IWSG December 7: Winter Doldrums?

We have another 6-8 inches of snow coming tomorrow, roads are slick and mostly unploughed, and yet, temperatures are closer to freezing today and tomorrow instead of the low teens. Celebrate the wintry moment! This is the time of year that I like to huddle in my office, cold fingers poised over the keyboard for that next scene, preferably set in some warmer clime.

Yesterday was a milestone: my 79th birthday. I feel so grateful to have reached this age (my mother died at 55), and I can report that health issues are few, family is nearby, we've downsized and are happy in our little apartment. True, the view outside is mostly white, with about a foot of snow on nearby roofs. We leave for Las Cruces, New Mexico, late January, for a leisurely drive south, and I'm ready to hit the road, writing projects organized, research materials as close as the internet (and a box of books).

This month, the Insecure Writer's Suppport Group asks us to consider this question? Are the holidays a time to catch up or fall behind on writer goals?

Well, I'm not sure. I do set goals each month, and I am making steady progress, but . . . that major writing project has hit a little snag. I wrote a scene where Neil takes Sandra to meet his parents. But they weren't nice to her, and I didn't like the scene at all. I think that scene is gone. It doesn't contribute anything to the actual story. Maybe knowing when to cut words is a good thing. I want to write stories that look beneath the surface and yet that bring joy to the reader. So, I'm happily back to plotting and drafting. Not always in that order.

The essence of IWSG's question is when are we writers working on our writing? I do think we're working whether we're actively putting words on the paper OR we're out for a walk, slipping on that wintry snow -- and an insight comes to us as we see the last of the Canada geese heading south. 

So, I say cherish the moment, every moment. Keep your characters close. New scenes may come to us when we're dreaming at night or daydreaming. In the words of Rick Bylina, write on!

Please join me in thanking the generous co-hosts for this December 7 posting of the IWSG: Joylene Nowell Butler, Chemist Ken, Natalie Aguirre, Nancy Gideon, and Cathrina Constantine! Why not pay them a visit -- and stop by other IWSG writers who've posted this month. You can find them HERE.

May this December bring you new words, good revision, and/or whatever your writing heart desires!

IWSG October 5: Digging into Genre

This month begins with a nicely layered question from the Insecure Writer's Support Group.  

IWSG October Question: What do you consider the best characteristics of your favorite genre?

This question could apply to reading as well, but I'd like to talk about genre as it relates to writing. 

I write in two genres -- historical fiction (1840s) and art crime mysteries (21st Century). My fascination with history, art, culture, and what life was like back then creates an overlap between these two genres.

• Underlying theme: Pretty close to the same: My historical fiction characters generally struggle to find/make a better life, despite sometimes overwhelming obstacles, often created by the upper class. My art crime investigators work to try to resolve crime, restore what was lost, and find truth and justice along the way.
• Settings: Pretty much international -- Scotland, France, Australia, Canada for my historical fiction, and, so far, France, Scotland, and Egypt for art crime. I absolutely love to travel anywhere and happily love the adventure that pursuing a new story brings.
• Characters:  My stories follow a family (brothers and sisters) for historical fiction (most likely, a family saga), and a pair of detectives (male and female couple) for art crime. 

Although readers may expect certain scenes and actions (even style of dialogue) for the genres they read, I don't rely too heavily on genre outlines. I do use them to check the story has depth as it develops. For example, I'm still learning how to really outline with the goal to not need 3 years to write a novel! Genre outlines like the Journey of the Hero, or Savannah Gilbo, for example, her 6 Scenes Every Crime Story Needs (genre checklists), or Jessica Brody's Save the Cat Writes a Novel, are all helpful.

But I hope I avoid formulaic writing that may entertain but lead to stories that are too predictable. I still remember that meeting with literary critics on East Coast, where one potential agent asked, "You write genre fiction?" I swear she sniffed, her nose in the air, as if genre fiction were something with a horrible odor.

Maybe I'm like you, more of an intuitive writer, enjoying the process of sinking into a time and place with particular characters and setting them up with a nasty twist of fate to see what happens next!

More About IWSG: 

Note that the first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Here's a chance to 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 writers - aim for a dozen new people each time - and return comments. This group is all about connecting! Our Twitter handle is @TheIWSG and hashtag is #IWSG.

And plan to visit those writers who are co-hosting this month: Tonja Drecker, Victoria Marie Lees, Mary Aalgaard, and Sandra Cox!

I'd like to add a challenge: Why not celebrate the coming fall by reading maybe just one book written by one of the IWSG members? And review it on Amazon and/or GoodReads, knowing that writing a review is the best way to say thank you to other story writers! 

Meme from AutoCrit

IWSG: September: A Place to Write

Each month, the Insecure Writer's Support Group posts a question for writers to ponder and write about. September's question: If you could pick one place in the world to sit and write your next story, where would it be and why?


We all remember Humphrey Bogart's, "We'll always have Paris." I would revise that to, "We'll always have Merida."

In February 2018, we spent a month in Merida, Mexico. We rented a house close to the centro. We could walk to our favorite restaurants and open air markets.

House of Frida Restaurant, Merida

The Big Whopper, Merida Style

 Friends came to visit us, and we took day trips to Celestun, Kabah, Uxmal, and Chichen Itzah.

The Nunnery, Chichen Itzah

Great Blue Heron, Celestun

But the mornings began with writing -- whether by the small dipping pool or in the hammock on the rooftop patio.

And for that month, I could drop by Merida's English Library, where a small group of dedicated writers met to critique their work.

Patio Sculpture, Merida English Library

Or we could wander in local museums.

Mermaid Tree of Life, Merida Museum of Popular Art

Facsimile of Mayan Codice, Maya World Museum

Truly, I could travel anywhere in the world and find a place to write. Some places we've lived -- Mexico, Turkey, and France -- still resonate with memories of walks we've taken, history and culture we've discovered, interesting conversations with people we met along the way, and always, time for writing.

May you find your own place that inspires you to write!

Thank you to these hard-working hosts for IWSG's September 4 post: Gwen Gardner, Doreen McGettigan, Tyrean Martinson, Chemist Ken, and Cathrina Constantine!

WEP June 2019 Challenge: Caged Bird

 This month's WEP/IWSG writing challenge popped up in my e-mail, distracting me away from 'regular' writing. I was intrigued by the new collaboration between these two online writing communities, so here's my entry, a flash fiction following the theme (353 words). NOTE: This is a blog hop. Please see the links below and have fun reading where this month's prompt takes a variety of writers!

"Caged Birds"

Myrtle quick-stepped to keep pace with the tour guide leading their small group along the jungle trail. Myrtle was eager to see everything despite the humidity pressing down on her and George’s slow pace a few lengths behind.

Freed from their tiny cabin in the bowels of the cruise ship on an overnight excursion, they hiked along a mountain path to a nature preserve high in the Honduran hills. Here, parrots flew free, their red and turquoise and yellow feathers flashes of light in the intense green jungle. The birds wheeled through the trees, calling to each other. A few landed in pairs to preen.

As the light faded, the small group gathered at the nature preserve's open air patio to drink tea and talk about what they’d seen. Myrtle slipped her ice cubes into a large pot that held a fern. She wasn’t sure about drinking the water or the tea.

At dusk, the bus with no seat belts took everyone back to their hotel. Myrtle chattered all the way past the patio filled with red hibiscus and up the winding stairs to their second floor room, the windows open to the garden below.

“Did you think, George, you and me, that we’d ever see anything so wonderful as those birds?”

“It’s why we came,” said George. “That and to celebrate fifty years of marriage.”

“I know, George, but the parrots, they were so beautiful. I read somewhere that they live longer in a cage than they do in the forest.” She took George’s hand. “I read they mate for life.”

“And that’s like us, dear.”

She smiled. “Maybe we can get a parrot when we get home. Think of it. One of those beautiful parrots to wake us each day.”

That night, Myrtle slept close to George, surrounded by layers of mosquito netting, dreaming of parrots and the journey home. But in the morning, George did not wake. Myrtle sat beside him in the quiet of their room, holding his hand, now cold.

“Ah, George,” she murmured. “We got to see the parrots. They belong here. Not in a cage, George. Never in a cage.”

Full critique acceptable: 350 words.

Scarlet Macaws (Matthew Romack, Wikipedia)

For more information about WEP, click: Write...Edit...Publish or for IWSG, click: Insecure Writer's Support Group. Write on! 

IWSG: December end-of-year musings . . .

Each month, the Insecure Writer's Support Group asks us to share where we are right now, our celebrations and our doubts.

Tomorrow is my birthday, a good time for looking forward and looking back. Tomorrow I will be 75. Who ever thought I would live this long? I always believed tall people lived short lives.

I'm grateful for each day, recognizing I have a little less stamina, but knowing I'm still stubborn enough to work toward my goals (I blame Viking blood). And I'm always grateful that some 45 years ago, I met the man who brightens each day, and who is the reason I have a daughter close to my heart, an amazing son-in-law, and two granddaughters nearby.

Since retiring a decade ago, I've become an indie author, written 3 historical fiction novels, and am knee-deep in a new genre, contemporary romantic suspense with a historical back story (15th Century). Maybe The Seventh Tapestry will take us back to France and Scotland. But, how many more stories can I write? Should I write that family history/memoir that will tell stories I don't want to share?

Celebrations? No chocolate cake, please! Last month, I did take the plunge and forked out $$$ for a BookBub ad for Standing Stones, sweating until sales covered the cost. Did I say I'm a frugal indie writer? Gained possibly 25K new readers, and thankfully added +30 new reviews. Got wonderful comments on Rivers of Stone from Writer's Digest's  25th Annual Self-Published Book Awards. Rejoined The Internet Writer's Support Group and am slowly critting other's wips and subbing that first draft of  The Seventh Tapestry.

So if you critique other drafts, know that your efforts to consider quality of writing, storyline arcs, conflict, authentic and empathetic characters, underlying theme, setting, reader involvement, etc., etc., are ALL appreciated. Truly. So, today, I celebrate the act of writing, the community that writing creates between writers, and between writers and readers. And I wish you many more stories to tell.

IWSG's December question asks: "What are five objects we'd find in your writing space?"  Even in this new apartment, with boxes not entirely unpacked, I can celebrate:

1. A peaceful view out the window, currently of sun-splashed pine trees tipped with frost at about 25 F.

2. A pot of African violets blooming next to the printer, despite the cold.

3. Always my computer/work station, ready to go.

4. Books mostly tidy in bookshelves, ready to be read and reread, organized by topic and interest, books I can't quite part with despite my efforts to downsize or reliance on Kindle for bigger print.

5. Quilting projects ready to pick up when inspiration stalls, for the sewing itself, by hand or machine, leads me to reflection.

Snowman with hat and granddaughters

Thank you to co-hosts for this December 5 posting of the IWSG:  J.H. Moncrieff, Tonja Drecker , Patsy Collins, and Chrys Fey  Go to Insecure Writer's Support Group for more inspiration! If you have any advice for me, please leave a comment!

March IWSG: On Celebrating the Writing

After three years of research and writing, and another half a year spent in deep revision, my latest novel is complete and published. In Rivers of Stone, my intrepid heroine, disguised as a boy, treks across 19th Century Canada during the fur trading era on a quest to find her husband.

I can't say we exactly celebrated this achievement because we were too busy packing our suitcases.

On January 8, we dashed off to the Yucatan and the beautiful, quiet colonial town of Merida to escape winter snow. After seven weeks in Mexico, somehow between visiting Mayan ruins, exploring Yucatecan cuisine, and bird-watching flamingos, my next writing project emerged.

Source: Wikipedia

I'm excited because so much of this project is new. I've got a title, The Seventh Tapestry, a blurb, a draft cover, an expanded plot summary, and I'm beginning to work on character sketches. The work seems to go slowly because my normal process is more intuitive, rather like a flea jumping from scene to scene instead of working up a more formal plot summary. But inspired by Randy Ingermanson's Snowflake method, my characters are starting to breathe. They have their own quirks.

After writing three novels set in mid-19th Century, this new project is taking me in totally different directions. I wanted to work on a lighter story, something contemporary, maybe easier to write, more entertaining, and with that elusive happy-ever-after ending. Now the story is pulling together exotic locales (Edinburgh and Paris), characters who are risk takers but still willing to fall in love, and the plot plays out against the backdrop of antiquities sold illegally on the black market. At odd moments, I wonder: "Can I do justice to this story?"

This month's ISWG question asks, "How do you celebrate completing a story?" Don't we all have those moments of sheer joy, that sense of accomplishment as we hit each deadline and cross each benchmark?

As an indie writer, after the writing and revision is complete, I need to identify those action steps that lead to successful publishing and marketing the finished novel. That 'first blush' celebratory moment doesn't last very long. If I'm lucky, it transforms to an underlying sense that all is well. I move on to the next story, hopefully keeping all else in balance.

May the month be a good one for you. 

Thanks to Alex Cavanaugh and to those stalwart assistants -- Mary Aalgaard, Bish Denham, Jennifer Hawes, Diane Burton, and Gwen Gardner -- for facilitating this month's Insecure Writer's Support Group! keep writing. Or, at the least, planning that next story.

Feb IWSG: Digging into New Projects

The short month of February begins as we, snowbirds, have just two weeks left here in Merida, Mexico, before we return to the land of snow. This week in Merida, the temperatures will average a high of 90F, we'll go to see flamingos again at Celestun, and, somehow I'll keep working on my new writing project.

In THE SEVENTH TAPESTRY, grad student Sandra Robertson wins a art internship at the Museum of Edinburgh in Scotland. Little does she know that her life will change as she discovers a mystery medieval tapestry, originally destined for the black market.

Romantic suspense (with a historical twist) is a new genre for me. Most of this month, I've explored ways to improve my plotting and character descriptions -- before I start writing.

Inspired by Randy Ingermanson's SNOWFLAKE, I started off with a 'concept blurb' that tells the entire story of the proposed novel in a few paragraphs. Then, with a deep breath, I shared this concept with a local writers' group here in Merida and a few trusted online writers with one question: Will readers be drawn to this story? Happily, the response was positive, with one writer commenting,"Readers love a quirky female lead." So, I'm poised between plotting, research, and drafting those character descriptions for the next several weeks.

Another challenge surfaced as I began describing the villain. I'm not sure I have enough research yet to define who the 'bad guy' is. I don't want to stereotype a person or a particular type, or even a country, and I don't know enough about the black market for art, other than it is roughly a $2 billion/year enterprise. Who would buy art from the black market? How far would that buyer be willing to go, if thwarted?

Back to the villain itself. Aren't there really two types of villains? There's the 'beast out of the closet' that terrifies the child in us. And there's the venial villain who makes a series of decisions, sometimes through choice, sometimes by compulsion, each step just a little push against whatever is within us that we call integrity.

Yes, I would like to improve my writing productivity. That is a fancy way of saying: Wouldn't it be nice if it didn't take 3 years to write one of my novels. But this new story is deliciously rich in history (contemporary mixed with 15th Century); settings (maybe a trip back to Scotland and Paris); and several new-to-me occupations (Scottish police, Interpol, Museum appraisers/acquisitions). I can also add the challenge of writing in a slightly different genre, romantic suspense.

That brings me back around to IWSG's question for this month: What do you love about the genre you write in most often? For me, writing historical fiction is the opportunity to explore perhaps a familiar place but through the lens of a different time. That focusing in on "what was life like then?" is endlessly fascinating. How did people survive and build a good life in spite of tumultuous change? What was life like for women in this time? How do social values change? How do we affirm our sense of integrity and a sense of direction through reading about the past? What makes some people strive and achieve their dreams, despite overwhelming challenges?

Who says writers don't have fun?

Check out the Internet Writer's Support Group for its monthly blog challenge (and other helpful resources). A special thank you to Alex Cavannaugh for founding the IWSG and to co-hosts for the February 7 posting of the IWSG are Stephen Tremp, Pat Garcia, Angela Wooldridge, Victoria Marie Lees, and Madeline Mora-Summonte.

Flamingo in flight, Celestun (February 2018)

Dec IWSG: Celebrating 2017

December 6. Today's my birthday. I celebrated by pressing that 'publish' button on CreateSpace to finally go live with Rivers of Stone, historical fiction set in 1840's Canada.

Better than a birthday cake.

Now that I'm older than dirt, I'm celebrating 10 years of retirement with this third book, the next installment (roughly speaking) in a family saga that began with the McDonnell family's struggles during the Clearances in Scotland (Standing Stones). The second book, Years of Stone, follows Mac McDonnell (and his sweetheart), as he's transported to a penal colony in Australia. Rivers of Stone tells the story of Catriona who marries Dougal McDonnell -- and winds up in Canada. Each book has taken me roughly 3 years to write, revise, and then publish.

So I'm doing the happy dance today . . . and not just about the writing. My friends and readers are celebrating with me.

THANK YOU to everyone who says an encouraging word to a writer, who shares expertise, and who gives critical (and useful) feedback on rough drafts. Regardless of the hour, whether we're wearing bunny slippers or  not, we all benefit.

And we all learn from each other. So here's the latest gift (perhaps unintended) from author Octavia Randolph who recently posted this gorgeous ad on Facebook for her remarkable story, The Circle of Ceridwen.

Olivia Randolph's post on Facebook

I kept staring at the design, the sharp contrast between black and white, the way the eye is drawn to the cover. Hmm. Could I do this? So, I did, futzing my way through PowerPoint, photos taken in Canada, and the cover from Rivers of Stone. For we learn from each other.

What do we most care about as writers, once we're past writing the best story we can? I think it's about connecting with other writers, learning from each other, and sharing our stories. We all doubt. The list is endless. Sometimes we're blocked. But we know that passes. Most of the time. We have stories to tell, words to get down on the page, and those moments to share, to celebrate.

If I were to do anything differently about my writing this last year or in the coming year, it is to cherish these connections with other writers and my readers. Let us persevere, enjoy each day of the coming (mild?) winter, and write, well aware of the ripples we create.

Why not hop right over to the Insecure Writer's Support Group to see what other IWSG writers are talking about. And a special thank you to Alex Cavanaugh, our fearless leader, and his minions, Julie Flanders, Shannon Lawrence, Fundy Blue, and Heather Gardner!

June IWSG: Why write?

This month's writing prompt from the very helpful resource: Insecure Writer's Support Group (IWSG) simply asks: "Did you ever say 'I quit'? If so, what happened to make you come back to writing?"

I have always written, short pieces, poetry, flash fiction. I wrote 'between' all else. The year before I retired, I began writing seriously. After 26 years of teaching others how to write essays, research papers, and technical reports (and writing a business writing textbook), finally, I thought, I could follow my dream of becoming a writer of novels.

So much to learn. I took classes, participated in small and larger writing groups, read how-to-write books, attended writing conferences, and met other inspirational writers. And I wrote. Ten years later (I didn't say I was a 'fast' writer), I've written 4 novels (2 in much need of revision). That learning curve stretches steeply in front of me, but I joyously pursue my writing -- most days.

Twice, I've nearly quit writing. Each time, someone has critiqued my drafts so furiously, I doubted my ability to tell a good story. But each time, I've returned to writing after a break of a few weeks to several months.

Because . . . 

My world seems in balance when I write. It's what I've longed to do all my life with that deep, never-goes-away kind of longing. I write because I love to delve into history and figure out 'what life was like.' I don't really care about becoming rich or famous. When I can craft a story, a chapter, a paragraph -- sometimes even a sentence -- there's a sense of peace and joy that makes that next writing session possible. My writing (and my other passion, quilting) keeps me creative, observant, and connected. 

Somehow I got stuck in mid-19th Century, partly because of a fascination with the Industrial Revolution. Just now I'm researching gangs in Edinburgh and the lives of indentured servants in Virginia. I write most mornings between 6 and 10, sometimes until 11. Then the rest of the world enters, and 'normal' life resumes. 

I hope that my stories will move readers who are drawn to history. For that's what I'm working on now:  How do my characters come alive? How do their emotional journeys connect with readers?

Oh, and I probably write because I'm stubborn and just want to show those folks who said to me, "You can't."

Click HERE to see what other writers are doing in this monthly update for the Insecure Writer's Support Group. And why do you write?