Insecure Writer's Support Group: cleemckenzie

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Wednesday, July 1, 2020

Sizzling IWSG First Wednesday in July

Is anyone new to this site? Anyone who doesn't know about IWSG? Just in case. Here's what we are and what we do.

This is a place for writers to 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!

We post the first Wednesday of every month. This is our official 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. You can also choose to answer the question of the month if you'd like.

Be sure to 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.

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

July 1 question (answering is optional)- There have been many industry changes in the last decade, so what are some changes you would like to see happen in the next decade?

The awesome co-hosts for the July 1 posting of the IWSG are Jenni Enzor, Beth Camp, Liesbet, Tyrean Martinson, and Sandra Cox!

As a hybrid author (one who's traditionally and self-published) I've already seen one change that I wanted. The Indie author has become much more professional and, therefore, much more respected.

In the future, I'd like to see more combinations of media, and I believe this is already happening. Recently I purchased a picture book that came in print but that was also accompanied by a musical version of the story. This was perfect for the young reader, but I think it also appeals to some older readers. There has always been a fascination about what music suits a story--a lot like what happens in the film industry.

I'd like to see more Podcasts used in conjunction with published books, too. I think that hearing the stories behind the story enhances the reader's experience and connects authors to their readers.

How would you answer this month's question?

Check Out The Guidelines & Rules

Don't miss this next opportunity to be included in a IWSG Anthology. This contest is up and running. If you want to submit a story, find all the details about how you do it HERE.

Quick Overview

Word count: 4500-6000

Genre: Science Fiction

Theme: Dark Matter

Submissions accepted: May 6 - September 2, 2020

I'm rambling on about writing and reading over at my BLOG, so stop by if you have time.

Wednesday, March 6, 2019

An Early Punxsutawney Phil Spring

Join Us

Yep. Phil predicts spring will come early this year, and so let get on with the first March Wednesday and, like Alex says, "rock the neurotic writing world!"

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

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!

The awesome co-hosts for the March 6 posting of the IWSG are Beverly Stowe McClure, Erika Beebe, and Lisa Buie-Collard!

March 6 question - Whose perspective do you like to write from best, the hero (protagonist) or the villain (antagonist)? And why?

I lean toward the villainous character's mind. Here are three books from the villainous POV that I enjoyed. Interestingly, three are fairy tale re-tellings. I was in an escape phase of my life. What can I say?

Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister is the second novel from Gregory Maguire, the author of Wicked. It tells the tale of Cinderella from the perspective of one of her evil stepsisters. The young Iris (soon to be Cinderella's stepsister) is depicted as a bright girl whose mother is suddenly widowed. Destitute, the mother has to leave their home. She lands in a wealthy tulip merchant's home and, guess what? Love+readjustment of the blended family=all that stepmother, stepsisters drama. It's a book with interesting twists that lead to the happily-ever-after from a new perspective.

Blackhearts is about that infamous pirate Blackbeard. We all know what a rotten, despicable and murderous pirate that guy was. But what if we knew something about his life from another point of view? Nicole Castroman looks into Blackbeard's past and creates a Young Adult tale about Blackbeard as young man in love. I really enjoyed reading this one because it upends all that I thought about Blackbeard, and it explores the social limitations that young Teach struggled against.

I thought Alias Hook was amazing. Imagine Hook as a hunk of a guy who's trying to help a woman from the 50s stay safe. From whom? Why that imp and totally irresponsible Peter Pan, of course. There's a love story with Hook and a very different slant on that naughty Pan boy.

And then there's Bram's all time favorite, Dracula, isn't there? Coppola's film based on the novel grossed $215 million. I guess people enjoyed seeing Dracula being, well, Dracula. And what about Phantom of the Opera? Gaston Leroux created one of the most charismatic and conflicted characters that came to life again on the stage only a few years ago. The pull of his tortured soul brought people into theaters to see the production not once, but several times. Those villainous tales never grow old and never cease to draw us in.

We all love/hate the bad guy, right? I've written three books from that side of the literary coin. One's with my agent and two are published: Double Negative and Sliding on the Edge. I adored my bad boy, Hutch McQueen, and my bad girl, Shawna Stone. I think I found the same empathy for them that I found for Iris and Teach and Hook in those retold fairy tales.

#IWSG has just been awarded this badge from UK Writers Hub. We're in the top 50 websites for writers! Kudos to the team and all the members who support IWSG and each other.

The WEP winners have been announced! Congratulations to everyone who won and to everyone who entered. You all make this an exciting event.

Monday, October 8, 2018

More About Cross-Pollination

Lately, I’ve been obsessed with cross-pollination. I’m not talking plants; I’m talking about linking up with endeavors of different kinds. I have a lot of writer friends, and I value their insights and knowledge, but it occurred to me that all of us should be looking at other fields for inspiration and information, too. Why not? I believe there are universal principals that can guide us to success, and maybe we can tap into some of that by extending beyond the writing community. How about looking at successful people in say, the arts, history, or science? What are their guiding principals, their strategies that have placed them at the top of their occupations?

In my article about Annie Leibovitz that was posted in ALLI last month, I took a foray into the art of photography and connected it with the art of writing. I enjoyed that so much that I started looking for other possible connections. I didn’t expect to find exactly what I wanted about secrets to success in the financial world, but I did. I stumbled on Ray Dalio, founder of Bridgewater Associates, the world’s largest hedge-fund firm, and here’s what caught my attention: “Without pursuing dreams, life is mundane.”

What writer can’t agree with that? Well, this one, for sure. But then he talks about what he calls hyper-realism. So, because I’m curious if nothing else, I wanted to know what that means and what that does. He explains it as being a deep understanding, an acceptance and being able to work with reality as it is and not as he wishes it were.

Okay. I got it. And I’m paying attention.

Later he gives what he says are his secrets to investing and managing money and—most importantly—getting through the next 24 hours. I can use all the help I can get when it comes to “getting through” another day and actually accomplishing something, too.

Here are Galio’s Secrets:  

Know your goals and run after them.
 Identify and face the problems, however painful, that stand in the way of your goals.  
Diagnose the root causes of these problems.  
Design a plan to get around these obstacles.
 Execute on your plan, pushing yourself to do whatever is needed.

Are these secrets to success universal enough?
I see why this man is so successful. He has a philosophy that is overarching, much larger than one that’s about making money. He spoke directly to me here: “You will lose something or someone you think you can’t live without. You might think your life is ruined and there’s no way to go forward. But it will pass. There’s always a best path forward; you just don’t see it yet.”

Okay, now I stop and push back in my chair because the day before I read this article, my Zen teacher said, and I paraphrase, when you’re in doubt about making a decision, give it time. Don’t rush it. Let the right choice come to you. It will.

I’m now feeling as if I’m in a cosmic vortex, and my head’s filled with how I can use this, how others can use this. As writers haven’t you had times the plot won’t work, the agent fails, the book languishes without sales, or you’re undecided about which path to publication you want to take? Have you agonized over what to do? I certainly have, so I’m making notes about this waiting and giving it time and not catapulting into a ill-advised decision. And I’m thinking about what Dalio says about there being a “pathway” to the right decision when I find, “Unfortunately, you probably won’t like it…”

Well, try me. So I read on.

He calls it radical open-mindedness. Wait. That means I can’t be right all the time. Really? But please continue Mr. Dalio.

“Your deepest-seated needs and fears reside in areas of your brain that control your emotions (I’m inserting the amygdala, you know, the old fight or flight part of us) and are not accessible to your higher-level conscious awareness,” Dalio says. “And because our need to be right can be more important than our need to find out what’s true, we like to believe our own opinions without properly stress-testing them.

“We especially don’t like to look at our mistakes and weaknesses.” He adds, “We are instinctively prone to react to explorations of them as though they’re attacks. We get angry, even though it would be more logical for us to be open to feedback from others.”

I’m all for learning more, not less and I’d love to make some good decisions in just about every aspect of my life, including the writing part. As I read more, I started asking myself if I’m living up to my potential or falling short because I’m not paying attention?

And you, do you shut down when someone criticizes your work, or do you take a look at that criticism and consider it? Do you practice radical open-mindedness instead of shutting down in anger? As a writer, what do you think about cross-pollination, learning from people who are in different fields?

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