Wednesday, January 6, 2016

Insecure Writers Support Group--January, 2016


Good morning, everyone! If it's IWSG day then chances are, one of my darlings is home sick. Ding, ding, ding! Yes, she is! Big Bear is fighting off an ear infection (which started on New Year's Eve). Little Bear had a fever of 102 on, wait for it, Christmas Eve. But it's okay! We had a wonderful time over break, spent many days in the sun in short sleeves down in N.C. visiting relatives and ate way to many cookies. (Don't tell Monkey).

Note to self: Stay in bed and hide on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

But enough bad news. I have some good news. The short story I submitted to the IWSG Anthology Contest made the cut. Yeah! (And to think I almost didn't even try.) Congrats to the other authors who will be included, especially L.G. Keltner on her top story!

Here's a question for you writers. I've been working on a historical novel that takes place right before the Civil War. It's going through another edit, but is very close to completion.

Many years ago my dad gave me some photo albums dating back to the 1860s containing portraits of our relatives. My husband thought it would be cool to use some of these ancestors' images for characters in the book. As I went through the album, it was amazing how well some of their faces matched my characters.

What do you think? Using old photos worked great for Ransom Riggs in his Mrs. Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children series. (Not that my photos are peculiar.) I wonder if my living relatives would support the idea or be horrified. Hmm . . .

Anyway, thanks to Alex Cavanaugh for creating this group and putting together the anthology contest. I also want to thank everyone who left such supportive comments on my December ISWG blog. Now it's time to get hopping, starting with today's awesome co-hosts: L.G. Keltner, Denise Covey, Sheri Larsen, J.Q. Rose, Chemist Ken, and Michelle Wallace.

Happy 2016, y'all! 




Monday, January 4, 2016

Question of the Month with Michael D'Agostino



Happy New Year! In honor of the new year, Michael asks,

What are some new year’s resolutions you’ve had in the past?

I pretty much have the same resolutions every January (and March, July, October, you get the picture).

1. Write more.

I have plenty of time to write. I'm at home. My kids go to school (occasionally). Where do the hours go? I do spend too much time surfing CNN, YouTube, and fiddling around with gmail. I do take incredibly long lunches, because I read while I eat. If I stay up too late, I nap. Basically, I need more discipline.

Once I do start working, I'm good to go, but getting in the groove takes time. 

2. Eat less sugar.

The usual resolution is to lose weight. That means you need to burn more calories than you consume, over a long period of time. If you adopt an extreme diet (all grapefruit, wheatgrass, or brussel sprouts), you might drop pounds, but eventually, you'll crack, start eating other stuff, and eventually find yourself back where you started plus ten extra pounds. Yo-yo, baby. Been there, done that. So I'd like to focus on a different goal and see if that helps. But willpower is a serious issue. I have none.

3. Get rid of clutter.

I hate my house. Right now, as I type, my daughter is furiously (and fruitlessly) searching for something we bought several weeks ago. She's pissed and now I have to leave this blog and help her or she'll glom onto me and never let go. It's really hard to type with an 11-year-old strapped to your shoulder. So I must get rid of the clutter or we will all go mad searching for that illusive item that stands between us and true happiness.

Did you make any resolutions this year? How about joining this blog hop? Go see Michael at A Life Examined and sign up now!