Wednesday, February 1, 2017

IWSG: February and So Much News

Welcome all to February's version of IWSG. There is so much to share. Started by Alex J. Cavanaugh, this group supports other writers by giving advice, empathy, and sharing victories and rejections. Everyone helps everyone. Wouldn't it be great if the real world worked as well as this group? I think we need Alex to run for President in 2020.

Check this out! IWSG is now offering merchandise sharing the cool graphics with the world and on your desk. You might already have a tee shirt like I do, but there's more. Go to the Merchandise Page and check it out.

The winners of last fall anthology have started a group blog to tell the world about their upcoming book. Visit Hero Lost: Mysteries of Death and Life.

You may notice some new administrators helping to run our wonderful group, but they're probably not strangers. Welcome C. Lee McKenzie and Heather M. Gardner.

If you haven't joined IWSG on Twitter, please do. Each day we share a lot of links to great writing articles covering all genres and the business of writing.

And please welcome some new members of IWSG by visiting them on their first posting day.


And today's question if you chose to answer it: How has being a writer changed your experience as a reader?

It has changed it in many ways. First, those spelling and grammatical errors jump out at me. Mistakes in POV bother the heck out of me. Use of adverbs by 'big time' authors irritates me. How come they're allowed to do that and I'm not? Being a writer makes me very critical of other works. And I'm quicker to give up on a book than I used to be. There are so many good books out there, I don't waste time on mediocre ones.

And one last thing to check out. There's some info coming out on the 2017 A to Z Blogging Challenge. Still unsure if you're going to participate? See what's up.

Thanks for sticking with me through all these links. Hope you find something interesting to read. Are you reading for IWSG merch? Are you a critical reader? Alex for president?


38 comments:

nashvillecats2 said...

I will certsainly go to the merchadise site, love to collect merchadise in sites I follow whole heardedly.
Great post Susan and thanks for the hard work you put in.

Yvonne.

L. Diane Wolfe said...

Headhopping - I should've mentioned that. I used to be really bad at it and now I notice it in books.

Alex for president!

Pat Hatt said...

IWSG is sure expanding away, a win indeed. I notice way more too as a reading comes due.

Pat Garcia said...

I love the progress I see taking place in the IWSG and I am looking forward to this year's A to Z Blog Challenge.
All the best.
Shalom aleichem,
Pat

betty said...

I know what you mean; I don't waste time on mediocre books these days. If they don't catch my attention immediately, time to move on.

betty

Madeline Mora-Summonte said...

"Head-hopping" drives me crazy! I've stopped reading books because of that.

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Susan - it's great new members of the IWSG and new administrators who I know ... good luck to one and all during 2017 ... cheers Hilary

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

I'd be the first Ninja President.
Bummer how those big name authors get away with things we can't. Maybe that would be my first law as President.

J.L. Campbell said...

Writing has definitely made a difference in my reading. Totally understand how easy it is to give up on a badly written book.

Crystal Collier said...

I do still read mediocre books, because I need to be reminded about rising above. Plus, you never know when a book is just mediocre to you, but the best thing on the planet to someone else.

M.J. Fifield said...

I can be very critical of things like that in the books I read, too—especially the head-hopping! Also, I'm always fascinated where other authors (or their editors) put commas. It always varies from book to book.

Laura Clipson said...

I'm much quicker to give up on a book now; if I'm not enjoying it due to substandard writing/plot, I don't finish it.

Ronel Janse van Vuuren said...

I think the thing that totally drives me nuts is when the author jumps from one POV to the next - in one paragraph! Yeah, next book? Thanks for the links, found a couple of interesting blogs :-)

Raquel Byrnes said...

Quicker to give up on books...oh yes, that is something that happens for me too now. But I also try to figure out why I'm bored and try to make sure I don't make the same mistakes.
Danger, Love, and Mystery

Loni Townsend said...

I hadn't thought of POV errors, but yeah, I totally notice them now!

Joylene Nowell Butler said...

Sappy dialogue makes me cringe. So much so that I am on the alert for that in my own writing.

J E Oneil said...

It's definitely harder to get lost in a story to the point where you don't notice all the little mistakes. You'd think I'd be able to find more of the ones in my own work!

messymimi said...

If the story is great, i can read over some mistakes without much notice. Like you, though, if it's not a fabulous book, errors are going to grate on my nerves.

Chrys Fey said...

Mistakes with POV. YES! Head-hopping especially bothers me. Although, there is a best-seller who does head-hopping and I do like her books.

Chemist Ken said...

My tolerance for mediocre books has definitely diminished now that I'm a writer. I have so many books on my Kindle I don't feel bad about deleting a few of them.

Nicki Elson said...

So many books, so little time. There's a ton of weak writing in best-selling books, leading me to believe that most readers don't care nearly as much about the rules as we writers do.

Jemi Fraser said...

I'm with you on not wasting time on books I don't enjoy! I need to enjoy that reading time!!

Anonymous said...

I'm the opposite of a critical reader, but that's okay. I've accepted the fact I can't read and analyze the writing to help improve my own.

Olga Godim said...

Yes, yes. yes! Alex for president!

Denise Covey said...

Welcome to the new comrades on the IWSG. Awesome. Critical reading can definitely dampen our reading enjoyment but we're helpless when we're writers.

Heather M. Gardner said...

So many of us are saying the same thing. So many books need to be read there isn't time to read bad ones. :)

Thank you for the mention. This is a great team and I'm so glad to be a part of it all.

Heather

Fundy Blue said...

Hi, Susan! It's really nice to see a number of IWSG members welcoming new members. I make a point of visiting the names at the end of the member's list, because everyone was so welcoming to me when I joined the IWSG. Tonight I've read on several posts that adverbs have fallen into disfavor. I know that adverbs should be used sparingly, but I didn't they were disliked so much! Wishing you a month of happy reading and writing!

dolorah said...

The IWSG site is sure expanding. Cool the anthology authors are taking a self-promo leap.

I'm so much more critical a reader now than I was as just a reader. Sometimes, I miss those days.

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

It's great to see so much happening for the IWSG!!!

Shannon Lawrence said...

I used to finish every single book I started. I've since gotten somewhat better about putting it down if it's bad, but I'll still stick it out longer than I should. Baby steps.

Misha Gerrick said...

I've also noticed how the big time authors seem to get away with all kinds of weak writing that we've been assured is a huge no-no when you're hunting agents.

So apparently, good writing only matters if one isn't punished?

Meh. At any rate, I find it almost impossible to ignore mistakes, and since I've started freelancing my proofreading services, even commas not being where I'd put them are getting on my nerves.

Sigh.

Nick Wilford said...

Yeah, I bail out of books I'm not enjoying now too. There's too many out there! But I still might learn something from them.

Arlee Bird said...

If I'm noticing writing errors then that must mean I've been reading. Gosh, even a mediocre author might beat nothing at all. ON the other hand, I've been watching more movies in recent months.

Thanks for the A to Z shout out.

Arlee Bird
Tossing It Out

Shanaya Tales said...

While the typos and errors in POV annoy me, I am not overly fussy about adverbs. I can see how overusing them can get annoying, but then too much of anything is bad, so not sure why the fuss. And yes, big time writers use them all the time.

Juneta key said...

If I can get into the characters or they have a really great plot/premise that does not completely fall apart. I will probably push through and finish reading, but if those two things are crap or non-existent I probably won't finish it.

Happy IWSG Belated Day!
Juneta @ Writer's Gambit



Jenny Baranick said...

I know that Stephen King hates adverbs, and I can see how it would get irritating if a writer totally relied on them, but I think using them in moderation is fine.

The Happy Whisk said...

It is interesting how once we start to understand writing, how much it changes reading.

Unknown said...

as a writer I've become a bit pickier of my reading. I will say my favorites from years ago are still talented and I enjoy their stuff immensely.