IWSG May, 2019



Sometimes, I feel smug about my desire to create fiction because I recognize not everyone feels this way or does it. 

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. This month Alex has the help of these co-hosts: Yvonne Ventresca , T. Powell Coltrin , Juneta Key,  and Lee Lowery 
I'm not using the question this month, but this is the optional question for May: What was an early experience where you learned that language had power?
I write stories and feel a little smug about it. No, I am not delusional in thinking I'm an excellent writer. It's just that I've got the drive to write and not everyone feels this way. Hey, you’ve gotta feel special where you can! (Hence--insecure writer.)
Maybe smug is too strong of a word, but I do feel sort of special because I am a storyteller obsessed with writing.
Even though you can't touch it, and please don't try, I hold a wellspring of  ideas in my brain that I can turn into characters and words in no time. My ideas connect to an intrinsic desire to turn words into sentences that might evoke emotion in myself and others. Some of you might understand what I'm talking about. If you exercise your craft, talent or passion, then I give you permission to feel a little smug too. You deserve it because being a "creative" person is exhausting.
I also feel smug because I've been included this month as a cohost for the IWSG blog hop! Be sure to  visit my fellow cohosts linked above. Also, check out the new IWSG anthology contest theme at the Insecure Writer's Support Group website.
T.

 




Comments

Writers are my heroes. Always. Thank you.
nashvillecats2 said…
You are a very talented writer. Enjoyed the post very much.

Yvonne.
Nancy Gideon said…
Preach! Stringing words into pictures isn't something just anyone can do (but then I can't 'math'!). Language is so dang addictive. Thanks for co-hosting this month.
Liza said…
Thank you for co-hosting this month! That's something you should be smug about!
Mason Canyon said…
I'm with E.C., writers are my heroes. I love that writers can transport you to different places, times, and even different worlds with their words. Nothing wrong with being smug about that.
Go ahead and feel smug! And thanks for co-hosting.
For me, words are addictive. There's nothing wrong with feeling smug about your passion.
So go ahead and own it.
Thank you for co-hosting the IWSG this month, Teresa.
JShelby said…
thanks for co-hosting, great post!
Tamara Narayan said…
Thanks for cohosting. I love thinking up stories in my head, but getting them typed down seems to be another story entirely. That kind of discipline is impressive.
You've made me love the word smug. :) Thank you for co-hosting!
Anonymous said…
I love putting words together to tell a story. Whenever I see something just a little off, my imagination is off and running. And co-hosting IWSG is awesome, isn't it! Thanks for being one today.
I have many other universes inside me. It bothers me that nobody else understands them.
As a person with rapid cycling type 2 bipolar disorder, there are times when I don't give a rip if anyone else understands my worlds, because my worlds are fantastic and fabulous.
At other times I feel like I should give up writing entirely because nobody understands me at all.
If my brain is a box of chocolates, some of them are the high end stuff which makes one wonder if they'd died and gone to heaven when they eat it, some of them are just serviceable chocolate for when you need a piece of chocolate, and some of them are the freaking Springbolt Surprise.
cleemckenzie said…
I like the word smug. It's short and punchy. How lucky you are to have the love of writing and be able to do it at (excuse the cliche) the drop of a hat. I diddle a lot while trying to get a story started, then I diddle some more with the middle, and I won't even mention my approach to the end.

Thanks for co-hosting today!
It is a pretty cool feeling when people tell you that they wouldn't have a clue how to write - it's easy to forget that writing is something special, that not everyone can do
Christine Rains said…
I know that feeling exactly! We are special to be storytellers. Thank you for co-hosting this month.
Donna K. Weaver said…
It's not a git everyone has, that of a storyteller. I frequently hear from people who are amazed that I can think of all these things. Accept those gifts you've been given. I can't arrange flowers to save my life!
Patsy said…
I agree there's something special about being a storyteller.
Pat Garcia said…
Hi,
It is A-okay to feel smug about being a writer. If you don't feel that way, why write. For me your smugness is called affirmation. Affirming who you are and being proud and thankful of it.
Thanks for co-hosting today.
Shalom aleichem,
Pat G @ EverythingMustChange
I'm like you...I do have a smug feeling! Maybe because so many people *say* they want to write and we're actually writing. :)
Thanks for co-hosting this month! You should be smug - storytelling is a wonderful gift and even better when you share it with others.
Computer Tutor said…
That is a good reason to feel smug. Having a passion and being lucky enough to act on it--that's gold. Keep at it!
Sadira Stone said…
Yes indeed, storytelling is a superpower! Thanks for sharing your stories with the world.
Jennifer Lane said…
Thank you for co-hosting. I resonate with feeling proud after writing a clever phrase or plot twist.
I love when people go after their dreams, follow their passion. Thanks for co-hosting!
Olga Godim said…
You're a storyteller, and you write down your stories because you want to share them with the world. You have all the rights to be smug about it.
Fundy Blue said…
Thanks, Teresa, for co-hosting today! I hope that you are having a fun day visiting around. I enjoyed your post, but then I always enjoy reading what you have written. I agree that creativity is exhausting ~ but it can also be exhilarating! That's why I feel, that as a creative person, I am constantly on a physical and emotional rollercoaster ~ LOL I admit, that deep down inside me I feel a little smug that I'm a writer, even though I get a lot of outside input that I must be crazy to spend my time writing. I'm perfectly okay with this dissonance. Have a good one!
emaginette said…
Enjoy it. I'm swinging the other way, but won't bring you down by sharing. I dub you, "Your Royal Smuggness." ;-)

Anna from elements of emaginette
Jennifer Hawes said…
It's nice to feel smug. Especially after a long hard battle or a goal achieved!
Creating and inventing is always something to feel proud of. And this can be a tough industry. A certain amount of justified smugness in your skill is the only thing that will keep you writing through all of the rejections, so I'd even say it's a requirement! Thank you for co-hosting this month.
Natalie Aguirre said…
You're right. Not everyone has the drive to write and keep at it. Thanks for co-hosting.
Arlee Bird said…
A lot of people have told me that I write well and that might make me feel smug at times. Then I read something from a really good writer and I'm put in my place.

Arlee Bird
Tossing It Out

Chrys Fey said…
I know what you mean. I feel special, too. :)
Jemi Fraser said…
Love it! Smug sounds good! :)
Pat Hatt said…
Smug works for our sea. Cat think's he's the cat's meow all the time.
Lisa said…
Smug sounds good. I think you're right. We all deserve a few moments of smugness now and then!
Lisa said…
Thanks for co-hosting, too!
Adrienne Reiter said…
I love your 'giving yourself permission to create' philosophy. I totally relate. Thank you for co-hosting. Happy IWSG day!
Yes, I love your smugness. I'm going to take some of that for my own.
F. Stone said…
When people ask what I do, they nearly always gasp when I tell them I'm an author with two book published. Some have even stated, "You're a real author?" It's as if they think authors live in a fairyland and beyond the mere life of a mortal, LOL. And, sometimes, I almost think they've got it partly right. When I'm writing, I don't feel mortal and I live in another dimension. It is magical. Thank you for co-hosting. Blessings
Thank you for cohosting this month!!! Happy IWSG!
Kalpana said…
Thank you for co hosting! You are an excellent writer, so why not feel smug about it!!
Diane Burton said…
I didn't realize for years that other people didn't have voices in their heads relating stories. We are blessed when we tell stories that entertain, enchant, educate, inspire others. Thanks for cohosting.
Sometimes I feel smug too and at other times I feel like a slug lol
Thank you for cohosting this month!
Juneta key said…
I can't say I feel smug but definitely get your meaning. Authors are awesome. I think my probably is I don't fully think of myself as being in that same category. I think I am someone who writes stories, which is silly since that is what authors do but in my brain they feel separate. Happy IWSG.
diedre Knight said…
Somehow I feel as if you just gave me the keys to my first car. This was outstanding! Thank you very much for hosting, and for sharing such a liberating perspective.
Liesbet said…
Hi T.! Thank you for co-hosting and for being a writer and for being smug! All those ideas in our heads... it is exhausting!

While I'm not a fiction writer, I think I know what you mean as I am always writing, usually on a device - experiences, books, articles, translations, emails, diaries, blogs, blog comments, ... - and when not doing that, I "write" in my head. So many ideas - uncountable - about stories, books, articles, and blogs. It never stops! It's so bad that my husband says his biggest punishment would be to "be in my head". :-)
Samantha Bryant said…
We *are* special . . .with all the good and bad that entails. Sometimes I wish I could be normal, but what's the fun in that? @mirymom1 from
Balancing Act
Loni Townsend said…
Your post brought up visions of Chaucer from A Knight's Tale when he was completely affronted when William and gang didn't know who or what he was. :)

Thanks for co-hosting!
Liz Hinds said…
Thank you. It's always nice to be told you're special.
Carol Kilgore said…
I love that I have the privilege of being able to put words on paper in a way that turns them into a story. It takes a lot of energy to find the proper order because those words are gremlins that like nothing better than to cause a lot of problems. I'm blessed that a few people enjoy reading the final results. Happy May!
Suzanne Furness said…
Writing is an intrinsic part of who I am, thinking about it gives me a warm glow. Great post.

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