How Do You Write Every Second You're Alive??

It's the first Wednesday of the month, which means it's the posting day for the Insecure Writer's Support Group! Click here to learn more and sign up!

This month's optional question is: If for one day you could be anyone or *thing* in the world, what would it be? Describe, tell why, and any themes, goals, or values they/it inspire in you.

Well, my immediate response to this question is that I would want to be a house cat. Just living the good life, taking lots of naps, looking cute, and getting fed. But that's not really what the question meant, is it??

I don't know if I would necessarily want to be any particular person for a day, but I would like to understand how certain people's minds work. Anyone who is able to just keep constantly writing, constantly coming up with new ideas and churning out project after project. I feel like even when I was actively writing, I was only able to focus on one idea at a time and didn't have too many other ideas on the back burner. 

I would love to absorb the drive these kinds of people have. I want to be able to just keep writing and writing and writing and then writing some more. 

Finding inspiration and drive has been really hard for me for a long time now. I know there's no secret to finding it, but it's hard to understand how other writers can keep coming up with new ideas and getting them done so quickly. I wish there was some kind of switch in my brain that I could turn on and make the writer in me go into hyperdrive. 

I guess I'll just have to keep plugging away day by day, trying to find scraps of inspiration. I have been listening to my book's playlist when I'm at the gym lately, and while it does make me think of that story, I haven't actually brought that inspiration home with me and done anything with it. But, baby steps, right? Maybe one of these days I'll pick up a pen and start brainstorming again. 

Are you always writing or coming up with new ideas? What's your secret??

A Day Late and Several Dollars Short

 **YESTERDAY was the first Wednesday of the month, which was the posting day for the Insecure Writer's Support Group! Click here to learn more and sign up!**

Well, well, well, look who forgot to post AGAIN. To be honest, the days tend to blur together sometimes and all I really know is whether I have to go to work or not. Last night it dawned on me that it was indeed IWSG day, and I was way too tired to come with a post at that point. I wasn't even going to write this post since at least I knew I posted last month and didn't skip two months in a row, but last night I actually dreamt of the title and so I decided I needed to do it. I'm also off work today so I'll have the time and mental capacity to go read everyone else's posts. 

I feel like I've said this a million times before, but there never seems to be enough hours in the day to do everything I want to do. I'm trying to lose weight so I need to time to exercise and cook healthy meals and research recipes and so on. I'm also always exhausted after work so that makes doing more physical activity difficult. 

But writing doesn't require much physical activity, right? Sure, but is my brain ready to write yet? Nope. I just have no desire to do it. I know I would be happier if I was writing, but at the same time, I'm not exactly unhappy that I'm not, if that makes sense. It might just be that it's been so long since I've written anything that I'm used to the feeling, or maybe other things in life just seem bigger and more upsetting. 

I might be moving soon which I hope will be good for my mental health and for my creativity. Hubby and I have been in the same tiny apartment for over 13 years and we've been planning for a while to move into the apartment above my mother-in-law's house which is three times the size. It'll also be a lot quieter over there, with no neighbors literally on the other side of the wall to bother us. Maybe I can set up an acutal desk to write at, instead of it basically being the nightstand on hubby's side of the bed. I'll also have room for a couch! We've never had one where we are now. It's funny how the little things like that actually seem exciting. 

I'm hoping that between the peace and quiet, as well as more space and less clutter, my mind will feel more free to want to start focusing on writing again. I've felt stagnant for quite some time and a big change like this could be good. 

We also have a couple trips planned in the next few months (are we still paying back our New Orleans trip? No comment...). Hubby and I are going back to Las Vegas at the end of March for his 40th birthday. We haven't been there since our first anniversary in 2017. The hotel and flights were pretty cheap but I'm sure we'll spend a fortune on food and activities while we're there. 

I also just bought tickets to a Broadway musical for July since my favorite actor is in it and the theater is going to be set up like a nightclub with some actual seats on the stage. Did I have the money for that? Not really. Did I have to buy them anyway? Why yes! Hubby knew this would happen if I passed this up: 

Anyhoo, I've rambled sufficiently, I think. The next few months may be busy and chaotic, but we shall see what they bring! 

It's Been Rough

It's the first Wednesday of the month, which means it's the posting day for the Insecure Writer's Support Group! Click here to learn more and sign up!

I kinda sorta forgot to post last month. I did think about it once the day before, like, "huh, I need to do that." And then I forgot. In my defense, it's been a rough couple of months. I got sick with pneumonia at the end of November and it took a long time to get over it. In fact, when I was almost completely better, just a little bit of a cough left, I got a cold. So it was almost like starting over the healing process. I'm still not 100% and just going to work takes a lot out of me. 

My father-in-law was also in and out of the hospital since October, and finally lost his battle with cancer this past Saturday. I've been trying to help out my husband and his mom and sisters as much as I can. I helped edit the obituary since it wasn't up to my writer's standards! 

Other than that, have I been writing? Of course not! Are you new here?? 

I feel like I usually have some kind of plan with the start of a new year, but I don't even have that. I do have a planner, though. So...baby steps. I really just want to start reading more and going through the different writing workbooks and guides and figuring out where to even start when it comes to writing. 

I did get an interesting fortune cookie on New Year's Eve, though: 

Food plays a huge role in my main WIP, so I would gladly welcome this. Still hasn't happened yet, but I can dream. Literally.

Finding Creativity (And New Orleans!)

It's the first Wednesday of the month, which means it's the posting day for the Insecure Writer's Support Group! Click here to learn more and sign up!

This month's optional question is: What creative activity do you engage in when you're not writing?

You say that like there is a time where I AM writing....

It's hard to say what I really like to do that's creative besides writing. I think I go through phases of trying new things but the want to do them kind of fizzles out, or comes back now and then when I feel like trying it again. I really got into puzzles a few years ago but I haven't done one in quite a while (I really think it's because my apartment is so small. I'd probably do them more often with more space). I also got into jewelry making for a bit, but didn't do much besides a few bracelets for myself and some Christmas presents for my niece. Although knowing how to make bracelets did come in handy recently...

I don't know what other creative outlets I'd like to try. Does content creation count? I would like to get more into TikTok (if it's not getting banned...should probably look into that...) and maaaaaaaaaaybe starting a YouTube channel about getting back into writing. But we'll see. 

I mentioned in last month's post that hubby and I were taking a week long trip to New Orleans to see Taylor Swift (and eat lots of food...), and we had a great time! If you follow me on Instagram you've probably seen all these photos, but I thought I'd share a summary of our trip. 

Also I can't for the life of me figure out how to make these photos go side by side without the post going nutty so it's gonna be a (literally) long post. 

Here's a few pictures from the concert (they probably look better on my phone XD). It was a blast! 

We went on a haunted tour our first night there and heard all kinds of ghost and true crime stories. We visited places like Marie Laveau's house (the "Voodoo Queen") and The Haunted Hotel. 

And of course we had lots and lots of scrumptious food. So much shrimp...And beignets! 

The night before the concert we went on a Swifties cruise on the Mississippi River. I wish I had thought to take a picture of the actual boat! It was called the Creole Queen and was a huge paddleboat. This was one of my favorite things we did...just had a good time on the water having drinks, listening to Taylor Swift songs, and trading friendship bracelets with other people. 

We also took a very long walk to Metairie Cemetery to visit Anne Rice's family tomb, which was one of the main things I wanted to visit while we were there. We wisely took an Uber back to our hotel. 

On our last day, my husband and I both got our own psychic readings. I got a tarot card reading years ago at my cousin's bachelorette party and I've always wanted to do it again. We got a combination of tarot cards and a tea reading, and it was really interesting! Some of the things they psychic said about me were definitely true so we'll see what the future holds as far as the other things she said...She also told my husband that one of his deceased relatives is yelling at him which we thought was hysterical! We were trying to figure out who it was and why. 

The place was also a crystal and jewelry shop so I bought a few crystals. I've always been curious about it and figured I have nothing to lose by trying them. Three of the crystals I bought are supposed to help with creativity and inspiration (which I desperately need) and the long clear one "cleanses and clears blockages (spiritual and physical), opens higher states of consciousness" (which I also desperately need). I had asked one of the workers a few questions and had talked about wanting the creativity ones, and when she rung me up, she said "I'm so glad you got that one!" 

So maybe I'll be back into a creative mode sooner than later. That would be lovely! Hey, this post came full circle, didn't it? 

Wanna Get Away?

It's the first Wednesday of the month, which means it's the posting day for the Insecure Writer's Support Group! Click here to learn more and sign up!

Not gonna lie, life has been pretty hectic lately. I don't think I would be able to sit down and write even if I wanted to. You know, because I TOTALLY would have done some writing if I wasn't stressed out, right?? That's definitely the only thing stopping me...

I feel like I desperately need a vacation, not just from work, but like an actual getaway. I need to go far far away and just enjoy myself for a little bit. 

Well, good news for me, I have a trip coming up at the end of the month!! Hubby and I are going to New Orleans for a whole week. I haven't been away from home for more than two nights in a long time so I'm really looking forward to it. 

The main reason we're going is to see Taylor Swift! (Don't ask me how much I paid for tickets...) It's also a city I've always wanted to visit so we're going to make the most of the week there doing things we've never done before. And probably eating and drinking quite a bit. 

I've been a big Anne Rice fan since I was a teenager so I always wanted to visit her hometown and see all the places that inspired her. I'd like to visit her grave site as well (did you know all graves in New Orleans are above ground?).  We're also going right before Halloween so I'm hoping for some extra spooky events and we'll probably take some kind of haunted tour. 

All in all, it should be a great time and I'm really looking forward to it. Do I think that visiting one of my favorite author's hometowns will somehow inspire me to get back into writing? Not really, but you never know, right? I'm just really looking forward to being many many miles away from home and just having a great time for a whole week. Maybe destressing will lead to the inspiration coming back. 

Know What You're Writing

It's the first Wednesday of the month, which means it's the posting day for the Insecure Writer's Support Group! Click here to learn more and sign up!

This month's optional question: Since it's back to school time, let's talk English class. What's a writing rule you learned in school that messed you up as a writer?

I can't remember where I first heard this "rule." It may not have even been in an English class and it's just one of those things that you always hear as a writer, but I've always hated it:

Write what you know. 

As a fiction writer, I've always found this advice incredibly stupid. If all I did was write what I know, it would be some pretty boring writing. While I've certainly written poetry from a personal perspective, most of my fictional characters have been nothing like me. Writers are always reaching outside of themselves to craft their stories, sometimes creating entire worlds that don't exist. If we only stuck to what we know, we wouldn't get very far. 

That being said, I think under the surface level, there is actually some good advice in this phrase. But to really understand it, I would want to rephrase it:

Know what you're writing.

This could cover so many different aspects that are important to writing a story. You want to know where your story is going (unless you're a pantser like me...), what you want it to be about, what kind of message you want to tell. You want to make sure you do your research for anything that you don't know when you start, whether that's a setting, the demographics for your characters, or really any topic that comes up in the story that you aren't already an expert on. 

It's important to at least have some idea about what you're writing when you start, even if you don't always know where it's going. But I think it's important to be aware of every aspect and be open to changing things when you know you got it wrong or it isn't working. 

So if you only wrote what you know, you're limiting yourself in what you can achieve. But if you don't know what you're writing, you may be stumbling blindly through that limitless space. 

Can AI Show Me the Way?

It's the first Wednesday of the month, which means it's the posting day for the Insecure Writer's Support Group! Click here to learn more and sign up!

SO THIS POST WAS *SUPPOSED* TO GO UP AT 3 AM BUT MY BRAIN APPARENTLY MALFUNCTIONED AND I HAD IT SCHEDULED FOR THE TIME I WAS WORKING ON IT YESTERDAY AND I DIDN'T KNOW IT WASN'T UP UNTIL I GOT HOME FROM WORK. SO, YEAH....

Today I'm a co-host! And it's even more exciting because after 2:30 today I'm on vacation from work for my birthday (which is Friday). So after work I'm gonna cozy up with some coffee and get to visiting lots of blogs! The other fabulous co-hosts today are Feather Stone, Kim Lajevardi, Diedre Knight, and C. Lee McKenzie. Be sure to visit them and give them some love!

This month's optional question is: Do you use AI in your writing and if so how? Do you use it for your posts? Incorporate it into your stories? Use it for research? Audio?

I've never used AI before but I have thought about it. I would never want to use AI to replace any of my actual writing, but I've been wanting to try it out to help me brainstorm. It's just one of those things on the neverending list of things to try in order to help me figure out my book and get back into writing. 

I think I've actually blogged about this idea before, but I still haven't tried it. I've wondered if I could have AI read what I've written for my novel so far and then ask it to come up with an ending. I've been so stumped on how to write the last chapter of my book, and while that isn't the only reason I haven't been writing, it is a huge part of it. 

I figure this could have a couple different outcomes. Maybe something clicks for me with what the AI gives me and I'm able to figure out the end of my book. I would rewrite it myself, of course, since what I want out of this is ideas, not actual words. 

Or just reading what it gives me, even if it isn't any good, inspires me to get back into it myself. Maybe it will help me narrow down some possible endings by seeing that it doesn't work. Or maybe it'll be so bad that something will click in my brain and I'll finally come up with the answer on my own! 

Or maybe it'll be so bad that it'll just make for a really funny story that I can write a blog post or make a TikTok about. 

Worst case scenario, I'll get nothing from it and just be right where I started. And at least I'll have tried something that I've been meaning to try. I really have no idea how to go about doing this, but that's mostly because while I like to make lists, finishing them is another story. 

Would you use AI to help you when you're stuck? 

Down Bad

It's the first Wednesday of the month, which means it's the posting day for the Insecure Writer's Support Group! Click here to learn more and sign up!

Have you ever related to a breakup song not because of a past romantic relationship, but because of the relationship that you had with one of your own fictional characters? No? Just me? Well, buckle up! 

Yes, I'm talking about a Taylor Swift song. Again. 

The song is called "Down Bad," and for the first few weeks of listening to it, I didn't think I related to it at all. Other than my husband, I only had one boyfriend for a couple months in high school, so I generally don't relate to breakup songs at all. I just don't have all that much experience. 

This song uses an alien abduction as a metaphor for being swept up in an intense romance that feels other-worldly, and then being left suddenly, stranded like none of it ever happened. 

Funnily enough, the connection hit me while I was at the gym (the first line of the chorus is "Now I'm down bad crying at the gym"). I've been in a writing rut for several years, so I'm not surprised I didn't pick up on it right away. So long, in fact, that if you're new here or just stopping by from the IWSG list, you probably don't even know what I'm talking about. But I realized I felt exactly the same way about my relationship with Jordan, my main character/muse from my novel Uneven Lines (that I've been off and on working on since 2011). 

I remember those first days of writing this particular story. The idea hit me out of nowhere, and the need to work on it was so intense that I would forget to eat or be physically bothered by the fact that I wasn't writing. I was obsessed with this story, and continued to be obsessed with it for years. Life, time, and energy always kept me from finishing it as quickly as that first short story. Turning it into a novel was a daunting task, but it was still an obsession. 

I also truly felt like Jordan was practically a real person who I had this intense relationship with that can really only happen with your own characters. It's some weird combo of best friend, brother, son, and arch enemy. I would talk to him. I felt his presence. I wanted to finish this book so badly and get it out into the world. 

But then one day it all kind of went away. Maybe it wasn't all at once and was more gradual than just being dropped in the middle of a field from an alien ship. But it definitely felt like being stranded. I felt like Jordan had left me. I felt like this story had left me. I loved working on it so much and I still long for the days where everything was intense and the ideas and the words just flowed so easily. 

One of my favorite lines in the song is: "Like I lost my twin." That's what it feels like. 

I feel like this post is getting more depressing than I intended. I just miss that feeling of wanting to work on something every second I could, because it's been so long since I've wanted to really work on anything at all. I don't know how to get that feeling back.

I guess I'll just keep staring at the sky, hoping he'll come back and pick me up. 

**here's the song if you'd like a listen, but just a warning, there are many many many f-bombs**

Deep Cleaning

It's the first Wednesday of the month, which means it's the posting day for the Insecure Writer's Support Group! Click here to learn more and sign up!

I've been on a cleaning kick lately. My apartment tends to get dusty very easily and I'm determined to do as much as I can to make everything cleaner and neater. I've been deep cleaning the bathroom currently. Yesterday I scrubbed all the rust and dust off of a light fixture that I'm not sure if I've ever really cleaned. I want to tear apart my closet and find different storage bins to put all of my junk in so it won't get covered in dust. Basically, it's been quite the deranged mission for me lately.

What does any of this have to do with writing? WELL...nothing, really. But I couldn't think of a single thing to blog about and it was on my mind so I thought...I will ramble about this until something makes sense. 

I suppose the simplest correlation is that if I'm happy with my living space (which would also be my writing space if any writing were to actually happen), maybe it'll make writing easier. Maybe I'll be more inclined to focus on my writing if there wasn't a layer of dust piling up around me, or something that desperately needed scrubbing. I'll usually find some excuse not to write, and something like cleaning or dishes is usually the culprit. 

I'm also thinking about how my mental/creative energy functions. I know cleaning isn't all that creative, but I feel like the way I'm approaching it takes some creative thought. I'm thinking about different ways I want to organize and change things around my apartment. 

But maybe the main takeaway is that I think I have a hard time juggling multiple projects at once. On top of a full time job and just general life taking up time, if I have something like this that I really want to get done, I'm probably not going to force myself to try writing unless the inspiration really strikes (can it?? Please??? No, really, I'll stop cleaning). 

I do tend to get overwhelmed when I have too many things lined up. Even with my cleaning, I was all over the place until I decided to just focus on the bathroom for now before moving on to some other part of the apartment. I guess this explains why it's hard for me to work on more than one writing project at once. I need all of my focus to be on one thing so I can get it done properly and not get distracted. 

Anyway, I've rambled enough. I have no idea what point I was trying to make, but hey, I wrote something! Maybe I need to deep clean my brain...

Ooooo Something Shiny!!

It's the first Wednesday of the month, which means it's the posting day for the Insecure Writer's Support Group! Click here to learn more and sign up!

This month's optional question: How do you deal with distractions when you are writing? Do they derail you?

I'm definitely someone who gets distracted easily when I'm writing. Do you know that feeling when you sit down to write but you're pretty much doing everything BUT writing? You're listening to music for inspiration, mapping character arcs, reading writing books or blogs, watching writing videos, tweeting about writing (when I used to do that...), but not, you know, actually writing the words? That's always been me (when I was actively writing, at least). It's almost like I was always getting ready to write, but had a hard time actually getting a word count on most days. 

There are also those times that I will avoid the dishes all day but once I sit down to write suddenly I feel like it needs to be done now! If writers love writing, why does it always seem like we're trying to avoid it? 

I don't really have an answer. I don't think distractions are my biggest enemy. I struggle with time, energy, and inspiration. I also have a hard time forcing myself to write unless the sentence seems perfect in my head first. I spend a lot of time staring at the blank screen instead of just putting something there and getting on with it. I guess that means I'm distracted by my own perfectionism? I need to learn to just get the words down and fix it later. Writing some crappy words is better than writing no words. 

So, about the whole "actively writing" thing...I kinda...sorta...am?? I don't want to get ahead of myself here, but for some reason lately I couldn't stop thinking about a particular story idea I came up with a few years ago. And by a few, I mean seven. I initially called it Shiny New Story, since it was a brand new idea distracting me from what I was supposed to be working on. And, well...I still call it that, even though it's definitely not new anymore. But I do think I could once again classify it as Shiny!

I started reading what I had written for it, and well...I started writing it again. I had a lot of little snippets scattered throughout the book, so I just started a new document and I'm working on Chapter One right now. It's a little slow going (because of the aforementioned perfectionism...) but I want to keep pushing myself to work on it as much as I can so I don't lose that inspiration.

Hopefully I can stay on the shiny path for the foreseeable future. 

Everything Has Changed

It's the first Wednesday of the month, which means it's the posting day for the Insecure Writer's Support Group! Click here to learn more and sign up!

This month's optional question is: How long have you been blogging? (Or on Facebook/Twitter/Instagram?) What do you like about it and how has it changed?

I had to actually look back through my blog archive to remember how long it's been since my very first blog post. I started this blog on May 26, 2011. So, we're creeping up on 13 years, which many people may see as unlucky (unless you're a Taylor Swift fan). My very first post was not only about starting the blog, but also the decision I'd made to develop a short story I'd written into a novel. Well, 13 years later and said novel still isn't done. So, yeah, not feeling the luck. 

But I digress. 

I've always liked blogging because I can talk about the writing process, whether that process is actually happening or not. We can share our frustrations and successes, and interact with other writers. Finding a community of writers to connect with has definitely been the best part of blogging, and the IWSG is a huge part of that. Without these monthly posts, I probably wouldn't be blogging at all. Maybe if I was actually writing I would have more things to blog about, but it's nice to have this monthly staple to keep me going. 

For me, blogging used to be way more involved. I remember a time where I was blogging three times a week, taking part in numerous blog hops (and even creating my own!) and book tours for other authors. Like I said above, now I only post once a month. I think a lot of bloggers aren't as active as they used to be. I couldn't really say why because I have my own personal reasons for not doing it as much, mainly creative burnout and lack of time/energy. I don't keep up with others' blogs as much as I'd like, either. 

It does make me a bit sad to think of how fun and involved blogging used to be, but I know at least for now that I don't want to give up on it completely. So I guess I'll see you next month! 

Lists Upon Lists Upon Lists

It's the first Wednesday of the month, which means it's the posting day for the Insecure Writer's Support Group! Click here to learn more and sign up!

How is it March already? How am I so behind on my goals for the year?? I got a fancy new planner for Christmas and I've barely used it, even though I swore this would be the year that I stuck with it (who was I kidding?). Well, I'm determined not to give up, even if I hit a few setbacks. 

This week I dove right back into the planner. I really have to focus on losing weight, so that's the majority of what I'm doing, but I'm also writing down goals for the week, whether that's errands or cleaning or doing my taxes (I've never been this late doing them...I usually get them done the second we get our W-2s), and making sure I read at least 30 minutes and floss my teeth every day. So, it's a start!

Of course, I'd like to add writing (or at least writing related activities) to my planner, but where to start? I've had so many different ideas and goals that I don't even know what to focus on first. 

Well, since I could easily work this into my planner, I think I need to make some lists! Making lists is easy! It's doing them that gets trickier. But the first step is to make them! 

I know I want to go through my past blog posts and make a list of all of the ideas I've had to get myself back into writing. That's probably where I need to start. But then all of those ideas could probably spawn lists of their own! Soon I'll have lists of lists of lists! 

But seriously, I think if I actually write down my goals, it will help me to be able to accomplish them. Instead of just having all of these ideas and this pressure floating around in my head, I can actually have something in front of me that I can look at and choose what to do next. I think part of the reason why I haven't been doing anything creative is that I feel overwhelmed. If I can focus on just one tiny task at a time, it might actually lead to some productivity. 

Now the next step is to actually do it! Instead of just saying that I'm going to do it...I should probably write it in my planner. 

Do you make lists to help you with your writing goals? 

Plans? What Plans?

It's the first Wednesday of the month, which means it's the posting day for the Insecure Writer's Support Group! Click here to learn more and sign up!

Oh hey, it's February. I guess it's time to reflect on everything that I accomplished in January. Oh wait, except there isn't anything to reflect on. 

I think it's safe to say I am just unable to hold onto the urge to be productive. I just feel like I'm exhausted all the time. It's hard after working all day to come home and do anything besides sit on my bed and watch TV or play games on my phone. There are just so many things that I want to accomplish on a daily basis that I just never have the time or energy. 

I got a new planner for this year, and I swore I wasn't going to let it go to waste. It always seems like I try really hard in January to stick to my goals, and at some point I just stop using the planner altogether. I'm not giving up yet, but I'm also not doing as much as I'd like. Sometimes I'll want to write as many goals for a week as I can, but I never seem to get them all done, so I don't write any. I try to read every day, floss my teeth at night, and go to the gym at least 5 times a week, but even those daily tasks can seem like too much sometimes. 

And don't even get me started on writing! I haven't been reading as much as I'd like, but I did notice that when I do read, it does spark some inspiration for my own writing. So if I keep trying to read every day, it could be a win-win situation. I want to make more conrete writing goals but I just don't feel like I'm there yet. I don't have the desire to work on anything, and if it's hard enough for me to make myself do even smaller goals, I know it's not going to be easy to force myself to write.

I do have one "writing" goal for the week, and that's to watch a YouTube video I found on "Getting Back to the Joy of Writing." That's definitely something I could use. 

Anyhoo, as usual, I'm taking it all one step at a time. 

A Year of Being Creative

It's the first Wednesday of the month, which means it's the posting day for the Insecure Writer's Support Group! Click here to learn more and sign up!

I always look forward to a new year because it usually provides motivation to make some changes. Sometimes that motivation only last a few weeks, but it's there nonetheless. And while I want to take advantage of that feeling, I know pushing myself too hard could lead to more burnout. But I've been lacking in creativity for so long that I feel I just have to try to make some changes this year or I could be stuck in this creative limbo forever. 

While this certainly applies to writing, I'm also thinking of other outlets to try to spark my creativity again. I know that writing and reading go hand in hand, and I haven't been doing much of either for quite some time. I'm hoping if I get back into reading, it will inspire me to get back into writing. I certainly have enough unread books on my shelves to get me through the year. 

I want to do other things that I've enjoyed in the past, like making jewelry and doing puzzles. I also want to listen to more music, both albums I've never heard before and ones that I know I love but haven't listened to in years. I find music usually inspires me to write as well, so this could be helpful. 

I've recently gotten into Tiktok, which for me, at least, is a creative outlet. I think I've enjoyed it so much lately because it's the only creative thing I've been doing for months. That being said, I do need to spend more time actually making my own Tiktoks and not just mindlessly scrolling for hours. 

Another goal for this year is to eat healthier and exercise more, and I can bring creativity into that by cooking more. I have a lot of healthy meal go-tos in my arsenal, but I want to try new recipes as well. My goal is to try a new one every week. And I can listen to lots of music while I'm exercising. 

All of these ideas can feel a bit overwhelming, but I just want to take it one day at a time. I got another planner this year that I swear I will actually use and not give up on after a month or so. Really. 

So here's to a year of being creative, whatever that creativity may be! 

Critiques and Resolutions

It's the first Wednesday of the month, which means it's the posting day for the Insecure Writer's Support Group! Click here to learn more and sign up!

This month's optional question is: Book reviews are for the readers. When you leave a book review do you review for the Reader or the Author? Is it about what you liked and enjoyed about your reading experience, or do you critique the author?

I actually don't write reviews very often. Maybe it gives me flashbacks of having to write papers in high school and college and I just want no part in that. When I do write reviews, it's almost always for a blogger friend's book, so in my case, I write reviews for the author. I'm trying to help out someone I know (through the internet, at least) by saying what I liked about their book and why other people should read it. I've never been that good at critiquing (now having flashbacks to college workshops...) so I tend to focus on what I liked. If I'm reading a book that isn't by a blogger buddy, I'm most likely not going to write a review, and just give a rating. 

Well, we've reached that time of year again where I say to myself, I swear I'm really going to make a change in the new year! Am I doing this again? Yes. Do I believe myself? Well...maybe?

I really do want to get back into writing. I haven't made any specific goals or resolutions yet, but I've had so many different ideas and goals in the past that I figure I can just make a list of all of those! You could just go through all of my blog posts from the past two or three years and find all of my different ideas and schemes that I never followed through on.

Actually, that's probably a good idea. I should go do that...

I do want to get back to writing Uneven Lines. It would be really nice to actually finish it. I've just been really stuck about how to end it. But I have a million little side projects related to it that I hope can help me figure it out. I'd also like to get back to some of my other unfinished projects. 

I think if I had to make a resolution it would just be to start writing again. So I'm planning to just start from there. 

Are you making any writing related resolutions? 

A NaNo Long Ago

It's the first Wednesday of the month, which means it's the posting day for the Insecure Writer's Support Group! Click here to learn more and sign up!

This month's optional question is: November is National Novel Writing Month. Have you ever participated? If not, why not?

There have been more than a few times that I started NaNo and gave up about halfway through, but there was one time where I acutally stuck it out and got to that 50,000 word goal! It was in 2019 and I decided at pretty much the last minute to do it, so I'm pretty surprised that I actually accomplished it. The book still isn't finished, and I've barely looked at it since then, but I really would like to go back and finish it at some point. 

I've talked about this book before, but it has the working title of Sexy Fluff #1. Just before that November where I worked on it, I had this idea that I could probably write romance novels a lot faster than the stuff I typically write. At first I thought, there's no way I can do this for NaNo. I didn't even have a plot, right? Well...literally the next morning I woke up with a plot. So I thought, why not? 

It was a lot of fun to work on and I was proud of myself for actually sticking with it and reaching my goal. Unfortunately, I wish I still had the drive that I had back then in order to finish it. 

I think part of the reason I haven't gone back to it is because I already have some ideas of what need to be fixed, and I'm not sure if I want to just plow through the first draft with what I already have or if I should just start over. I'm sure if I were an outlining type of person I would have an easier time figuring it out. 

This is a tiny detail, but I originally had the book set in 2020. Like, actually naming dates. So, yeah, that's not gonna work. But at least now it's been a few years so I can probably figure out some future dates that will line up with my plot. 

Maybe someday I'll go back and finish writing Sexy Fluff #1. And then maybe move on to a #2, and so on. I'd love to turn this into a series and actually get them published. My goal is to use a different romance trope for each book (#1 is rivals to lovers). There are so many options to create a plot around, I could be writing for years!

Maybe AI Can Finish My Book...

It's the first Wednesday of the month, which means it's the posting day for the Insecure Writer's Support Group! Click here to learn more and sign up!

This month's optional question is: The topic of AI writing has been heavily debated across the world. According to various sources, generative AI will assist writers, not replace them. What are your thoughts?

I think what worries me about AI is that if it is developed enough to create books, TV shows, films, etc. large publishers and production companies would not hestitate to use these instead of paying writers. I know this topic was part of the recent writer's strike. But like the question said, AI should be used to help writers, not replace them. If this is the only way it gets used, I would consider it a good thing. But I worry that won't always be the case.

On the other hand, I've actually been contemplating using AI to help me figure out my book. Or at least to have a funny story about AI helping me to finish my book. I thought I could have AI read my novel so far and prompt it to finish the book. I'm a little lost with how to end my book and also struggling with one of the subplots, so I could try a few different prompts to give. 

I figure this could go one of three ways:

1. AI does a great job and completely solves all my writing problems

2. It doesn't come up with anything I can use but helps me narrow in on what I actually need (this kind of thing happens when I've asked my husband for ideas and I hate them, but they somehow help me come up with the right idea on my own lol)

3. AI has no idea what to do with my book and it's a laughable catastrophe that I can make a TikTok about (and I do need to make more writing TikToks!)

I figure there's no down side. Worst case scenario I'll just be exactly where I am right now. I believe Chat GPT can do this sort of thing but I haven't researched it much beyond a couple Google searches. But I think it would be at least a humorous experiment if nothing else. Who knows?

Happy Anniversary, IWSG!!

It's the first Wednesday of the month, which means it's the posting day for the Insecure Writer's Support Group! Click here to learn more and sign up!

This month I'm a co-host! The other fabulous co-hosts are Sonia Dogra, J Lenni Dorner, Pat Garcia, and Meka James! 

This month is also a special post because it's the IWSG's 12 year anniversary! The question for this month is: When did you discover the IWSG, how do you connect, and how has it helped you?

**WARNING: Please do not attempt a drinking game where you take a shot every time I say IWSG in this post.**

I had to dig through the archives for this information. Including this one, I have written 120 posts for the IWSG (according to a Google search, that means I only missed 3 months!). The first one was on June 5, 2013, and was entitled The Greatest/Worst Book Ever Written. It was about feeling like your story is the greatest thing ever one day, then absolute crap the next. I felt like I had found the perfect blogging community to join because I was chock full of insecurity (and I still am). It seemed like the perfect place to be. 

The IWSG has been a HUGE part of my blogging for over the past ten years. I honestly can't remember how I stumbled upon it, but I'm certainly glad I did. I do remember that at the time there was no IWSG website, and the sign-up page was through Alex J. Cavanaugh's blog. Going through my first posts I also remembered the old black and white badge with the red font! I don't feel old...

I've really enjoyed and benefited from connecting with so many other writers with the same insecurities. I love how we're able to relate to and help each other out by reading and commenting on posts. Although I've never met anyone in person, I'd like to say I've made a lot of friends through this community. I also remember how frustrating it was when I first started blogging to get people to come visit my blog.  Joining the IWSG helped me get a lot more traffic and find other blogs that I still frequently visit. 

It's definitely important to note that without the IWSG I probably wouldn't be blogging at all right now. I haven't written a non-IWSG post in over two years. I've been in such a writing rut that it's hard to come up with things to blog about. Having the IWSG as a staple every month forces me to come up with something, and there's always the optional question there to help me out when I have no ideas. 

The IWSG also helped me get published! My short story "The Last Dragon" was published in the second IWSG anthology, Hero Lost: Mysteries of Death and Life. I'm really proud of that story and it's because of the IWSG that it's out in the world. 

I probably would have given up on blogging a long time ago if it weren't for the IWSG. Although writing is often hard for me right now, I have no plans on quitting anytime soon. I'm just taking it one month at a time. 

Conflicted? Me???

It's the first Wednesday of the month, which means it's the posting day for the Insecure Writer's Support Group! Click here to learn more and sign up!

This month's optional question is: Have you ever written something that afterwards you felt conflicted about? If so, did you let it stay how it was, take it out, or rewrite it?

If you've been here before, you probably know this was me after reading this question: 

My whole story concept (of my main WIP, at least) has me conflicted. But I've come too far and worked way too hard on it to scrap the whole thing just because of its controversial subject matter. 

I think if anything, being conflicted will actually make the story better. You know, if I ever get back to writing it. When I first started the story I didn't really put too much thought into the fact that I was writing about a taboo topic. It was just the idea that popped into my brain and I was going with it. But now that I've spent a lot of time with it and really thought about the subject matter, I know I have to really take it seriously and put in the work to make this a story worth reading. And hopefully one that people won't immediately brush off once they know what it's about. 

Anyhoo, I've talked about this subject on here too many times to count. Speaking of counting, I am counting down the days until my birthday vacation! After this Friday, I'm off work for a week, and my husband and I are going back to New York City! We're seeing Sweeney Todd, which is one of my favorite musicals and one that I've never seen live. We're also doing plenty of other activities, some new, and some we've done before (going back to the cat cafe for the third time!). 

I always hope that being in New York will get me back into writing because that's where my story takes place. I thought I would watch some writing related Youtube videos and maybe even bring my book on finding your story's theme while I'm on the train. Maybe I can spark some creativity. But either way, it should be a fun trip and most importantly, I won't be at work! 

Ideas, Ideas, Ideas!

It's the first Wednesday of the month, which means it's the posting day for the Insecure Writer's Support Group! Click here to learn more and sign up!

This month's optional question is: 99% of my story ideas come from dreams. Where do yours predominantly come from?

I'd say my ideas come from all over the place. I've gotten a couple ideas from dreams, most notably the novel I still refer to as Shiny New Story, although it is no longer shiny or new, just titleless. I had a dream about two characters who were in a particular relationship/situation (I can't tell you what--it's a spoiler!) and I thought that would be really interesting to write about. 

Uneven Lines came to me after watching this trashy exposé on student-teacher relationships on TV. For reasons I can no longer fathom, I wanted to write about a taboo relationship between a student and a teacher (AKA the dumbest idea I ever had, yet here we are). A few hours later, while I was sitting in a writing class minding my own business, Jordan birthed himself from my brain and threw his entire story at me. And the rest was history. 

Honestly, the fact that the story centers around a controversial relationship has been the hardest part (that and dragging subplots...). I want to make sure I get the story right or no one is going to be interested in reading it. Of course, I've talked about my creative slump more times than I can count here, which is probably the biggest factor in me not finishing the book. But I have to make sure I tell the story right, and I just haven't had the brain power to get there. 

Other ideas have just kinda popped out of thin air. I started writing Sexy Fluff #1 because I was just doing a writing exercise with some characters from an Uneven Lines sequel, and realized that I could write happy, sexy romance scenes much more easily than my usual complicated storylines. I had a random thought that I could probably finish books faster and possibly even get them published and make money doing so. But I couldn't actually think of a plot, right? 

Well...I came up with a plot by the next morning. And I decided to start writing it for NaNoWriMo (which was literally right around the corner). I still haven't finished it, due to aforementioned creative slump, but working on it was a nice break from my usual heavy story ideas. I also have an idea to create a whole series of Sexy Fluffs with a different romance trope for each book  (#1 has a rivals to lovers plot). I think it could be fun. 

Overall, though, I feel like I actually have a hard time coming up with new ideas. Maybe it's because I already have enough unfinished ideas taking up space in my brain. Perhaps once I actually finish them, more ideas will follow.