Happy Wednesday! The Insecure Writers’ Group is a group of writers offering motivation and encouragement to all those taking on the challenges of writing. Every month the ISWG sponsors a blog hop where writers can blog about a topic related to overcoming obstacles and exploring various aspects of the writing journey. If you’d like to participate in a future hop you can join here. It’s always a great experience, and I recommend it to anyone who is interested in writing and sharing with other writers. Every month there is an optional discussion question, and this month the question is the following:
May 4 question – It’s the best of times; it’s the worst of times. What are your writer highs (the good times)? And what are your writer lows (the crappy times)?
I like this question, because it’s something that I’ve thought about a lot. For me the highest and best time of writing is the act of writing! I really enjoy the process, getting to know the characters, imagining their dialogue, and losing myself in the story. It’s an escape from reality and something I truly enjoy.
When I begin to struggle is when I get close to the end of the story. At that point, reality sets in and I start to think “uh oh, now I need to do something with all of these words I’ve written.” Having anxiety and being a shy person, sharing my work is a low for me because it is incredibly, incredibly hard. I oftentimes feel as though I’m hitting a wall and any attempt to go around it results in more roadblocks when my anxiety inevitably gets in my way and stops me in my tracks.
It’s a work in progress.
How about you? What are some of your highs and lows in the writing process? Let me know in the comments!
Have a great, creative day!!
Winter
Winter Betancourt 
Best of times: getting the book completed and published; having folks read it and love it; having my book, Betrayed, hit #1 on Amazon in two different categories.
Worst of times: the drain and time spent on book promotion.
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Those are definitely the best of times, congrats on the #1 on Amazon that is an awesome accomplishment!! I haven’t yet started the process of promoting a book but from what I’ve read it definitely seems like a lot of work and time, I can see how that would be a frustrating part of the process!
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I have trouble with endings, too. I have decided that “they lived happily ever after” is just a symptom of “ok, what now?” How bad would it be if we just used that? hahahaha
Good luck!
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Haha I know what you mean! It’s hard to know how to end things in a way that feels satisfying for the reader. I’m still working on the ending to my book and it’s been years, I keep redoing it 😄
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So this is my worst turning into my best, kind of!
I’m doing an OU Creative Writing course where, of course, several pieces of work have to be given in for criticism. The first one was very nerve-wracking, but as it’s progressed, I’m finding it easier, and I’m also dishing it out to other friends and family to ask for feedback too. For one piece that I thought was really good , a friend took it apart, but in a nice way. I rewrote it, and it did end up being so much better. You just have to try and work out what criticism you take on board and what to reject, which is a bit tough sometimes.
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That’s so true, it sounds like you have a great critique partner in your friend! It’s wonderful when you find someone who gives constructive feedback and helps make your work better while still being kind. You’re right, it’s a balance figuring out what suggestions to take and which to leave, I’ve had suggestions that were great and some that were just mean and not helpful!
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Writing high when you are firing on all pistons, words are just pouring onto the word doc faster then you can type and it’s good. It makes you feel something. My lows, when I realize the morning after it wasn’t that good and words are misspelled hariliously bad. Like sprite and spirit. “She’s got some great SPRITE!” Her sprite was insurmontable. I hope this made you laugh like I did. Great post Winter.
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Thank you Holly! Haha yes, I can totally identify with this! It’s happened to me many times, and it’s always so disappointing to read the next day and realize what I wrote the night before is not nearly as good as I thought it was!!😁
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