IWSG - a post about not writing

i'm tired of not writing. it's been a year since i worked on my novel. i haven't really been blogging. in both cases, i've tried. i've sat down, opened up my laptop, opened my Word program or Blogger, and then there's nothing. nada. zilch.

it feels like there's nothing in my brain worth putting in a story or a blog post. nothing worth really saying. that's sad and scary, because i love writing. even this post feels like a stretch and partly a waste of time. like i'm just venting and then sharing. "oh boy! what a great thing to post about."

but we're the Insecure Writers' Support Group. we can post about anything we want, as long as it fits the theme of helping other insecure writers. and let me tell you, i feel pretty qualified to share this. after a year of not writing, i'm a little insecure.

make that I'M VERY INSECURE.

but the other part of posting in this group, or at least how i feel about it, is to share something encouraging. i'm not sure that's going to happen today. that's kind of sad to me too. i started this blog a long time ago because i wanted to be encouraging. now i know that isn't always going to happen.

maybe this post is just here to say, "if you're not writing, i kind of know what you're going through--maybe not the exact circumstances, but i feel your frustration and pain. and maybe i have some things to share that i've learned in this year of not writing."

we're writers, but we don't always write. we miss a day, a week, a month. sometimes we don't write for a long time. but we're still writers. somewhere in us there is still something to say. we just don't know what it is.

we're writers, but sometimes we're afraid to write our stories or say what we need to say. we're probably afraid our writing is drivel or garbage. 

we're writers, but our worth IS NOT tied to how much we produce or what kind of response we get from what we write. we haven't failed. 

we're writers. sometimes we just write for ourselves and no one else. sometimes we can't even do that. we're still writers. 

we're writers. but we're also humans with messy lives. many of us have a family, a spouse, kids. maybe we have financial problems, health problems, marital problems. maybe we've gone through major surgery, lost family members, lost a job. maybe we're just tired of life. 

we're writers. sometimes we try to write to escape. sometimes we try to write and we can't. we're still writers.

well, in conclusion... it was pretty disjointed and rambling, but i wrote it and it felt really good to write and be an IWSG participant again. maybe someone read it. maybe someone was even encouraged. i don't think it was complete drivel. whatever the case, i'm still a writer. 

IWSG - Do What You Love

This is supposed to be where I put my catchy intro about my 19-year-old son Joshua and his CG art and how I interviewed him about his art for IWSG day so he could encourage us... but I didn't sleep last night and my brain is in a fog, and since the time for posting is drawing near, I'm using this as my intro. Not catchy, but to the point. 

MG: Why did you decide to learn how to make computer generated art? 

JG: It’s kind of always fascinated me, you know, just from watching Avengers and Lord of the Rings. I like making stuff that doesn’t exist, bringing it over to the computer, and making it look as if it could exist. 

MG: How long have you been at it? 

JG: About two years. 

MG: What has the process of learning been like? 

JG: It’s been really hard. 

MG: Why?

JG: I think it started off with my mistake of not learning the basics at first – I kind of skipped the basics and went from intermediate to advanced. I compared my work to other people’s work and I thought “There’s no way I’m gonna make something as good as that.” 

MG: What did you do to overcome the difficulties?

JG: I just kept at it, time and time again, making stuff that looked “eh” and just pushed myself to be a better artist. 

MG: What’s your favorite part of the process? 

JG: Getting an idea and then looking up reference images and just finding what I’m looking for. 

MG: What’s the hardest part of the process? 

JG: That’s an easy one – taking the reference images and trying to build the 3-D models (CGI artists call them assets). That’s also the most satisfying part when it’s over because I like the challenge. 

MG: Have you ever felt like giving up? 

JG: Oh yeah. It’s just, you don’t feel like you’re improving and it can be very discouraging when you try to post that stuff online for people to see and they’re like, “Wow, why would you post that on the internet?” 

MG: Why have you kept going? 

JG: Something in the back of my head says, “Who cares what these people say or think?” And I love what I do. I can’t imagine myself not doing it. It would kill me to not do CGI. 

MG: What would you tell other creative types who are just starting, or who feel like they should quit?

JG: It’s going to be tough in the beginning. You’re going to feel like you’re not getting anywhere or there’s no point in doing what you’re doing, but if you love doing it, like I love doing the CGI art and all that, don’t give up, no matter what anyone says. If I’d stopped at the first crappy comment on my first piece I showed to the public for a contest , I wouldn’t be giving you this advice right now and I wouldn’t have started my own blog. 

You can find Josh at C G Alchemy. To read other IWSG posts, click on the IWSG image under the Snoopy cartoon.  

IWSG - on perfectionism and making mistakes

today, i'm letting other people encourage you. first, a quote from Anne Lamott, part of a facebook post she wrote on May 12th. 

Here’s how to break through the perfectionism: make a LOT of mistakes. Fall on your butt more often. Waste more paper, printing out your sh--- first drafts, and maybe send a check to the Sierra Club. Celebrate messes — these are where the goods are. Put something on the calendar that you know you’ll be terrible at, like dance lessons, or a meditation retreat, or boot camp. Find a writing partner, who will help you with your work, by reading it for you, and telling you the truth about it, with respect, to help you make it better and better; for whom you will do the same thing. Find someone who wants to steal his or her life back, too. Now; today. One wild and crazy thing: wears shorts out in public if it is hot, even if your legs are milky white or heavy. Go to a poetry slam. Go to open mike, and read the story you wrote about the hilariously god-awful family reunion, with a trusted friend, even though it could be better, and would hurt Uncle Ed’s feelings if he read it, which he isn’t going to.

Change his name and hair color — he won’t even recognize himself.

At work, you begin to fulfill your artistic destiny. Wow! A reviewer may hate your style, or newspapers may neglect you, or 500 people may tell you that you are bitter, delusional and boring.

Let me ask you this: in the big juicy Zorba scheme of things, who **** cares?

and here's what a few other people had to say...  

The greatest mistake you can make in life is to be continually fearing you will make one. ~Elbert Hubbard, The Note Book, 1927

Never say, "oops."  Always say, "Ah, interesting."  ~Author Unknown

An expert is a man who has made all the mistakes which can be made in a very narrow field. ~Niels Bohr

The man who makes no mistakes does not usually make anything. ~Edward Phelps 

You will do foolish things, but do them with enthusiasm. ~Colette

As long as the world is turning and spinning, we're gonna be dizzy and we're gonna make mistakes. ~Mel Brooks

Results! Why, man, I have gotten a lot of results. I know several thousand things that won't work. ~Thomas A. Edison

for more Insecure Writers Support Group posts, use the link on my sidebar. now go out and make some mistakes!

IWSG - Shine...

when you're insecure in your writing, remember this quote from Marianne Williamson:

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be?

You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

for other posts on writing when you feel insecure, click on the link on my sidebar for the Insecure Writers' Support Group.

IWSG - overcoming our fears

today, i'm sharing what others have to say about overcoming our fears about writing...

“You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face…You must do the thing you cannot do.”~ Eleanor Roosevelt ~ (not exactly a writing quote, but appropriate just the same.)

“You are a writer. Right now. With only what you have in your head as it is. You don’t need anything else. You are a writer. You just need to keep writing. Don’t let the Writing Fairy tell you that you aren’t. That you need something more, that you’re pretending to be something you’re not. Hemmingway wasn’t Hemmingway when he started. He was just a guy named Ernest who sat down at his typewriter.” ~ Joseph Devon

“Risk being unliked. Tell the truth as you understand it. If you’re a writer, you have a moral obligation to do this. And it is a revolutionary act–truth is always subversive.” ~ Anne Lamott,Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life

“Successful writers are not the ones who write the best sentences. They are the ones who keep writing. They are the ones who discover what is most important and strangest and most pleasurable in themselves, and keep believing in the value of their work, despite the difficulties.” ~ Bonnie Friedman

“Anyone can become a writer. The trick is staying a writer.” ~ Harlan Ellison

“If you hear a voice within you saying, ‘You are not a painter,’ then by all means paint . . . and that voice will be silenced.” ~ Vincent Van Gogh

“To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong.” ~ Claude M. Bristol

“Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes it is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, ‘I will try again tomorrow.’“ ~ Mary Anne Rademacher-Hershey

“I will go so far as to say that the writer who is not scared is happily unaware of the remote and tantalizing majesty of the medium.” ~ John Steinbeck
“You fail only if you stop writing.” ~ Ray Bradbury

“You must once and for all give up being worried about successes and failures. Don’t let that concern you. It’s your duty to go on working, steadily day by day, quite steadily, to be prepared for mistakes, which are inevitable, and for failures.” ~ Anton Chekhov

“Every day you are afraid. Every day you move through fear to your desk, and as soon as you pick up your pen, or read the sentence left over from the night before, incomplete, needing an adjustment in rhythm—a stronger verb, a slash of color or the taste of bitter herbs—in that moment of solving the problems all fear dissolves. You are writing again.” ~ Sophy Burnham

“You’re not afraid of writing. You’re afraid of failing. We all fail. The courage is in the trying.” ~ From the movie Shadows in the Sun ~

to read what other encouraging posts about our insecurities, go to the Insecure Writers' Support Group blog. 

IWSG - on scrapbooking vs writing

reaching back into the annals of my blog, i found this post from 2009, where i ranted about working on my sequel (which, i hate to admit, means i've been working on my sequel for 6 years --- yes that's right, i said SIX years. either i'm very committed to this story or i'm a little nuts. take your pick.)

ahem... back to what i was saying about this post.... i used to be an avid scrapbooker, which goes back to 1996, back when scrapbooking was just starting. and then i found writing in 2005, and became an avid writer and gave up the scrapbooking. (i'm thinking about going back to it soon, but need a craft area and that's whole different rant.)

so, without further ado, or additional chasing of rabbit trails, my post from September of 2009, entitled, "(insert appropriate title here)"

i think i'll go back to doing scrapbook pages.

i can only speak for myself when i say that...

scrapbook pages (sbp's) do not require multiple drafts to get them "just right."

sbp's are always self-published and no one cares. (side note - this was back when self-publishing was a last resort - a lot has changed in 6 years.)

sbp's do not make you want to tear your hair out.

sbp's can be finished in an hour or less.

sbp's do not wake you up in the middle of the night, demanding to have you create one.

sbp's do not argue with you about how they want to be created or where to place a picture.

sbp's do not need timelines or calendars to help you remember where to place something because a quick sketch will do.

sbp's do not require hours of searching for that one piece of information that will make the page perfect or add page depth or realism.

sbp's do not care which point of view you use to get the idea across.

sbp's can be placed wherever you choose to place them and can be rearranged with very little problem.

sbp's do not require the help of a scrapbook critique partner or group.

sbp's can be done in a group setting while you converse with other scrapbookers.

sbp's do not require absolute quiet to complete.

sbp's do not require isbn's, out-sourced cover art, a three-year commitment to amazon.com, a barcode, multiple proofreaders, special formatting, or the purchase of proof copies.

you will never dream about kissing one of the pictures or embellishments from your scrapbook page.

no one cares about spelling or grammar on a scrapbook page.

people who have never scrapbooked will love your pages and will never tell you how they thought it could have been better if only you had done xyz.

if someone happens to not like your sbp, you won't go into a deep depression over it.

a scrapbooker has no problem calling herself a scrapbooker or paper artist, despite never having a layout published in a scrapbook magazine.

most of the time, scrapbookers are not under a tight deadline.

there are no scrapbook agents or editors out there telling a scrapbooker what to do, or asking how many other scrapbooks there are in the series, or what the scrapbooker is going to do to promote her scrapbook, or if the scrapbooker already has a fan base.

on the other hand...

sbp's do require all kinds of materials that may or may not get used, and you have to transport a lot of equipment if you want to scrapbook with other people, and i am the kind of scrapbooker who agonized over getting a page just right.

so maybe i'll keep writing.

or maybe i'll just surf the web.

pardon my ranting, but i think i have a book to go back to.

(for more IWSG posts, click the picture on my sidebar.)

Insecure Writers' Support Group - February Grace and Upon a Time OR where to find inspiration for writing

According to Jack London: “You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.”
While I agree that finding inspiration feels like a fight a lot of the time, we can also find it in places that are staring us right in the face. For this blog post, I’m referring to fairy tales. They’ve become so familiar to us that we may overlook them as sources of inspiration.

Take, for example, the story of Cinderella. Out of curiosity, I wanted to know how many versions of the story have been written. Wikipedia listed too many to count. The one we’ve come to recognize as the classic tale with a pumpkin and fairy godmother came from Charles Perrault in 1697 under the name of Cendrillon.

The amazing thing about writers and our creativity is that if you gave 50 authors the Cinderella story, or any other fairy tale, and asked them to write their version of it, you could end up with a hundred different stories (at least if some of them were like me and had more than one way to make it different).

When my blogging friend February Grace used it for inspiration, she came up with a version I had never imagined myself but now treasure as one of my favorites. To summarize the plot:

A blacksmith’s apprentice who would be a knight. The heir to the throne, at death’s door. One woman who would save them both, if she could… 

Charlotte was number sixty-four in the second group of young, hopeful maidens intended to meet the Prince at a grand ball in his honor. 

That introduction was not to be. 

She returned home to her tiny village—and her visions of a future limited by it—without any warning of the drastic turn her life was about to take. 

Soon she would be fighting against the odds to help keep a gravely wounded stranger alive; and waging war with her own heart, as he stirred feelings in her she’d never known. 

When the stranger’s royal identity is revealed, Charlotte is faced with an entirely different battle: one to keep her family, village, and the injured Prince in her care all safe from a madman set on taking the throne by any means necessary.

When I asked February what had inspired her to write this particular version, she said, “I have always wondered in the back of my mind what happened to the girls who weren't picked at the ball. So that turned into the idea of Charlotte, which turned into UPON A TIME but somewhere in it all it became so much more than her story. It became that of Thomas (the blacksmith’s apprentice), and the Prince, and the trials and physical challenges they would have to overcome.

“The characters became dear to me (as someone who faces physical challenges every day myself) and I can only hope it makes those out there facing all kinds of physical struggles to feel understood, inspired, and less alone.”

To read a brief exerpt, go here.  To see where you can find this beautiful story in e-format and paperback, read my last post. To find inspiration, maybe you can look for it in stories you already know. If you need more encouragement, check out the other posts for The Insecure Writers’ Support Group (posts available March 4th).

IWSG - (finally)... on getting stuck

this is a picture of my driveway, taken sometime in the winter of 2011. such a pretty picture. you'd never think that just around the bend to the left would be a place that scared me for a couple of winters.

we don't get a lot of snow at a time here in Butte, MT--maybe 2 - 3 inches on a good day. but some days it can be up to 6 or 8. and there are places in my driveway where we get drifting, so the snow can be 12 inches deep in some spots. and that spot around the corner is one of those.

add to that that we haven't had a snow plow up until just a few days ago and you can see where this is going.

granted, i have an SUV with 4-wheel drive, but that doesn't help when you don't know how to drive in snow because you spent most of your life in Phoenix, AZ.

so even though my husband kept telling me that i had to get up to at least 25 mph to get up my driveway, and not worry about the back end of my car sliding, i never listened to his words of wisdom, despite the fact that he could always get up the driveway.

i always approached the ascent up that particular spot with caution. slow caution. anything to avoid the sliding around. and i got stuck in that spot at least 4 times, maybe more. and since i'm not good at backing down a curved driveway without going into the ditch, and i'm not keen on digging myself out, the car would stay there until my husband got home and then he had the frigid task of getting it up the drive.

last year in March, after we had a really big snow, i decided i'd had enough of getting stuck. i wanted to learn how to get my car up my driveway every single time. i asked my husband for a driving lesson. so, with my husband in the passenger seat and me in the driver seat, i went up and down that driveway, as fast as i could make myself go, at least a dozen times without stopping.

i had the scary adrenaline rush every time (which i don't like). there was slipping. there was sliding. my husband kept saying, "embrace the slide," (which i don't like either.). but i got over my fear of the driveway.

i still have to take a few deep breaths before i floor it to get up the hill. i still get the niggling fear in the back of my mind when i get to that spot that says i'm not going to make it. i still get the adrenaline rush when the back end starts to slide a little, and it lasts all the way into the garage (i even get that rush when my boys make the drive).

but now i can laugh about it. now i can be confident that, barring a really bad snow dump, i can always get up the driveway, whether the snow is deep or the ground is icy.

a few weeks ago, i finally saw the link between my driveway experience and my writing.

time to go gun the engine.

IWSG - why post to IWSG at all?

that was my thought today as i remembered that the monthy IWSG post was coming up. i've been posting for IWSG from the beginning and i'm not sure i have anything new to say. there are 268 blogs on the list. would adding my 2 cents to the great advice out there be worth it?

ironically, i realized those can be excuses for not writing--and are both based in my insecurities. why write when there are so many books out there? who's going to read a book that uses a plot line used by so many others. do i really have anything unique to say?

then i remembered a Dr. Seuss quote: “Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You.”

so i took a few minutes to write an IWSG post because among the 268 participants, i'm the only Michelle Gregory out there. if only one person reads this post today, i will have encouraged that one person, and that was always my original reason for blogging.

to see who the other 267 participants are, you can go to the IWSG sign-up page. they all have something unique to say too. i wish i could visit every one of them and say, "Good job. Keep posting. Someone is going to be encouraged, even if it's only me."

Insecure Writers' Support Group - overcoming the obstacles

(This post includes an interview and is longer than the recommended 300 words for IWSG, but it also includes 2 giveaways for a great read.)

I started writing in 2005. Since that time, I’ve met a lot of writers. I’ve heard a lot of stories about the difficulties and insecurities they’ve had to overcome to get their books published. And whether they went the traditional route or the self-publishing route, they’ve all had to fight to get their books out into the world to be read. One of these writers is Kristal Shaff. 

I’ve known Kristal since 2005 or 2006. We met because we’d both posted comments on another writer’s blog. We started chatting via AOL chat and discovered we had some common ground. She was a mom in Iowa with three young kids. I was a mom in Arizona with three young kids. We were both working on a first novel. We were both writing fantasy. At the time, I just wanted one copy of my book to hold in my hands to prove I’d written a novel. Kristal wanted her story published. 

Very soon after meeting, we agreed to help each other with our stories. Over the years, we’ve shared each other’s frustrations and tears and triumphs—not just over writing, but life. We’ve pulled each other out of our writer slumps and given each other a kick in the seat of the pants when necessary. We’ve critiqued and proofread each other’s stories, and helped each other become better writers.

After all this time of watching her overcome one obstacle after another to publish her book (a fantasy story I’ve read in all of its forms more times than I can count, and enjoyed every single time), I now have the privilege of helping her promote it. 

MG: Kristal, thank you so much for stopping by beautiful chaos as part of your blog tour.

KS: Sure. Thanks for having me here.

MG: Why did you want to write The Emissary?

KS: I’ve always been an avid reader. It wasn’t until I read the YA fantasy novel, ERAGON, that I realized I wanted to give it a go myself. Christopher Paolini, the author, inspired me to try because he was only a teen when he wrote his book. It showed me that it doesn’t matter what age you are, young or old. If you want to write a book, why not try.

MG: How long has this process taken, from the time you decided to write the novel to the release date?

KS: Oh my. Well, it’s been a really long time. I wrote the first, terrible words back in 2005, then didn’t have anything workable until 2006. My first completed draft was almost 200,000 words of complete crap. It took some time to edit it down into something workable. Finally, after about 8 drafts, I was able to find an agent. That was in 2008. After a year of trying to sell the book with my agent, it failed. I’ve pulled it out and rewritten it several times after that. So it’s been a very long process, but I’ve never given up on it.

MG: What were some of the things you did to try to get the book “out there” to be read?

KS: I went the agent route first, and that failed. I also submitted it to several publishers on my own. Some of those submissions were almost successful, such as a rewrite from Little Brown Publishing and a nice personalized note from Baen. I also entered it into some open door submission and was very close to publishing with Strange Chemistry. I also got some beta readers along the way, which was really good for me. I found a group of fellows on a slinging forum (where people like to throw rocks with slings and talk about it). I’d approached them for research on using slings for my book, and I found them to be very friendly and helpful. Several of the fellows on there were great assets for beta readers and gave me a lot of encouragement to my battered self-esteem.

MG: What were some of your fears and insecurities along the way?

KS: Rejection is the biggest fear. Even now that it is out in the word, there is a fear that someone won’t like it. And after each rejection, you doubt that you can actually do it again. Writing is such a personal thing; you open your mind up to others. So I believe it’s completely natural to have some fears. Being a writer puts you in a very vulnerable state.

MG: How did you overcome them?

KS: My fears? You don’t totally overcome them. You learn to deal with your fears, cover them up, harden the outside layer to protect you. I think writers should worry more if you feel confident all the time. Writers who think they are wonderful are most likely to be the worst at their craft, because they can’t see beyond their glory. You need discernment to improve.  I do think that all the rejections have helped me to improve, and also prepared me for bad reviews. Even the most famous writers get bad reviews. So going through the pain of the process, I believe, prepares you for the destination of publication. I’m more equipped now because it was a long, hard journey.

MG: If you had it to do over again, would you?

KS: I think so. I’ve learned a lot and gained a lot of friends. There is something to be said for that alone. I’m still very new to this “being published” thing, that I’m honestly having a hard time wrapping my brain around it. I feel the same as I did before, but there is a sense of closure to it finally.

MG: What advice would you give other insecure writers?

KS: It’s okay to feel insecure. It’s normal. Like a hero in your stories, the key is to push through and be brave even in the midst of self-doubt. The best heroes are the ones who succeed after struggling through trials and insecurity. Be a hero, like the ones in your stories, and keep going. With a little stubborn perseverance, and the willingness to see your faults and rejections as opportunities to grow and improve, you can succeed.

For more information about The Emissary, Kristal, or the blog tour, click here, or on The Emissary’s cover at the top of my sidebar. 

The blog tour host, MaryAnn at Chapter by Chapter will be giving away 5 digital copies of Kristal’s book at the end of the tour, October 25. If you want to enter, here’s a link to the rafflecopter website.

Completely separate from Chapter by Chapter, and Month9Books (Kristal’s publisher), I will be giving away 3 copies of The Emissary (out of my own pocket because I love this story so much) in a random drawing of people who comment on this post. I will choose winners October 4. They’ll get to choose from e-book or paperback.  

IWSG - sometimes you just need to laugh

my son and i are writing my novel as a team. the other day, we tried and tried and tried to work on a scene, but it was like pushing my Ford Excursion uphill. painful. clunky. tiring. we finally stopped. the next day, we went at it again. it gushed out like a flash flood in the desert during monsoon season.

the difference? we found something to laugh about before we started. we found cheesy lines to laugh at during the writing. i know it's not always that simple, but sometimes that's all you need - to find something funny. to not take your writing so seriously. to get those endorphines going to free your brain. 

so, with that in mind, here are some things we laugh at quite often...

-- Calvin and Hobbes cartoons (we have 4 books of them)

-- funny videos - here are links to a few of our favorites

John Branyan - The Three Little Pigs (in Shakesperian)

Tim Hawkins - Things you don't say to your wife

Bane Cat (if you're a fan of the newest Batman series, this will make more sense)

and finally, a picture that amuses me so much i've put it on my computer screen.

for more posts to encourage you, click on the IWSG picture in my sidebar. 

now, even if you're not having writer's block, go find something to laugh about. it will make you feel better. 

IWSG - write like you

i'm cheating today.

life is a bit crazy, what with taking my son to physical therapy and other appointments and working on my novel and getting ready for a new animal around here (which i'll share when she comes). that said, i found a great post yesterday by one of my favorite authors, Robin Lee Hatcher, and it's called "No 'Right' Way to Write a Novel." i hope you'll check it out.

for other IWSG posts, click on the IWSG link in my sidebar. have a great day.

May 2014 IWSG - a life half-lived

This was supposed to be a blog post about insecure writers finding their courage. (And I know this is early, but I didn't want to wait.) So first, I was going to share quotes about courage. And then I was going to give quotes about fear, but that made me think of a quote from one of my favorite movies, Strictly Ballroom. And that led to an evolving blog post (kind of like my novel, but not nearly as many times).

Strictly Ballroom is a quirky Australian film from 1992. (Major spoilers here--) Scott Hastings is the “crown prince” of the local ballroom dancing community. His parents are the king and queen. They’ve been training Scott, from the age of six, to win the Australian Pan-Pacific Gran Prix Amateur Latin Dance Championship. This year, everyone believes “it’s Scott's turn to win.”

Scott has always followed the rules to win, but something inside him wants to dance his own steps. Unfortunately, the local ballroom dancing world is controlled by a few who say you won’t win if you dance your own steps. Scott is determined to buck the system—until his long-time partner refuses to dance his new steps and leaves him for another dancer.

Along comes Fran, an ugly duckling, Cinderella, beginning dancer. She’s been taking lessons in the same studio where Scott trains. But she also does the grunt work—cleaning the coffee cups, mopping up, etc. No one notices her. Everyone steps on her. Scott looks down on her because she’s been “dancing with girls.”

One night while Scott is practicing his steps, Fran watches him. When Scott catches her and asks who she is, she won’t even give her full name. She’s “just Fran.” She knows she’s invisible. But she also has the guts to approach him about an idea she’s had. She offers to help him win the Latin dance championship, dancing his own steps.

She offers to be his partner.

The following dialogue ensues:

Scott: Look, a beginner has no right to approach an Open Amateur.

Fran: Yeah, well an Open Amateur has no right to dance non-Federation steps, but you did, didn't you?

Scott: But that's different.

Fran: *How* is it different? You're just like the rest of them! You think you're different, but you're not, because you're just, you're just really scared! You're really scared to give someone new a go, because you think, you know, they might just be better than you are! Well, you're just pathetic, and you're gutless. You're a gutless wonder! Vivir con miedo, es como vivir a medias!

Translated, the last lines means “A life lived in fear is a life half-lived.”

While Scott’s mother works to find him a new partner in time for the competition, Scott agrees to train Fran. He’s reluctant at first. Dancing with her is like a chore. But he keeps at it. As time goes on, Fran starts to change. When Scott meets Fran’s Hispanic family (from the other side of the railroad tracks), he starts to change. They teach him about dancing from the heart. Not living in fear is the family motto.

I won’t give away the rest of the movie, but let’s just say that by the end, Scott and Fran are different. And so are a few other people.

None of them would have changed if Fran hadn’t had the courage to follow her dream.

I was going to give some catchy wrap-up here, but I don’t think I need to. Maybe all I need to say is:

and if you need more encouragement, there are a lot of great posts at the IWSG website.  (plus, i just found a fountain of more great quotes along this line at Optimism Revolution.)

IWSG - when you don't have time for a new post, re-post

or in this case, do a post with links to other IWSG posts. these are some of my favorites...

let's encourage each other (encouragement from other writers)

facing the critics

just like Christmas

how Dick and Jane can help an insecure writer

writing and composting

if you want to see my other IWSG posts, use the IWSG tab at the top of the page.

if you want advice from other insecure writers, go to the IWSG page (link in the sidebar).

now go write something, even if it's drivel or compost.

(an update on character development - i have documents for most of the main characters and some of the side characters. i'm getting closer to working on the actual novel again :)

and because the ladies seemed to like it so much last time, and a picture of Arathor...um, i mean Adrian Paul would make anyone's day better, here he is again... (i'm so bad.)

IWSG - sometimes the thing you don't want to do...

will actually help. case in point - i realized that i didn't like my characters because i didn't know them. i went to my writing friends for advice that included "write something else for a while," "sit down over tea and talk to them," and "interview them." character interviews range from the basic to the insanely detailed. i finally found some stuff at Writers Helping Other Writers that i think will work. for now, i'm working with the Character Questionnaire.

i thought it would be drudgery. i wasn't looking forward to it. more background work. more putting off my story. but i was wrong. my son and i sat down and started doing work on the villain (because that's his character in this book). we've had a blast coming up with answers. it's given us more plot twists. i'm actually excited about my story again.

and stranger than strange, it's helping me get to know my hero. i never would have imagined. we've discovered that they're the dark and light side of the same coin, so to speak.

so here's to doing the thing you think you won't enjoy, because it just might help.

and for some eye candy, here's my villain, Dar'Vosh - Benedict Cumberbatch from Star Trek: Into Darkness


and my hero, Arathor - Adrian Paul from Highlander.

and my hero's son, the hero from the last book, Kieran - Steven Waddington from Last of the Mohicans, Richard the Lionheart, and Titanic.

if you want more encouragement, you can find links here to other IWSG posts. 

Insecure Writers Support Group - keep your dreams alive

I am privileged, on this IWSG Wednesday, to share a blog post by my sweet friend February Grace (and to help her promote her newest book, Of Stardust). When she asked what she could blog about, I suggested the subject of dreams. Her response was inspiring for me. I hope it is for you too.

(For more inspiring IWSG posts, visit the new IWSG website.)

“Dreams are sacred.”

That is the tagline, and the heart, of my new novel OF STARDUST.

It was inspired by a very deeply held belief that I have in the importance of dreams. 

Dreams are the thing that keep us going—looking ahead, thinking to a possible, better future—when things are really tough.

Whether we're suffering through illness or hard times or any other trial, the capacity to dream can give us strength and the ability to keep on fighting. I don’t want to think where I would be now without dreams that I’ve had in the past which have luckily come true (including the publication of this novel!) and I don’t want to think what shape I’d be in tomorrow if I gave up on as yet unrealized dreams I still hold dear to my heart.

Even if you have to fight for your dreams— and if you’re writer that often means struggling to find time to write between family obligations and day jobs and all of that— I encourage you wholeheartedly to hang on to that dream. Keep it alive even if you only write a few words a day.

If your dream is to one day walk in a charity marathon, get your doctor’s okay and then walk around the block. Then walk two blocks. Keep adding on.

If you’ve always wanted to learn to cook a gourmet meal, find a good cookbook, gather the ingredients, and give it a try.

Always appreciate those who support your dreams, for it is having friends and family there when a dream comes true that makes it really worth celebrating!

Finally, if your dream is just to live a calm, simple and happy life, then I urge you most of all to keep fighting for that goal. Happiness is the ultimate dream come true, and it means something different to every single being on the planet. Dream of what will make you happy, take any steps small or large you can every day in the direction of that happiness, and hold on to those dreams no matter how it seems they might never come true.

Dreams embody hope itself, and hope is the key to continuing on in the journey to create your happiest life.

Thank you to my dear friend, Michelle, for hosting me today. I leave you now with an excerpt from OF STARDUST…and the hope that you will keep your dreams alive!

~bru

~*~ ~*~ ~*~

Till stood alone in the middle of the library. It hadn’t taken long for her to thank those who had assembled around her for their support. She told them as well that she needed a little time on her own to try to make sense of everything.

So they left her in peace, with the promise that all she had to do was to wish one of them present, no matter the hour, and they would appear to give her a helping hand.

She made herself some tea — the old-fashioned way — and ate the last of the now-stale cookies her mother had sent with her days before... days that seemed a lifetime away from the life she knew now.

A Fairy Godmother.

She still tried to fathom that this could possibly be true, despite the evidence she’d seen the past several days that defied any other explanation.

She sat on the floor, crossed her legs, and held the special book she’d been given. Now, in the daylight, she could truly scrutinize the cover. It was black leather, with symbols of the moon and stars emblazoned upon it. She used her ring to unlock it again. To her surprise, where the first page had been blank before, it now contained script of some kind that she could not decipher. It had a symbol drawn around it and reminded her of an ancient coat of arms. I wonder what this means...

“Says Dreams Are Sacred,” Gus’s gentle voice answered, as his head poked in the doorway. “It’s our motto, ye might say. The Fairy Godparents’ creed.”

“Ah.” Till wondered how he’d appeared out of nowhere. She didn’t recall wishing for him to do so.

“I thought ye might be hungry, so I brought some breakfast.”

“Conjured up out of nothing?” she asked.

“No. This time I used the drive-thru.”

-----

February Grace is a writer, artist, poet, and dreamer from Southeastern Michigan. She loves music and is also obsessed with clocks, colors, and meteor showers. OF STARDUST is her second novel.

Find her on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/FebruaryGrace

And Twitter @FebruaryGrace

And elsewhere online at www.februarywriter.blogspot.com

IWSG - more lessons from my cat

sorry, i don't have an updated picture of Pepper, but he's 11 weeks old. and yes, i said he. 3 weeks into owning a cat we thought was a girl and we found out from the vet he's a boy. in our defense, he's a long hair and we got him at 6 weeks, so it was a little hard to tell. you can imagine the mind-adjusting we went through when we found out. it took almost a week. *for the weird story of his name-adjusting, read the bottom of this post.

so that's one thing i learned from my cat - life is full of surprises. something i already knew, but this was a purrfect reminder. it was also good for my novel because i have to reveal a truth to my characters that they won't expect--in fact, that will shake up their world. so now i can go back to the cat surprise for the emotions they'll experience.

-- persistence - Pepper doesn't give up on anything, especially when you wish he would. like trying to get to my morning glass of milk while i use the internet. or jumping onto the table when he knows he's not supposed to.

-- enjoying life - Pepper loves everything - exploring, climbing, chasing, playing, ambushing us from around a corner, or wrestling with his moose pillow. he puts everything he is into whatever he's doing.

-- resting - he doesn't nap as often as he used to, but this cat has no problem with sleep. i envy his ability to just nod off whenever he wants. (and quite often those naps take place on the moose pillow.)

how this relates to my writing?

-- i'm letting my story go in unexpected directions.

-- i'm trying to be persistent, but not in a way that's frantic.

-- i'm letting myself enjoy the process of writing, trying to let go of outcomes and just write. (at the advice of a good friend, my son and i decided to just write a sentence, and we ended up with half a scene. and we had a great time in the process because we weren't pushing so hard.)

-- when a scene won't come, or i'm just tired of the story, or just tired in general, i'm trying to rest instead of worrying.

as a follow-up to last months IWSG, i let myself stop for a while, figured out a story problem, and now i'm back to writing. it's hard to let go of outcomes and deadlines, but my mind is happier now, and it's easier to write.

to read what other insecure writers are saying today, go to Alex's new website.

*the kids didn't think Pepper was a good boy name. i disagreed. Pepper is gender neutral. a debate ensued. one suggestion was Jack Sparrow. (he does share some of Cap'n Sparrow's finer qualities) i made an executive parental decision. his name is now officially Cap'n Pepper Jack Sparrow. i call him Pepper. they call him Jack. most of the time, we just call him "Cat."

IWSG - i wish i were my cat

let me introduce to you my new kitten. we named him Pepper, not just because he's black, but because he's, well, peppery. as in sometimes sweet, sometimes feisty. as in confident and bold.

from the moment we brought him home, at the age of 6 weeks, he hasn't been afraid of anything. or to be more accurate, if he is afraid of something, it's only for a day at the most, and a few minutes at the least. if he suddenly runs away because something startles him, he comes right back.

i think that's because he's secure.

the woman who gave him to us had already taught him how to be around people and dogs. she'd handled Pepper from the time he was born. she brought Pepper's litter outside when they were strong enough and let them explore. when we went to pick kittens, none of them were shy or afraid.

if only i were as confident and secure as my kitten, even if just in my writing.

since confession is good for the soul, and maybe you can relate to one or two of these, i'll share some of my on-going writing insecurities, as related to the novel that just keeps going and going without ending.

-- 4 years. that's how long Black Heart has been in progress. of course there were a few moves in there, a lost dog, some health issues. but really, how long are the readers of the first one going to wait before they start protesting? even i'm starting to wonder if i'll ever finish.

-- after four years, and several drafts, and a few things i've written in between, my writing has changed. a lot. i mean, significantly. i don't sound like the same person anymore. that's good from a writing point of view, but how will my readers react? they liked the first one the way it was, over-used metaphors and all. what will they think when they read this one?

-- i just read a novel by one of my favorite authors. she puts in just enough description, is sparse with the metaphors, writes compelling characters, and makes me not want to put the book down. or ever write again. come to think of it, every time i read a book by a favorite author, i feel the same way. who am i to think i could ever write like that? (and then i tell myself - i'm not supposed to write like this author. i write like me. sometimes saying that out loud actually helps.)

-- how can i keep writing when i'm tired of my characters? when they feel flat? when i'm not inspired? when these fears invade my head?

of course, i might persuade Pepper to finish for me. when he walks across the keyboard, she could make up some great fantasy names: hdsfa    flhlhkf    tshdkl   mvcnm   vasbd    ukoupio

or i could ignore my insecurities and just write.

to read about other writers' insecurities, visit the Insecure Writers' Support Group list. 

and then go write. i'm going to go play with my kitten.

Insecure Writers' Support Group - let's encourage each other

 

 

once again, it’s time for the Insecure Writers’ Support Group, hosted by the awesome Alex J. Cavanaugh. this month, i’ve asked other writers to encourage you.

the response was much larger than i’d expected and i want to say a huge thank you to everyone who contributed. i had hoped to include a little blurb about each contributor, but due to the length of this post, i’ve only linked to their blog or website. even then, this is still pretty long.

Heather M. Gardner:

Best writing advice I’ve ever received, from numerous sources, WRITE.

Donna Hole:

This is not the typical quote, but it is what I try to do in my women’s fiction and contemporary writing. Well, works for fantasy too in creating believable characters: Don’t let the daily grind go to waste. Find the germs for stories in the mundane, but mix in something extra, that what-if factor....You’re limited only by your personal creativity and your ability to connect disparate events and characters to create grist for a story. (Writing For The Soul, Jerry B. Jenkins, page 81)

Annalisa Crawford:

The most important thing I’ve learnt is not to give up, that what one editor/agent dislikes, another will love, and that it’s not personal!

Angela Ackerman:

I think the most encouraging thing I’ve learned from writing is this: we are not alone. The writing path is filled with many wonderful people who have the same goals, and we can support, encourage, teach and cheer one another on during the journey. Writers embody the word “giving” and this is a wonderful community to belong too. Help is everywhere, in all forms, and all we have to do is reach out to get it.

Alex J. Cavanaugh:

A lot of this business is about timing, so don’t get discouraged if your time hasn’t come yet.

Toi Thomas:

After being creativity (sic), and professional, and diligent as a writer, the next step for me is to be a little selfless. I’ve learned to reach out and help other authors in anyway I can. I promote books and authors because I think authors should be just as important to the world of entertainment as music groups or movie stars.

Yolanda Renee:

My one suggestion for a struggling writer would be to follow Al Diaz, the Father Dragon. His posts are full of inspiration and advice for the soul.

Robin Lee Hatcher:

One of the most encouraging things I’ve learned over the years is that I cannot trust my “feelings” when it comes to my writing. Whether I feel it is great or horrible, my feelings are untrustworthy. Much of writing, at least for me, happens in the subconscious, both story and craft. Even when I am feeling like a wretched writer, what shows up on the page is not necessarily wretched. So I press on and don’t allow “feelings” to derail me.

Susan Roebuck:

1. Think of your logline: Who is your character? What are they feeling? What do they learn? 2. Attract the reader: Show the world an intriguing setting. Foreshadow and event. Get the reader in the right mood by setting the tone.

Margo Berendsen:

My only “real” writing encouragement came from my high school English teachers, who loved my essays and creative writing. That was a long, long, long time ago and encouragement (from the outside) has been slim pickings since then. Critique partners are great at pointing out sentences they like, maybe a character they “identify with” or a piece that “has potential”, but encouragement comes mostly in the form of “we know what you're going through, we're going through it too.”

I have found my greatest encouragement has come from the words themselves, especially the ones that pour out of me at times with a will of their own, and from the characters that keep stirring in my head, begging for their story to be told. I imagine them up there, hoping for life, wincing when I “don't quite get them yet”, touching down on the page but only half-formed, still a little shy, sending me hints about their passions and fears but only opening up gradually as we get to know each other better.

Each little insight is an encouragement, and even the setbacks (when a critique partners says “your character is too whiny!”) have been encouragements on the way, because they usually point me closer to the heart of the character. They challenge me to think deeper, to search harder, so that I'm able to find and release more of the real character and less of my own self transposed on them.

Karen Witemeyer:

My favorite encouraging verse that keeps me going when the writing gets hard - Philippians 1:6 “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

Mary Connealy:

I wrote for ten years before I got my first book published. On that fateful day when I received my first contract, I had 20 finished books on my computer. Now, if you do that, if you write all those years and finally sell a book, they say, “She never gave up on herself! She’s living the Great American Dream! She worked hard and persevered and finally she triumphed over the odds.”

If you do that, write for all those years, and NEVER get a book published, they say you have Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and they try to get you on some medication and maybe in a ‘special facility’ under 24 hour observation (and they might take away your belt and shoe laces!). So I got a book published (and since then 26 other books!) and here I am, walking around free. Stick with it (and watch out for white coated men with a net).

Lisa J. Yarde:

Some of my favorite quotes can be found here: Timothy McSweeney's. 1) “Writing is a muscle. Smaller than a hamstring and slightly bigger than a bicep, and it needs to be exercised to get stronger. Think of your words as reps, your paragraphs as sets, your pages as daily workouts…”

2) “It’s no secret that great writers are great readers, and that if you can’t read, your writing will often suffer. Similarly, if you can read but have to move your lips to get through the longer words, you’ll still be a pretty bad writer. Also, if you pronounce ‘espresso’ like ‘expresso.’”

Mark Koopmans:

“It’s none of their business that you have to learn to write. Let them think you were born that way.” - Ernest Hemingway

Kaki Warner:

If you believe in your story, and you love your characters—warts and all—and their story seems worth telling, then do it. It might take you 25 years to get it down right, but if you give up, you and they are left forever in the shadows of your imagination. I thought Brady and Jessica (from Pieces of Sky) deserved their time in the sun. And after a quarter of a century, they got it. Don't give up. Ever.

Michelle here...

wow! thank you again to everyone who sent me something.

reading these has reminded me that no matter how long we’ve been writing, or where we are in our writing journey, or how many books we’ve published or not published, or how well-known or obscure we are, we all have this insane thing called writing in common. we all live with characters in our heads. we all have the insatiable, sometimes overwhelming, need to get those characters and their stories onto paper or computer screens so they don’t drive us to the brink of insanity.

and even when we want to give up writing because it’s become this wild beast we can’t tame, we still go back to it. no matter how much we try to deny it or run from it, we are still writers.

IWSG - the impact of story

i wrote this a few days ago, but thought it would also be appropriate for Insecure Writers Support Group Wednesday. follow the link to my post on the impact of story.

for other IWSG posts, follow the link to Alex's blog.

i'm taking a break this week and won't get to all the great posts today. happy Fourth of July.