IWSG May 2020

It's the first Wednesday of the month, and one thing we can rely on for certain is that means it's time for the Insecure Writer's Support Group! Hosted as ever by the Ninja himself Alex J. Cavanaugh, the purpose of the group is to offer a safe space where writers can share their fears and insecurities without fear of being judged. Probably something we need more than ever. This month's excellent co-hosts are Feather Stone, Beverley Stowe McClure, Mary Aalgaard, Kim Lajevardi and Chemist Ken!

So it's my first proper IWSG post for a couple of months, although I thank you for the messages that were left on my placeholder post last month. I'm not going to dwell too much on COVID-19 because I think it's good to talk about other things, but I'll just say that we're all still doing OK here while keeping an eye on the news and the talk of coming out of lockdown - a far more worrisome prospect than being in it for us, and although it's pretty safe to say schools won't resume until at least after the summer in Scotland, it's very hard to picture it (although things are going to look different, that's for sure). Youngest daughter is set to start high school in August, a transition that's tricky at the best of times. Like with this entire mess, we're just going to have to wait to see how it pans out, and we're not going to be doing anything we're not comfortable with.

Let's turn to this month's IWSG question, which is: Do you have any rituals that you use when you need help getting into the ZONE? Care to share?

No rituals as such, but the best thing I can do is remind myself that my writing is time-limited. Despite the lockdown, my routine hasn't changed a great deal and I'm being kept plenty busy with freelancing work (thankfully), so I'm able to carve out thirty minutes to an hour in the morning for writing - basically until the dogs ask to get up for breakfast! After that I'm dealing with work and I'm in a different mindset, so the time is gone if I don't use it. At this particular time, I'm also in a "relatively new and shiny WIP" phase and I'm enjoying finding out where this story is going, which always helps. If you wake up excited about writing, it becomes much easier.

So that's where I am. How about you? Any rituals to share? How are you coping with things overall? Many more IWSG posts can be found by clicking here.