March #IWSG: March Madness

Come join Alex J. Cavanaugh and the Insecure Writer's Support Group. We discuss our fears, insecurities, ups and downs of the writing process and post the first Wednesday of every month! http://alexjcavanaugh.blogspot.com/p/the-insecure-writers-support-group.html


Do you find yourself doing too much of this? That's my kid by the way. I would tell him to get off his phone, but I'm probably texting him to take out the trash.

 And not enough of this?

Do you feel like your life is moving slower than these guys?

Or maybe you feel like this little guy--stuck playing the same song over and over?

Maybe the storms are rolling in faster than you can dive for cover.

March is full of madness and we've only just begun! Yesterday morning we experienced ten seconds of sleet followed by the tornado sirens blaring all over town. I'm in the editing cave right now working on my WIP: a paranormal MG mystery. Make the most of this month. Get off your phone unless you're reminding your kids to do the dishes. And get your storm shelter stocked with plenty of coffee, spare pens and paper.

What are you working on this month? Keeping up with your writing goals for this year?

February #IWSG: Fun with Photography and Phone Booths and Ferris Bueller Quotes

Come join Alex J. Cavanaugh and the Insecure Writer's Support Group. We discuss our fears, insecurities, ups and downs of the writing process and post the first Wednesday of every month! http://alexjcavanaugh.blogspot.com/p/the-insecure-writers-support-group.html










As the Midwest frolics in fifty degrees (be jealous), I've been hard pressed to find quantity writing time what with trips to the park and wearing flip-flops and all. This unfrozen winter feels oddly calming. So I dove write in (get it?) to take the February #AuthorLifeMonth challenge on Instagram (when I should be writing.) Snap a pic of the topic for that day and post it with the hashtag. Even if you're not a published author you can still participate.

This writer's journey can be a long and hard road to publication. Some in this group have already been published, but we wait on other things like finding  the perfect agent, publishers and contracts. The journey takes time and patience for all of us. Ferris Bueller has some words for those who spend every waking minute obsessed with writing, "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in awhile. You could miss it."

So in the meantime, get your camera (so retro) most likely your phone and snap some snazzy pics of you and your writing dreams and pass the time (when you should be writing). Get yourself out there. Remember you are selling not only your book (or future book) but yourself as an author.

My daughter and I played in a phone booth in an antique store over the weekend. Can someone call that number and tell me to GET BACK TO WRITING?! Thanks. 

Are you up for the photo challenge? Getting any writing done this year? Freaked out that we're already in February? You're still here? Go live life.

January #IWSG: Clear and Present Danger

Come join Alex J. Cavanaugh and the Insecure Writer's Support Group. We discuss our fears, insecurities, ups and downs of the writing process and post the first Wednesday of every month! http://alexjcavanaugh.blogspot.com/p/the-insecure-writers-support-group.html

Jack Ryan, Jason Bourne, James Bond all have one thing in common besides the first letter in their names: a clear and present danger. The stakes are always laid out before them and are never lost in wordy prose or the muddy middle. It's pretty clear they will die if they don't act. The sense of an immediate threat always lurks in the foreground.

Getting back to the basics of writing this holiday season, I was inspired as I picked up James Scott Bell's Write Your Novel From the Middle. Your writing must have clear stakes whether you write sci-fi, fantasy, contemporary. Knowing the stakes will make your story a page-turner. Great book for both plotters and pantsers!

Over Christmas break Missouri experienced some wild weather. We enjoyed sixty degree days, flash flooding and tornado watches. Last week I had to make a pizza run smack dab in the middle of a storm. Well, I didn't think about the clear and present danger until I had jumped in my car with my youngest teenage son and looked out the window. He said, "Drive, Mom. We can make it." I have two teenage boys. Of course, it was an emergency...to get pizza...in the middle of a tornado watch.

I binge-watched the Bourne movies recently and realized the incredible resourcefulness of Jason Bourne. He drives a stolen car at breakneck speed while pouring alcohol over his non-lethal gunshot wound, tending to his injuries and dodging an assassin and a dozen police cars. He gets away, silently slipping into the night without any recognition that he's awesome or a pat on the back for beating the bad guys at their own game. One thing I love about Bourne is that he never gives up; he never quits. He just keeps pressing toward his goals.

What clear and present goals do you have for this year? Write them down. Stay positive in 2016 as you balance writing with life and kids and laundry and interruptions and pizza runs in the middle of life-threatening weather. Remember, we're in this together!

December #IWSG: Things Are Getting Pretty Serious

Come join Alex J. Cavanaugh and the Insecure Writer's Support Group. We discuss our fears, insecurities, ups and downs of the writing process and post the first Wednesday of every month! http://alexjcavanaugh.blogspot.com/p/the-insecure-writers-support-group.html

Did you finish NaNo? Whether your answer is yes or no, it doesn't really matter. As long as you planted the story seed and watered it, you win. I started two novels and got almost halfway finished with each, so there's that. In the words of Napoleon Dynamite: YES. And as his brother Kip would say, "Things are getting pretty serious."


The fall season continues to inspire me with endless amounts of writing energy. No, my stories aren't set on a farm and aren't about horses or cowboys. There's just something about my favorite season that wrangles my senses and returns me to my childhood. Over the Thanksgiving holiday I traveled with my family to the outskirts of Chicago. You can see I had a captive audience as I pitched them ideas for my new stories.

If you want to continue NaNo every month of the year, I challenge you with three goals. First, carve out a time everyday to write. You already know this, so then why do you resist and fail far too often? Turn off Twitter or Facebook or fill-in-the-blank! Second, spy on your kids or other people's kids, but if you're not writing MG or YA, this will come across as creepy. Last, but not least, read widely. But, once again, you know this. Now, get your butt in gear and just do it. This year I've read almost double the amount of books I read last year. Read the good, the bad and the ugly chic lit that you can't stand or the epic regency romance slash paranormal space opera that everyone is talking about.

Here's your photographic inspiration for the day. Now go find your own colorful tree to sit underneath, and I better see you reading or writing.

Did you enjoy the long holiday weekend? What are you reading at the moment? Did you finish (or at least start) any new stories this past month? Are you a fan of Napoleon Dynamite?

November #IWSG: NaNo Anyone?

Come join Alex J. Cavanaugh and the Insecure Writer's Support Group. We discuss our fears, insecurities, ups and downs of the writing process and post the first Wednesday of every month! http://alexjcavanaugh.blogspot.com/p/the-insecure-writers-support-group.html


Living in the Midwest for most of my life has been a dream come true for this lover of fall. Who's gearing up for NaNoWriMo? The National Novel (in November) Writing Month kick starts my brain into high gear. Every year I participate, but I never register. One year while teaching fifth grade I registered my entire class. Every kid in my class wrote a novel. Achievement unlocked.

I must confess, I always begin writing my new novel a few weeks earlier in October. My goal is to finish it by the end of November with the rest of the NaNoers. So my goal remains the same every year: roughly six weeks and I have myself a brand new novel. I'm already 10,000 words into my precious, another upper middle-grade contemporary fantasy, but I fear I am quickly falling behind. I do love a challenge though!

What's so special about the fall season and writing books? Inspiration. My favorite season rapidly spreads inspiration into my veins like a flesh eating bacteria. Maybe that's a visual you weren't expecting, but it works.

Sometimes we just need a good excuse to get our butts back in the writing chair. And the fact that thousands of writers all over the world are participating in NaNo gives us a powerful motivation to join the party. Facebook, twitter, and critique groups all offer support and endless writing articles during this crazy month of cranking out a novel in thirty days.

So as you cozy up to the fireplace, your ten cups of coffee and your computer, remember to harness the inspiration all around you. Take my youngest teenage son, for example. I seriously can't make this stuff up. He came home from football practice the other day and said, "Mom, guess what we're reading in lit class? To Kill a Mocking Jay."

He was clueless. I laughed until my sides hurt.

So who's with me? Writing this month? Finishing up edits? Enjoying this season? Just for the record, the city of Hannibal is stunning in the fall.

October #IWSG: No Character Left Behind

Come join Alex J. Cavanaugh and the Insecure Writer's Support Group. We discuss our fears, insecurities, ups and downs of the writing process and post the first Wednesday of every month! http://alexjcavanaugh.blogspot.com/p/the-insecure-writers-support-group.html
 
I'm seriously late to the #IWSG party this morning. Instead of verbalizing the stress of a writer's life this month, I decided to offer a little bit of advice. Even with all of the ups and downs writing still remains my biggest passion.

In my finished WIP, I created a personality for each of my secondary characters. Some were quirky, funny, pranksters, annoying, smart-mouthed, you know, your typical teenager. I have two, I should know.

My writing mantra of "no characters left behind" was applied to all of my secondary characters. But I had glossed over a few minor ones. Those are typically the people who appear in only one scene and are forever forgotten. So I fixed the problem. I went back to each scene and created a personality for each of my minor characters. One of my previous chapters in my contemporary fantasy wreaked of a hurried, bored writer. Now, it's one of my favorite scenes in the entire story!



Whether your a newbie writer or a seasoned vet in this industry, it happens. Those minor characters get overlooked: gas station attendants, librarians, school nurses, lunch ladies. Even though they are very temporary characters in a quick and necessary scene, they are worthy of all your attention as a writer. Just as no two buildings are alike (okay, I'm stretching this a bit) and no two people are alike, so each person in our stories should be unique. Don't forget to breathe life into every last one of your characters.

Until next month!

Tell me if you've ever overlooked a minor character and how you fixed the problem. Are you enjoying writing this month? Call me crazy. I'm working on two new books!

September #IWSG: Don't Quit

Come join Alex J. Cavanaugh and the Insecure Writer's Support Group. We discuss our fears, insecurities, ups and downs of the writing process and post the first Wednesday of every month! http://alexjcavanaugh.blogspot.com/p/the-insecure-writers-support-group.html

Roller coasters. We've all been on them unless you aren't human. When I was fifteen, I landed my first job at a Six Flags where I worked in food service. It sucked, but it was pretty cool because one day I met Tone Loc. (80s rap star) Before his concert, he ordered two foot long hot dogs and handed me a one hundred dollar bill. In his gravely voice, he told me to keep the change. But sadly, we weren't allowed to keep the change.

I've been to many a Six Flags, Great America, and amusement parks over the years, but there's one coaster in the Wisconsin Dells at Mount Olympus that would make Rick Riordan proud. Hades. Yes, they don't call it Hades for nothing. Welcome to the world's first upside-down, underground wooden roller coaster. One minute you are high in the sky, enjoying the ascent overlooking the vast, lush, rolling hillsides along the Wisconsin River. The next moment you are plummeting in a death drop, feeling your spine ripped from your body. Just when you think it can't get any worse (and you're hoping the big guy in front of you doesn't lose his lunch), you plunge into complete darkness, racing along at 70-freaking-miles per hour as the the ride shoots through the parking lot under tons of cement. You pray none of the bolts are loose, because derailing from a freak coaster accident in broad daylight is one thing. Cashing in complete darkness would be the end of me, literally.

Welcome to Hades

Okay, I give you my comparison between coasters and a writer's life. One day you are up soaring above the sweet clouds taking a sweet look at the sweet horizon before you. The writing life is good. The next scene, you on a downward spiral of fear and rejection, realizing your spine has been ripped from your body and you will never get out alive. Everyone goes through the good, the bad, and the ugly as a writer. Some days will be better than others and some days you will feel like quitting and getting a job at Six Flags selling hot dogs. Don't quit.You're almost there.