflicted.

Some you just need to ignore.

Take time to prioritize your day. Make a list the night before of what you need to accomplish and note what’s the most important. Focus on what matters most first. Then when distractions happen, you’ll have most of the key items done and not be completely derailed.

How do you deal with distractions? How do they derail you and how can you stop that from happening?