Thursdays Children...Inspired by Meeting Other Writers

I'm late for Thursday's Children, an awesome bloghop about inspiration hosted by Rhiann Wynn-Nolet and Kristina Perez. Still, I figured better late than never. If you are looking for some great ways to get inspired, make sure to check out the bloghop, the link is at the bottom of the page. 

So, this month I finally did something I've been meaning to do for awhile. I started my own Writers group/Critique group on Meet-Up. Com. I held my first  meeting tonight and people actually showed up. Yay! We had a turn-out of six people and everyone seemed really cool. We have a variety of different writing styles, and a mix of experienced writers and novice writers, so it seems like it will be interesting to see how everyone comes together. 

I'm normally pretty introverted, so putting myself in charge and making sure I met

other writers was a pretty big step for me, but one I'm glad I took. I really hope the group works out because knowing we are meeting every other week will keep me on track with my writing while also giving me something to look forward to. 

Talking to you guys online is great, but it's also fun to get to actually talk writing face to face. How about you guys? Do you have writer friends? Do any of you belong to critique groups? How is the group run? Do you do writing exercises or just critique for one another or talk about different topics? Any ideas for me on how to keep things interesting? 

If you are interested in joining the bloghop click HERE

Thursdays Children...Inspired by great advice

Time for Thurdays Children again, an awesome bloghop about writerly inspiration hosted by Rhiann Wynn-Nolet and Kristina Perez.  

One of the things that always most inspiring is the awesome advice by other writers. Some of my favorite books on writing are: 

Stephen Kings On Writing   Half memoir of the master of horror and half instruction, this book is

packed full of awesome tips. 

Bird by Bird by Anne Lamont  This book contains useful instruction on both
writing and life. Not to be missed. 

The Fire in The Fiction: Passion, Purpose and Techniques to Make Your Novel Great. The title pretty much says it all! 

What about you guys? What are some of your favorite books on writing. And does ANYONE out there know of any books that aren't for beginners? I'd really love something that talks more about things like themes, moods and internal quests. Although, again, anything not geared towards beginner writers would be awesome! 

If you'd like to join the fun at Thursday's Children, click HERE

Thursdays Children...Inspired by work

Thursdays Children, hosted by: Rhiann Wynn-Nolet and Kristina Perez.

This week I feel inspired by the simple act of working. I've been busy with a lot of other things. Sometimes life gets in the way of writing. And, for some reason, the more days I spend away from my desk, the easier it becomes to stay away. There are always a million other things to do and the act of writing starts to seem more difficult than it is.

I find myself dreading scenes that need to be reworked. But, once I make myself get to it, I'm always surprised by the simple joy of it. I don't know how I forget that in between. I guess because there are certain issues with my current book that I feel I can't overcome (wordcount. ugh). Sometimes that seems a little overwhelming but I know if I just take it step by step, sooner or later I'll figure it out.

And, in the end, I know the most important thing to do is just keep working at it. So that's what I'm doing this week...I'm being inspired by work. :) How about you guys? Do you get lazy with the writing sometimes? What inspires you?

If you'd like to join the list for Thursdays Children, click HERE

Bouncing back and Inspiration

So, it is taking me awhile to bounce back from the rather excessive blogging in April. haha. And my website partner is off on vacation. But, I'm excited to be getting back to a normal blogging schedule (even if I am two weeks later than everyone else. I am being "fashionably" late) So, with that being said, I'm hopping back into one of my favorite blog-hops  "Thursdays Children" hosted by Rhiann Wynn-Nolet at A Nest of Words.  

I've always enjoyed this hop because it gives me a chance to talk about the things that inspire me as a writer, one of my fave topics. If you haven't participated be sure to check it out and join in the fun! The linky-list link is at the bottom of my post. (Linky-list link. Try saying that ten times fast.)

The topic I'm choosing this week is waiting. As writers we do a lot of it. First waiting to get an idea. Then waiting to finish the story. To get critiques. To do edits. To find an agent. To find a publisher...etc...etc...When you are a writer, the waiting literally never stops. 

And, sometimes I find it frustrating but, for the most part I find it inspiring. I love getting up and

checking my email every day. I love knowing that today might be the day I hear back on something, whether it's a full I have out or a short story I submitted or a critique I'm getting. I figure the more writing I have floating around, the more chance there is that I will strike gold with something. 

If I never had anything out on submission, I don't think I'd be as driven to keep writing. While it does make me nervous, I also like the thrill of anticipating good responses. And while I'm waiting, I'm inevitably inspired to fill up my time with writing more, so I have more things to submit, and more responses to wait on. 

And it's not just about submissions. One of my favorite things to wait on is critiques. I know a lot of people are super nervous about receiving them. I've even met other writers who dread the critique and the inevitable rewrites/doubts it brings. But, to me, each critique is a new and exciting opportunity to see my work through someone else's eyes. I love finding out what works and what doesn't. What could possibly be more exciting than someone pointing out how I can make my work better? 

What about you guys? Do you like getting critiques? Does all the waiting bother you or inspire you?  Would you rather be waiting to hear back on something or have the calmness of knowing there are no rejections coming? ;)

If you are interested in signing up for Thursdays Children just click HERE.