Wednesday, July 1, 2015

IWSG Day: Catch Your Dreams

Don't you just love IWSG Day? It comes around the first Wednesday of each month and we get to visit hundreds of blogs that are filled with encouragement.  IWSG stands for Insecure Writers Support Group and was founded by Alex J. Cavanaugh.  If you're interested follow other IWSG members here or on twitter using the hashtag #IWSG. We also have a Facebook page.  Hey, we even have a tee shirt!

What have you accomplished since our last IWSG posting? You know, don't you, that if you actually write down your goals, you'll come near achieving them. At least that's what I've heard. I'm a list maker so I've always written down goals, right along with my grocery list and things to do. Unfortunately, sometimes I don't look at my list.

I've accomplished a few things during the past few weeks. I've always wanted to write a series of books about friends. A few weeks ago, I started my series. Every morning I crawl out of bed, grab my coffee and go into my office to write. I've finished rough drafts of Book 1, Book 2 and tomorrow I start Book 3. My intention is to write three 15,000 word stories and wrap up the series with a 30,000 word novella. My four friends will show up in each stand-alone story. 

I'm pretty excited about this series, but even more excited that I've been able to keep my momentum and write. I hope I'm not disappointed when I go back through and read these rough drafts. A couple of times I've sat for a moment or two, wondering what was supposed to happen next, but as real writers do... I just opened a vein. Okay, I'm kidding. I opened my heart. I love my characters. Their problems are real. I'm doing the Camp NaNoWriMo thing too--trying  to hang on to that momentum.

Another thing I'm excited about is that I'll be speaking at the Texas Gulf Coast Writers mini-conference in August. More about that later.

What are you working on? What have you accomplished since last month's IWSG day? We need to get busy and catch our dreams. Let me hear how you're catching yours.


13 comments:

Crystal Collier said...

What a fun series! I love it when you can finally get to a pet project. It seems that life is so demanding, it will never happen. One day at a time, right?

I hope the conference is epic.

Diane Burton said...

Your enthusiasm is contagious. What a wonderful month you've had. Keep it up. Enjoy the conference.

Diane IWSG #99

emaginette said...

I'm sure each time you visit the stories they will get better and better. Just keep at it.

Here's my link if you'd like to drop by :-)

Anna from Elements of Writing

Tricia Clasen said...

Good for you! I haven't accomplished a ton in terms of new writing, but I've been working to establish some new writing groups for accountability and I have some good news on the horizon regarding a manuscript. Baby steps.

Charles Gramlich said...

Cool idea for a sequence of stories.

Mary Aalgaard said...

Congratulations on your speaking engagement and all the progress you've made on your novels. You are an inspiration.
I've mostly worked on things for my theatre class and driven my boys around to their various activities. Summer. It's not the carefree, relaxing time people think it should be.
Play off the Page

Nadine Feldman said...

Congrats on your hard work and consistency!

I, too, am a list maker. If I don't write down my goals, the days sort of slip away. I'm giving my novel one more go-over before sending it to my editor on July 10, I'm doing Camp NaNoWriMo to finish a draft of a nonfiction book, and I'm researching the next novel. There's a lot going on, but so far I'm staying on top of it.

Zan Marie said...

Neat idea, Jess! Good luck! I'm a firm believer in goals. I even help out in a goals section in two forums. How much more goal-oriented can you get?

Michelle Wallace said...

Love your positive energy!
That story collection sounds like a fab idea. Happy writing!
Have fun at the conference.

Tanya Miranda said...

You're speaking at a conference on writing!?!?! That's awesome!

Writing a series up front before attempting to publish is a great idea. I wish I had thought of that. Instead, I'm releasing book 1 of my series with only a skeleton outline of the 2nd and 3rd books. I have yet to start the drafts. Oy vey...

Congrats on the writing momentum! It's like virtual crack. You want more and more and more and more...

-T
Tanya Miranda - Writer, Dreamer, Intergalactic Superhero

Denise Covey said...

Love your story idea and your inspiration to write! Enjoy! I wish you well at the mini- conference.

Anonymous said...

When are you speaking? I'm in the area and would love to hear it!

Anonymous said...

I live in Houston and would love to hear you speak at the conference. Looking forward to it!