Wednesday, December 3, 2014

Insecure Writer's Support Group IWSG


To find out more about Insecure Writer's  Support Group, check out their website here.

National Novel Writing Month just ended. If you participated, you're either in possession of a finished draft or a partial draft. Or you're cackling somewhere buried beneath a pile of plot charts and character sheets. Come on out, November's over.

If you finished, celebrate the victory! Even if your draft has plot holes, inconsistent characters, or nonsensical scenes, you are still further along than the majority of people who say they want to write a book. I  know because I used to be one of those people.

"I'd like to write a book someday," I'd say.

And then I'd never do anything toward trying to write a book. Or learn about writing a book. I read books, sure. But writing a novel seemed such an intangible concept, I didn't know where to start.

NaNoWriMo was a jumping off point for me. I love how encouraging the experience can be. It's proof that when you set goals and surround yourself with encouraging people, you can accomplish much more than you expect.

If you did not finish, or had to quit somewhere mid-month, there's still a lot to be gained from attempting. Again, you have the point that many, many people who say they have ideas for books, never attempt to do anything with those ideas. The hard truth is you can't copyright an idea. Your ingenious series about a boy wizard defeating evil is nothing if you don't sit down and write it.

So, this week, stay encouraged! Celebrate the small victories. You have a draft to work with, an idea to work with, and every day going forward to turn around and make it happen.

Please visit a few other IWSG blogs linked here and share the support.


10 comments:

  1. Congrats to making NaNoWriMo! It is a huge accomplishment. I was well underway but circumstances had me go back to revisions on a different MS, so I didn't get the pure 50,000 in. But you're right - Nano is about more than just finishing a certain amount of words. It's about writing.

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  2. Great advice! Even if you didn't make the mark, it's still more words than you would've written otherwise. That's a win in my book.

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  3. Being part of NaNoWriMo is an experience to treasure. "Stay encouraged." That's right. I'm with you.

    New follower here. :-) Nice to meet you through IWSG.

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  4. Great motivational post!
    Ninja Girl

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  5. What a nice cheer! My current WIP came from a previous NaNo. It was a rough month, but I'm glad I did it.

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  6. This is a really nice post about the importance of just writing and getting out of your own way. Every word counts towards that finished draft!

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  7. Great post. I didn't officially participate in NaNo, but I did manage to finish my WIP. =)

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  8. I did NaNo officially for the very first time, and am looking forward to doing it again. Best of all, the local NaNo group has year-long weekly writeins I'm looking forward to attending, even though they're in a non-kosher restaurant and I won't be able to order anything off the menu except maybe a drink or cold salad.

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  9. That's wonderful you did NaNo. I couldn't participate, but I did my own version over the summer by fast drafting a novel.

    It is a great starting point for many.

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  10. Awfully late getting around to visit IWSG posts! But couldn't help smiling over this comment "you're cackling somewhere buried beneath a pile of plot charts and character sheets. Come on out, November's over". Midway into December, half of me wishes I could crawl back into November and lose myself in my story again!

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