For the last time in what has been another very strange year, it's the first Wednesday of the month and time for our monthly meeting of the Insecure Writer's Support Group. Hosted by Alex J. Cavanaugh, the aim of the group is to offer a safe space where writers of all kinds can share fears and insecurities without fear of being judged. Today's co-hosts are PJ Colando, Diane Burton, Louise - Fundy Blue, Natalie Aguirre and Jacqui Murray.
The optional question this month is: In your writing, what stresses you the most? What delights you?
I'm going to interpret this question as relating just to the writing itself, rather than associated activities like marketing, querying, formatting etc., which can obviously be major stressors. I'm querying at the moment and I think we can all agree that's a big source of stress. Others may read the question differently, but I just don't feel like going there with those sort of aspects!
So what stresses me the most about writing? I think it's all the nitty gritty elements, like making sure the timeline adds up and that there aren't any major plot holes. Okay, maybe that's more than nitty gritty. But it's basically all the things that need straightened out and set in line before you arrive at a finished book. Or as close to finished as is possible.
What delights me? I'd say when it does work out and all those disparate elements come together to make something beautiful. So, in order to get to the delightful part, I have to get through the stressful part. Which must mean that all the stress is worth it - or that's what I'll tell myself anyway.
Something that is hopefully delightful and not too stress-inducing is the annual #IWSGPit Twitter pitch party, which is coming around the corner soon on January 26, 2022. It's a chance to get your manuscript seen and hopefully liked by agents and publishers via a tweet-length pitch. Find more details here.
And for further entries in this month's IWSG meeting, check out the sign-up list here.
