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Wednesday, July 1, 2020

IWSG - This has nothing to do with writing

https://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com/p/iwsg-sign-up.html
Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!

Posting: The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Post your thoughts on your own blog. Talk about your doubts and the fears you have conquered. Discuss your struggles and triumphs. Offer a word of encouragement for others who are struggling. Visit others in the group and connect with your fellow writer - aim for a dozen new people each time - and return comments. This group is all about connecting! Be sure to link to this page and display the badge in your post. And please be sure your avatar links back to your blog! Otherwise, when you leave a comment, people can't find you to comment back.

Let’s rock the neurotic writing world!

Our Twitter handle is @TheIWSG and hashtag is #IWSG.

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!

July 1 question - There have been many industry changes in the last decade, so what are some changes you would like to see happen in the next decade?

The awesome co-hosts for the July 1 posting of the IWSG are Jenni Enzor, Beth Camp, Liesbet @ Roaming About, Tyrean Martinson, and Sandra Cox! 




I don't have much this month...hence my tardiness. Ordinarily I schedule my posts to go up at 7am but here it is almost 9:30am and I'm just beginning to put these words down. It's been hard to put words down lately. The world feels like a shit storm and there are way too many Karens around. But. I said this wasn't going to be about writing. Instead it's going to be me bragging that I've read 26 books so far this year. Admittedly, I've had a bit more time on my hands but if there's one good way to fill some of it, it's with books. If you want a good twisty psychological mystery, then I recommend The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides. One of the things I loved about this book was how I thought I had it figured out half way in but oh, boy was I wrong. Much to my delight. And if you just want a superfun scifi escape into the future then read Martha Wells' Murderbot series, starting with All Systems Red

In a corporate-dominated spacefaring future, exploratory teams are accompanied by Company-supplied security androids, for their own safety. On a distant planet , a team of scientists are conducting surface tests, shadowed by their company supplied SecUnit, which has hacked into its own governor module and now refers to itself as "Murderbot" for reasons that will become clear....in the second book. But don't worry about that yet. There's plenty to enjoy in this novella, especially Murderbot's love of entertainment feeds. 
 
Meanwhile, in the real world, after almost a month of no rain, we've had two drenching days that have made everyone happy. My tomatoes are finally flowering, my dahlias are coming back after a late frost at the beginning of June, and I think my zinnias may come back, too.

Finally, I'm glad to be living in Maine, where a slow re-opening has (so far) prevented a resurgence of covid cases. Of course, once tourists start arriving (if they do) we'll see what happens.

Stay well, everyone, and don't be a Karen.


42 comments:

  1. I'll have to check out the Murderbot series.
    More than just reopenings are messing with us now. Let's just hope nothing else happens on top of it.

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    1. yeah, like those hornets, lol, though honestly, nothing would surprise me at this point!

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  2. The Murderbot series sounds fun!
    Our area has been coping pretty well with COVID as well - but the tourist part scares me as well. I'd rather we all just stay in our own areas.

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    1. Murderbot is super fun!!! And yes, I'd just as soon no tourists came, except...how will all the businesses survive if they don't? It's a hard call.

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  3. 26 books so far! I'm impressed! And jealous. So far in 2020, I've read . . . ummmm . . . three.

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    1. well, in your defense, I'm a writer, so I need to read a lot of books. Also, I've only read so much because of all the extra time on my hands.

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  4. My family in Maine has been complaining about the influx of tourists where they are. Hope you get to avoid the big spikes happening elsewhere.

    Nice job with those 26 books!

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    1. I just hope that people remain careful, considerate, and vigilant. I don't think that's a lot to ask for though I know there's some that disagree!

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  5. Glad you're reading so much. Me too. And Michigan has been opening slowly, and I'm still pretty much staying in. Our cases are increasing again.

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    1. Ours have gone down, but we'll see if they stay that way. I really hope they do. I want to see kids go back to school in the fall.

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  6. I am very jealous about the number of books you have read. I wonder if it counts if I started reading that many different books and didn't finish? I am constantly picking up books I've read parts of and putting down books I just can't focus on. It takes me years sometimes to finish a book. I think I've finished a few this year that I started in previous years, so I guess that's something. There are easily a dozen others I am not finished with. I will add the Murderbot to my list of what to read next!

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    1. I do have a few books on my kindle that I haven't finished, usually because I just couldn't care enough about either the characters or what was going to happen. I care about Murderbot though! :)

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  7. I think reading is a way we fill our writing tanks, so you still talked about writing. Plus, I love books, so just talk books and I'm happy. :)
    Yay for tomatoes and dahlias. Boo on Karens. I have two Karens in my neighborhood who I call "Barbies" because it fits their hair and clothing style better - but still, same bad attitude - they walk on the wrong side of the road (as in with traffic and not opposite to it like walkers are supposed to on a country road without sidewalks) and expect everyone else to get out of their way or cross the street to stay socially distant. They never wave or give greetings, except to tell people to move or scream at dogs (even when the dogs aren't barking). It's really hard not to go "Karen" on them, but I just cross the street way in advance when I see them and continue to wave, even if they pointedly ignore me or say rude things.
    Everyone else in my neighborhood is super nice - so their behavior is different than the norm.

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    1. Ugh, so sorry you have a Barbie on your street :(

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  8. A big hooray for reading. I firmly believe that writers NEED to read. Which is ongoing dispute I have with a friend of himselfs who considers himself a writer. He does, I don't.

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    1. In my opinion you can't be a good writer unless you read.

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  9. Congratulations on reading 26 books!

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  10. Glad you are well--we are under a real uptick right now and things are shutting down again. I have read a lot this year, too.

    www.thepulpitandthepen.com

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    1. I'm so glad I don't live in a state that opened too soon. I'm of the better safe than sorry ilk, lol.

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  11. I don't think tourist numbers are really going to happen this year. Disneyland was set to reopen on July 17th (or thereabouts), but their workers complained that things weren't safe, they started a petition, and Disney has put their reopening plans on hold.

    Glad to hear you've been getting in some reading. That sounds like an interesting series.

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    1. It would be great if leadership (and I'm talking both state and federal) would figure out some guidelines that everyone could follow for a safe re-opening. I don't think the way we're going about it is going to work well.

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  12. I've gotten a lot of reading done also. Thanks for the book recommendations.

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  13. Don't be a Karen, but also don't be a BLM racist looter, they're much worse than your regular Karen.

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  14. My wife and I just had a conversation the other night about reading and its importance for an inspiring writer. Our daughter, unlike my wife, is not an especially ambitious reader and yet she writes all the time - probably her default leisure activity, in fact. She's taking the creative writing elective next year. I think it's useful to learn craft. My wife questions its value, believing reading to be the better guide.

    Interesting discussion - unresolved, of course.

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    1. The reason I think writers need to read is so than can recognize what's good, and what's amazing, and thus aspire to the latter. If all I saw was my own art, I'd think I was great, but seeeing other art, great art, I know I'm not.

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    2. Yes, I agree reading is important. I think the best writers are probably all readers, too. I just think there are skills a writer needs to learn independent of reading.

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    3. Also true. It requires a commitment to both reading, to know what's good and what's selling, and to craft, ie, practice. I've found creative writing classes very helpful.

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    4. I've actually never taken one - probably should. Though perhaps that ship has sailed for me...

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  15. I love Murderbot! And I hope your tomatoes flourish

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    1. Yay for a fellow Murderbot lover!!!

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  16. I used to read at least a book or two a week when I was young and would stay up til 2am to finish a book, lol. Admittedly, some of the books on my list so far have been short and one was a novella so...

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  17. Glad you got two days of drenching rain for your garden. I'm one of those tourists NOT coming to Maine this summer! PA is unfortunately one of the 40 out of 50 states with rising numbers of cases. Travel is out of the question for us anyway. Maybe next year. I've read a lot so far this year too. Best escape!

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    1. If you do come next year I hope you'll let me know - maybe we could actually meet!

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  18. We badly need rain here in southwest Ohio, too. Take care!

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    1. June was terribly dry. July has been fairly damp with plenty of rain and there are now tiny tomatoes growing happily :)

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  19. Glad your plants are doing better and here's the tourists staying the flip home, where they belong.

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    1. I don't mind if they come as long as they follow the rules.

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  21. Nice to come here...great blog

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