IWSG for September 2012

The Insecure Writer's Support Group is the brilliant idea of our Ninja Captain, Alex J. Cavanaugh. On the first Wednesday of every month (or as close to the date as possible!), writers can express their doubts and concerns without feeling foolish. We all can offer each other sympathy and advice, strengthening our already awesome community. Please stop by to visit the other participants and offer them a few kind words.

This month, I want to offer everyone a big helping of inspiration and encouragement. The writing community never ceases to amaze me. You people are fantastic! Here are a few quotes for you.

"You need to be aware of what others are doing, applaud their efforts, acknowledge their successes, and encourage them in their pursuits. When we all help one another, everybody wins." - Jim Stovall

"A word of encouragement during a failure is worth more than an hour of praise after success." - unknown

"Those who are lifting the world upward and onward are those who encourage more than criticize." - Elizabeth Harrison

"Great opportunities to help others seldom come, but small ones surround us every day." - Sally Koch

"No act of kindness, however small, is ever wasted." - Aesop

Insecure Writer's Support Group - June 2012

The Insecure Writer's Support Group is the brilliant idea of Alex J. Cavanaugh. He's an inspiration to us all with his awesome blog posts and words of encouragement. Please take some time to visit some of the other bloggers participating in the IWSG. Every supportive word means a lot.

I feel a little nervous and timid popping in a day late with this. Yet I've wanted to do a post for the IWSG for a while now, and I've always used the excuse that my Wednesdays are taken up by my Wicked Wednesday posts. It's an excuse, not a valid reason.

I do that with my writing too. I find excuses not to do certain things. Like I don't finish revising something because I don't think I could find a publisher for it with the story's weirdness. Or I retire a novel because it was rejected too many times. I tell myself it's best to work on something else instead. I have several novels written, but most of them are just sitting there collecting dust. I'm old, especially for authors in my genre, and there's so much age-ism out there.

All those are excuses and they're holding me back. The real reason why I hide behind excuses: I don't think I'll ever be good enough. I know that if I work hard, revise and edit, polish up my stories, I can leave those excuses behind. It's a lot harder to actually get over that hump than it is to say it.

I'm starting small. I'm self-publishing this year. I'm giddy and scared about it. But it's a step in the right direction. I think... I hope. Right?