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A Life Less Ordinary

Tag: memoir (page 4 of 7)

IWSG Writing Update November 2019 – “Slush” Pile of Work

Every first Wednesday of the month, the IWSG (Insecure Writer’s Support Group) engages writers to share their fears, thoughts, progress, struggles, excitement, encouragement, or anything really, about their writing. A different question is posed each month as a writing prompt. Answering it is optional. For November, the question is: “What’s the strangest thing you’ve ever googled in researching a story?”

This amazing, supportive group of writers was founded by Alex J. Cavanaugh. Today, the co-hosts are Sadira Stone, Patricia Josephine, Lisa Buie-Collard, Erika Beebe, and C. Lee McKenzie. Feel free to swing by their sites!

My answer to the question

As a non-fiction writer who mostly shares personal experiences, my research is quite boring and usually involves fact checking, consulting my diary, or searching for photos in my archives to get a better picture – Do I have that location correct? Is this name spelled right? How long was that distance again?

I imagine fiction writers have much more exciting answers, so I’m looking forward to reading about their strange Google results. It should be fun!

My book progress

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IWSG Writing Update October 2019 – Sightseeing Instead of Submitting

Every first Wednesday of the month, the IWSG (Insecure Writer’s Support Group) engages writers to share their fears, thoughts, progress, struggles, excitement, encouragement, or anything really, about their writing. A different question is posed each month as a writing prompt. Answering it is optional.

This amazing, supportive group of writers was founded by Alex J. Cavanaugh. Today, the co-hosts are Ronel Janse van Vuuren, Mary Aalgaard, Madeline Mora-Summonte, and Ellen @ The Cynical Sailor. Feel free to swing by their sites and see what they’re up to.

The question for this month’s blog hop is long: “It’s been said that the benefits of becoming a writer who does not read is that all your ideas are new and original. Everything you do is an extension of yourself, instead of a mixture of you and another author. On the other hand, how can you expect other people to want your writing, if you don’t enjoy reading? What are your thoughts?

My answer

I believe that reading benefits people, whether they are writers or not. The advantage of being a writer who reads is that you always learn, consciously or not, and this improves your craft. The disadvantage of reading for me is that, 1) I compare myself to other writers, leading to two trains of thought, either “I’ll never be able to write this well and become successful” or “I can and do write like that, so why am I not becoming successful?” And, 2) I get annoyed by typos, feel like I have to proofread and correct the copy, and try to retain wisdom. As a result, reading often feels like work instead of enjoyment. In general, reading does make me a better writer.

However, I don’t agree that not reading means that you don’t enjoy reading, as suggested in this question. I rarely read because of time constraints, not because I don’t enjoy it. Also, writers might purposefully NOT read much (in certain genres) to develop original ideas and unique voices. Nothing wrong with that.

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IWSG Writing Update September 2019 – Not Much Writing on the Road

Every first Wednesday of the month, the IWSG (Insecure Writer’s Support Group) engages writers to share their fears, thoughts, progress, struggles, excitement, encouragement, or anything really, about their writing. A different question is posed each month as a writing prompt. Answering it is optional. For September, the question is: “If you could pick one place in the world to sit and write your next story, where would it be and why?”

This amazing, supportive group of writers was founded by Alex J. Cavanaugh. Today, the co-hosts are Gwen Gardner, Doreen McGettigan, Tyrean Martinson, Chemist Ken, and Cathrina Constantine. Feel free to swing by their sites and see what they’re up to.

My answer to the question (If you could pick one place in the world to sit and write your next story, where would it be and why?)

I love this month’s question! Mention “the world” and I’m excited. One place I would never pick to do such a thing would be… a camper van on a discovery trip of the Canadian Maritimes. 😊

Picturesque Peggy’s Cove, Nova Scotia

Even before I became a writer, I said to myself: “One day, I want to write a book from a self-contained cottage in Hawaii!” This has not happened (yet); I’ve never even been to this tropical US state. I have, however, lived and traveled in self-contained units, like two sailboats and three campers. The part of using nature for resources like electricity, water, and propulsion (in the case of the sailboats) thoroughly pleases me and basic living off the grid surely is my thing. But the absence of a dedicated desk, internet, and the word “unlimited” in the above list makes writing difficult. I guess I could always use a notebook!

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IWSG Writing Update August 2019 – More Agent Queries

Every first Wednesday of the month, the IWSG (Insecure Writer’s Support Group) engages writers to share their fears, thoughts, progress, struggles, excitement, encouragement, or anything really, about their writing. A different question is posed each month as a writing prompt. Answering it is optional. For August, the question is: “Has your writing ever taken you by surprise? For example, a positive and belated response to a submission you’d forgotten about or an ending you never saw coming? ”

This amazing, supportive group of writers was founded by Alex J. Cavanaugh. Today, the co-hosts are Renee Scattergood, Sadira Stone, Jacqui Murray, Tamara Narayan, and LG Keltner! Feel free to swing by their sites and see what they’re up to.

My answer to the question (Has your writing ever taken you by surprise?)

With the risk of sounding arrogant, I’ve always believed in my writing and that the articles I submit to magazines are worthy of publication. Don’t we all? Luckily for me, this is usually the case and it’s the occasional rejection (or lack of response from the editor) that takes me by surprise.

When it comes to unpublished work, sitting in folders on my laptop, I often regard that as “useless”. So, whenever I do browse these stories, blog, and article ideas, I sometimes stumble on a piece of good writing. That takes me by surprise. If only I could spend all my time writing articles for magazines!

Snatching an agent for my memoir is another beast all together. Here, I don’t expect easy progress, quick interest, or magic. It has proven to be a long road as rejections and silence are a big part of my life this year. If an agent ever reaches out, that would be a surprise. I’d love to share that story as an answer to this question one day!

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IWSG Writing Update July 2019 – About Reading

Every first Wednesday of the month, the IWSG (Insecure Writer’s Support Group) engages writers to share their fears, thoughts, progress, struggles, excitement, encouragement, or anything really, about their writing. A different question is posed each month as a writing prompt. Answering it is optional. For July, the question is: “What personal traits have you written into your character(s)?”

This amazing, supportive group of writers was founded by Alex J. Cavanaugh. Today, the co-hosts are Erika Beebe,Natalie Aguirre, Jennifer Lane, MJ Fifield, Lisa BuieCollard, and Ellen @ The Cynical Sailor. Feel free to swing by their sites and see what they’re up to.

My answer to the question (What personal traits have you written into your character(s)?)

Since my memoir Plunge is about me, I’d say quite a few. 🙂 Attempting the “show, don’t tell” technique, I created a character that ranges from sweet, caring, and considerate to being a selfish bitch at times. Nobody is without flaws. My other non-fiction writing usually doesn’t have characters in it.

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IWSG Writing Update June 2019 – About Drafts

Every first Wednesday of the month, the IWSG (Insecure Writer’s Support Group) engages writers to share their fears, thoughts, progress, struggles, excitement, encouragement, or anything really, about their writing. A different question is posed each month as a writing prompt. Answering it is optional. For June, the question is: “Of all the genres you read and write, which is your favorite to write in and why?”

This amazing, supportive group of writers was founded by Alex J. Cavanaugh. Today, the co-hosts are Diane Burton, Kim Lajevardi, Sylvia Ney, Sarah Foster, Jennifer Hawes, and Madeline Mora-Summonte. Feel free to swing by their sites and see what they’re up to.

My answer to the question (Of all the genres you read and write, which is your favorite to write in and why?)

I used to love reading books. I still do, but unfortunately that activity is at the bottom of my list of priorities. I have no time for it. My life is hectic in a unique sort of way. I make an exception for books I promised to beta read. As a result, I’ve read two books this year – one memoir and one cozy mystery. Yep. That’s it.

I prefer reading stories about real people and events, as opposed to fictional ones. That being said, to really relax when reading, fiction is preferred. To be honest, since I’ve become a writer, I never read for pleasure anymore. My mind can’t help itself to pick out typos and grammar mistakes (and I make notes!) or somehow learn from the craft.

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IWSG Writing Update May 2019 – Final Edits

Every first Wednesday of the month, the IWSG (Insecure Writer’s Support Group) engages writers to share their fears, thoughts, progress, struggles, excitement, encouragement, or anything really, about their writing.

This amazing, supportive group of writers was founded by Alex J. Cavanaugh. Today, the co-hosts are Lee Lowery, Juneta Key, Yvonne Ventresca, and T. Powell Coltrin. Feel free to swing by their sites and see what they’re up to.

Revising and editing

I planned to title this blog “deep revision,” until I looked up what revising actually means and how it’s different from editing. Revising is about the content while editing is about sentence-level issues and typos. Basically, a deep revision would mean butchering your manuscript and rewriting parts of it. That might happen in the future if I were to find an agent/publisher, but it’s not exactly what I have been doing lately. I’ve been busy “editing.” Lots of it! Good thing I enjoy that part as much as the writing itself.

Surrounded by three labs in the office

Book progress

When I sent my manuscript to beta readers last summer, my biggest request was how to cut the prose: “Which parts could be cut? What’s boring or doesn’t add to the overall story?”

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IWSG Writing Update April 2019 – My Road to Publication Step 3: Rejections

Every first Wednesday of the month, the IWSG (Insecure Writer’s Support Group) engages writers to share their fears, thoughts, progress, struggles, excitement, encouragement, or anything really, about their writing. A different question is posed each month, as a writing prompt for IWSG members. Answering it is optional. For April, the question is: “If you could use a wish to help you write just one scene/chapter of your book, which one would it be?”

This amazing, supportive group of writers was founded by Alex J. Cavanaugh. Today, the co-hosts are J.H. Moncrieff, Natalie Aguirre, Patsy Collins, and Chemist Ken. Feel free to swing by their sites and see what they’re up to.

My answer to the question (If you could use a wish to help you write just one scene/chapter of your book, which one would it be?)

I’m going to cheat with this month’s question, as I enjoy writing every chapter of my memoir or any new book I have in mind. Instead, I would use my wish to help me write a summary/blurb that catches the eye of a reader, an editor, a publisher, or, most importantly right now, an agent!

Rejections

After completing step 1 (the book proposal) and step 2 (submitting queries to agents), it is inevitably time for step 3 – rejections – on my road to getting published traditionally. Continue reading

IWSG Writing Update March 2019 – My Road to Publication Step 2: Submitting to Agents

Every first Wednesday of the month, the IWSG (Insecure Writer’s Support Group) engages writers to share their fears, thoughts, progress, struggles, excitement, encouragement, or anything really, about their writing.

This amazing, supportive group of writers was founded by Alex J. Cavanaugh. Today, the co-hosts are Fundy Blue, Beverly Stowe McClure, Erika Beebe, and Lisa Buie-Collard. Feel free to swing by their sites and see what they’re up to.

My book progress

Last month, I decided to share my personal road to publication, starting with the non-fiction book proposal. You can read that post here. Such a proposal is needed to pitch a memoir to an agent or publisher. I’m pursuing the traditional publishing route first, since one can “always self-publish later.” Continue reading

IWSG Writing Update February 2019 – My Road to Publication Step 1: The Book Proposal

Every first Wednesday of the month, the IWSG (Insecure Writer’s Support Group) engages writers to share their fears, thoughts, progress, struggles, excitement, encouragement, or anything really, about their writing. A different question is posed each month, as a writing prompt for IWSG members. Answering it is optional. For February, the question is: “Besides writing, what other creative outlets do you have?”

This amazing, supportive group of writers was founded by Alex J. Cavanaugh. Today, the co-hosts are Raimey Gallant, Natalie Aguirre, CV Grehan, and Michelle Wallace. Feel free to swing by their sites and see what they’re up to.

My answer to the question (Besides writing, what other creative outlets do you have?)

None. Writing is all I do, every day. My memoir, articles, blog posts, notes, comments, emails, diaries. When I don’t write, I edit or translate, which could be called writing as well. During the weekend, I aim to go for walks/hikes or relax, during which times I always talk or think about… writing.

My book progress

I want to thank you all again for your input last month, in regards to the title, subtitle, summaries, and tweets for my Work in Progress (WIP), a travel memoir about my thirties, navigating the ups and downs of love, adventure, and the unknown aboard a 35ft sailboat in the tropics. For now, I have settled on the title Plunge – Riding the Waves of a Life Less Ordinary. We will see what happens with that one. As you know, I have tons of alternatives. 😊

The last two months, I have been working diligently on creating a book proposal for my non-fiction manuscript. Continue reading

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