Wednesday, August 2, 2017

#IWSG for August 2017

The Insecure Writer's Support Group (IWSG) is the brilliant idea of Alex J. Cavanaugh. The purpose of the group is to share doubts and insecurities and to encourage one another. Please visit the other participants and share your support. A kind word goes a long way.

This month's awesome co-hosts are: Dolarah @ Book Lover, Ellen @ The Cynical Sailor, Yvonne Ventresca, LG Keltner, and me!

Before we get to this month's question and my insecurities, let me tell you about this super fun event!

Show Us Your Writer Insecurity! 

Are you proud to be an insecure writer?

Then show us! 

On Wednesday, October 4 (IWSG Day), post a photo of yourself (or your alter ego) with any of the IWSG swag or with the IWSG logo. Then leave a comment that day at either the IWSG website’s post or the IWSG Facebook post directing us to your photo. (All blog, Facebook, Goodreads, and newsletter members welcome, but photo must be posted on a blog or Facebook to qualify.)

The IWSG site admins will visit each one and pick the top three. Why? Because there are cool prizes involved:

Third place – EBook of A Change of Mind and Other Stories by Nick Wilford, eBook of The Remnant by William Michael Davidson, eBook of Cling to God by Lynda R. Young, eBook of Already Home by Heather M. Gardner, and eBook of Dragon of the Stars by Alex. J. Cavanaugh.

Second place – The entire eBook collection of the Totem series by Christine Rains, eBook of Princess of Las Pulgas by C. Lee McKenzie, audio book of CassaSeries by Alex J. Cavanaugh, eBook of Black and White by Nick Wilford, and your choice eBook from J.L. Campbell.

Grand prize winner - IWSG website interview, IWSG newsletter spotlight, IWSG pinned tweet for one week, C. Lee McKenzie's Featured Follower for the month, the IWSG Goodreads book club eBook for October/November, a short chapter critique, and a pair of IWSG erasers. 

We have some great IWSG swag – pens, mugs, magnets, erasers, etc. Proceeds go to fund the upkeep of the IWSG site. 

You have two months to prepare – show us your best insecurity!

This month's IWSG question: What are your pet peeves when reading/writing/editing? 

I have a lot when reading. Bad grammar, huge plot holes, poor characterization, sloppy formatting, etc. Being a writer has made it more difficult to get past these things, but I do save myself time by putting down books I don't enjoy and moving on to something else.

When I'm writing, it's usually things in the environment that annoy me. Noise, people interrupting, cat interrupting, and if it's too hot.

My insecurities this month: I'm a new admin for the IWSG. I'm so excited about it. I've been a part of the group for a while. I've received such great advice, encouragement, and support, I'm happy to give back to the community. But, of course, I worry if I'll be good enough and be able to keep up with my responsibilities. What if I mess something up? I don't want to disappoint anyone. The admin team is incredibly organized, smart, and creative. I hope my contribution will continue to make the IWSG such an awesome group.

You all can help me with the newsletter. You can do this by sending me your news. I want to hear about new releases, events, and exciting news. Please send an email with "IWSG - news submission" in the subject line to christinerains (dot) writer @ gmail (dot) com. Thank you!

One more awesome announcement I want to share with you about the newsletter: On August 24th at 2:00 pm EST, Chrys Fey will be participating in a LIVE YouTube interview with Evan Carmichael, an entrepreneur who she'll be interviewing about his book Your One Word and getting some great advice for IWSG members. You'll be able to watch the interview live HERE. You can set a reminder if you click on the link, or you can watch it later. The video will be uploaded in the August 30th IWSG newsletter issue.

98 comments:

  1. Ooooh - - ahhhhh! That's a lot of exciting news. Congrats on becoming an IWSG admin Christine.

    Uck, I hate distractions when I'm writing. And I'm with you on that lack or formatting and editing when I'm reading a published book. My pet peeve this month is overall author laziness.

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    1. Thank you, dolorah! Oh yes, overall author laziness. One of mine too.

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  2. Congratulations!! You'll be a great admin!! ^_^

    Looking forward to that interview. :)

    My biggest reading peeve is pop culture references. With other issues I'll just stop reading, but pop culture references are number one because I'll waste time trying to ignore them when ultimately I'll end up putting the book down anyway or screaming.

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    1. Thanks, krystal! Ooh, that's a good pet peeve. I dislike them too.

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  3. Congrats on becoming an admin!
    I hate interruptions, too (including the cat...always laying on my papers...)

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    1. Thank you, Sarah! The cat loves to lay on anything I need to use.

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  4. You are going to be an awesome addition to the admin team! I hate interruptions as well when I'm writing, although there are times when I welcome them, especially when I'm stuck.

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    1. Thanks! I tend to make my own interruptions when I'm stuck. My house gets very clean at that point. *LOL*

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  5. Congrats on being an administrator. I know you'll do great. All the errors I spot when reading bothers me too.

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  6. We'll make you keep up with your duties. Kidding! You'll do great. That's why we selected you for the newsletter. You're going to rock it.

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    1. Thanks so much, Alex. I'm still wondering if I get a clone now too! ;)

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  7. The older I get, the more I refuse to waste time on books, movies, etc I don't enjoy. Doesn't mean the work is bad, just not right for me. It might be someone else's cup of tea. :)

    You'll be a great admin, Christine! No worries!

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  8. Congrats Christine. You'll be great as an administrator. I wish I had the time and energy to help out too!

    I agree about not spending time reading a book that doesn't strike my fancy. To me, I'm wasting precious time...

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    1. Thanks, Cathrina! Exactly. We have too little time to waste on something we're not enjoying.

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  9. Oh, I forgot to say, thank you for co-hosting this month! :)

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  10. You'll be great as an Admin. I look forward to September's newsletter.

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    1. Thank you, Diane. I've already sent out a few emails to possible experts for guests. I hope at least one responds!

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  11. Good luck with your new IWSG gig. I'm sure you'll be wonderful.

    I'm excited about this new contest in October. The prizes sound amazing.

    Thanks for co-hosting!

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    1. Thank you, Tamara! I'm excited for October too. It's going to be a ton of fun. :)

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  12. Congratulations on becoming a group admin! I can totally understand your worries of this, but I know you'll do an amazing job.

    Looking forward to October's IWSG post!

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  13. Christine! I was super stoked when I was on Alex's blog and read the news. You're going to do phenomenally. Here's to taking on new challenges and enjoying all the cheese that comes with it!

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  14. Congrats on the admin job - I'm sure you'll be fantastic :-)

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  15. Looking forward to IWSG Day. That's going to be fun! And congrats on admin today. I haven't been brave enough to do it yet myself.

    @mirymom1 from
    Balancing Act

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  16. Thanks for co-hosting this month. I too wrote about interuptions as one of my writing pet peeves. As for your new admin position, you're already doing a great job and as long as you care about what you're doing and this group you'll continue to be an asset.

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  17. Congrats on being newsletter editor. You'll be great.

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  18. Congrats on your new position! My kitties love to sit on my laptop. But I can't get mad at them. They are stinkin' cute. Plot holes that could be easily fixed annoy me too.

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    1. Thank you, Jennifer! Yes, those cute, cute kitties. Mine gets away with too much!

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  19. The photo thing sounds awesome, I can't wait to participate!

    I don't understand what you mean about cats interrupting. I've never had a cat walk across my keyboarddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddd

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  20. Congrats to Chrys! You will so do great.

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  21. You'll do great as an admin, Christine! Thanks for co-hosting. :)

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  22. You'll be great. If I had to pass on the newsletter to anyone, I'm glad it was you. I'm rooting for your Christine. You've got this!

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    1. You've been such a big help easing me into the position. Thanks so much!

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  23. Congratulations, Christine. Put all those insecurities aside and go for it. You'll figure it all out and be just fine!!!

    Mark Zuckerberg gave quite a speech during graduation at Harvard last May. He said, ""Ideas don't come out fully formed. They only become clear as you work on them. You just have to get started. If I had to know everything about connecting people before I got started, I never would have built Facebook."

    I think that is a profound message. It inspires me, and I hope it inspires you.

    And thanks for co-hosting today. Enjoy!!!

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  24. Well done on nabbing the Newsletter position for IWSG! You'll be awesome! :) I need to get me a picture with the IWSG logo! :) x

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  25. Congratulations on being an admin for IWSG. I'm sure you'll do a great job!

    Your pet peeves are the same as mine. I think when you're a writer, you notice all those things.

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    1. Thank you, Sherry. I don't think we can help it.

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  26. You will be an awesome admin! I mean you just pumped out a huge series! You can take on anything. :)

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  27. Thanks so much for co-hosting and becoming an admin. Yay, you! I agree about the pet peeves, esp. distractions while writing. I can't listen to music. My mind goes into the song and not the story.

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    1. I can't listen to music at all either. No background noise for me! Thanks, Diane.

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  28. Congratulations on becoming an admin! That kind of position can be a lot of hard work, but the job is only as hard as one makes it.

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  29. Interruptions are such double-edged swords... My creative and sensible mind hates them, so I can focus and be productive. But, my lazy, always-thinking-I-have-more-important-things-to-do mind, feels like those distractions need attention. Now. The writing can wait. I agree fully with your reader pet peeves! Thanks for co-hosting and congratulations with the new admin position. I'm sure you will do fantastic!!

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  30. Congrats on becoming a new admin. You'll do wonderfully, I'm sure.

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  31. Bravo on your new admin post at IWSG. Like I told Chrys, I think you'll handle it beautifully. Yes, I hate errors or sloppy manuscripts and books, too, Christine. It throws me right out of the story world. All best to you.

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  32. Congratulations on becoming a new admin! Cats and dogs are so distracting. Mine take turns... it's like a game of tag.

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    1. I can only imagine the pets tagging in and out! :) Thank you, Rita.

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  33. Congrats on becoming an IWSG admin! You make a great addition and I am sure you will do great.

    My writing pet peeve us know batteries. Writing on the go, often in my phone, there is nothing worse than being in the middle of a good run then battery dying.

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    1. Thanks, Renee. Oh yes, low batteries. How I fear those! I recharge even when it is at 90% in case I have to go somewhere and I won't get a chance to do so.

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  34. First time ever, last month I tossed two books. What I didn't expect was the wonderful sense of freedom that followed.

    Thank you for co-hosting IWSG blog hop this month. Good luck with your new Admin position. I'm sure you'll be a great team member.

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  35. Congratulations, you'll do a beautiful job!
    Can't wait to finish the Totem series, first on my new TBR list!
    Thanks for hosting!

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    1. Thank you, Yolanda! And another thank you for all the help you gave me with Alaska. I must have asked you a million questions!

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  36. Congrats on your new post as an admin! I'm new to the group and am looking forward to future events. Thanks, too, for co-hosting!

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  37. I notice errors in books a lot more easily these days, and sometimes it ruins the reading experience. Ignorance is bliss sometimes.

    Congrats on the new position, and thanks for -cohosting this month's IWSG.

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  38. Hi Christine! Congrats on your new position. The October event looks fun!

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    1. Thanks, Yvonne! I only hope I can take a decent picture... or maybe the challenge will be to post one that isn't!

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  39. Christine, thank you for being an administrator! I appreciate the time you're providing as well as stopping by my blog to comment. I hear you on developing more pet peeves around grammar and plot as a writer.

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  40. Christine, you'll be an awesome co-host at IWSG and as you say, you'll learn so much but you'll also have lots to share. I'll be cruising the Greek Isles on October 4 so I'll give that IWSG day a miss, LOL!

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  41. Congratulations on becoming an admin! I'm sure you'll do a great job! Thanks for co-hosting with me this month. It's been a lot of fun.

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  42. Congratulations my friend. Thanks for co-hosting this month. Sounds like lots of exciting plans.
    Juneta @ Writer's Gambit

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  43. Hi Christine - congratulations on helping with the IWSG admin and newsletter - excellent news. Typos et al .. such a nuisance to see or to do! Cheers Hilary

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  44. Congrats on your new IWSG admin position. You'l do great! And I can identify with your cat interruptions. My jungle kitty is relentless when he wants to eat.

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    1. My cat is staring at me even now knowing it is about time for my morning snack a.k.a. when he gets his treats! Thank you, Em.

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  45. Lots of great announcements. Thanks for sharing and co-hosting!

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  46. Oh my gosh yes! Noise when I'm trying to write just makes me want to cry (ok, maybe not literally, but you get the gist). Especially construction noise.

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  47. Christine, you are a great addition to the IWSG team. Don't ever doubt your abilities.
    Thanks for co-hosting the hop this month!

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  48. Congrats on becoming an IWSG admin! I think you're going to be wonderful!

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  49. You'll do great as an admin!! I'm looking forward to reading your first newsletter. Congrats!!

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  50. That's awesome about being an admin! Woot! And I feel ya, being a writer makes reading sometimes super frustrating--though all the better when someone really nails all the bits and pieces and makes a superb story to get lost in :)

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  51. Yay - awesome news about becoming an admin! If I get any news worth sending, I know where I'll be sending it.

    And I'm with you, being a writer has made it harder to enjoy books that are poorly written, because it's REALLY easy to spot now. However, it also makes the really well written ones even more worth it.

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  52. Congrats on becoming an admin!

    Used to be I had four or five pet peeves, but since I've started freelancing, I've discovered about a million more.

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  53. You're going to be great as an IWSG admin, Christine! You have all the qualifications :)

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  54. You'll do fine as an IWSG admin. <3

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