Hello, all, and welcome to the first 2016 meeting of the Insecure Writer's Support Group!
The IWSG is hosted by our Ninja founder Alex J. Cavanaugh. Alex's co-hosts to help kick off the new year are L.G. Keltner, Denise Covey, Sheri Larson, J.Q. Rose, Chemist Ken, and Michelle Wallace.
If you'd like to join the group, just visit the list here and add your name. Newcomers are always welcome!
I'm not feeling particularly insecure this month (a miracle!) but more just excited and a little overwhelmed. I have lots of new ideas for stories and articles I would like to write and submit to markets in the coming year, but I can't seem to settle down and focus. For the past few years I've focused exclusively on my novels and while that has been wonderful, I want to go back to some other writing goals I let slip by the wayside. I'd love to write some short stories and non-fiction articles and, with luck, have them accepted for publication somewhere. I hope by the time we have our last meeting of the year I'll be able to say I did that!
For the rest of this month though I'm working hard on polishing my novel, which I finally finished on New Year's Eve, just barely making the end of 2015 deadline I set for myself. I have lots of revisions and overall polishing to do now, but I'm excited to work on those because I feel really good about the story now.
Last year I felt kind of burned out with writing of all kinds so it feels great to be excited again. Even though having lots of ideas hopping around in my head is a little overwhelming, it's a much better feeling than being stuck and burned out. So I'm hoping to keep that excitement going as we march along through 2016.
I'm looking forward to checking in with all the other IWSG members and the rest of my blogging pals and catching up with all of you. I want to wish everyone a belated Happy New Year and here's to a great 2016 for all of us.
Congrats on finishing your novel on New Year's Eve! Best of luck revising it. I love writing short stories. That's how I began writing. And nonfiction would be cool to write. I've written nonfiction for newspapers, but it was always someone else's topic. Writing nonfiction about something I'm passionate about would be different.
ReplyDeleteAll the best to you in 2016!
Glad you're excited again. I think we all go through the lulls.
ReplyDeleteI'm more about the short stories and articles now as well.
Happy New Year! That's great how you were able to finish your novel before 2016 officially arrived, and even greater that you feel excited about writing in general again. Hope the revisions for it don't give you too much trouble! And wow, it sounds like you have a lot of writing ahead of you this year. Best of luck getting all those stories and articles you have in your head down onto paper!
ReplyDeleteHappy New year, Julie and congrats on finishing your novel :)
ReplyDeleteIt's great that you're excited about writing again. It's a great feeling to have, especially if it's been absent for a time. Congrats on finishing your novel, and best of luck with your short stories/articles!
ReplyDeleteHappy new year and congratulations! That's awesome. I'm happy to hear you're excited about writing again. I'm excited to read more from you. :)
ReplyDeleteThat's the good kind of overwhelmed, though, right? :)
ReplyDeleteYeh for getting mojos back! Good luck with everything!
Good for you on making the 2015 cut with your book. Good luck with polishing it! I'm glad you're excited about writing again. :)
ReplyDeleteGood for you on making the 2015 cut with your book. Good luck with polishing it! I'm glad you're excited about writing again. :)
ReplyDeleteGoodness, I hear you! Anemia put me on the low end of mental progress for 2015, but 2016 is going to be all about kicking trash and burning through the words. I've been working on 2 novels throughout this last year, and one definitely has my heart more than the other. That's hard because the one with the tighter hold doesn't have a deadline. Do you deal with multiple loves?
ReplyDeleteThere's nothing better than getting that excited feeling about writing again. Of course, there's nothing worse than getting that feeling and then NOT HAVING TIME TO SIT DOWN AND WRITE. Good luck with your goals.
ReplyDeleteGood for you for finishing your novel by the end of 2015! May you continue to be inspired through out 2016.
ReplyDeleteIt does feel like the start to an awesome year! Congrats on meeting your own personal deadline. That's impressive:)
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on driving to a strong finish with your novel.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on finishing your novel! It's always great to feel excited about your writing.
ReplyDeleteI'm so happy to hear you're excited about writing again! Nothing's worse than having time to write but feeling so uninspired that nothing comes out. Good luck with revising and with your new idea of writing shorts and articles. Sounds like a great plan to me! :)
ReplyDeleteBig congrats and keep up the great effort. Best wishes!
ReplyDeleteCongrats on finishing the manuscript! I'll bet while you're polishing it up you'll settle on what your next project should be. Have fun letting them all play in your mind.
ReplyDeleteI'm happy to hear that you are excited about writing again! A big congrats on finishing your novel! I completed mine on New Year's Eve with a few minutes to spare. :)
ReplyDeleteHi Julie - great to see you around again - lulls in our lives is the way it goes. Well done on finishing the new novel and just getting the deadline ... here's to a refreshing start to 2016 - cheers and a very happy New Year - Hilary
ReplyDeleteCongrats on finishing the novel on New Years Eve. Being excited to write and edit is the best feeling. I look forward to hearing how the short stories and articles go too. Good luck and happy New Year.
ReplyDeleteCongrats! It's always nice when a writing milestone coincides with an important calendar date. Makes it seem all the more momentous. :-)
ReplyDeleteIWSG January
You finished! And you did it in the time you gave yourself. You deserve a huge round of applause! Can you hear it?
ReplyDeleteHappy 2016, Julie! I'm so glad you have excitement for writing this year! I'm looking forward to reading your new novel, and your upcoming short stories!
ReplyDeleteHappy Writing and Living!
ReplyDeleteCongrats and see where you are coming from. I tend to let my writing follow my mood, but I'm not as accomplished as most. I still say follow your heart and do what feels best to you. :-)
Anna from elements of emaginette
Woot! You made your deadline! That's great! Best of luck with your articles and short stories. I hope you find many spots for them out in the market. :)
ReplyDeleteThat's awesome Julie, you really pushed through and that's got to make you feel great. I'm sure you'll achieve all your goals this year! Happiest of New Year's!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on finishing your novel! I hope you meet all the goals you've set for yourself!
ReplyDeleteCongrats on finishing your newest novel! That's always a great feeling. I'd like to do some shorter works myself at some point, but it probably won't be this year. I've recently been going through Stephen King's various short story collections to see how he structures them. Here's to a productive year!
ReplyDeleteMy goal this year is to go with the flow.
ReplyDeleteHi, Julie,
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear you are OFF.... Getting excited about writing again is great and finishing your novel is amazing... You do keep plugging along and I admire you for that. I wish I could get my act together and start plugging along myself. We'll see. As I my blog states.. In Time... Lol.
I hope to be writing more soon and blogging more as well. I need to keep connected. I miss working with my writer peeps on their projects, so I need to do a bit more self promotion so I can keep my creativity flowing. My best work has been for other writers and I am happy to help them. There is so much talent in our community and sometimes a tweak is all it needs. Lol.
Anyway. Glad all is well. Let me know if you ever plan on coming to Chicago... I'd love to see you!
I've been burned out on writing for a long while, but with this new job that is much less demanding than the previous career I'm getting excited about some projects that have been sitting around too long also. New stuff, different genre's, and hopefully more short stories will make me feel accomplished - whether or not they get published. I plan on submitting more also.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on meeting your deadline.
Happy New Year, Julie!!! Isn't it great to get excited about writing a new story!!!! Wishing you well and much success this year!!!
ReplyDeleteHi Julie,
ReplyDeleteA new year. A fresh start and a refreshed optimism. Have fun polishing your finished novel. No, I wont go pedantic in regards to polishing. Seriously, well done.
A wonderful 2016 to you and yours.
Gary :)
While having all those ideas can be overwhelming, it's a great feeling. I love that excitement. It keeps me writing.
ReplyDeleteHow nice that you completed a big project on New Year's Eve. Good job!
ReplyDeleteWhen I read you finished your novel on New Year's eve I thought "Now that's the way to celebrate!" I think that is great because you finished it and you also feel encouraged for this coming year-Happy New Year!
ReplyDeleteCONGRATULATIONS ON FINISHING YOUR NOVEL! That is a fantastic accomplishment! And as for the goals for the new year I have NO DOUBT that you will meet them so I will look forward to checking in with you on the last IWSG of the year and hearing about that great accomplishment!
ReplyDeleteJulie, I can relate with being burned out. But after a few weeks of down time I feel much refreshed. Best wishes to you and yours for 2016!
ReplyDeleteI think I've been in a state of burned-out-edness for a few years now. This year probably isn't going to help matters, but I'm going to do what I can to achieve more balance in my life!
ReplyDeleteHappy new year Julie :)
Happy New Year! I know 2016 is going to be a great year for you. It is so fun to hear your excitement for your new projects. You can absolutely do it. Congratulations on finishing your new novel! You are definitely starting your year off with a bang.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with your short story goals. And congratulations for finishing the novel. What a great way to start the year, with a novel ready to edit :-)
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year and congrats on making your goal. You must be so elated!! I'm happy for you, Julie!! Thanks for swinging by my blog even during the busy IWSG, I appreciate that very much :)
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on finishing your novel by deadline. I'm so excited for you and look forward to reading it. Happy New Year. I hope you have a wonderful 2016.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on finishing your novel and for getting excited again. Isn't that a great feeling? Best wishes for a great 2016.
ReplyDeleteI also want to congratulate you on finishing another novel! It's great that you got your mojo back! Looking forward to hearing more about your latest project. What a wonderful way to start off the New Year! Hope you have a happy & healthy one, Julie!
ReplyDeleteJulie
It's great to experience that excitement. Happy writing.
ReplyDeleteToo many ideas sounds like the best kind of problem! Glad to hear you've got plenty of enthusiasm heading into 2015. Good luck with your short stories and congrats on making your end of year goal!
ReplyDeleteWell done on meeting your 2015 goal of finishing your novel.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with polishing it.
Happy New Year, Julie!
...and Happy Writing too!
Great job! And how exciting that you're excited again. I know that feeling and it's fantastic. Best of luck.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with your short story writing! I'm the opposite, trying to get back to noveling after all the short story stuff. But I must say, I really enjoy writing short stories.
ReplyDeleteIt's very cool that you finished the draft of your new book just in the nick of time. (Made a glass of champagne at the stroke of midnight even more meaningful!)
ReplyDeleteAnd it is sooooo much better having a head filled with ideas than having one filled with a whole bunch of emptiness, dontcha think? I'm glad to hear you're starting the new year with a lot of enthusiasm. Good luck directing your writing chops in new and exciting directions.
I hope the writing has been going well as the month progresses.
ReplyDelete