IWSG January, 2020


Christmas dinner was consumed. The gifts have been given and received. Dishes washed. Decorations put away. Christmas holiday celebrations have come and gone. My house has never been so clean. Now I can get back to writing, right? Wrong. I never stopped.
 
This post was written for the Insecure Writer's Support Group monthly blogging event and brought to you by founder and writer Alex J Cavanaugh. Co-hosts helping Alex this month are: Victoria Marie Lees, Stephen Tremp, Renee Scattergood, J.H. Moncrieff and T. Powell Coltrin. Wait, that's me! I'm always honored to help. The optional question isWhat started you on your writing journey? Was it a particular book, movie, story, or series? Was it a teacher/coach/spouse/friend/parent? Did you just "know" suddenly you wanted to write?

Of all the things I neglect, writing isn't one of them.

My November project is still on the front burner. I had hopes that I’d get to outline another book in December and write another first draft in January, but that’s not happening. I realized I needed to focus on getting the November first draft completed. Instead of doing something new, I wrote down descriptions (thanks, Elizabeth for the idea) for the November project and filled in more of the blanks—before I forgot them. I did take a couple days to write and submit a short story titled Bleak. I also needed a couple of days to get away from the November project so I rewrote the last story in my short story compilation, Body Bags. At this time, my November project is well over 54,000 words. This does not include the gathering of description that needs to be inserted. I hope to get this first draft finished soon, set it aside and stop thinking about it. I THINK ABOUT IT ALL THE TIME.

Now to the optional questions.

I'm not a successful writer as in selling books, but I write each day. My first attempt at writing stories began in the sixth grade. I rewrote a few fairy tales so that my classmates could act out my plays for our small school, back then. After that, I wrote a romance fairy tale, might have been a play also (can't remember) because 6th graders know all about romance. Not! I wrote about that here. 

In the 1980s, I wrote more children's stories than anything else, maybe because I had young children. I read to them all the time. I sold five (I think) to a Missouri magazine for their read-a-loud section. 

My dad loved writing. He read and told (his) stories to his children. He had a wild imagination that might have been passed down to me. For sure, I inherited his love for writing. He inspired me to write. 

Announcements:

Would you like to be a part of the next IWSG pitch? You can!!! What is this all about? Create a Twitter-length pitch for your completed and polished manuscript and leave room for genre, age, and the hashtag. The next #IWSGPit is January 15, 2020 from 8:00 am - 8:00 pm Eastern Standard Time. Read more about it here.

The IWSG Anthology book IS COMING with stories from the winners of the contest and will be available for purchase soon! 

Voyagers: The Third Ghost 
Release date – May 5, 2020
Print 9781939844729 $13.95
EBook 9781939844736 $4.99
Juvenile Fiction - Historical / Action & Adventure / Fantasy & Magic
Dancing Lemur Press/Freedom Fox Press


Read more about it here.


 



That's all folks!
T.


Comments

As I so often say, writers are my heroes. You enrich my world, you educate me, you bring me comfort. This greedy reader thanks you all.
Hi Teresa - your father definitely inspired you ... and it's great you've been continuing on all your life. Good luck with finishing your NaNo work, and then submitting more stories ... and helping with the IWSG ... have a great New Year - cheers Hilary
Liza said…
How wonderful that your children inspired your writing, as well as your dad. Kind of full-circle. Happy New Year!
Ellen Jacobson said…
How fun that you wrote plays for your classmates to act in :)
Mary Aalgaard said…
You definitely are successful in your consistency and dedication to your craft. I'll bet it was fun writing those stories and having your friends act them out! Happy New Year!
Lynn La Vita said…
It was fun to read about your 6th grade writing and understanding of romance at that time. Listening to your Dad's stories as you grew up must have been a delight.
Lynn La Vita blog: Writers Supporting Writers
R's Rue said…
Thank you for sharing yourself with each of us.
That's a lot of words for you November project - a NaNo win!
Thanks for co-hosting today.
My father inspired me too. That's awesome that we share that.
What a cool father to tell stories! I love that. Thank you for co-hosting this month!
Nancy Gideon said…
I started out with a 6th Grade fairy tale, too! Great minds . . . or at least, imaginations! Thanks for co-hosting this month. Now, get back to that project!
I got all sidetracked after NaNo, but I'm hoping to get back on track. Soon. I think.

And I would totally say you are a successful writer. :)
Chrys Fey said…
I love that your friends acted out your stories. :)
Glad that you were so productive over the holidays! Sounds like the writing bug caught you at a young age, as it did me. :)
Way to go with your continued writing through December!
And, it's so cool that your friends acted out your stories. I love that.
Jemi Fraser said…
Good for you for continuing to write during the holidays - my speed was complete stop :)
Sadira Stone said…
Ah, sixth-grade plays. That's a wonderful, confusing age when the imagination is fertile and unlimited. Thanks for sharing your origin story!
Kalpana said…
Happy New Year! I got a surge of writing energy reading about how productive you are every day, despite the holidays. I would love to know more about your process since I struggle with discipline in my writing. Thanks for hosting and sharing what started you off as a writer.
Lisa said…
Happy 2020! Thanks for co-hosting this first month! I'm glad I did take time off over the holidays, because I've found I have fresh insight and enthusiasm for my current WIP. I guess I needed a break!
Arlee Bird said…
I think about writing more than I actually write. I need to change that behavior if I really want to accomplish some writing. Doing is what gets us somewhere if we are able to get past that thinking process. I love to think--it's like a drug for me.

Your influence of a parent telling stories when you were young is so much like my own. When my girls were young I used to tell them stories that I would make up or I would read from books. For many years that was an almost nightly ritual.

Arlee Bird
Tossing It Out
Nicki Elson said…
What a wonderful gift your father passed on to you. Enjoy that "honeymoon" phase of thinking about your story ALL THE TIME.
Anonymous said…
I wrote plays and scripts in grade school - usually popular t.v. shows with myself and bff added as MAJOR characters. It was so much fun! And that's what my writing intention for the year is - to recapture the sheer joy of writing.

Thanks for co-hosting today!
Jacqui said…
I'm always impressed by people who can work on multiple novels at once--as you do! I read a western author who did that. He's been dead quite a while but his heirs are still publishing books he drafted while living. So amazing.
L. Diane Wolfe said…
It sounds like once you have the descriptions inserted, you'll have a full length novel. Too bad not in time for the Twitter pitch.
Pat Garcia said…
Happy New Year and thank you for co-hosting and good luck with your writing projects.
Shalom aleichem,
Pat G @ EverythingMustChange
Suzanne Furness said…
It sounds like you have a great system for getting the words down. I'm struggling a bit to get back into my latest project so this is inspirational to read.
Thanks for co-hosting this month.
Natalie Aguirre said…
Thanks for co-hosting. That's great that you are dedicated to daily writing. Being creative is so much more important than the number of books you sell.
Fun! Sounds like your dad passed on plenty of talent. Your daily commitment is admirable. Thanks for co-hosting today, too!
Carol Kilgore said…
Congrats on continuing to write through the holidays and fleshing out your November project. One word after another... that's how it's done. Happy 2020!
Pat Hatt said…
Great that you told your stories to your kids like your father did as well. Keeping on writing away even through holidays and things will get it done, and allow for more to get done too.
I'm envious of all you accomplished during the hectic months of November and December. You have so many projects that it's inspiring.
emaginette said…
Nice to have had a mentor in the family. Lucky you. :-)

Anna from elements of emaginette
Jennifer Hawes said…
Sounds like our writing journeys started in middle school! I think that's why I'm so drawn to writing for that ages.
Thanks for co-hosting today and sharing your story with us. It's great that you started writing in 6th grade and are still writing. Enjoy.
cleemckenzie said…
It seems you've been surrounded by writing for a very long time and continue to put your pen to paper. That is truly what makes a writer. Congratulations.
Fun about the play and getting stories you'd written for your kids published! Good luck with your ongoing projects.
Thank you for co-hosting!
Diane Burton said…
Thanks for co-hosting this month. My mother used to make up stories to tell to my younger siblings. I hope you saved those stories to share with the next generation.
Mark Koopmans said…
Thanks for stopping by my blog - especially as I was a Slacker and didn't write up my draft post!! Also, I'm very jealous - in a good way - for you having the fortitude to write every day, 'cos that would be my dream activity. It wouldn't be a job when it's so much fun, right :)
Adrienne Reiter said…
Congrats on your word count. I had my cousins act in my first play. (It was mostly blocked out storyboards.) I was 7. Thank you for co-hosting. Happy IWSG!
Thank you for co-hosting! Loved hearing how you came to writing and how dedicated you are. Totally inspired now!
Samantha Bryant said…
Congrats for staying in the trenches during holidays. That's always extra challenging. I'm a daily writer, too! My chain is 6 years long now. @samanthabwriter from
Balancing Act
I think that makes you a very successful author. My son asked me years ago when I was judging my writer worth by sales ranks if I thought Poe would have stopped writing if they weren't making money at it. Well, I know Poe died poor, but even in the midst of his drug addiction was still writing. A writer writes regardless of the reward.
J.Q. Rose said…
Cool that your dad inspired your writing. So important to have someone behind you. My mom is the one who started me on the writing journey. Best wishes with your writing projects!
Juneta key said…
I loved hearing about your writing journey. I wish I was dedicated to writing and finishing as you are. I am late making the rounds. Happy IWSG!
I wish I could say I didn't neglect my writing during the holidays, but I had more than Christmas going on. It's been a crazy month. But it feels good to be getting back in the swing of things.

Congrats on keeping things going!

My Writing Journey: https://reneescattergood.com/iwsg-my-writing-journey-origin-story-amwriting/
Olga Godim said…
Writing since the sixth grade - what a long and fascinating journey it must have been.
Liesbet said…
Well, it certainly looks like writing and story telling is part of your genes! And, it's obviously a talent and a passion as well, if you can manage to keep writing during the busy end of the year and holidays. I only seem to manage a daily diary when it comes to keeping the writing juices going. Anything else needs dedicated and extra time - not so easy to come by. Thanks for co-hosting and Happy New year!!
Kate Larkindale said…
Sounds like writing/storytelling has been in your blood since the start!
Lidy said…
Thanks for co-hosting and Happy 2020! It’s great that your dad read and told you his stories growing up. Try to instill my love readying to my own kids. Sometimes even pick their brains on what should happen next in my own story. And they come up with some crazy things. It wasn’t that long ago that my youngest told me he wanted to write his memoirs and he’s only eight. Guess I’m doing something right.
Good for you completing and submitting a short story and rewriting the last story in your short story collection. I need to group some of my short stories into a short story collection. You seem to be moving right along. Thanks for co-hosting the January IWSG question. All best to you!
Nick Wilford said…
I love that your dad passed down his love of writing. Sounds like a great inspiration. Good luck with your drafts. You sound busy, to say the least, which is all good!

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