Insecure Writer's Support Group: December 2016

It's the first Wednesday of the month, and you know what that means!  It's time to convene another meeting of The Insecure Writer's Support Group!  Our esteemed leader Alex J. Cavanaugh has rounded up another great group of minions to co-host this month: Jennifer Hawes, Jen Chandler, Nick Wilford, Juneta Key, J.H. Moncrieff, Diane Burton, and M.J. Fifield.

Be sure to visit the IWSG website!

Now that it's December, I'm looking back on the past year and thinking about all that I've accomplished.  I think that's normal behavior for this time of year.  Overall, I have to say I'm pretty happy with everything that's happened.  I had two short stories published in anthologies, and I've continued self-publishing my Self-Help 101 series.  Nevertheless, I'm insecure about the fact that I'm not going to reach all my goals for the year.

My original goal was to have the entire Self-Help 101 series written and published by the end of the year.  It's become clear to me that this is not going to happen.  Now, the entire thing is actually written.  I accomplished that much. However, when I made the original goal, I hadn't anticipated getting pregnant and having a new baby in the house.  Now that I have a two-week-old baby in the house, editing and preparing a novella for publication is not my top priority.  I can't say for sure when I'll manage to publish the last novella in my series, but I'll get it done as soon as I can.  

And now it's time to answer this month's question.

In terms of your writing career, where do you see yourself five years from now, and what's your plan to get there?

The biggest thing I'd like to accomplish in the next five years is to have a novel published.  It's a lofty goal, yes, but I have to believe it's possible.  

I've written plenty of novels in my time, though it has been a little while since I last attempted it. Were any of those previous novels any good?  I have to be honest and say that most of them weren't.  Some of them may have some potential, but it would take a lot of work to whip them into shape.  Maybe I'll unearth one of them and make the effort, or maybe I'll come up with a brand new, shiny idea and start anew.  Either way, I plan to start on my goal of writing a novel once I've completed my work on Self-Help 101.  I'd like to have a complete first draft of a novel written by the end of 2017, and I hope to have it ready for submission by mid-2018.

From there I just need to be stubborb and go through the submission process.  I know it'll be a bumpy ride, but I'm ready for it.  You don't achieve your goals if you aren't willing to get a little scraped up.  As long as I keep writing and submitting, anything is possible.

Celebrate the Small Things- December 2, 2016

It's Friday!  Let's Celebrate the Small Things with Lexa Cain!  Tonja Drecker and I are her co-hosts.

We had a tornado on Monday.  That's kind of crazy for the end of November in Iowa.  The tornado was pretty small, and while there was some property damage around town, no one was hurt.  We got lucky and didn't have any damage at our house.  Our little town made the news over the whole thing. You can check that out here and here.

For those of you who don't know yet, I had a baby girl on November 22nd.  We named her Zoe Jane.  My friend Chelsea, who's good enough to make a living as a professional photographer, came by over the weekend and took some newborn photos.  I thought I'd share a few of them with you. Selecting a handful to share is difficult, because they're all amazing.

What would you like to celebrate?

Celebrate the Small Things-November 25, 2016

It's Friday!  Let's Celebrate the Small Things with Lexa Cain! Tonja Drecker and I are her co-hosts.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you living in the United States! We certainly had an eventful holiday.  I got out of the hospital Thanksgiving morning, and I had an extra bundle to take home with me.

Zoe Jane was born on November 22nd at 7:01 pm.  She weighed 8 lbs., 3 oz. and was 20 3/4 inches long.  We've been sleep deprived this week, but we have a lot to celebrate nonetheless.

What would you like to celebrate?

Celebrate the Small Things-November 18, 2016

It's Friday!  Let's Celebrate the Small Things with Lexa Cain!  Tonja Drecker and I are her co-hosts.

This has been a bit of a rough week.  I came down with a nasty cold on Monday, and now my kids are both suffering through it too.  Not that you can really tell by looking at them.  They're determined to play as if nothing is wrong. Fortunately, I'm starting to feel almost normal again, so I'm definitely celebrating that.

Considering everything that's going on, I'm not as far into edits as I'd like to be, but I'm still making progress.  Any progress is better than no progress.

I also managed to get a lot of baby-related preparations finished despite not feeling well.  I've still got a few things left to do, and hopefully I can finish them up this weekend.

What would you like to celebrate?

Celebrate the Small Things-November 11, 2016

It's Friday!  Let's Celebrate the Small Things with Lexa Cain!  Tonja Drecker and I are her co-hosts.

I finished the first draft of my WIP this week, so that's great. Now I'm immersed in the editing process, and it seems to be going well so far.

I treated myself to a new wristwatch this week.  I'd been thinking of getting a new one for a little while.  It isn't an expensive one, but it looks nice and works well.  That's all that matters to me.

The weather has been consistently beautiful here.  My kids can run around outside in the afternoon without jackets, and that's extremely unusual for a November in Iowa.  We're going to enjoy it while it lasts.

I'm still offering my books for free through November 29th.  If you're interested, check out this link for more information!

What would you like to celebrate?

Celebrate the Small Things-November 4, 2016

It's Friday!  Let's Celebrate the Small Things with Lexa Cain!  Tonja Drecker and I are her co-hosts.

I'm normally not an avid sports fan, but I do like to follow the World Series when it happens.  Maybe the fact that I used to play softball as a kid contributes to my enjoyment of baseball. All I can say is that Game 7 of the 2016 World Series was probably the most tense and exciting game I've ever seen in my life.  I know a lot of people who were up too late watching it, and I'm glad I got to see it.  Congratulations to the Chicago Cubs for winning it all for the first time since 1908, and kudos to the Cleveland Indians for playing such a great game. It was indeed a hard fought battle all the way.

Parent-teacher conferences were this week, and they went quite well.  My boys seem to be doing well in school this year, and their teachers only had positive things to say about them. I think that's worth celebrating!

Writing is also going well this week.  I feel like I'm getting a lot done.  Let's hope I can keep it up!

Also, if you're interested in getting free copies of some of my books, go HERE and find out how you can make that happen.

What would you like to celebrate?

The Insecure Writer's Support Group: November 2016

Is it really the first Wednesday of the month already?  I guess you know what that means!  It's time to convene another meeting of the Insecure Writer's Support Group!  Our leader Alex J. Cavanaugh has assembled another great group of minions this month: Joylene Nowell Butler, Jen Chandler, Mary Aalgaard, Lisa Buie-Collard, Tamara Narayan, Tyrean Martinson, and Christine Rains.

Be sure to stop by the IWSG website!

First of all, I'd like to wish everyone who is participating in NaNoWriMo the best of luck!  You've got a heck of a month ahead of you!  I'm expecting a baby this month, so instead of joining in, I'll be cheering you on from the sidelines.  And trying to fit in all the writing I can before the big day comes, of course.  I'm feeling a bit insecure about how much I'll be able to accomplish in that time, so wish me luck!

I participated in Trick-or-Treat Reads, which the awesome Patricia Lynne made possible.  The coupon codes are good through November 29th, so if you're interested in snagging some free books, go HERE.

Now let's move on to this month's question!

The question for this month is: What is your favorite aspect of being a writer?

There are a lot of things to love about being a writer, but I think my favorite has to be having the freedom to go anywhere and do anything without leaving home.  As a writer, I create characters and send them out into places and situations that I've never experienced.  I get to live and experience things through them, and it can be exhilarating.  A person might think that I, as the writer, have complete control over the story and characters, but I don't.  Things take unexpected twists and turns all the time, and that makes the process even more exciting for me.

What is your favorite aspect of being a writer?