Wednesday, October 3, 2018

IWSG October 2018--The Reality of a Writer


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. Be sure to link to this page and display the badge in your post.

Let’s rock the neurotic writing world! Our Twitter hashtag is #IWSG

The awesome co-hosts for the October posting of the IWSG are Dolorah @ Book Lover, Christopher D. Votey, Tanya Miranda, and Chemist Ken!

I wrote my post before I read the month's question, however, I think they fit rather well in the end.

The October Question: How do major life events affect your writing? Has writing ever helped you through something?

My husband thinks of me as a dreamer. For the most part, he's right, but I'm also a realist. You have to be if you're going to answer the question of why you write honestly.

Why do you write?

I write for me.

If all the books I've published disappeared from the world today, no one would miss them. I know that for a fact. Oh, sure. My mom would miss them. Maybe my kids. My good friend Kathy who has beta read every one and given invaluable advice on all of them. Maybe a handful of people that know me personally. But the world will not miss my stories. And I'm okay with that because I didn't write them for the world.

I wrote The Magic Wakes as part of my healing process from a traumatic experience and resulting depression.

Stellar Cloud is a collection of blog fest pieces from when I was blogging almost every day and reading hundreds of blogs a day. For me, it represents those friendships that helped me through some really hard times and helped me find my way as a new wanna-be author.

I wrote Fade Into Me for my girls. It was the first novel that I knew what the theme was before I wrote it. This story was a turning point for me with my writing. Still far from perfect, its a story from my heart just for them.

Even my romances are personal.

Chocolate Kisses came about because a good friend's teen daughter was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. She is this beautiful harpist--seriously she looks like an angel sitting on stage playing--and my brain started asking all these questions.

Landscape Love was written at a time when I desperately needed to feel like I was enough. Through writing it I learned that sometimes we simply need to be enough for ourselves and the rest will follow.

The new book, The Hand of Atua, is about my journey of faith. Sure it's set in space, filled with war, refugees, pain and suffering. But it's really about two people learning to trust in their god. Learning that when he says "they are in my hands" all will be well, even if he calls them home instead of saving them.

So you see, it's okay that my constant begging for reviews falls on deaf ears. Right now, at this moment, I remember why I wrote those stories in the first place. They were for me. It doesn't matter what others think. I don't need their validation today (maybe tomorrow). But tomorrow I can come back and read this post and remember again.

I write for me and it is enough.


Have you reached the point where it's enough for you?

I have also started a private facebook group for people who are willing to read and critique early versions of my projects and who want free books in exchange for honest reviews on Amazon. If you're interested (all you need to be is a reader!) check it out.

Charity's Street Team
Facebook Group · 8 members
Join Group
This is a work in progress, but it will be a group where the people who read early versions of my books and give me good feedback can meet and discuss. There will also be opportunities to receive early copies of new releases for honest reviews.

14 comments:

  1. And with that, you have peace about what you're written, and that's a place many authors never get to.

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  2. Sounds bad, I know, but I envy this peace you've found about what you've written. Something for me to think about :-) Happy IWSG day!

    Ronel visiting on Insecure Writer's Support Group day: Course Correction

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  3. I'm with you. There's that initial rush when your first work is published and you hope the world will love it and it will sell like hotcakes and your name will go up in lights. Personally, that's not a path I'd like--after seeing the reality of the publishing industry. There is a certain peace that comes with accepting and embracing your personal path, and it's a place I hope we all come to eventually. Because every path is different.

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  4. I think that is a peace I'm struggling to find right now. When I had to give up my day job because of my back, I decided now was my chance to make something of a career out of my writing, but that is quite the difficult task. Maybe I need to go back to not worrying about the money part of writing and just enjoy the ride.

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  5. Loving your work for its own sake is a reward in and of itself. I'm glad you've gotten that peace.

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  6. You have a great outlook on your writing. I've learned things about myself through my writing too. And yes, sometimes writing something just for me is enough. I don't want to conquer the world with my writing, but it would be nice if someone else liked my stories too :)

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  7. I love that all of your stories have a personal connection! Writing for yourself should always be first because to me you're the first person to love it (even when you hate it). Looking back on what you accomplished and how it made you feel to get those words down never gets old.

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  8. Sometimes I know this in my head more than I know it in my heart. It's good to have a reminder.

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  9. It's great that you write for you. Sometimes it's hard to remember that. (Some of us haven't written an word in a while *cough* years *cough*.)

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  10. I think that every writer is different. Each writer has a distinct and personal path/journey to travel...

    The main question is: how content/happy is the writer deep within himself/herself? You are fortunate to have found that inner peace.

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  11. What a wonderful legacy you have. Your books are you. Thanks so much for sharing yourself.

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  12. I’d say my writing is enough. If my books didn’t sell, I’d write anyway. So I guess I write for me. I wish I had some deep reasons for everything I write, but I don’t. Just pure escape I guess. Lol.

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  13. I love how your books are so personal. I especially love that you wrote one with your girls in mind. Very sweet.

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  14. I'm somewhere in the middle. I like when people read my work still, and that validation that comes from positive responses, but I was writing well before I had that, and I'll keep writing long after.

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