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Wednesday, January 8, 2020

#IWSG: January is Great


Happy Insecure Writers Support Group Day. IWSG is the brainchild of Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh.

Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds! Thanks, Alex, for starting this group and keeping it going. We are rockin' the neurotic writing world!

Thank you to this month's awesome co-hosts: T. Powell Coltrin, Victoria Marie Lees, Stephen Tremp, Renee Scattergood, and J.H. Moncrieff!

Happy New Year! I love January. The holidays are over. Our son and grandson were born this month so we still have celebrating to do. It's not just a new month it's a new year. Yay! A new beginning! A new start or starting over. Best of all, this year started with Hubs' valve replacement. God certainly blessed us and the doctors at Meijer Heart Center in Grand Rapids as they did a TAVR (transcatheter aortic valve replacement) which meant no open heart surgery. Hubs (and the docs) did so well he came home the next day. He looks and feels so much better. Thank you to everyone who sent healing thoughts and prayers.


This month's optional question. What started you on your writing journey? Was it a particular book, movie, story, or series? Was it a teacher/coach/spouse/friend/parent? Did you just "know" suddenly you wanted to write?

More the last one. My kids were getting ready to go off to college. My "job" of caring for them and volunteering for their activities was ending. It was my turn to do what I wanted. I'd written fan fiction with my girlfriend in high school. (At the time, we didn't know that's what it was called.) Somehow, I got away from writing until much later. I wish I'd started sooner--gotten in on the 80s bandwagon when publishers were craving romantic fiction. But then I wouldn't have enjoyed the life I had. And the experiences. 

What started you on your writing journey? I'm eager to find out.


Click here to find others on the Insecure Writers Support Group Blog Hop. Or go to IWSG on Facebook to see who’s blogging today.





29 comments:

  1. Oh wow, so glad to read about your husband! Amazing that he was able to come home the next day. I hope the rest of your month is as great as the start has been.

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  2. Glad everything went well with your husband. Continued prayers for his full recovery.
    I didn't get back into writing until later in life. Sometimes it just works out that way.

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    1. Thanks, Alex. Maybe we just needed more life experience before we started writing.

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  3. Happy New Year!!!

    I am glad your husband is doing better.

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  4. Happy New Year!
    I am so happy to hear that your husband has made a miraculous recovery. God certainly blessed you and I say Amen to that.
    Wishing you a great start in the new decade.
    All the best.
    Shalom aleichem,
    Pat G @ EverythingMustChange

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    1. Thanks, Pat. We feel so blessed. A great way to start the new year.

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  5. There are a number of writers who began their writing journey late in life. I'll never forget the one writer who wrote her first book at age 89, I think she was, and it was a monster book--over a thousand pages--and it became a best seller! Great blog. :) And, so happy your husband is doing well.

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    1. Thanks, Diana. It's never too late to begin a new career. One of my fav sayings is: If not now, when?

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  6. So glad your husband's surgery went well. I was late to writing too, though started it when my daughter was in school.

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  7. I'm glad the beginning of 2020 was good to you and you still face the fun of birthdays. New beginnings give everyone a huge eraser. I like that. :-)

    Anna from elements of emaginette

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  8. So glad to hear the new valve is working so well. My story is similar to yours. I wished I had stared sooner, but it was too busy being mom, teacher, coach, maid, LOL

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    1. Good one, Susan. Yeah, all the hats we wear/wore. Thanks.

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  9. We all have to pile in when we're ready, and it seems you had some wonderful years that engaged your time and your talent. Now you have a new way to enjoy yourself. How wonderful is that?

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    1. It's fabulous, Lee. And look what a great group I discovered who encourage and support.

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  10. It's amazing what the medical profession can do these days and how they do it. I have a friend who found out right before Christmas that he had a brain tumor and it's cancer. They removed it on a Friday and he went home on Sunday. Crazy stuff. They think they got it all, so we'll see.

    Teresa

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    1. It is truly amazing, Teresa. I hope you friend recovers well.

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  11. Hi Diane,

    I'm so glad your husband is okay and feeling better. Happy New Year! Wishing you all the best in 2020.

    Thanks for your advice re: contacting Simon.

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    1. Thanks so much. I wish you well with Simon. I'm sure he meant his invitation.

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  12. So glad to hear your husband's on the road to recovery. I'll keep you guys in my prayers. So wait, how did you find peace just because your kids went to college? This didn't happen for me. In fact, my kids still stop by or call daily. One still lives with me. I know, I'm blessed. Yes I am. But still...I wouldn't mind a little peace and quiet once in a while. I wish you health and success in 2020.

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    1. Thanks, Victoria. Our kids didn't come home from college often. One went to school 500 miles away. While the other was only an hour away, she worked on weekends. So, I did have a lot of quiet to write. Things changed when Hubs retired. LOL

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  13. Glad your husband is getting better.
    I was a late-comer to writing too.

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    1. Thanks, Olga. I often tell others: if not now, when? It's never too late to follow our dreams.

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  14. I'm glad to hear that your husband's surgery went by well. Congratulations on your new grandson!

    Life's circumstances can get in the way of our writing. It was like that for me in grad school until I found out the hard way that I really didn't want to teach literature, I wanted to write it (and I guess what constitutes as literature can be up to interpretation).

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  15. Glad to hear your husband's surgery was a success and he is feeling better. Definitely a great way to start the new year. If there is one thing I have taken from this months IWSG postings is that age seems to be something a lot of us worry about (in as much as we came to fiction writing later in life) but maybe we wouldn't be the writers we are now without the life experiences we had up to this point. All the best to you and your husband Diane.

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  16. Hi Diane,

    I started late in the game, too. But just remember this one very important aspect. If we started in the 80's, we wouldn't have all of our life experiences to incorporate into our stories. It is OUR LIVING that makes us authentic and realistic writers. Haven't you ever read something that didn't read honestly or it wasn't believable? I know I have, and I believe mainly it is because the author didn't have enough life experience. I am always complimented on my description and dialogue and I believe it is because I have "LIVED." I have traveled extensively and have studied art my whole life. As for the dialogue... lol ...I have talked A LOT over the years! LOL And of course, I have listened too. That is what makes a writer a good writer.

    Happy new you to you, too! Wishing you and your family a happy and HEALTHY year and new decade!

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