IWSG March 2023
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It's IWSG Wednesday! For March!! Let me repeat that... For March. 🤯
Yeah, so it's March and outside my window, the sun is shining and the birds are singing, so even though it caught me with my pants down, I accept it with open arms and a gracious heart.
And pants. Saying I was caught pantless was purely figurative. I'm actually wearing flannel jammie pants because though it is sunny, the air is still quite crisp in West Virginia and my thermostat is set to a hot flash & budget friendly 64, so warm pants are still a necessity.
But about those insecurities...
Am I insecure this month? Sure. But I feel less bothered by it because I have been reading Haruki Murakami's book, Novelist as a Vocation. From it, I have absorbed two thoughts about writing that confirm my core writer beliefs and console my writer spirit:
1. Prizes and praise don't matter if you have no connection to readers.
2. If it's not fun, why do it?
And there is also this...
I have been too busy to brood, which is always a great cure for insecurity.
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| Some of our WATCH Youth Young Writers Patrick Ingold, Abigail Brady, Ashlyn Walters, myself, & Lily Giovinazzo Not pictured: Landon Harris, Annie Roberts, Adyson Stalder, & Sydney Balcerek |
Their first short story anthology is being released by Dancing Lemur Press on March 7th. You can pre-order copies from Dancing Lemur or from online booksellers like, Amazon. Or message me at my day job at eseckman(at)tccfwv(dot)org for a tax-free, nonprofit-supporting, autographed copy for $18 which will include shipping. Profits from authographed book sales will benefit the young writers and help fund future creative programs with WATCH Youth. WATCH is a prevention coalition with one goal- to improve the lives of the families and youth in our region.
A HUGE thank you to our corporate sponsors, MPLX and the Wetzel-Tyler Chamber of Commerce.
And many thanks to Diane Wolfe for the patience and hard work it took to get this from google docs to print. Because of her, we have this:
The awesome co-hosts for the March 1 posting of the IWSG are Diedre Knight, Tonya Drecker, Bish Denham, Olga Godim, and JQ Rose!
Every month, we announce a question that members can answer in their IWSG post. These questions may prompt you to share advice, insight, a personal experience or story. Include your answer to the question in your IWSG post or let it inspire your post if you are struggling with something to say.
Remember, the question is optional!
March 1 question - Have you ever read a line in novel or a clever plot twist that caused you to have author envy?
Every month, we announce a question that members can answer in their IWSG post. These questions may prompt you to share advice, insight, a personal experience or story. Include your answer to the question in your IWSG post or let it inspire your post if you are struggling with something to say.
Remember, the question is optional!
March 1 question - Have you ever read a line in novel or a clever plot twist that caused you to have author envy?
Every. Day.
This is today's:
“To reach the source, you have to swim against the current. Only trash swims downstream.”
Congratulations on the book! Good bunch of writers there. Check your email - I sent you one.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to have to send you my cell number. I have three emails now and I'm slower than usual.
DeleteThis totally cracked me up - " . . . my thermostat is set to a hot flash & budget friendly 64," :)
ReplyDeleteAnd congrats to you and all the young authors on the book!
My internal warmth couldn't have come at a better time, though I may be suffering this summer when I have to set the thermostat to 74 for the AC.
DeleteIt's so nice to see some of their faces. It would be so fun to Zoom with you guys at the release party.
ReplyDeleteI don't think Zoom would work because we will be in a theater with (hopefully!) a crowd of people, but we will have some cub reporters doing author interviews and maybe going live on Facebook.
DeleteLove the Murakami comment. Our area (Oklahoma) can't decide what it wants to do, just throw out some tornadoes randomly, lol. However tonight's sunset was beautiful.
ReplyDeleteTornadoes give me nightmares and we very seldom have them here. I blame The Wizard of Oz. I'm glad you got to enjoy a beautiful sunset!
DeleteI like the Murakami quote - one to remember!
ReplyDeleteIt is a good quote. His book popped up in my read list at the perfect time.
DeleteCongratulations on the book, what a great achievement for the young authors.
ReplyDeleteAnd it was a lot of fun to get to know them. They're a great group of kids!
DeleteI bet the kids are SOOOO excited. Kudos to all involved.
ReplyDeleteThe kids and their parents both! The parents have been such a big help.
DeleteI'm sure both parents and young authors appreciate all you are doing. Hugs
DeleteA huge congrats on the book! That's so awesome for the kids getting their stories published.
ReplyDeleteIt was an awesome experience!
DeleteGrats to you and Watch Youth! That's awesome!!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great project for those young writers. I know that seeing their work between covers will be a wonderful source of encouragement.
ReplyDeleteIt was a lot of fun!
DeleteCongrats on the book, oh my you keep your thermostat low, if I am not moving I am freezing.
ReplyDeletePre-menopausal Elizabeth would have been bumping it up to at least 68. Now, I just wear lots of layers I can strip off as need be.
DeleteNovelist as a Vocation sounds like a wonderful book! Anyone who gives me permission to be deranged is a-ok.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the book, and way to go for giving these young writers a chance to get their work out in the world!
It is an enjoyable read. Funny, helpful, inspiring. I'm really enjoying it.
DeleteSome days I'm amazed I get paid to do the job I do, especially the time spent with the kids. It's just too much fun!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great project for the young writers.
ReplyDeleteI had a lot of fun working on it!
DeleteCongrats to all the young authors on their release!
ReplyDeleteYour two points from Murakami are so true. I tear my hair out when writing sometimes, but I enjoy every step of that tortuous process.
I like to whine about it, but yeah, I love the process too.
DeleteCongratulations! Those Murakami quotes are great! Even though the process should be fun, it's okay to feel a little (or a lot in my case) out of control.
ReplyDeleteI write off the rails and for my enjoyment. Then I take that mess in the rewrites and edits and force it to apply to the rules of logic. Murkami's words reinforce that approach. Nothing better than some confirmation bias at the right time!
DeleteCongratulations! Go young writers! :) Those are great points, and yup, I get author envy too.
ReplyDeleteIf you read good books, it's unavoidable.
DeleteYay! I can be deranged! Woot! Thanks for the affirmation.
ReplyDeleteLove ya, girlie.
I'm deranged too!!! No wonder we get along so well.
Delete