#IWSG for November 2015

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.

The awesome co-hosts this month are Stephen Tremp, Karen Walker, Denise Covey, and Tyrean Martinson!

More, more, more!

I am hounded by this voice in my head that tells me I'm not writing enough. I need to get more books out there. I need to write better faster. And I need to do it now!

The voice makes me highly anxious. It gives me stressful writer work dreams. So much editing and marketing! So much to do, so little time. Where is that mind jack I can plug into my head and pour my stories right into the computer? My fingers don't move fast enough. My eyes are old and tired.

I've got to write more!

I know reasonably this isn't realistic. We all write at different paces, and we have limited time to write. But the nag beats down my reason and demands I write, write, write!

Anyone else harassed by this voice? What do you do to ease that anxiety?

* * * * *

Don't forget about TB Markinson's monthly book giveaway. You can win five awesome books, and this month, one of them is The 13th Floor Complete Collection. Also, the Mayhem in the Air tour is going on this week and into the next. You can get exclusive excerpts from the stories in the collections and enter for a chance to win a $40 gift card. Finally, Realms Faire 2015 begins on Monday. Shine your armor and fill your mugs! Tons of medieval games, giveaways, and grog. I'll be hosting the Drench-a-Wench event. There will be a giveaway every day of a minimum four books for you to win.

IWSG for November 2013, Interview, & Realms Faire reminder

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.

Take a nap.

That's right. Get comfy, curl up under your favorite blanket, and snore.

Sleeping will help your insecurities. It will chase away your blues, increase your mind power, and boost your metabolism. We function better on all levels when we have enough sleep.

Plus, dreams are terrific inspiration for stories. That's where most of my story ideas originate.

Researchers at Harvard University have found that sleep does increase your creativity. (Make sure to use this article as proof when your family wonders why you need to snooze more often.)

As writers, sometimes we get up extra early in the mornings or stay up late to find the time to write. While that gives us our quiet time, it takes away from our sleep time. Lack of sleep will eventually catch up to you, and the price will be steep.

So take a nap.

You'll be less stressed, have more energy, and find your muse equally refreshed.

* * * * *

Join me at the the awesome TB Markinson's today for a great interview. We talk about the 13th Floor series, self-publishing, and what book do I wish I had written.

* * * * *

 Don't forget the Realms Faire is next week!

9 events with 9 chances to win prizes every day.

Plus Untethered Realms is giving away a Kindle!

HUZZAH!

The Insecure Writer's Support Group for May 2013

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.

I've been putting a lot of pressure on myself to make each book of my 13th Floor series better than the last. I cracked last month. The fifth book with my favorite character in the series was not good. Nope. It just wasn't working out the way I'd hoped. The previous four books came out very well on the first draft. Why wasn't this one?

I hold myself up to higher than normal standards. Sometimes it's so high, I can't reach what I want. I keep pushing, though. Clawing at the wall, fingers going numb, eyes wonky from staring at the screen.

Then I step back and ask another opinion.

Hm. I don't need to scale that impossible wall. I can take another route. Why didn't I see it before?

So that's what I'm doing. I'm rewriting the fifth book with both Harriet's and Kiral's points of view now. Usually I don't like to do more than one point of view, but it's working for this story. The pressure is easing. A little bit. I still have a deadline I must make!

I'm so lucky to have bright and understanding CPs and betas. They've supported me so much with this series. Thank you.

Have you ever felt you smacked yourself uselessly against a wall and then discovered a path you didn't see before?