It's time for the June meeting of the Insecure Writer's Support Group, hosted by Alex J. Cavanaugh. If you're not a member of the group and would like to join us, sign up here,
In recent months my primary insecurities have been related to blogging. I just haven't been able to get back into blogging the way I would like to. I can't think of much to blog about and I was starting to feel like I should just leave the whole thing alone. But I honestly didn't want to do that because I really do cherish the connections I've made through blogging and it is the only form of social media that I genuinely enjoy.
By chance I came upon a post by L.K. Hill, who I met through this year's A to Z Challenge, that inspired me to want to give blogging another go. L.K.'s post was "5 Ways to Become an Expert in Your Field," and while I didn't expect to be inspired by it when I started reading that's exactly what happened.
I won't go through the whole post since anyone interested can read it on L.K.'s site, but she wrote that she has worked to become a dystopian expert since she published her first book Persistence of Vision. According to L.K., this has served to boost her credibility and help build her online platform.
While reading about L.K.'s experiences, I had a bit of a lightbulb moment about what I can blog about. If you followed my blog when my book The Ghosts of Aquinnah was released you may remember I loved sharing stories about ghosts. I'm now writing another book with a ghost, this one a malevolent and truly frightening presence. It dawned on me that there is no reason I can't become an expert on ghosts and ghost stories!
L.K. mentioned that one of the tasks that helped her feel like an expert was research, namely reading. I already know I love reading about ghosties, and I don't think there is any limit to the number of stories I can find. My WIP takes place in Chicago so I've got a whole new place to explore to find ghosts and haunted places.
So all of the sudden while reading L.K.'s post I thought, voila! That's it. I can share stories about ghosts and ghouls and haunted Chicago spaces while also doing research on my setting and its fascinating history. I figure it's a win-win since I will have stories to share while also possibly finding information that could serve to beef up my novel.
I'm grateful to L.K. for the inspiration and so glad I stumbled upon her blog during the A-Z this year. I didn't think I'd still be able to meet new and fun bloggers but I was wrong and I'm glad of that.
I'm excited about getting started on my ghost apprenticeship and sharing what I learn along the way. I hope I can find some spooky stories to bring some life back to this blog. :D
Happy June and IWSG day, all!
