IWSG: September 2019

It's the month when fall will sneak up on us and it's the first Wednesday so it's time for Insecure Writer's Support Group. Thanks to Alex J. Cavanaugh and his awesome comrades in arms, this group blogs once a month and shares wisdom and support. Find the entire group participating in this blog hop on this list.

This month's optional question:
If you could pick one place in the world to sit and right your next story, where would it be and why?

That is a tough question. First of all, I have an awesome office at home and I have it all to myself on evenings and weekends. It's pretty much perfect and I shouldn't be greedy and wish for something better. That being said, I would love to spend a week at a dude ranch in Montana where I could horseback ride in the morning and evening, walk for miles and enjoy the big sky and write in between being outdoors.

My daughter moved to Boston this past weekend to begin her PhD program. I'm not a city person but I appreciate the history of Boston and its many lovely spots to have a seat in a coffee shop and write. Harvard Square is one of my favorite. Yes, I could spend a week writing there.

The question for me, could I stay on task in those beautiful places? I'd like to find out.

"Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing." Labor speech, 1903, Theodore Roosevelt

Work on my next book is going slow as I dealt with knee replacement and helping my daughter move. This time her move isn't simply going back to college. It's a real move that will last 5-7 years. Those are my excuses for writing only about 15K words the past two months.

I'm back to watching my granddaughter five days per week as her teacher parents go back to school. Such a little bundle of joy. She's speaking in full sentences and knows all her letters. (Her dad taught her the alphabet by watching Wheel of Fortune) She's only 2 and a half as of today. On our agenda, more library programs and swimming once per week to start. She loves learning and trying new things. Play doh last week.

When the student is ready, the teacher will appear."  Chinese proverb

I'm also back to exercising 5 or more days per week. Since I have my knee fixed, I can actually do downhills again and use the elliptical more than one day in a row. I feel younger with my bionic parts. LOL

I have a writers' meeting tonight, so I'll try to visit as many blogs as I can before and after. I seem to keep volunteering for things I don't have time for.

"Experience is what enables you to recognize a mistake when you make it again." Earl Wilson

I'm enjoying the last season of Killjoys. Only a few episodes left. I'll really miss those characters. The last season of Poldark starts later this month. I'm looking forward to the last season of Supernatural starting up in October. There's a new show this fall called Evil that looks interesting. Not sure anything else will catch my interest. Seems I'm depending more and more on Netflix and Amazon when I have the urge for a little screen time.

Do you have an ideal writing spot in all the world? Do you get yourself in trouble by too much volunteering? Do you like the coming of fall?

Stumbling Along

The Writing Life

I feel like I'm getting a lot of work done, and the weekend rolls around and I have twenty things needing my attention. And that's just for the writing part of my life. I've settled into a really good routine of writing at least a thousand words per day in WIP. Twenty-four days into the month and I'm on schedule. I never thoughts I'd be one of those word-counting people, but this is really working for

me since I started it with my last WIP. The thing is, there are lots of other things I need to do for my writing than spewing out words. Like promotion, keeping in touch with my online friends, reading blogs, learning new things, and keeping up with the work I do for my writing groups.

The Business of Writing

I want to thank my friends over at The Whole Shebang Site for having me as guest. I'm talking about all the science I researched and used in my most recent series, Survivors of the Apocalypse. The series is set 300 years in the future when a virus has nearly wiped out mankind.

Also, for my writing groups, Pennwriters. I'm helping promote our upcoming online class, Nonfiction Places and Spaces. The instructor wrote a top ten list of how this class will help fiction writers. It's a quick read.

Personal Life

My daughter is thinking about applying to a MFA low-residency program. It had a good reputation. I'm watching my granddaughter in the mornings this week while her father is coaching at a baseball camp so I'll be late visiting everyone today. Little Elliana is 15 months old now and pretty amazing. She learns a few new words every day.

I purchased an elliptical a few months ago, and I'm staying true to it. Any where from 40-60 minutes per day and it doesn't bother my knees like jogging and walking does.

Entertainment

Yippee! Salvation comes back on tonight. I'm very excited for it. My other summer fun, Killjoys isn't coming back on until late July, I believe. The only other TV I'm watching this summer is The 100 which is having it's best most twisty, horrifying season ever.

What part of the writing business takes away from your writing time? What do you think of MFA programs for writers? Do you think scientists could accidentally wipe out mankind?

IWSG: The Writing Life

Much thanks to Alex Cavanaugh for being the creative mastermind of this wonderful, very active group called the Insecure Writer's Support Group. You'll find lots of support, advice and the chance to offer support to other writers. Also, you can join the blog or facebook group belonging to the IWSG.

Most writers also hold days jobs, busy earning money to pay the bills. A few of my writer friends are stay at home moms which is a very demanding job choice. I've been fortunate to take on the title of full time writer for the last few months. It's the best job I've ever had. And like most careers, the longer I'm at it, the better I get at it. I'm not talking about my writing, though I hope it is continually improving.

One thing I've learned to do is set personal goals. I've never participated in NaNo and probably never will, but I set writing goals for each week and determine an end date for each project. Sometimes a deadline from one of my editors determines my goal. Having a very specific goal insures I'll sit down and write because that is my job.

I've learned that despite all the actual time I get for writing, I can still resent interruptions. But I've also learned to fit many other chores in while I'm writing. I can toss a load of laundry over to the dryer at the end of a page. I run the vacuum when I'm working through a scene that's giving me fits. I ponder my promotional efforts while I'm jogging. And I have all day.

When I first started writing and dreamed of doing it full time, I entertained fantasies of what that would be like. A pot of tea at my elbow, just me and the computer, perhaps in a cozy cottage in the woods with gardens of flowers lining the bricked patio. Well the pot of tea sometimes sits on my desk. But the flowers surrounding my sprawling country home need weeding. And my office sometimes looks like a bus depot there are so many people walking through. But it's still wonderful.

What expectations or dreams did you have of the writing life that have not come true or that have? Is it better than you hoped or hasn't it measured up to those early fantasies? Do you set personal goals or do you prefer something like NaNo that challenges you to  a level of achievement? Have you visited other IWSGers? Did you check out the IWSG blog?

Should You MFA or Not?

One writer's magazine that I often enjoy is Poets and Writers. Though I don't write for the literary marketplace I do read lots of it. And despite what some people in the business would have us believe, writing is writing whether it's for a literary audience or the genre lovers. This past issue P&W had their annual feature on MFA programs.

I'm way beyond the point of wanting to pursue another master's degree but I often wish I had considered it when I started my writing career. In truth, I didn't even know such programs in creative writing existed. When I did learn of these programs, I should have investigated further. I might have found one that fit my financial and time restraints.

In today's world of the MFA offerings around the USA, many colleges are competing for those writers hungry for that degree. What do they hope to get with that degree?

I think firstly they want professional advice, assessment and the sharing of expertise and knowledge their instructors will bring into the classroom. But how expert are their teachers? Are they multi-published authors? Are they experienced teachers? Teaching is about more than knowledge. One has to be able to convey what you know in a manner that students can learn what they need. Have previous graduates of the MFA program found success. If a MFA candidate has already ventured into publishing, will the program raise their writing to a higher level?

One of the other expectations of enrolling might be making contacts and becoming part of a larger writing community. There are other less ambiguous measures when selecting a program? Is it a residency program which would mean leaving a job, a family and certainly increase cost? Is it low residency or non-residency meaning you'll save money and perhaps keep the day job but lose the face to face contact with your instructors? And will any debt you incur be worth the possible advancement to your writing career?

I do have regrets I never took the MFA path but I know I couldn't afford the financial or personal tradeoffs I would have had to make when I started writing. Do you think MFA programs are worth the costs and time? Have you heard good or not so good things? Are all such programs equal? Do you ever read Poets and Writers?

Always a Writer

I had my first romance novel published by New Concepts Publishing almost six years ago. I had two children in middle school and two in high school. I was coaching field hockey and all my children were playing sports year round. Did I mention I was teaching full time also? I still don’t know where I found the time to write and edit that first book.

 Since that first book, I’ve had six more romances published and three epic fantasy novels. In the course of the next few months, I will have two more fantasy novels published and a new romance novel. My youngest two children are now in college and my responsibilities at home are much, much less than they were during the hectic times that first book came out.

 If someone had asked me six years ago what my career was I would have said I was a high school teacher. I’ll be retiring in June. Will I then answer that question as ‘a retired school teacher?’ Almost every writer I know also works at a ‘day’ job. Is that their career? Many of us love our day job, but is it our career? Teaching is one of my careers, but not the first one in my heart.

 Too many writers, me included, think of that day job as our career instead of calling ourselves writers. We’re writers all the time. How do you know you’re a writer?

 *You find those strange quirks in your relatives are perfect personality traits for one of the characters in your novel.

 *You watch the news and wonder how you can fit the depravities of your fellow man into the current antagonist you’re creating.

 *At a friend’s party you’re introduced to a new, lovely Chablis and figure out a way to work it into an intimate scene between your hero and heroine.

 *You’re flipping through a magazine in the dentist’s waiting room and come across a hot guy in a cologne advertisement. Looking around to make sure no one is watching, you stealthily tear out the page and put it in your pocket. You tack it up near your desk so you can refer to it as you create the hero of your next book.

 *Some posts a picture of a classic 1890’s wedding dress. You save the picture so you can describe the dress as the one your heroine wears on her wedding day.

 *You watch hours of the History channel as they describe medieval warfare or ancient superstitions. Oh, and those angels and demons segments or how about the specials on making bread in a stone oven or ancient cooking techniques over an open fire?

 *The patch of woods behind your house take on a sinister air. And is that large hawk actually a real raptor or something else? Is it watching your family?

 Writers see possible plot twists, interesting characters, and descriptive scenery everywhere. Being a writer isn’t a hobby one works on like a weekend warrior. The job is everyone and all the time. Ideas, plans and even the word we want to use in a scene, come to us at all times. In the middle of dinner, while watching a TV show, while negotiating traffic and often during those hours on the day job.

 My challenge to you and myself is to announce bravely to the world that we are writers. We’re writers all the time not only when we sit down at the keyboard. Even when I’m teaching those rowdy teenagers, I’m a writer. When I’m throwing together dinner for my husband and me, I’m a writer. Writing is a job that never takes a rest. Even we when say we’re taking a break, our typing muscles are the only thing resting. The next time someone asks what you do, tell them you’re a writer who also works at another job.

Can you add to the list of how you know you’re a writer? Do your fellow workers at the day job know you’re a writer? Even tear one of those ads out of a magazine?