Yellow Bloomers

Hello there!

Whether you’re just passing through, or looking for a comfortable online group in which to share your writing journey, you’ve come to the right place! The Insecure Writer’s Support Group offers resources, tips, timely news, how-to’s, and don’t do’s – all the support we writers can use to make the most of our craft.

We meet on the 1^st Wednesday of every month. Feel free to browse around and mingle. As in the words of IWSG founder and “Cassa Series,” author Alex Cavanaugh, “Your words may be the encouragement someone else needs” Join us!

This month’s gracious co-hosts are   Jacqui Murray, Lisa Buie-Collard, Sarah Foster, Natalie Aguirre, and Shannon Lawrence!

We’ve had an extraordinary amount of rain over the last several months, so much so that our city has now declared it unnecessary to continue filling our historically-dry riverbed with treated water. Rumors of the return of near-extinct fish and wildlife notwithstanding, there are reports of never before documented species beaching on the banks to bask beneath the branches of what looks for all the world like summer foliage. We may not sport the bright green clovers, but we’ve got the yellow bloomers, alright. These hardy flowering shrubs in brilliant golden splendor prove beyond a doubt that no, it’s not THE dreaded virus, the sneezing fits will pass. It’s merely March in the desert. March already!

It’s not only March into Literacy and Paws to Read Month, but we’re also smack in the middle of National Words Matter Week, and posting on none other than National Grammar Day! Don’t nobody panic ;-)

Today is also Discover What Your Name Means Day. As a kid, I pretty much judged what my name meant at any given moment by the tone in which it was spoken. Were they requesting my company or demanding my presence for a missing cookie inquisition?  This is probably why I learned to love the written word. The writer chooses the words that set the tone. Pretty empowering, huh?  Some of us even manage to do it artfully. I’m still working on that ;-)

One of my favorite things about March is the celebration of St. Patrick, the non-Irish guy who reportedly brought Christianity to Ireland. Rumor has it St. Patrick also drove out all the snakes, though according to Mental Floss and Popular Science, snakes can’t survive on islands. Harder still to grasp is the fact that up until the 1970s all the pubs were closed in observance of St. Patrick’s Day. My all-time favorite tales about March are the legendary miniature gold-collecting cobblers called Leprechauns. I’m fascinated by the mythical sprites and thoroughly enjoy the folklore, including one story where a farmer caught a Leprechaun who then had to disclose where he’d buried his pot of gold. The farmer tied a red ribbon around a tree to mark the spot and went to get a shovel. Upon his return, he was astonished to find red ribbons tied around every tree in the forest. My kind of shenanigans!

So, in answer to this month’s IWSG Optional Question:  “Other than the obvious holiday traditions, have you ever included any personal or family traditions in your stories?”  Absolutely!  I've got a developing series for children starring a Leprechaun in search of new adventures and in need of cooler duds, better tricks, and the answer to one burning question when he finds himself far from the verdant forests of Emerald Isle, and way out of place in the western desert town of Sunburnt.

Trivia Question:  What book idea did Irishman Hugh Beaver originate?

Happy Writing!