IWSG & Perseverance

The Insecure Writer's Support Group is the brainchild of Alex J. Cavanaugh. He, his clones, minions, friends, and fellow authors make it an amazing event every month.

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!

And we’re revving up IWSG Day to make it more fun and interactive! Every month, we'll announce a question that members can answer in their IWSG Day 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.

April 4 question - When your writing life is a bit cloudy or filled with rain, what do you do to dig down and keep on writing?

Great question!

Life is full of ups, downs, and more bumps in the road than springtime roads here in Canada where potholes proliferate more often than bunnies.

Because of this, there are times when my life is overwhelming and that is what bogs down my writing. But, writing is part of what gives me solace and hope, so I will always write.

To dig myself out of the dumpy days, I tend to switch projects. Because of my Tigger brain, I generally have a minimum of 3 projects on the go. One fiction first draft, one (or three) in various stages of revision, and one non-fiction project. Switching to a different project or even to a different part of the process always gives me that required boost.

How about you? How do you keep going?

Resiliency

I'm over at From the Write Angle today talking about resiliency - something we need in this journey to publication. I hope you'll pop over and contribute to the discussion!

Some of the kids I meet don't know how to be resilient. They give up easily, don't know how to stick with a problem if their first attempt at a solution doesn't work. I don't believe humans are born that way. Look at how joyfully a child fails when learning to walk or talk. I think resiliency is a natural trait but sometimes we UN-learn it. There are as many contributing factors to this as there are people. A few I've seen are:

• helicopter parents. Kids need to learn to solve their own problems. If mom or dad is always doing it they're always going to wait for someone to fix things.
• absent parents. Not necessarily physically absent, but emotionally. And yes, this contradicts the first point, but it's true. We all need support and kids are no exception. Parents need to find that middle ground.
• too much passive activity for developing brains. TV, video games, computers, tablets etc. Few of these involve the brain on a truly active level. While there is some decision making in games, it's limited (although I do like the fact that some games require the user to persevere/think creatively and try again and again to achieve the next level!). Keeping that young mind active and mobile is vital. You need practice to become a creative problem solver. 
• too little physical activity. What better way to learn resiliency than to play on a losing team? Or to be the last one picked in your favourite game? Or to be the smallest one at the playground? Learning to lose with grace and to come back and face the next game is incredibly powerful. 

Failure isn't permanent. Often it's not even a negative - it's just a step on the latest learning curve. Learning to fail yet come back excited to try again is vital.

I think as a group, writers are some of the most resilient people I know. So much to learn, so many ways to be rejected, so many steps to take. And for the most part, we do it willingly and with a smile. Gotta love it!

So how did you learn to be resilient?

Slow Mo

I'm over at From the Write Angle today talking about the Joy of Slow.

My journey so far in this publishing venture might seem incredibly slow to some people out there. I first considered trying to become published 5 or 6 years ago. Since then I've written a variety of novels (9?? 10??) in a variety of genres (4?). I've sent out a grand total of about 20 queries divided between 2 books. I've got 5 complete drafts I hope to send out into the world one day. None of them are ready. All of them have been through at least 2 rewrites. All of them need at least one more. I'm about to start a 5th rewrite for one story. And I'm looking forward to it.

I don't have a published book. I don't have plans to do that within the next few months. Maybe not within the year.

Yet I'm happy with my progress.

Am I nuts? Maybe, but that's okay with me too.

I've learned a LOT over the last 5 years. I wasn't ready to publish 5 years ago. I'm not now. I want to be SURE when I put my stories out there. I want them to be ready and I figure I'll be able to tell when they are. My gut will finally stop pestering me with the Maybes and the What Ifs that lead me to yet another round of revisions.

How about you? Are you in the slow lane with me? Are you okay with it?

Backhanded Compliments

You know them. Those words with their hidden meanings. The simple phrases that on the surface seem benign.

But they're not.

We know better than most that words have power. They have life. Strength.

Use them wisely. Carefully.

A few words nearly broke me a little while ago. They weren't meant with ill intent. At least I don't think they were.

The speaker thought she was being helpful. And funny.

She wasn't.

It's taken a while but I've built a scab over her words. I'm believing again. As I knew I would.

After all, my belief is part of me. Not her. Not in her words or her thoughts.

And I believe I can. I will.

One day.

Leap of Faith

It doesn't take much. A look. A word. A non-response.

All your carefully built confidence comes crumbling down. That risk you took - that teeny tiny step towards the next level - suddenly seems like a ridiculous stretch. And the chasm is widening while you're in mid-leap.

You can't sprout wings to reach the other side. You can't go back.

So, you fall.

A long way.

The crash hurts. A lot.

You get up, pout about those bruises for a minute. Maybe two. Then you face a choice. Go backwards to safety. Or forwards to the unknown.

Not much of a choice really. You take a deep breath, put away the pout, and take that first step. Forward. Up the next ridge. Up into the future. To the next risk.

A little warily, but a little wiser too.

Building the strength to make the next leap of faith.

Alex J Cavanaugh hosts the Insecure Writer's Support Group the first Wednesday of the month. Check out his blog for a list of all the participants.

How do you recover from those falls?

Contests and Confidence

I've put the first 250 words of my current ms in the Secret Agent contest over at Miss Snark's First Victim's Blog. If you are an aspiring author, this is a blog you really have to read!

It takes a lot for me to put my writing out there for other people, and I'm wondering how common that is for writers. As I read authors' blogs, tweets and websites, I'm struck by the amount of self-confidence I see. Is that the norm? Is it part of the person or the persona?

I wonder how easy it was for published writers to put their work on display before they got published. It's become easier for me, mostly thanks to some wonderful critique partners who mix in just the right amount of support, advice and humour with their comments.

Do you find it easy or difficult to put your writing "out there"? What gave you that first boost to let someone else read your work?