#IWSG Post: Why I Love Being a Writer

Hello! Here we all are again. It's another first Wednesday. Thanks for visiting me! I'll be around to see you by Sunday!  It takes me a little while to make the rounds. But I'll be by!

Click here to visit all the other bloggers participating!

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!

The awesome co-hosts for the November 2 posting of the IWSG will be Joylene Nowell Butler, Jen Chandler, Mary Aalgaard, Lisa Buie Collard, Tamara Narayan, Tyrean Martinson, and Christine Rains!

November 2 Question: What is your favorite aspect of being a writer?

It's funny. I remember the days when I was all hush hush about being a writer. Only Erica (my blog partner) and I knew. Now, it's a matter of accepting the title of author whether or not I'm traditionally or self-published.

But I am a writer, and I love what I do. Why? What's my favorite aspect of being a writer? Now that I'm sitting down to write this post I realize how hard it will be to answer with just one favorite aspect....

So, I'm going to have to list them all and then decide:

--escaping into a world that I create on "paper" (okay, my laptop screen)

--creating characters with personalities, flaws and goals... I'd say I liked giving them obstacles but that's something I struggle with (i know, that's like the most important part, right? gah.)

--going for a run so that the setting and dialogue will pop into my head so that I can get home and write words I hadn't been able to before

--learning. becoming better. I've said it already, but reading that Take Off Your Pants book has opened a whole new world for me. I understand my stories so much better now that I have Hawker's outlining strategy. i'm so excited about having improved all aspects of my story writing.

--relationships with other writers (even though they're all virtual and my husband doubts you're all real) I'm a huge introvert. This is me being social. "Hey all you out there in the blogosphere."

--relationships with other writers. i can talk about the one and only thing I really want to talk about, writing, and you all want to talk about it too. and you 'get' what i'm saying.

--words and how they can be strung together. sometimes they're just beautiful, you know? i love that.

--creativity. pushing myself to let loose and be more creative. i'm super straight and narrow and letting myself create something fantastical and unrealistic is difficult. writing is the wild side of me. 

I don't know that I can rank those. And I'm leaving aspects off the list...I can feel it. Anyhow, I guess those are some of my favorite aspects of being a writer. I'm excited to hop around later (probably throughout the week and weekend) to find out what you most love about writing.

What I'm Insecure About This Month:

Are you participating in NaNoWriMo? I am, but it'll be a different year for me. Find me and be my buddy if you want--Christy_h  Since I'm publishing in January and then again in April...I've got a lot of other stuff to do, so I'm worried I won't be as successful this year. Last year I wrote more than the 50k to complete a novel. 

I've been counting on this month to get my April book written, but I've also got to (alert, my to-do list is ahead) (apparently i needed to get it out of my head and into word form):

--plan/make Facebook posts for my (well, my pen name's) Cover Reveal event on december 4 (Feel free to join me!), 

--do final edits and proofread January's novel,

--format January's novel for e-book advanced reader copies and get those out to newsletter subscribers (hopefully in a week or so!), (i'm sure i'll post about that too, so if you're interested, you'll be able to get your hands on a copy!)

--oh, and that also requires figuring Book Funnel out, 

--finish plotting April's novel using the Take Off Your Pants outline (really, she said it took her only three weeks to write her novel with her full outline...so if I take this week to plot, well, let's just say I've got this. Maybe.), 

--and recently I decided to plot, create a cover for, and write a prequel novella for my series and post it on Instafreebie by December 4... 

So, all in all, November is going to be insane.  INSANE!  

And I work full-time as a teacher. I've got three young kids with homework I need to help with. And I feed them, clothe them, cuddle them. The house doesn't clean itself. Good thing I got that self-emptying dishwasher--not!  Okay, this post is going to make me CRY!

I'd better go plot in the fifteen minutes I've got left yet this morning before work.

What I'm Proud Of This Month:

I'm now a Goodreads author! Find me on Goodreads as Cecelia Earl and if you want, you can add my January book to your want-to-read shelf. Here's the link: When Ash Rains Down

And, lastly, I decided to try my hand at creating a trailer for my Kingdom Come series. Here it is!  

Have a wonderful month writing and living. I hope you find every success and accomplish all you set out to do, or as much as humanly possible with the amount of hours we're allotted in a day. ;)

I may need advice on how to get through the month. Feel free to leave me some!

Thanks,

Christy