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:
September 6 question: The IWSG celebrates 12 years today! When did you discover the IWSG, how do you connect, and how has it helped you?
The co-hosts for this month’s blog hop are Sonia Dogra, J Lenni Dorner, Pat Garcia, Sarah – The Faux Fountain Pen, and Meka James!
I first discovered the Insecure Writers’ Group during a time when I felt pretty, well, INSECURE, ha, about my writing! I was having a very hard time posting anything at all online, even publishing a blog post was nearly impossible for me at the time. This was due to many factors, the main ones being my anxiety and phobia of having anyone read my work, which at times throughout my life has bordered on pathological terror. I was really struggling to find anything that I felt comfortable publishing in my blog, and was coming up empty handed nearly every week.
I saw the ISWG for the first time about two years ago on another writer’s blog, first noticing the lighthouse logo and the words “Insecure writers.” Wow, that sounded like me! I was really intrigued. I was encouraged to find out that I wasn’t alone in feeling insecure….and that there was a group of insecure writers that had come together to offer support….and I could join it! I saw that they did a monthly blog hop, and provided a discussion question to talk about issues that frequently arise for writers. It was a help for me to talk about and work through some of these doubts regarding my writing, and it helped me to publish some posts and receive positive feedback about the writing subjects that caused me a great deal of stress.
Throughout my time participating in the blog hops I’ve had the opportunity to connect with other writers, many experiencing the same doubts and working through similar anxieties as me. It has been a great help, and I hope to participate in many more and hopefully continue to connect with many more awesome writers!
How about you? Do you consider yourself an insecure writer? If so, what are some of the ways that you work through the anxiety? Does connecting with a writing group or other likeminded writers dealing with similar challenges help you? Let me know in the comments!
Wishing you a great, joyful and anxiety free Wednesday ☺️
Talk soon,
-Winter
Winter Betancourt 
Great post, and thank you for extending an offer to join. I appreciate it. I will comment on my blog later this afternoon or early evening about “my insecurity as an author.”
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Thank you so much JR! Yes definitely! As an anxious person I find it to be so helpful to know that I’m not alone in feeling insecure about my writing 😁
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I’m definitely an insecure writer, which is why I love the IWSG! There are so many of us and we can support each other.
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Me too Sarah! I totally agree! 😁 it’s a great group
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We are very glad you found the IWSG. It’s what keeps many writers going.
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Thanks so much Alex! Me too, it’s an awesome group and it’s really been such a great help to me.
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Pathological terror ? Honestly, I never knew other people could feel so afraid , so raw. Thanks for sharing. Just reading that made me feel less of an idiot.
After three skirmishes with publishers in the Five – even an invite to London (wrecked that!) I’d made the mistake of asking a relative who works in publishing to read something I’d written. Verdict ? ‘ You’re not a writer .’ That felt like a physical blow.
Then I found my late mentor, almost 90, ex WWII codebreaker – and IWSG, and one of my cousins ( Californian) asked me to read some of their work. Still insecure but that’s OK.
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I’m so sorry they said that to you Esther! I had a similar experience with a friend, it made me not want to share anything for a long time. It can feel so devastating when someone makes a cruel and unfair judgment like that. Your mentor sounds like they were an amazing person (WWII codebreaker, wow)! I think we all feel insecure, and I know reading about other writers’ struggles makes me feel less alone. Thank you so much for reading and sharing 🙂
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Oh man, anxiety is the worst! It took several months before I could even make myself post on IWSG. I’m glad you’ve been able to get some things posted and connect with other writers. Isn’t it great?
Lori
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It is!! I totally understand, it’s a real struggle. It’s a good feeling connecting with others going through the same thing, for sure! Sometimes you just feel so alone, thinking you must be the only one who worries like this 😟
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Nice post 😊
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Thank you so much!! ☺️
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Most welcome.
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