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!
Our Twitter handle is @TheIWSG and hashtag is #IWSG
Every month, we announce a question that members can answer in their IWSG post. These questions may prompt you to share advice, insight, a personal experience or story. Include your answer to the question in your IWSG post or let it inspire your post if you are struggling with something to say.
Remember, the question is optional!
May 3 Question: What is the weirdest/coolest thing you ever had to research for your story?
Remember, the question is optional!
May 3 Question: What is the weirdest/coolest thing you ever had to research for your story?
The awesome co-hosts for the May 3 posting of the IWSG will be Nancy Gideon, Tamara Narayan, Liesbet @ Roaming About, Michelle Wallace, and Feather Stone!
Hi,
It's May and that means I have only one month left of school!!! I have the first grade teacher May crabbies. That means I'm impatient and tired of reminding the kids to walk and be quiet in the halls. And I'm most tired of reminding them "Kleenex, not fingers."
What do angels, universities, and diseases all have in common? I've researched them for the young adult stories I've written. My characters are often 17-18 and considering which college to attend, so I've researched universities that specialize in music (which an editor told me was cliché) and the surgical field, mainly organ transplant surgery. For NaNoWriMo 2015 I wrote 'my grief book' and included a lot of details from my own journey through losing my mom, but didn't want to write about her specific illness, so I researched an alternative. Most recently I researched the nine choirs of angels for my contemporary fantasy novel. In addition to using the information in the story, I created a quiz for readers, What kind of angel would you be? and most recently created a page for my author website about the types of angels in my story and about the characters who play them. That page is here if you're interested in reading it.
I'm sure today will hold many, many interesting answers to read about! And now that book two (out May 31) is with my editors' team of beta readers, I actually have time to come around and visit more of you! I know, promises, promises. You'll believe it when you see it! Sorry for being so MIA.
Christy
P.S. I just have one word for you: Vellum. I'm madly in love with Vellum. I recently purchased (for $1 per hour) mac in a cloud so that I could download Vellum and use it to format my e-books. I couldn't love it more! Only a month or two before Vellum comes out for formatting paperbacks! I CAN'T WAIT! (Need it now!)
So, if you've yet to try it or have been on the fence... DO IT! You won't regret it.
P.S. I just have one word for you: Vellum. I'm madly in love with Vellum. I recently purchased (for $1 per hour) mac in a cloud so that I could download Vellum and use it to format my e-books. I couldn't love it more! Only a month or two before Vellum comes out for formatting paperbacks! I CAN'T WAIT! (Need it now!)
So, if you've yet to try it or have been on the fence... DO IT! You won't regret it.
Christy! Research is the name of the game, eh? Based on my reading, universities that specialize in music--that's not cliche. Hard to succeed in, very difficult to be accepted into prestigious ones, but not cliche. I can count on one hand the number of times I've read about someone reaching for that kind of school. Once. Just once. In all my YA and New Adult novels, that's it. Hmm... Anyhow, wishing you cheese and sanity throughout the process!
ReplyDeleteOh, I love quizzes like that! I created one for my middle grade book, too. Kids love that, and I think it pulls the reader into the story even more. You've been quite busy writing. That's great! Good luck with book II.
ReplyDeleteThe end of May will be here before you know it! Glad you found a program for formatting that you enjoy.
ReplyDeleteSounds like you've been researching some fun topics. You must be excited for the school year to be ending. Glad you found a formatting program that you love.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting where our stories will lead us. I really want to try Vellum. The only thing Vellum can do that I haven't figured out how to do myself are the drop caps and the small caps for the first sentence. Maybe I should use it with the MacinCloud, although I could use a new laptop soon. Maybe I'll save up for a Mac one of these days. *crosses fingers*
ReplyDeleteYou're tired of reminding the grade 1 kids to walk and be quiet in the halls. I'm tired of reminding the grade 8 and 9 kids of the same thing.
ReplyDeleteDo they ever listen?
I've heard about Vellum. Lots of authors seem impressed by it.
Good luck with book number two!
Writer In Transit
May IWSG Co-Host.