Wednesday, June 7, 2017

IWSG: I Love June

Welcome to the June edition of the Insecure Writer's Support Group monthly blog hop. This supportive group was the brainchild of Alex J. Cavanaugh. There is so much going on with this terrific group. Make sure you visit IWSG Home and see what project is coming next for members. It's exciting. It's great to see Pat Hatt and Nick Wilford moving into the administration part of the group.

The question for this month: Did you ever say "I quit?" If so, what happened to draw you back to writing?

I doubt many writers can honestly say they never thought about quitting. A little over a month ago, I considered it. And right after I signed a new contract for a book. Lots of things going on in my personal life. Things I had no control over. All the other responsibilities I had taken on nagged at me and drained my energy. So I trimmed my work load, set some priorities and kept with my writing. No magical epiphany. Sometimes writing is just forcing yourself to sit down at the keyboard and keep going.

So still here, working on some edits for that book I received the contract for. Admiring a little cover art for the first book in a dystopian romance series, Hunter's Exiled Lady. More about it later.

In other book news, in case you haven't already heard. Alex J. Cavanaugh's CassaStar is now available in audio book. Check it out on Amazon.

I hope you're still thinking about the #IWSGPit coming up in July. Today, if you write romance, you can practice by visiting #CarinaPitch.  Tomorrow, you can jump into Pitmad. Good luck. You have nothing to lose by jumping in.

I don't usually enjoy medical shows, but I'm looking for to The Night Shift coming back on for the summer season. Of course, Game of Thrones will be back in July. The new season of Sherlock is on Netflix already. It's really good if you haven't watched it yet.

A little science that sounds like fiction but isn't. If you haven't heard about the wasp that turns cockroaches into zombies, you can get all the facts here.

So what do you think about IWSG newest endeavor? Ready to do some Twitter pitches? Ever say 'I quit?'




36 comments:

nashvillecats2 said...

A wonderful post, I glad you didn't quit, but problems have a habit of rearing their ugly head at the wrong moment.

Yvonne.

L. Diane Wolfe said...

Quitting right after you've signed a contract would be a sure way to send your publisher into a panic. LOL I'm sorry life overwhelmed you but happy you didn't quit.

Nicola said...

Life can be tough at times. Glad you are still writing. Have a lovely week.

Madeline Mora-Summonte said...

My husband and I are re-watching GoT from the beginning - just finished Season 1. Still love it! :)

Aren't cockroaches bad enough without becoming zombies?! Sheesh.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Thanks for mentioning my book - a giveaway for the second one starts tomorrow.
You went through a lot and had to make some decisions. Good thing one wasn't to quit though. Congratulations on the beginning of another series!

Pat Garcia said...

Sometimes snags appear and they appear suddenly. One of the things that keeps me going in those rough times is my writing.
Thanks for mentioning the pitches. My edits are not yet finished but if they were I would definitely be participating inn the Carina Press and our IWSGPit.
Good luck with your edits.
Shalom aleichem,
Patricia
Everything Must Change

Crystal Collier said...

If you don't put your foot down, you forever run around like a headless chicken. Way to go, getting your priorities in order. I think that's one of the most challenging things in this life.

Michelle Wallace said...

I think you have to be writing for decades to get to the "I quit" moment.
I haven't ever considered quitting, but that could be because I haven't been writing long enough...
I wonder.
Good luck with all your plans/goals. Seems like you have everything under control.

Pat Hatt said...

A great cover indeed. Sometimes life can sure be a pain in the butt as we try to take on more and more. Have to scale back and do what is best. Good you are still writing away there at your bay.

Tyrean Martinson said...

I would love to enter the twitpit contest, but I don't know if I'll have a novel ready to sell ... I'll know for sure at the beginning of July.
I hope that writing and life goes more awesome in June!

Anonymous said...

Sometimes that's what you have to do. Cut down what you want to get done and do what needs to be done. Those moments for me are usually writing breaks, and not me quitting.

M.J. Fifield said...

In my experience, a magical epiphany is hard to come by. When things get hard, it's just an unwillingness to stop writing that will get me back to it.

Can't wait for GoT to return! It's been so long!

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Susan - I don't think the brain allows writers to quit - or if it does ... it's a hidden nag! So well done on letting life roll along, do what you can do, cut back where possible - things will slot into place. The book looks interesting ... cheers for now - Hilary

Chrys Fey said...

The Night Shift is a good show. :)

J.H. Moncrieff said...

I think it's awesome how the IWSG has been adding all these avenues to support and boost its members. It keeps getting better and better!

I'm glad you didn't quit. Sometimes we all need a break.

messymimi said...

Most of my quitting has been metaphorical, as i'm not allowed to really quit. There are days when i want to, very badly.

J E Oneil said...

Can't wait to hear more about the new book. Also I always knew wasps were evil.

Jessica Therrien said...

I've had that happen...book contracts sometimes take the joy out of the art. I think it's having a looming deadline. I completely agree, though. Butt. In. Chair.

www.jessicatherrien.com

Nick Wilford said...

It can be tough when other responsibilities make demands on our time. But then it becomes more important to use our time wisely. Good luck with your writing going forward.

Natalie Aguirre said...

I can totally relate to responsibilities creeping in. That's exciting that you signed a new contract.

Denise Covey said...

It's good to cut back when you have to. Life seems to be a completely prioritizing event to me. And those priorities change all the time depending on what life throws at us.

betty said...

Sorry some things have been overwhelming, hard to deal with them and still carry on, but sounds like you did just that by trying to write as you could. Hope things get better soon!

betty

Juneta key said...

Hope life is treating you better now.
Juneta @ Writer's Gambit

Blogoratti said...

Life is life in the end. Hang in there and greetings!

Loni Townsend said...

Sometimes, sheer determination is all we need. Best of lucks with your edits!

Michael Di Gesu said...

Hi, Susan,

Congrats on the new contract.... It must be great to know that your writing is giving so much enjoyment to your readers.....

I may give the Twitter pitch a go. Sadly, the KNIGHT AGENCY Agent passed on my MS. I really thought this was going to happen. SO I'm bummed, but glad that I tried and at least got the attention of an agent. Maybe next time I'll make a connection. We'll see....

A. B. Keuser said...

Good luck with your edits, heaven knows they can feel like tearing yourself apart.

Sandra Cox said...

Congrats on the contract!!!!!!
Writing has so many highs and lows. Its not an even keeled occupation, for sure.

Diane Burton said...

Congratulations on the new contract. Whoo-hoo! Enjoy the journey, frustrating as it is.

Yolanda Renée said...

Ditto that, congratulations on the contract, nothing inspires more than that! Wishing you all the best!

Olga Godim said...

Congratulations on the contract and good luck with it.

Jemi Fraser said...

The new anthology sounds awesome!
Life can certainly be crazy, can't it!!!

cleemckenzie said...

I always admire people who can prioritize and cut back when necessary. Those are not my skills, and as my family is quick to point out, they'd prefer me another way.

A new contract is always good news, so congratulation on achieving that.

Nicki Elson said...

Sounds like that contract had exceeeellent timiing. Real life does seem to interfere with our fictional lives, but then we get that nudge of encouragement just when we need it - that's how we know we're meant to continue.

That wasp story is AMAZING! Thanks for sharing.

Tamara Narayan said...

Sometimes fear is the best motivator for me as in: will I make the deadline or not?

I'm looking forward to the next set of Gray's Anatomy on Netflix later this month.

Anonymous said...

Good luck with your edits, heaven knows they can feel like tearing yourself apart.


เย็ดสาว