The Insecure Writer’s Support Group ~ No#57
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.
A big thank you to our co-hosts for this month’s posting: C. Lee McKenzie, Rachel Pattison, Elizabeth Seckman, Stephanie Faris, Lori L MacLaughlin, and Elsie Amata. Don’t forget to visit them and thank them for co-hosting!
Our Twitter hashtag is #IWSG.
SEPTEMBER 7th QUESTION: How do you find the time to write in your busy day?
Time is a contentious issue. We are always busy. Many writers hold down a nine-to-five job. We have to squeeze in family time. The thing is, we don’t always need hours and hours to be productive. Many writers write in short bursts, for example, the mum who has a full time job and a family to take care of. In this instance, sprint writing is by necessity, not choice.
My advice: just set ten minutes aside to write. I try to do so every day. It doesn’t always work out. But every moment counts! Remember your life is not lived one day or one hour at a time. It is lived one moment at a time. Make every moment count.
ANNOUNCEMENT
Eligibility: Any member of the Insecure Writer’s Support Group is encouraged to enter – blogging or Facebook member. The story must be previously unpublished. Entry is free.
Word count: 5000-6000
Genre: Fantasy
Theme: Hero Lost. It could be about a hero turned villain, a villain’s redemption, a hero’s lack of confidence, a hero’s lack of smarts, etc. It can be about any kind of hero including superheroes, mythological heroes, unexpected or unlikely heroes, or a whole new kind of hero. This theme has plenty of scope and we’re open to pretty much anything along these lines. No erotica, R-rated language, or graphic violence.
Deadline: November 1st 2016
How to enter: Send your polished, formatted, previously unpublished story to admin @ insecurewriterssupportgroup.com before the deadline passes. Please include your contact details and if you are part of the Blogging or Facebook IWSG group.
Judging: The IWSG admins will create a shortlist of the best stories. The shortlist will then be sent to our official judges.
Prizes: The winning stories will be edited and published by Freedom Fox Press next year in the IWSG anthology. Authors will receive royalties on books sold, both print and eBook. The top story will have the honor of giving the anthology its title.
We’re excited to see the creativity and enthusiasm that’s such a part of this group put into action. So don your creative caps and start writing. And spread the word!
Our amazing judges this year:
Elizabeth S. Craig writes cozy mystery series for Penguin 
Random House, Midnight Ink, and independently. She curates links on Twitter as @elizabethscraig that are later shared in the free search engine WritersKB.com.
Richard Harland finished his first novel in 1993 and resigned a university lectureship to become a full-time writer. With 
seventeen fantasy, SF and horror novels published since, he went international with his steampunk fantasies, Worldshaker, Liberator and Song of the Slums. He has won six Aurealis Awards and the A. Bertram Chandler Award in Australia, the Tam Tam Je Bouquine Award in France. Writing Tips
excited to release her debut YA Urban Fantasy SCHISM, and she’s finishing up the sequel UNITY.
Russell C. Connor has been writing horror since the age of 5, and has been in the self-publishing industry for a decade. He has published 8 novels and 4 novellas in both paperback and eBook, 
including the Box Office of Terror Trilogy and “Whitney,” an epic horror novel about hurricane survivors fighting a washed-ashore sea monster. He also designs books for clients and assists them with self-publishing endeavors.
Dawn Frederick is the founder of Red Sofa Literary, previously of Sebastian Literary Agency, and she brings a broad knowledge of the book business to the table—with multiple 
years of experience as a bookseller in the independent, chain, and specialty stores; sales, marketing, & book development at a YA publisher, a published nonfiction author, and an agent associate literary agent at Sebastian Literary Agency.
Michelle L. Johnson is a literary agent, the founder of Inklings Literary Agency and has a business administration background 
in addition to a lifetime of working with books (sales, editing, and writing) and authors (marketing, promoting, event planning), and also has been a script/story consultant for an independent film.
Ion Newcombe is the editor and publisher of AntipodeanSF, Australia’s longest running online speculative fiction magazine, 
regularly issued since January 1998. His qualifications and employment range from horticulture through electronics into literature and communications.
currently in the making. Her first book, Afterthoughts was optioned for movie production by Kilted Pictures and Dancing Forward Productions in Los Angeles. It is currently in pre-production with plans to shoot in Louisville, Kentucky very soon. * * *
Tara Tyler has a new book coming soon!
Release Date: December 1, 2016
That is the best advice. A little time here and there. I agree, I rarely write for hours (except during that stinky NaNo). It is the quality of the time that seems to matter.
I’d rather put in ten/fifteen/twenty minutes every day than a few hours once a week. I’m aiming for consistency.
You can do a lot in ten minutes. And I’m always surprised when the word count is suddenly at 10K when I knew I could only put down 5 coherent words at a time.
So 5 coherent words on a consistent basis add up to 10K? I love your brand of maths.:)
Every minute does count.
Looking forward to the submissions!
Me too! I love reading all the entries.
I agree. It all adds up. 🙂
Anna from elements of emaginette
Sure does! Before you know it, the words are into the thousands and thousands… 🙂
I worked 24 of the weekend’s 48 and still managed to write a page a day by telling myself that I could sit down and write one teensy-wheeny paragraph! Heck of a thing to get a job done by lying to yourself! 🙂
I am already thinking of what to write. As a rare blood courier, I get lost a lot! You just keep floundering until you find the right road. In life, when the blows come, you just lean into them, and try to put one foot after another, right?
I love your train of thought. I’m all for self-deception if it gets the job done!! 😉
So cool about the anthology. And congrats to Tara!
Very true about writing when we can. It’s not always easy.
Yes. It’s amazing what you can get done when you make the best of the restricted time available.
Every moment certainly does count.
This contest is going to be great! I can’t wait to see the submissions. 🙂
We have so many great authors. I’m sure there will be a flood. 🙂
Hi Michelle – yes it’s great re the submissions – good luck to one and all. Time – we can make time … and most of us do – perhaps we just need to knuckle under a little more and those minutes will add up …
Cheers Hilary
It’s all about making time. You’re so right.
Butt In Chair Hands On Keyboard is the way to go.
Every word counts. And once you get into the habit of spending the time, any time, every day, it will be that much easier to increase it to longer amounts.
IWSG September
Yes, creating the habit first…and then keeping at it.
Sometimes it flows…goes well over twenty minutes. Other times it’s like trying to squeeze water out of an empty can. Just gotta hang in there.
That’s exactly how I cope! I can’t count of hours and hours of time – so I make the most of little bursts! 🙂
Never underestimate the power of writing bursts! 🙂
Sometimes, I think that the less time you have, the more productively you use that time, like writing in short, sharp bursts in a very focused way. The anthology contest theme looks fun – looking forward to seeing the stories that get selected.
I agree that the less time you have, the more inclined you will be to use it as productively as possible,
A lot can be achieved in just ten minutes each day.
I agree. 🙂
Hi, Michelle. I keep a tight schedule. I’ve also let some things go. Like I don’t blog as much as I used to. I also avoid FaceBook.
I also cut down on blogging but it’s still my number one choice of social media platforms.
I need to remember that writing can happen in small spurts and not wait for long stretches of free time. They don’t exist!
I’ll message you later about teaching kids with ADD.
Thanks for all your encouragement!
Thanks for the message! 🙂
Hi, Michelle,
I LOVED your last line… “Remember your life is not lived one day or one hour at a time. It is lived one moment at a time. Make every moment count.”
I’ll definitely remember that.
I know you’ve been struggling with writing. Just try and write a little every day. 🙂
Great advice, Michelle! Whenever a fellow writer is struggling, I ask them to write one sentence a day for me. It’s amazing how often that helps. One sentence per day is better than months with no sentences at all.
Thank you so much for your continued kindness and support. It means a lot to me. I’m not sure what I did to deserve it, but it always gives me a boost, so thanks! <3
Yes, one sentence per day IS better than months with no sentences at all.
With regards to the kindness/support…you’re welcome! 🙂
Jackie Collins once said in an interview – if you just set a small target of 250 words a day, by the end of the year, you’ll have written a novel. Great post! I’m very excited about the new anthology. Great line up of judges!
That’s a great way of looking at it! Wise words from Ms. Collins.
“Make every moment count.” Well said, Michelle! Just like happiness, it is those beneficial bursts that count. On the other hand, one of the things I hate most is getting into writing mode (those rare moments when it really flows) and then having to stop before the thought process or idea is finished…Luckily, I am fortunate with my amount of time that those writing mode moments better come more often! 🙂 Great theme for the anthology. I’m looking forward to reading the winning entries.
Yes, we gotta take advantage of the moments when we’re “in the zone” and it flows! 🙂
Hi Michelle! Spending 10 minutes a day on writing is great advice- even though I’ve taken a lot of breaks on social media, I actually have still been doing a lot of writing, but I do miss all the company and support. Great to be back!
Social media breaks are okay if we’ve been sticking to a reasonable writing schedule. The trick is to balance it. Good to have you back! 🙂
Sneaking time in can be hard, but 10 minutes here and there is doable.
It can be hard. I agree. But it’s achievable. 🙂
I usually like to work in big chunks of time, but you are totally right that it’s not always necessary to accomplish things. Thanks for the reminder!
I welcome the chunks on the rare occasion…it helps to boost the word count AND boosts the confidence!
I think I will give your ten minute idea a try. I have never succeeded at writing every day because I end up feeling overwhelmed, but ten minutes is manageable! If I can just get started I know then I’d continue. Thanks for the tip.
That’s what I discovered. The ten minutes is a great start. Thereafter, it’s easier to increase the session to twenty or twenty five minutes when time is available.
Every little bit of writing adds up. We need to make those moments count. 🙂
Words become sentences.
Sentences become paragraphs.
Every bit adds up. 🙂
Congrats to Tara! I make myself sit down every day after teaching for at least an hour of creative time. Usually, once I push through the fatigue bubble I get a second wind. It’s also a great way to avoid the gym.
Choosing between gym and writing? I’m sure writing wins every time. LOL
Hey Michelle. My comments are being lost all over the place this morning, so I’ll keep it short. Yes, definitely agree, we can write in short bursts. We can always carve out time for what we choose to do.
Yep. Thank you for inspiring me to expand my short story! Nearly time to send you another read if you’re up to it! I’m anxious to hear if you love it or hate it!! After being Margie-ised, I’m doing another pass, cutting and improving (I hope).
I’ll drop you a mail as soon as I’m ready.
Margie-ised…sounds like a wonderful process! You’re so lucky to have that experience under your belt. 🙂
One moment at a time is usually all I get anymore.
Diane, with your crazy schedule, I can believe it.
Hi Michelle,
I like your advice, “every moment counts” cause it does. If you only have ten minutes. Write. Those ten minutes add up and become hours.
All the best.
Shalom aleichem,
Pat Garcia
Start off with ten minutes…once the habit has set in, it becomes easier to increase the session to twenty minutes or more.
Such wise advice, Michelle. One moment at a time definitely makes things easier.
I think writing bursts also take pressure off you and allow for higher productivity in a single sitting.
Yes!!! Let’s make every moment count! And, ten minutes is definitely a good amount of writing. It surprises me how much I can get done in that amount of time.
Thanks for the thorough look at the new anthology and the editors!
…and you are proof of this. Your productivity is amazing… 🙂
I write when the mood strikes. If I try to schedule my writing, it comes out sounding too forced and you can tell my heart wasn’t really in it.
I understand. You have to do what works for you. 🙂
Hi Michelle,
Back in blogland from the summer break now. Every minute counts, so true! For writing, reading, whatever other priorities one may have. Thanks for the reminder.
Best,
Nila.
Welcome back, Nila! 🙂 Hope you had a wonderful break!
Yay for Tara!
One of the most prolific writers I know sets aside two 45 minutes writing bursts a day. That’s it! It definitely can be done, eh?
Good idea to try two bursts a day. 🙂
Ten minutes a day definitely adds up. It’s something that we can all do if we prioritise our writing. Excited about entering the contest!
I always say, never underestimate the power in short bursts.
Wonderful point. Those minutes add up to a lot of productivity.
Concentrated writing often produces good quality.
It really is all about discipline and forcing oneself to the keyboard. Ten minutes each day adds up. Zero minutes does not.
Much success to Tara with Cradle Rock! The cover’s fantastic!
I’ve learned that it’s all about Butt In Chair Hands On Keyboard (or pen to paper…)
Hi Michelle,
Your advice about writing 10 minutes a day is a great way to ease writers into a routine.
The new IWSG contest sounds like a wonderful opportunity.
Congrats to Tara!
Yes, it is. Once the routine has been established, then it’s easier to go for longer periods of time when the opportunity arises. Nice to see you at my place, Julie! 🙂
Great advice! We have to use the time we have and make our writing important.
I really admire writers who have learned to use every available writing opportunity. They grab the few precious minutes wherever and whenever…
Just a few minutes here and there, moment by moment. Perfect advice! Thanks for the reminder :). I’m excited about the IWSG story contest. Hopefully, those minutes will add up and I’ll have something to submit! Fingers crossed.
~Jen