Tag: IWSG

IWSG and the Forefront of Inconvenience

3 Comments

Remember last week when everything was breaking? Everything wasn’t done.

My car door-handle broke off.

I was leaving work, and using my obvious She-Hulk strength, I opened the door and the thing came off in my hand. Literally snapped right off. For a second I stood there, holding it. Staring at it in disbelief. Yes, I know I drive a piece of crap circa 2005, and yes, I’m surprised she hasn’t joined the other flying cars in the sky. But really? The door-handle? The driver’s seat door-handle? You know what this means. This means that every time I have to get into my car, I either have to climb in through the back seat or from the passenger side. Every time until it’s fixed, and it usually takes me a hot minute to fix things that aren’t at the forefront of importance.

This is at the forefront of inconvenience, which is different, and which I usually slack on. If I’m inconvenienced for a few seconds, I’ll glower and whine and as soon as it’s right as rain (aka I’m back in the driver’s seat and ready for take-off) I’ll forget about it until the next time I’m glowering and whining. Plus, I have about a *thousand* other essential things I enjoy more that I should be doing, like writing this post about not fixing my broken car door-handle. I’m sure I’ll get around to it soonish—or until it slips from inconvenience to importance, because of, you know, like, safety issues. Have to make a quick get away if the zombies are on me, and they won’t stop so I can let myself in through the passenger seat. Zombies (rapists, murders, aliens) aren’t polite like that.

Also, I think the air-conditioning is going. Maybe I should just get a new car and be done with it. Or find a unicorn and commute the old way. That would work too.

Okay, that’s enough of real-life nonsense. Onto the IWSG option question:

Has your writing ever taken you by surprise? For example, a positive and belated response to a submission you’d forgotten about, or an ending you never saw coming?

HA. I’d love that positive and belated response to a submission. When’s that coming? I should probably enter more things though…might up my odds a bit.

Let’s see…I think I’m really only surprised in my writing by my characters. I’m a panster, so I have no idea what’s coming most of the time, and when one of my characters is like, “aha! You thought it was this way, but it’s not! MUAHAHAHA!” My jaw drops and I’m like, “touché, character!”

Honestly, that’s what I love about being a panster. I tried the whole outlining thing and it DID. NOT. WORK. But giving my characters the reins and following their lead, I’m constantly surprised by where their stories take me, because, it’s never what I plan nor expect. So you (the reader) and me (the writer) are both surprised. (Ultimate Win-Win.) 😊

Insecure Writer’s Support Group (IWSG) is a monthly blog hop for writers at all levels to share their fears and insecurities in a safe and encouraging place. Please drop by and say hi to Alex Cavanaugh who started this nifty concept in bringing us all together.

P.S. In case you don’t believe me about the door-handle:

Taste Testing and Character Traits IWSG

7 Comments

Batman and I went to our first wedding taste-testing 😊

I must say, if I’m ushered into a room with an open bar and a three-course meal (with passed appetizers and a display station) on a Tuesday night and NOT have to pay for any of it, I plan on getting married more often.

This freaking rocked.

I’m not sure what I expected. That’s a lie. Yes, I do: I expected to walk into a plain conference room where there would be a long table filled with couples sitting in front of a plate, waiting to try a sample of each entrée. This is not what happened. Batman and I attended a “fake reception” complete with a cocktail hour and dinner so we could access not only the food, but the wait staff, service, and overall appearance as well. So far, we liked what we saw:

Since the selfie option on my phone isn’t working (and because I can’t figure out how to fix it) I asked Batman to take a picture of us. This is what he sent me:

So, yes 😊 Wedding things are happening. And I’m super into company’s offering me free food and booze to secure potential business.

Now, onto writing things! July’s question for Insecure Writer’s Support Group:

What personal traits have you written into your characters?

Hmm. Probably more than I like to admit. I think—whether subconsciously or not—we tend to write our own traits into our characters, but for me, personally, I think I include a lot of my humor. What can I say—I like writing characters I could be friends with. I’m not sure if this counts, but I definitely write in my fears. I’m not terribly fond of spiders (if you haven’t noticed) and since I’m not keen on drowning either, I had Fallon battle this giant underwater creature—the Gorgen—which is very similar to a giant sea-spider. (Plague of Mybyncia – Book 2). Again, not sure if that counts as a trait, but I use my characters to battle my own fears. You know, writing is cathartic and stuff 😊

Insecure Writer’s Support Group (IWSG) is a monthly blog hop for writers at all levels to share their fears and insecurities in a safe and encouraging place. Please drop by and say hi to Alex Cavanaugh who started this nifty concept in bringing us all together.

IWSG, Is That a Genre?

10 Comments

I ALMOST missed this post because Batman and I were house sitting this weekend and it totally threw off my writing schedule and then the first of the month snuck up on me, so I thought seriously about skipping this until I realized what post this was so here I am 😊

*ahem*

Optional question for Insecure Writers Support Group:

Of all the genres you read and write, which is your favorite to write in, and why?

That’s a toughie. All my genres have a subcategory of romance, so I guess that’s the obvious answer. Believe me, I love love LOVE writing romance because it gives me all the feels, and it’s pretty frigging cool coming up with something you hope others will get the feels from too. So, I’ll go ahead and answer the question now: Romance.

That being said, I need to shout-out to writing military strategies. Is that a genre? Or what genre would that fall under? I honestly couldn’t tell you, but in addition to romance, I love love LOVE writing Sampson/the gang’s conversations with foreign leaders in regards to their common enemy (Arizal Wars). I never thought I’d enjoy pairing up an ex guard, a chancellor, a princess, a tribal leader, two lieutenants and a handful of helpful humans to discuss plans for domestic and foreign invasions—but I do! More than I thought I would. 😊 And what’s more, I love when they disagree on how things should be handled. I’m rooting for everyone, because everyone has a valid point, but they each want things to play out differently and the drama is AMAZING. I’m not sure why I’m so drawn to it, but there you go, my honorable mention in genre categories, and I don’t even know what it is.

Since I write fantasy and science fiction (again, with a subplot of romance) there tends to be a lot of corrupt leadership in my stories. Am I writing pieces that echo something about the nature of our county in this day and age? Not even close. I have an imagination, and I dream up all sorts of worlds. Also, if everyone agreed and everything was wonderful and happy, there wouldn’t be a story. Shit needs to go down. People need to scramble to figure out what to do. Enter: Me.

To recap:

  1. Romance, because of “all the feels”

2. Military Strategies (genre?) because I might’ve been Patton in a previous life. We’ll never know.

Insecure Writer’s Support Group (IWSG) is a monthly blog hop for writers at all levels to share their fears and insecurities in a safe and encouraging place. Please drop by and say hi to Alex Cavanaugh who started this nifty concept in bringing us all together.

It’s a Toss Up For Me IWSG

12 Comments

First and foremost: Happy birthday, Courtney! 😊

You are an AWESOME older sister, and before anything else, today is YOUR day. Happy, happy, HAPPIEST of birthdays, I love you, and I’m sorry I pushed your face into the couch all those times we fought. You did kind of ask for it though.

Second and secondmost: Batman went under the knife last Friday. Sadly no, not to something cool like ninjas or pirates or psychotic rogue Canadians. He had a little outpatient surgery to remove a benign lump that was causing some breathing troubles. Not cool when you want to like, live and breathe normally. But he’s out and about and *technically* has lost more weight for the wedding than I have. I need to step my game up.

Third and thirdmost: Happy IWSG day 😊

I’ve done a lot of writing (and have some writing updates!) but I’m not ready to get into anything yet, so we’ll focus on the optional monthly question:

Whose perspective do you like to write from best, the hero (protagonist) or the villain (antagonist)? And why?

Huh.

Actually kind of tough.

I love my protagonists because they’re funny and cool and smart, so naturally I enjoy writing them…but there is something amazing about writing terribly awful characters. 😊 I guess it’s fun because you get to peek into another kind of mindset, and whereas you strive to do good in reality (I hope?) you can be as twisted and fucked up as you want through the character. So…there is a bit an allure to it.

I don’t know. This one is a toss up for me. I’ll say both.

What about you?

Any birthdays coming up? Or surgery? Who do/would you think you’d prefer to write: hero or villain?

Insecure Writer’s Support Group (IWSG) is a monthly blog hop for writers at all levels to share their fears and insecurities in a safe and encouraging place. Please drop by and say hi to Alex Cavanaugh who started this nifty concept in bringing us all together.

I Need Some Purchased Hours IWSG

8 Comments

Besides writing, what other creative outlets do you have?

(I figured I’d jump right into the IWSG question; no introduction. I’m dangerous like that😉)

Let’s see, besides writing, I have a ton of creative outlets—I just don’t utilize most of them. There is a very dusty keyboard to my left that I wish I would play more of, but any available free time goes to this keyboard (see what I did there?) I also love to sketch sarcastic cartoon comics that I day-dream will be the next Garfield (but like, a thousand times different. And darker. Way darker.) If we could buy time, I’d never have money for anything because I’d spend it all on more hours. Forget the wedding. Batman and I will make due at the courthouse—with a kickass honeymoon, let’s not get crazy here—but everything else would go to the “purchased hours” I could actually be productive in.

Ah, society. I could serve you much better. But you keep making me pay for shit.

What about you? Do you dabble in more than one artistic field? Or when you’re fed up with your favorite medium, what do you switch to?

Insecure Writer’s Support Group (IWSG) is a monthly blog hop for writers at all levels to share their fears and insecurities in a safe and encouraging place. Please drop by and say hi to Alex Cavanaugh who started this nifty concept in bringing us all together.

IWSG #I’m Surrounded

9 Comments

There’s not a lot of blog-worthy stuff I can share here  since most of it is in-the-moment-awesomeness and…things better suited off the interwebs 😊 So with that all said, let’s jump on into the optional question:

What are FIVE objects we’d find in your writing space?

Oh, geez. Um. Let me look around…

I should probably lie and clean a lot first, but I’m going to be honest. Brutally honest. Willing to put-pictures-up-honest, all for my lovely loyal audience (both of you 🙂 ). So….here we go:

  • Water bottles. There are a lot of them. I mean a lot. Don’t believe me?

Yeah, I’m that girl from Signs. So, what? I’ll be ready when the aliens invade. I don’t know why I keep half-drunken water bottles around, but I do. And now you know. (Please still like me).

  • Writery/Inspirationy things.

When the going gets tough, I like to read not-terrible things. It helps silence that sucky feeling most artists know all too well. Plus, most of them have pretty script and cool designs 😊

  • Plain ass weird shit.

I don’t know…I liked the frog…and the hands….I don’t know. It seemed like a double high-five, and who could say no to that?

  • Apparently…stuffed animals?

So, I’m ten. Get over it.

  • Toys!

Again, I’m a woman-child. And so is Batman. I mean, I call him Batman. Need I say more?

There. Now you have it. Now you know all the weird things surrounding my desk when I’m writing those stories you (hopefully love to) read. What’d you expect? A clean desk with a cup of pretty pens and journls? Psshh. You don’t know me at all.

What about you? What’s your desk look like?

Insecure Writer’s Support Group (IWSG) is a monthly blog hop for writers at all levels to share their fears and insecurities in a safe and encouraging place. Please drop by and say hi to Alex Cavanaugh who started this nifty concept in bringing us all together.

I’m Nervous About The Whole Thing, IWSG

8 Comments

I’m kinda insecure this month.

And yeah, I’m also releasing my last book (as in a series. Not my last book ever. Let’s not get ridiculous), so that’s probably got something to do with it. But I’m not even scared of the release. I’ve announced it to practically no one and have maybe two or three people who are actually expecting/awaiting it, so it’s not like I expect any tidal wave of anything really. It’s just going to be another Friday and even more exciting—it’s the release of Crimes of Grindelwald 😊

So, I’m not nervous about chucking this story into the great internet void. I’m nervous about the whole thing. Insecure about the whole thing. I’ve been a Debbie Downer about myself lately, about my talent and progress. I told my sister (I ACTUALLY SAID THIS ALOUD) that I wasn’t certain I’d ever get anywhere with writing. It sounded horrible as I said it—especially because you can’t ever lose hope—but this very giant, logical part of my brain has been scoffing lately, saying, ‘Really, Caitlin? Still holding onto it? Still haven’t seen the signs?’ She’s a bitch, but after she makes her argument over and over, it’s hard not to take a serious listen.

I don’t know. I feel like my faith is dwindling, even though I’m doing better now than I ever have (which is saying something). Maybe it has to do with the season or full moon or because Mercury is in retrograde or whatever. Maybe it’s just a down season because everyone gets down from time to time—and doesn’t it normally circulate more around the holidays? Maybe that’s what this is. Pre-holidays blues. I hope so. I don’t want it to be the other thing. I don’t want the Grow-Up-All-Your-Dreams-Are-Dead-Sorrows. Those are a bitch.

Anyway, those are my insecurities this month! What about you?

Insecure Writer’s Support Group (IWSG) is a monthly blog hop for writers at all levels to share their fears and insecurities in a safe and encouraging place. Please drop by and say hi to Alex Cavanaugh who started this nifty concept in bringing us all together.

Oh, the Insecurities IWSG

11 Comments

Actually, I am a little insecure this month. ☹

September—while awesome—flew by and stole with it all my time to write. I’m not making excuses for myself because I did write, just not as much as I’d like. Not as much as I needed to stay on my timeline, which means I’m thrown off, people. Which means I won’t be able to do a pre-order now ☹. My own fault. All the lessons are being learned, but it does still make me feel insecure. Will I finish in time? Will I make my promised release date? Will it all come together in the end? Will I finally take up drinking fulltime?

The comforting thing is that I’m feeling good about what I’m writing. I’ll finish a scene (knowing I’ll revisit it 1-2 more times) and think, ‘can’t wait for them to read it!’ That’s one of the best things as an author. Knowing you get to share something you’re excited about with everyone, hoping they’ll enjoy it as much as you do. It’s super scary, but worth it! So, yes, I’m insecure that I fucked up with how I decided to publish this whole thing, but beyond thrilled to be able to share it .

Also: have you seen the trailer for A Star is Born? I haven’t seen the other two, but this third version looks amazing. So amazing in fact that I’ve watched the trailer twice daily for the past few days. I’m like one of those fourteen year old girls who watched Titanic ten times in the movie theaters (I WASN’T—I only saw it once) but my love for this trailer seems on par with their intense feelings of Leo’s stirring performance. I don’t know what it is—the song, the movie clips, the actors? I don’t care. It looks amazing and I can’t wait to see Bradley Cooper & Lady Gaga this weekend 😊

Now that I think about it, maybe I’m so into this trailer because I’ve been writing about a musician in love. It’s kind of giving me that extra oomph to finish Better Than You because I see a finish line every time I watch it.

Anyway, I’m going to go watch it again because we talked about this. Then, more writing. Happy IWSG day! Try to rise above your insecurities and to make all your dreams come true. And try not to fuck up your timeline like I did. 😊

Insecure Writer’s Support Group (IWSG) is a monthly blog hop for writers at all levels to share their fears and insecurities in a safe and encouraging place. Please drop by and say hi to Alex Cavanaugh who started this nifty concept in bringing us all together.

Because It’s A Possibility, IWSG

11 Comments

I saved writing this post for the night before (again) when my brain is dead, so I’m going to jump right in on the optional question:

What publishing path are you considering/did you take, and why?

Think I’ve answered this one before, but self-publishing. I’ve seen *so* many friends embark on entrepreneurial dreams and they can because it’s a possibility. That’s what self-publishing is: the possibility for authors to put our art out there. I would still love to be traditionally published, but gaining an audience is crucial, and self-publishing is slowly—but surely—helping me do that.

Okay, my brain is officially dead now.

I’m going to go fall asleep on the couch with Appa 😊

Insecure Writer’s Support Group (IWSG) is a monthly blog hop for writers at all levels to share their fears and insecurities in a safe and encouraging place. Please drop by and say hi to Alex Cavanaugh who started this nifty concept in bringing us all together.