IWSG June 2026

Time for our monthly meeting of the Insecure Writer's Support Group! Hosted as ever by Alex J. Cavanaugh, the aim of the group is to offer a safe space where writers can share doubts and insecurities without fear of being judged. This month's co-hosts are Victoria Marie Lees, Sarah Foster, Natalie Aguirre and C. Lee McKenzie. 

Let's check out this month's IWSG question: Do most of your story ideas come from one place (the news, dreams, etc.) or do they hit from all over the place?

This is always an interesting kind of question and I wouldn't like to restrict my source of ideas, as I find good ones are at a premium - I'm not the kind of writer who's struck with flashes of inspiration multiple times of day! Dreams - it's happened once or twice but what I remember tends to be random with not much useable material. The news is a whole rabbit hole and I don't go trawling through it as that would be pretty draining but if something sticks out as intriguing I'll definitely make a note. Often if something is strange or I don't fully understand it I'll find myself pondering it for a while and that can spark an idea, even if it doesn't get followed through. Becaue I see writing mainly as my way of engaging with and making sense of the world, I'm drawn to those things that initially might not make a lot of sense. On the whole, though, most ideas come when I can let my mind wander such as when out on a walk. It's not really "out of nowhere" as it's a result of my brain percolating everything that's been thrown at it. And sometimes it's just an image or a character that presents itelf and I have to follow up. My current WIP started with an image of a girl waking up in a forest with no idea of why she's there. That one might have been a dream, but I can't actually remember now. I hadn't long been out of hospital and my brain was in a confused state of fugue. But maybe that opened me up more.

As for my own news, just plodding along as usual - I'm at 65k on the mentioned WIP so I'm slowly inching my way towards a completed draft, but it'll definitely be the messiest one I've ever done. At times the story has completely abandoned where I thought it was going and I'll go off on impulsive tangents that I never saw coming. It'll be very interesting to read back, but hopefully not horrifying. My MC is very strong willed so I'm letting her take the lead. I'd like to make more progress but find I can't manage more than 500 words per day currently. It's been just over a year with this draft, although I've stopped at times to carry out edits on previous work. I'll get there at some point.

I'm interested to read other answers to this great question and of course the answers will be found in the IWSG sign-up list here. See you next month (and I'll try not to miss it again!)

IWSG April 2026

Time for our monthly meeting of the Insecure Writer's Support Group! Hosted as ever by Alex J. Cavanaugh, the aim of the group is to offer a safe space where writers can share doubts and insecurities without fear of being judged. This month's co-hosts are Melissa Maygrove, Cathrina Constantine, Kate Larkinsdale and Rebecca Douglass. 

After missing last month I'm not fooling around for our April 1 edition but going straight in with this month's IWSQ question, which is a fun one: If you have a playlist (or could put one together) that either gets you in the groove to write or fits with one of your books, what is it? What type of music or what songs?

I don't write with a playlist or any music on because I'm one of those writers who needs total silence and as few distractions as possible. That's not to say music isn't a huge inspiration to me in terms of scenes, ideas, characters - brain work in general. So I've delved into putting playlists together for my books in the last few years more with the aim of sharing with readers. But I might try using them when it comes to edits on my current works. I'd say my taste leans towards alt rock and the idea is each song links to a specific event, a theme in the book or just a vibe.

Here's the playlist for my book published a few years ago, The Becalmer: 

 

And the book I'm querying now, Mirror Me, dealing with cloning and trans issues:

And a bit short because it's a work in progress like the book it relates to but I've started one for the book I'm editing, with a tentative title Artificial Life. I'd say each playlist has a key song that fits for the overall theme and here it's the Beastie Boys "Sabotage". More will be added here as it comes to me!  

I also have my newest WIP that I'm drafting but that hasn't reached a playlist stage. Still trying to hammer down the themes and vibes on that one! I'll be looking forward to checking out your answers for this one. Do you enjoy writing or editing with playlists? As always the IWSG entrants can be found in the list here!

IWSG February 2026

Time for our monthly meeting of the Insecure Writer's Support Group! Hosted as ever by Alex J. Cavanaugh, the aim of the group is to offer a safe space where writers can share doubts and insecurities without fear of being judged. This month's co-hosts are J Lenni Dorner, Victoria Marie Lees and Sandra Cox. 

This month's optional IWSG question is: Many writers have written about the experience of rereading their work years later. Have you reread any of your early works? What was that experience like for you?

I fear this question will show up how disorganised I am. My earliest work is many laptops and computers ago, and I've never been very good at backing stuff up (still not, although it helps that nowadays the process is largely automated). So unless I did some deep digging into ancient emails I don't even have my old work to go over and laugh about. If I did, I'm sure it would feel like reading someone else's work. I do remember the tone of those books, and my style has evolved vastly (thankfully) and it's a completely different genre than what I now focus on. A lot of crime/thriller stuff as I read a lot of those sort of books at the time, but I realised it's not my forte.

As for the present day, I'm still sketching out my parallel universe-based WIP, and "sketching" is a good way to describe it as I've been jumping about in the story, leaving placeholders and making broad brushstrokes, with a lot of stuff taking place in different universes and metapysical realms. This is definitely different to how I used to write early on as I would edit at the same time as writing and do a lot of work on scenes before moving on. I'm less precious about that stuff now and I'm fine about just getting down vague impressions that can be improved on later. Apart from that, I've recruited some beta readers for my previously completed book and anxiously awaiting their feedback while trying not to suffer imposter syndrome from critiquing their wonderful work.

 Of course, as ever you can find other entrants to the IWSG at the sign-up list. Have you read back over your early work? 

IWSG January 2026

Happy New Year! I hope you had a restful and rejuvenating holiday season, whatever and however you celebrate. Now it's time to reconvene for the first Insecure Writer's Support Group meeting of the year. Hosted as ever by Alex J. Cavanaugh, the aim of the group is to offer a safe space where writers can share doubts and insecurities without fear of being judged. This month's co-hosts are Shannon Lawrence, Olga Godim, Jean Davis, and Jacqui Murray. 

Let's have a look at this month's IWSG question.

Is there anything in your writing plans for 2026 that you are going to do that you couldn't get done in 2025?

Well, I guess this will handily double up as a 2025 roundup and a look towards plans for 2026. There's loads I planned to do last year, and I just hope this is the year I can get them wrapped up! The first month of 2025 I was still laid up in hospital having suffered a mini stroke and a leaky heart valve. Upon release it took a couple of months to get myself together to think about writing again. It started with gaining feedback from critique partners on the book I had previously finished. That was encouraging enough to make me start a brand new project, based on a vision I had of a girl waking up in a forest with no memory of how she got there. I optimistically hoped I could get a first draft down by the end of the year, but around September I set it aside to work on edits for my previous WIP. (One thing I'd like to achieve for 2026 is to learn to juggle multiple projects, but it's looking less and less likely!) I have now made two intensive passes and this week I returned to my unfinished draft. Surprisingly I had got as far as 40,000 words, and it goes to some very strange places. I've already got ideas for how to make the opening stronger. 

So - I have my plan for 2026, to finish that draft and continue refining Artificial Life. Yes, I have a title now - it might stick around, it might not. This is where I'd like to call upon the assistance of my dear IWSG friends. I have never used beta readers before, but I think I'm going to need them to get this book over the line. I would be honoured if you would consider beta reading Artificial Life. Here is a (hastily knocked together) blurb:

As a superfan of the hit teen show Blue Heart Bay and an influencer posting content based on her favourite character, the charismatic Randall, Corin has one thing on her bucket list: to enter a VR experience based on the show and meet her idol in the flesh. Or as close to it as the AI will allow. But she’s also a struggling student working two jobs, and the admission price is tantalisingly out of her reach. That is until she unexpectedly receives a complementary ticket from a mysterious benefactor.

Despite some reservations, this is an opportunity Corin simply can’t pass up. After being hooked up to a feeding tube in a Glasgow townhouse holding the mainframe that supports the program, she enters the world and meets Randall, and they become closer than she could ever have imagined. But when a mystery she’s tasked with solving takes a dark turn, she finds herself trapped in a universe where everything is turning against her. To escape and save her own life, she’ll have to take on a murderous artificial entity that’s become far too intelligent for its own – or anyone else’s – good. 

Genre: YA sci-fi

Length: Approx. 70,000 words

Mainly, I would be looking for advice on pacing (do any parts need tightened up, do any paragraphs need shortened), characterisation and authenticity of dialogue, but all comments are welcome. I would ask for all feedback to be in by February 28th, but just let me know if you need more time. Hopefully, this will be on a reciprocal basis, so if you've got anything for me to take a look at, I would be more than happy to. Drop a comment below or email me at mcwilfo(at)gmail(dot)com.

Well, that's it. I hope in 2026 all your plans come to fruition! As ever, the full list of fabulous IWSG contributors can be found here. See you next month.

IWSG December 2025

Time for our monthly meeting of the Insecure Writer's Support Group, and the last of 2025! Hosted as ever by Alex J. Cavanaugh, the aim of the group is to offer a safe space where writers can share doubts and insecurities without fear of being judged. This month's co-hosts are Tara Tyler, Ronel Janse van Vuuren, Pat Garcia, Lisa, and Natalie Aguirre. 

It appears we have a suitable question for the time of year. As a writer, what was one of the coolest/best gifts you ever received?

Well, this takes me back to my earliest forays into the writing world. Ah, so much hope and so many possibilities back then. (Okay, they're still there, but tempered somewhat by years of rubbing shoulders with harsh reality.) I have to say I haven't been showered with authorly parephenalia - my family don't indulge me with mugs, T-shirts, mouse mats, or fridge magnets, but that's okay. I've received some excellent writing books over the years and the standout has to be Stephen King's On Writing. I think it's the fact this book combines advice with a chatty, biographical tone that makes it more engaging as opposed to a dry list of rules. It makes you see how the writing mindset can be incorporated into your everyday life. It's a while since I read it, but a lot of it has seeped in, such as the idea that inspiration can come from anywhere. 

What else do I have to report as we approach the end of 2025? Well, I'm almost through a first pass of my AI/VR-skewering satirical/dystopian project. I've identified some pacing issues with the help of my excellent critique partners and I plan to continue fine-tuning with the aim of having some solid by the end of the year. I also have a few more queries for my previous MS that I want to get out in December. In other words, I'll keep ploughing on. I think King said his only two days off were Christmas Day and the fourth of July. Well, only one of those is a thing where I am. 

I'll wrap up by wishing you an excellent, stress-free and rejuvenating festive season, however you celebrate, and I'll see you back here in 2026! In the meantime there's always the plethora of superb authors to check out at the IWSG list.

IWSG November 2025

Time for our monthly meeting of the Insecure Writer's Support Group! Hosted as ever by Alex J. Cavanaugh, the aim of the group is to offer a safe space where writers can share doubts and insecurities without fear of being judged. This month's co-hosts are Jennifer Lane, Jenni Enzor, Renee Scattergood, Rebecca Douglass, Lynn Bradshaw and Cathrina Constantine. 

There's an interesting question for this month's topic: When you began writing, what did you imagine your life as a writer would be like? Were you right, or has this experience presented you with some surprises along the way?

I need to cast my mind right back for this because I've been writing for so long that it's hard to remember my initial expectations. I'm not sure I really had any, although the pipe dream of being able to do this full time was probably always floating around (still tantalisingly out of reach). Maybe I thought it would get easier the longer I kept at it, and I've definitely been disabused of that - I struggle as much as ever. But that's because every story presents unique challenges.

I didn't imagine much about success and popularity because at first I only focused on getting a story finished, and it took a while to achieve that. Since then, it's always been about finishing the next story. Being on a bestseller list, or winning an award, would be nice, but I can't say I ever spent too much time pondering on these hypotheticals. The best thing I would say if anyone was starting out would be to live your story in the moment and concentrate on that. Let everything else spiral from that! 

While I'm here, I should update you on what I'm doing with my stories right now. Edits are underway on my YA sci-fi adventure about a VR simulation that gets out of control and traps a human participant, tentatively titled Artificial Life. Ten chapters have been reviewed. Finding a few plotholes, a lot of repetitive mannerisms, but overall I'm quite pleased at how solid the story is so far. This is a first pass so the real work is yet to come, of course. My querying journey continues for Mirror Me, and I recently got my first full request from an agent, so that's enough to keep me on this track for a while.

I'm interested to hear your answers to this question, and all your news. As ever the list of IWSG entrants can be found here. See you next time!

IWSG October 2025

Time for our monthly meeting of the Insecure Writer's Support Group! Hosted as ever by Alex J. Cavanaugh, the aim of the group is to offer a safe space where writers can share doubts and insecurities without fear of being judged. This month's co-hosts are Beth Camp, Crystal Collier and Cathrina Constantine. 

I like this month's question because it invites positivity and reflecting on our strengths: 

What is the most favorite thing you have written, published or not? And why?

I am going to go for something published because that goes some way towards making it feel like a complete entity, if that makes sense - not that I need the validation to achieve something I've proud of but it feels like it reached a defined end. My first traditionally published novel, The Becalmer (2023) also felt like the first time I nailed down my MO, of ordinary characters dealing with extraordinary circumstances and undergoing a transformation, in a succinct way. I'm extremely fond of the main character, Harica, who starts out shy and withdrawn and burdened by her gift of being able to solve others' problems subliminally, and ending with the confidence of having stretched to achieve far more than she thought she could. She feels like ground zero for the strong female characters I've written about since. I also clearly remember starting the book in a way I really don't with others - of course, it was in the memorable surroundings of the first lockdown, which lent it a claustrophobia and intensity that got vacuum sealed in. Of course it was a great moment to get it published. It felt like a lot of things I try to do got crystallised here. I'm hopefully improving with any subsequent work, of course, but this'll probably be my favourite for some time!

I'd love to hear other answers to this. Many will no doubt be found at the IWSG sign-up list, which as always can be reached here. See you next month!