Writing Group – Page 2

#IWSG February

Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!
Posting: The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Post your thoughts on your own blog. Talk about your doubts and the fears you have conquered. Discuss your struggles and triumphs. Offer a word of encouragement for others who are struggling. Visit others in the group and connect with your fellow writer – aim for a dozen new people each time – and return comments. This group is all about connecting!

February Question

February 2 question – Is there someone who supported or influenced you that perhaps isn’t around anymore? Anyone you miss?

The awesome co-hosts for the February 2 posting of the IWSG are Joylene Nowell Butler, Jacqui Murray, Sandra Cox, and Lee Lowery!

Wow. This prompt for the month hit me like a slap to the face. There were a couple of ways I could answer this question.

First, I lost my husband at the beginning of January suddenly. He was a support for my writing through and through. We had plans to retire early to a cabin the woods. He was my true north. Before he died, we had talked about me going to Nancy Stohlman and Kathy Fish’s writing retreat. I am signed up and am excited to go in August, but it is bittersweet knowing I will not be able to share the anticipation with him. He was funny and had great stories of childhood and career. He would often text me and say, “You should put THIS is one of your stories.”

Second, my first community of writers is one I no longer belong to. I changed and it was not a good fit anymore. As with time, and how things work, the group shifted. For a long while, I kept up with the community from the outside still subscribing to emails. I used to be in the inside circle and am no longer in that role. There is a challenge connected to this community so I still participate in that but it is mostly independent now and I limit my interaction. I am in contact with people I know from the orginial group. There was a magic to the beginning circle of writers that faded away for me over time.

There is no fault or malice. It just is what it is.

#happyreading #happywriting

February 2, 2022February 2, 2022 by WriterTammy Categories: Challenge, Insecure Writer's Support Group, IWSG, Mywriting, Questions, sarahselecky, Short Story, Writing Challenge, Writing Exercise, Writing Group, Writing Prompt, WritingLifeTags: IWSG, writing 5 Comments

#IWSG January

72b25-iwsg2bbadge — https://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com/p/iwsg-sign-up.html

January 5 Question

What’s the one thing about your writing career you regret the most? Were you able to overcome it?
The awesome co-hosts for the January 5 posting of the IWSG are Erika Beebe, Olga Godim, Sandra Cox, Sarah Foster, and Chemist Ken!

I grew up reading but in my Indiana hometown there were not any writers that I knew of. I found writers when I went to college but did not recognize myself as one of them until much later.

I found out about Iowa Writing Workshop from an interview with Oprah and author of The Twelve Tribes of Hattie, Ayana Mathis. She spoke about her experience there and I stopped what I was doing and listened intently to every word. This was something I had missed – you could go to school JUST for writing. If I had understood it I had blocked it out because of my parents reluctance to see writing as a real career colored my thinking.

My regret is that I did not pursue my MFA when I was young and unattached. I have always written. I didn’t need the MFA for motivation. I found writing community later in life which honed my skills. I wish I would have taken the writing seriously, earlier. I have a fantasy of having a tiny apartment, working in a bookstore and working at an independent press in Minnesota writing when I am not with books or writing friends. There is always lots of coffee.

I know my life experience makes me a better writer now. There is lots of material to mine and use. I have pursued my own style of MFA in this adult life of day jobs and responsibility.

I study with teachers I love and admire and cultivate community.

#happyreading #happywriting

January 5, 2022 by WriterTammy Categories: Challenge, Insecure Writer's Support Group, IWSG, Mywriting, Questions, sarahselecky, Short Story, Writing Challenge, Writing Exercise, Writing Group, Writing Prompt, WritingLifeTags: IWSG, writing 4 Comments

#IWSG December

December Question

This month’s optional question:

In your writing, what stresses you the most? What delights you?

The awesome co-hosts for the December 1 posting of the IWSG are PJ Colando, Diane Burton, Louise – Fundy Blue, Natalie Aguirre, and Jacqui Murray!

In my writing, what stresses me most changes frequently. The schedule and not being able to get enough writing time in during the week before work can sometimes be stressful.

Everything delights me with the act of writing. It is my happy place. It is when I was focusing too much on the stuff surrounding being a writer that I was distracted.

The activities that surround writing like promotion are what has stressed me so for most circumstances I have ceased public writing for the moment. I just need the break of all the things I think a writer “should” do.

#happyreading #happywriting

December 4, 2021 by WriterTammy Categories: Challenge, Insecure Writer's Support Group, IWSG, Mywriting, Questions, sarahselecky, Short Story, Writing Challenge, Writing Exercise, Writing Group, Writing Prompt, WritingLife 4 Comments

#IWSG November

November Question

This month’s optional question:
What’s harder to do, coming up with your book title or writing the blurb?

The awesome co-hosts for the November 3 posting of the IWSG are Kim Lajevardi, Victoria Marie Lees, Joylene Nowell Butler, Erika Beebe, and Lee Lowery!

Honestly, I think they are both difficult!

I find titles difficult to come up with as a whole. I have taken Kathy Fish’s advice and have used deleted lines as titles. I love a title that makes sense only after you read the whole piece. I do feel that type of title needs its own special name. One of the aspects I love about flash fiction is that the title can be much longer than other types of fiction.

I have only had to write a blurb a handful of times and it because it was new it took a while for me to accomplish. For one project, I have refined the blurb over several rewritings but am still not happy with it so the revisions continue. Such is the life of a writer.

This month I am working on two projects at the same time during NANOWRIMO. I am working lightly on a romance novel and also on some flash pieces using Nancy Stohlman’s Flash Nano prompts. I am just having fun with both projects.

#happyreading #happywriting

November 3, 2021 by WriterTammy Categories: Challenge, Insecure Writer's Support Group, IWSG, Mywriting, Questions, sarahselecky, Short Story, Writing Challenge, Writing Exercise, Writing Group, Writing Prompt, WritingLife 2 Comments

Podcasts, Community, and Writing

I’m on a podcast!

You can listen here.

Nicole is a good friend with a wonderful community. I spoke with her about her Happy Campers program, how we are the same and different as writers, writing communities, and tarot.

October 22, 2021 by WriterTammy Categories: bradbury, Coaching, creativity, podcast, Writing Challenge, Writing Exercise, Writing Group Leave a comment

#IWSG October

October Question

October 6 question – In your writing, where do you draw the line, with either topics or language?

The awesome co-hosts for the October 6 posting of the IWSG are Jemima Pitt,J Lenni Dorner,Cathrina Constantine,Ronel Janse van Vuuren, and Mary Aalgaard!

In my writing, I do not censor myself for the most part. If I feel it isn’t something to be shared, then I do not. That is up to me as a writer.

There are a couple topics that I feel I cannot write about…yet. Maybe I need to move to another state again to get more distance. I have been thinking a lot about the stories I retell over and over and to write them down. Some things that have happened in my life I feel I would never write about either because I do not want to relive the memories.

This month I am examining some more of my shadow self and try to examine why I do not want to revisit certain topics. I am paying attention to what I read and what appeals to me and what doesn’t.

I am certain it is a fine line.

#happyreading #happywriting

October 6, 2021 by WriterTammy Categories: Challenge, Insecure Writer's Support Group, IWSG, Mywriting, Questions, sarahselecky, Short Story, Writing Challenge, Writing Exercise, Writing Group, Writing Prompt, WritingLife 7 Comments

Endings and Beginnings

October Is Coming Pictures, Photos, and Images for Facebook, Tumblr, Pinterest, and Twitter

Today is the last day of September and I am excited that tomorrow is October! Lots of great things are happening in the month for me!

The Storyaday prompt today is to look behind and forward. I revised the story I wrote in May this morning. There are several stories I revised this month through the prompts that will need to get final pass throughs and sent off into the world. I have two stories out to a reader for feedback. As soon as she is done with them I will rewrite and then send them off. I have some goals before the end of the year!

The next challenge for October is OCTPOWRIMO so I will write a poem a day. I have been reading a lot of poetry and enjoying it. There is a new podcast called The Slowdown which is hosted by Ada Limon who I adore. She has her own commentary before reading the poem and it is delightful. Her voice is amazing.

My #last100day2021 project is continuing. I am creating a #100dayMFA for myself. I am tracking all the writing life activities I engage in every day on a beautiful spreadsheet. I did my writing this morning but right when I felt I was on a roll was when I had to get ready for work. I did write a piece in my own PUSH group last night that I liked. I will transcribe that sometime over the next few days and see where I am at with it.

I am preparing for NANOWRIMO in November in my mind. There is a project I am kicking around in my head that came from a conversation with Kim Flodin. I highly recommend her intuitive readings. It was an eye opening process for me.

What are your creative plans for October? I would love to hear!

September 30, 2021 by WriterTammy Categories: #100dayproject, Challenge, creativity, Gatherings, Mywriting, podcast, Poetry, Reading Life, Short Story, Writing Challenge, Writing Exercise, Writing Group, Writing Prompt, WritingLife 1 Comment

September Story Challenges

September means the Storyaday challenge I have been doing for years. This year is also means #septembersentences hosted by Caroline Donahue, and the continuation of daily Sarah Selecky’s freewrites.

Potentially, this could mean a lot of writing.

Caroline Donahue is posting prompts for her challenge of writing two sentences each day for September. Her prompts are shared on IG.

Sarah Selecky’s prompts are shared through her community CENTERED. You can find that link here.

For the Storyaday challenge, Julie reuses the prompts from May, so I have been diving into the Google file and revising those stories from 4 months ago. This is the first time I have done this. Usually I write a brand new story and add to the words and drafts in my drive. The prompts from May did resonate with me this year, and I was happy with most of the stories I wrote.

I have been thinking a lot lately about the amount of words and the quality of words I am producing and what to do with them afterwards [if anything.] The revision aspect seems to be working – these first couple of days anyway.

This morning while writing in my notebook I remembered that I had publicly reflected on the challenge!

Here was my agenda for May’s Challenge: If you would like to read my reflections from Day 4 in May click here

Reflect about how I approached the prompt – Did it resonate with me? Did I use it? Did I use something else or combine it with something else?
Write the story and analyze if it different as an outcome than what I expected when I started.
Would I use this prompt again?
Reflect if the writing surprised me.
Did I learn anything?

Today’s prompt is an ending line from my friend Neha. You can read the whole prompt here and find links to her work.

The story I wrote involved a character who emerged as a Mother Nature like figure and the story involves a magical gate.

Starting with an ending line leads you to where you are going.

Anchors for my May Day 4 story: gate, splinter, time, dark

Are you participating in any September writing challenges? I am certain we will be discussing them in my PUSH group. You should join us. This month we are using The Artist’s Way to drive our discussion. We meet every Wednesday evening at 7:30p.m. Central time.

September 4, 2021 by WriterTammy Categories: Challenge, creativity, Delights, Mywriting, sarahselecky, storyaday, Writing Challenge, Writing Exercise, Writing Group, Writing Prompt, WritingLife 2 Comments

#FMF City

Each Friday Kate shares a one word prompt for you to write for 5 minutes.

City

Chicago is a city full of hidden gems that people are either trying to find or to keep secret.

Chicago is a place I have run, visited, shopped, attended field trips and each time I discover something new. I have seen the Harry Potter exhibit at Science and Industry, Monet at the Art Institute, had dinner at fancy restaurants, been to Second City and the Chicago Symphony.

I have ridden rented bikes on the streets, got lost and carried the bike up three flights of stairs from lower Wacker trying to get back to where I started. I felt like I would be wandering forever.

I ran the Chicago marathon during an anniversary year when I vowed I never would. I should have stuck to my guns in that case. It was a terrible race for me. I had to walk so many miles just to get back to my car and my stuff.

I have taken Ubers, driven my own car, and walked the concerte. I have eaten at Ed Debavacs, which is no longer there in physical space; only memories. I ate at Beard Award winning chef restaurants with friends. I have shopped the magnificent mile and frequented the Hard Rock Cafe.

In what feels like another life, I saw Wicked, Grease and several other productions. I have taken pictures with the Bean but never ice skated. I have eaten Giordannos pizza.

My first half marathon was in the city. It was the Rock and Roll Half and the pictures only show me having fun, not racing yet. I would take it more serious after that when I got the taste of the thrill.

There is more to explore with each visit. The last trip we ate outside, found a hidden Tiki bar and stayed at a hotel that used to be the Playboy Club.

There is more history to find there and sparks to inspire my writing.

September 3, 2021 by WriterTammy Categories: creativity, Five Minute Friday, FMF, Justlife, reflection, Slice of Life, Writing Challenge, Writing Exercise, Writing Group, Writing Prompt, WritingLife 3 Comments

#IWSG September

September Question

September 1 question – How do you define success as a writer? Is it holding your book in your hand? Having a short story published? Making a certain amount of income from your writing?
The awesome co-hosts for the September 1 posting of the IWSG are Rebecca Douglass, T. Powell Coltrin @Journaling Woman, Natalie Aguirre, Karen Lynn, and C. Lee McKenzie!

Over the years, the definition of success has been layered for me. At first, it was just to write and finish stories. Then it became about being published and I began my 100 submissions project. Then it became about teaching and sharing what I have learned.

Now it seems I am back to just the writing. It is what is fueling to me and always what it comes down to. The idea of what constitutes finished is different now though. I have to find a time that I will stick to revision. The ways of the past do not motivate me lately.

I think I bridge revision with submissions and sharing. I am not motivated by sharing my work at the present moment. Even a strict schedule I used to keep for the blog has fallen to the side and that is ok.

If I write, I am a writer and that fact will always be true.

#happyreading #happywriting

September 1, 2021 by WriterTammy Categories: Challenge, Insecure Writer's Support Group, IWSG, Mywriting, Questions, sarahselecky, Short Story, Writing Challenge, Writing Exercise, Writing Group, Writing Prompt, WritingLife 3 Comments