Writing Space Comfort #IWSG

Whether you like your writing space with a view, cluttered, or sparse, what is important is that you find a comfortable place to write.

This month's IWSG optional question is, What are five objects in your writing space?

I have more than five objects in my writing space because I find comfort in clutter. I have many knick knacks around me including a Master Chief on a Puma... ok, it's not a Puma. So I picked a few important things and took a photo. See above.

Because I find so many distractions on my computer, I handwrite my first drafts. Consequently I go through many purple pens. I depleted six purple pens for NaNoWriMo in November, completing the challenge at just shy of 62k words written. Yay. It's the most I've ever written in a month.

I also have copious amounts of note books in which to write. The paper is as important as the pens. Little A5 sized pages are easy to hold, easy to fill, and I know how many pages I need to complete to hit my daily goal. 

Then there is a mini desk fan to keep me cool in the Brisbane heat. Because I just feel sleepy when it's hot.

And the ball in the photo is a marble paperweight my brother bought me many years ago. Just because.

Oh, and for the fifth item, if you squint, you can see my whiteboard reflected in the paperweight. I love my whiteboard. Great for plotting, reminders, lists and doodles.

So how about you? What objects could I find in your writing space?

This post was written for the IWSG. Every first Wednesday of the month the members of our group post on their blogs about their writing insecurities or offer some encouragement to others. If you are new to the IWSG, then please go HERE

Don't forget, the  WEP Challenge is on now. Check out the details and sign up HERE. 



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I'd just like to wish everyone a special, peaceful Christmas. If you are looking for a gift for someone you love, please consider my daily devotional book, Cling to God. With a short devotional thought for every day of the year, my book can help you draw closer to God in this crazy busy world.

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Simple Writing Advice 101 #IWSG

 
The IWSG (Insecure Writer's Support Group) is, as the name implies, a group of writers who are eager to support each other. We learn from each other, grow together and become better writers as a result. To write in isolation is a mistake. Yes, it takes hours of sitting alone in a seat, pulling words together into something vaguely intelligible. Despite that, at regular intervals it's important to get up, share, interact, live. At times that might seem scary, especially when it comes to sharing our work, the creation we slaved over for so long. My simple advice is this: Get over that fear and get involved. Share your work, listen to other opinions, discover new opportunities. It gets easier with practice.

How was my 2017? I thought 2016 was a roller coaster. How wrong I was. They had better not come as a hat trick.  

How was your 2017? How has sharing your work changed your writing?

If you'd like to join the IWSG or know more about the group, click HERE. We have lots of helpful resources on the website and in free books, competitions during the year, a Twitter Pitch Party coming up in January and lots more.

Writing for Profit, Character Creation, Cling to God

There is a tradition in my household. When you have a birthday, you get to enjoy and celebrate it for not just the day, but the whole month also. Well, this month is my devotional book's birthday! It was a year ago on the 18th October Cling to God: A Daily Devotional was released into the world.

Very exciting! Can't believe how fast that year went by.

If you'd like to find a daily pocket of peace in this chaotic world, and wish to buy my book for yourself or as a gift (Christmas is coming rapidly!), then it's available from Amazon Paperback, Kindle, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, iTunes.

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This month's optional IWSG question:  Have you ever slipped any of your personal information into your characters, either by accident or on purpose?

Maybe not my bank account information, but there's certainly aspects of me in every character. Thankfully I am, along with everyone else, a creature of complexity, so I can draw from many aspects. In my opinion, it's unavoidable. We see the world through our own eyes, even when we try to see it through someone else's. We are the sum of our experiences. To write, we tap into what we know based on what we have observed and experienced and from what we've heard others experience. We then mash all that input together and process it in a way only we uniquely know how. This knowledge becomes a part of who we are. We influence and are influenced. Consequently our interpretation of the world has to come out in our writing. Pieces of  ourselves and others get mixed into our characters. What I haven't done is create a character wholly based on my perception of "me" or the "me" of a specific someone. All my characters are based on a mix.


Every first Wednesday of the month the members of the IWSG post on their blogs about their writing insecurities or offer some encouragement to others. If you are new to the IWSG, then please go HERE to find out more and join up.






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The Insecure Writer's Support Group: Writing for Profit

From writing to publishing to marketing, the Insecure Writer's Support Group members provide tips on making money as a writer. This free guide represents the spirit of the IWSG - to encourage and support writers everywhere! It is our hope that this book will benefit you as a writer, no matter where you are in the journey.


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