One book leads to another...

Wednesday, April 5, 2023

IWSG April 2023 Books on the Move


 Welcome readers, writers, authors, and bloggers!

We’re glad you’re here! It's the First Wednesday of the month; when we celebrate IWSG Day in the form of a blog hop featuring members and guests of the Insecure Writer's Support GroupFounded by author Alex Cavanaugh (Thank you, Captain!) and fostered by like-minded associates, IWSG is a comfortable place to share views and literary news from our perspective writing desks as we record our journeys. Check out the April newsletter here

Our awesome co-hosts this month are: Jemima Pett, Nancy Gideon, and Natalie Aguirre! Feel free to hop around and say hello to everyone!

The optional question for this month is: Do you remember writing your first book? What were your thoughts about a career path on writing? Where are you now and how is it working out for you? If you're at the start of the journey, what are your goals?

As I somewhat feverishly wrote my first book, I basically had a career, two part-time jobs, and a small family. Time for writing was tight, to say the least. Thus the adverb “feverishly”; you tend to write (and run and drive) faster when racing against time. I had written short stories for years. Yet a career in writing hadn’t entered my mind. But the book was different. From the moment the premise came to mind, I couldn’t wait to write it. What I wanted, desperately needed to do was get the all-consuming story out of my system. Once the story was finished, I realized it wasn’t ever leaving my “system” or my heart ;-)  And the idea of sharing what I write began to feel much less terrifying.

I’m finishing up my fourth (and likely last) book now. I continue to keep my weekly writing goals (700 words per week) ridiculously low in hopes of achieving them. Despite the busyness of tax season, my grammar app says I wrote 4400 words last month! I hope I’m not writing in my sleep ;-)

It’s National Bookmobile Day! Did you know Library Camels spend five (5) days a week delivering books in Kenya? Or that elephants deliver books in the hard-to-reach mountain regions of northern Thailand? Indeed they do! And you can read all about them (and others) in a book called “My Librarian is a Camel



“If you don’t like to read, you haven’t found the right book.” J.K. Rowling


16 comments:

  1. I thought I'd finished my last seven years ago. And then I wrote one more. So, you never know!

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  2. I was very excited and wrote fast when I first started writing. Sadly, now I'm a slow writer. It sounds like you had an awesome word count last month.

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    1. Hi Natalie!
      Nothing wrong with taking your time. I call it "laid back"
      Ever the skeptic, I've come to the conclusion that my grammar app is tracking everything I write - even business letters. So the number, unfortunately makes more sense - ha!

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  3. That's impressive monthly word count!

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    1. Hi Lee!
      I'd be pleased if it really was half that amount ;-) I know it can't be or my manuscript would be finished by now.

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  4. Good for you in your writing pursuits. When I was employed I did write some, but couldn't do that much. I'm sure I wouldn't have been blogging. I was also raising 3 daughters and it seemed like we were always doing some kind of activities.

    Lee

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    1. Time is so elusive. Whether you're trying to catch up, or slow it down, it's always a race. If not for the events and activities that take up an ordinary day I'm not sure we could write extraordinary stories.
      I am enjoying your A-Z Challenge posts!

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  5. I think when time is short (like working and family demands) the writing comes faster? Good on you.

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  6. Writing in short bursts takes some doing. Well done.

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    1. "Short bursts." I like the sound of that. Thank you, Rosemary ;-)

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  7. I admire everyone who writes and works, including bringing up a family at the same time. I suppose it does give you the opportunity to escape into your own world for a few minutes at a time!
    And I know what you mean about when you NEED to write it. :)
    Jemima

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    1. I guess it was a form of escape. The story was never far from my thoughts, and once I had a chance to write I thought of nothing else - at least for a little while ;-)

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Any thoughts? Join the conversation, comments welcome here!