#IWSG for January 2019

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:  Patricia Lynne, Lisa Buie-Collard, Kim Lajevardi, and Fundy Blue!

This month's optional question: What are your favorite and least favorite questions people ask you about your writing?

Favorite: What is your book about?

Least favorite: It must be wonderful being a writer and working from home. What do you do with all your free time?

Free time?! What free time? There aren't enough hours in a day to do everything I need to do for my writing career.

It frustrates me even more when people believe that being a writer is just a hobby and not a serious career. They think I'm a stay-at-home mom who spends too much time on the computer.

I hope this year I can create a schedule that will help with my time issues. Writing must come first. I have cut back on blogging some, but I don't want to give it up fully. I enjoy the community way too much. You guys are awesome!

I can't wait to read what questions you guys have faced as authors. I won't be able to get around to everybody until next week, though. My son is still on break until Monday.

Happy New Year!

#IWSG for December 2018

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: J.H. Moncrieff, Tonja Drecker , Patsy Collins, and Chrys Fey!

This month's optional question: What are five objects we'd find in your writing space?

1. A big cup of water. I drink A LOT of water. Sometimes I flavor the water, but I don't drink anything else during the day.
2. Paper. Be it notebooks or scraps or whatever is lying about. I've gotten better about writing stuff down so I don't forget.
3. Pencils. I do have lots of pens too, but I write notes in pencil because my brain works faster than my hand, and I need to erase a lot.
4. The TARDIS. Several of them, in fact! A model, a lamp, a stocking, and string lights.
5. My cat. Well, I guess I can't include him as an object. His cat cube is to my right under the window. That's where he spends most days while I'm working.

This month's insecurities: Always it's about time. I just don't have enough of it. I'm far behind on everything I want to do. I know I should change my expectations of what I can do, but I always stretch beyond. On one hand, it's highly motivating. On the other, frustrating. The new year will have to come with some changes or the few white hairs I have will become a whole head of them!

How have you been over the past month? Anyone develop a time turner yet?

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#IWSG for June 2018

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: Beverly Stowe McClure, Tyrean Martinson, and Ellen @ The Cynical Sailor!

This month's optional question: What's harder for you to come up with: book titles or character names?

Book titles. By far! I love coming up with character names. I have lists and lists of names. Book titles are incredibly difficult for me. I usually ask my writer friends for title suggestions. I try to keep my titles simple, but even then, I'm banging my head on the desk to find something that encompasses the story.

This month's insecurities: Time. I'm so behind on everything. This is not unusual for me. I know in the summer, I have precious few hours on the computer to work. Family comes first. I try to make to-do lists to reasonably fit that. But I'm looking at my June list and shaking my head. There's so much I want to do. I should be easier on myself. I tell myself to not worry. But my creative juices want to propel me forward at a speed that is hard for me handle. Then I berate myself for not getting enough done. I'm kinder to myself than I once was, but I'm still my own worst boss.

What are your insecurities this month?

#IWSG for September 2016

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 for this month are: C. Lee McKenzie, Rachel Pattison, Elizabeth Seckman, Stephanie Faris, Lori L MacLaughlin, and Elsie Amata!

This month's IWSG question: How do you find the time to write in your busy day?

I'm very lucky. When my husband and I decided to have a child, we agreed one of us should stay home with him. Childcare is expensive, after all, and my husband was making enough to support us. Now that our son is in school, we can still pay our bills with me at home.

During the school year, I have the weekdays to write. I love it. It makes for a very happy mama. I treat it like a full-time job. Some days, I feel there aren't enough hours to get all my work done, but I am my own worst boss!

In the summer and on breaks, I don't get much time to write. On good nights, we can get our son in bed at a decent hour, and there's nothing on television to distract me. Then I write or promote a little more. I don't like staying on the computer late. I've been very good at settling into bed at a reasonable hour and getting a proper sleep. I read a little before going to sleep too. A good sleep also makes for a productive next day.

One of my ongoing insecurities is time. While it might seem like I have tons of time to write and promote, sometimes it doesn't feel that way. Real life cuts in. Like a virus sticking around for over a month. (And it gave me pink eye so I can't stare at the screen for very long!) I don't know if I'll ever feel like there's enough time to do what I want, and that's something I'll hopefully learn to accept and not be so harsh on myself about.

Is time a concern of yours too? 

#IWSG for June 2016

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 for today are: Murees Dupe, Alexia Chamberlynn, Chemist Ken, and Heather Gardner!

My insecurity today: it's summer break!

There are lots of reasons to cheer that, but it also means precious little time to myself to write and all the writing related things. I already feel I'm behind on where I want to be. There's never enough time.

I will attempt to try to get into hyper efficient mode. If I get one hour at night, I must use it to its fullest.

Of course, that's easier said than done. Hot weather drains me. I prefer to hibernate in the summer, and I'm lucky if I have any energy after my little guy goes to bed at night.

If you have kids, how do you or did you as a writer get through summer breaks? Are you a summer person? If you only get a little time for writing, how do you keep yourself focused?

Writer Mama #Bloghop

I saw this bloghop and I cheered. What an awesome idea from our wonderful host Sharon Bayliss. Parenting is difficult enough alone, but to be a writer mama/papa? It can be crazy.

Today, writer parents share secrets and support each other. The post can be anything related to writing while juggling the responsibilities of parenting. Sharon has even supplied a list of topics for those of us who have very limited time online. Plus, a random poster will win a Writer Mama Care Package (US) or a $25 Amazon gift card (INTL).

Be sure to visit all the participants for great advice, encouragement, and funny stories.

I have so many things to say on the topic of being a writer mama. I'm going to share the greatest misconception people have of me when I tell them I'm an author.

"You're a writer? I bet your son loves it when you read your stories to him. How many children's books do you have published?"

None. Zero. Zilch. Nada.

Just because I have a small child does not mean I write for children. I write for adults. Bloody, scary, intense, and sometimes naughty tales. It never seems to sink in. Usually the next question I'm asked is if I'll write a children's book. Nope. At this point in my life, I have no interest.

"But... you have a child. Don't you read to him?"

Yes. All the time. He loves it when we read books together. In fact, he just turned five and he's reading at a third grade level. We appreciate and love the authors who give us all these fantastic children's stories, but I am not one of them.

My husband and I nurtured a love for reading in our son, and he has a great imagination. I would love it if he decided to follow in my footsteps, but the main thing I want him to see is that his mama is following her dreams. So if he wants to be a chef, an astronaut, or a superhero, I hope he feels that he can do whatever he wants and follow his own dreams.

Social media and time

I've been doing some research on social media lately and how to use it to my advantage without giving up too much more of my free time. I already put a lot of time into my blog and connecting with people through here. For me, this has been the most effective tool in making connections.

I have a Facebook account, but it's my personal account. I check it twice, maybe three times a day. It's mostly for keeping in contact with friends and family, and bragging about my kid. I'm planning to make one specifically for Christine Rains the Writer. I haven't decided if it's best to create a fan page or open a new account for this purpose. Have any of you had the experience of both? And if so, what's your preference? If you use Facebook at all, how often do you check fan pages as compared to accounts?

I don't have a Twitter account. I'm going to start one when I open the new Facebook account. I was never a fan of Twitter, but I do admit that it has a large following and it would be beneficial for me. I've read in a few places that for Twitter to be an effective marketing tool, you have to tweet at least 25 times a day, but no more than 35 or else people will get annoyed. That's a lot. I don't have the time to do it either. For those of you that use Twitter, have you found it helpful in marketing yourself?

I have LinkedIn and Google+ accounts, but I rarely use them. I really like Goodreads, but I haven't done any promoting on there. I just like seeing what people are reading and their reviews. I have no interest in MySpace. My husband suggested Digg (a social news website). He works with marketing at his company and Digg is growing.

Even if I signed up with various sites, I don't have the time to maintain them. I considered a social media management site like Hootsuite. I'm afraid that it might make it all more complicated. Does anyone use any type of social media management systems? If you do, what has your experience been like?

I realize it's important to get your name out there. There are a lot of opportunities to do so on the internet, but it takes time. Time that I don't have. Time I should be writing. And the most important thing I need to be doing as a writer is writing.

I'd also like to give a big thank you to Tara Tyler for awarding me the One Lovely Blog Award. She passed it on in such a clever way too!

Time slipping away

Just a quick post today. I don't have much free time on my hands these days. My son is napping less. Maybe it's the summer weather or he might be growing out the nap phase already. Ack! I hope it's not the latter! His nap time is the only solid period of time I get to myself each day to write. I need my writing time!

At least he starts preschool this August, and I'll get two mornings a week to write.

I'm curious to know how all the parent writers out there manage to find some time to write. Please give me your tips.

I'll never complain about the time I spend with my son, though. We have so much fun! Every smile is precious.

Cloning device, please

I haven't written anything new this month. Usually I try to get at least something done. A short story or a few thousand words of a novel. It's not from lack of inspiration, but lack of time. And it's frustrating. I had two rejections last week and that only raised my level of frustration. I need to write more. I need to get more stories out there.

I only have a limited amount of time each day to do what I want to do for myself. I'm home alone with a toddler for the majority of the day. I can't do anything on the computer while he's awake unless he's doing something with me. I have emails and blogs to write, and blogs to read. I've been working on revising my latest WIP, getting it ready to submit.

I realize I need to balance my time. I've been trying to shorten emails and not spend so much time commenting on blogs. I'd like to comment on everyone's blog, but please understand, I need to write more. I need to take advantage of the blog post schedule option too.

Or maybe I just need an assistant. Oh, no, a clone of myself. Yes, that would be perfect.