I’m so excited to be co-hosting the Insecure Writers Support Group monthly blog hop, along with Pat Garcia, Natalie Aguirre, and Shannon Lawrence! It’s my first time co-hosting any kind of blog hop, so like I do with every other new experience, I’m going to overthink it and write 17 drafts until the post is perfect. Just kidding. I’m going to do what I actually do with new experiences: dive in and flail around and probably look like an idiot but have a great time doing it (come to think of it, that sentence sums up my writing career quite nicely). Wanna come along for the ride? I have cookies… Welcome to my nightmare the jungle my blog I’m told that one of the perks of being an IWSG co-host is getting lots of new visitors to one’s blog, so before we get into the meat of today’s post, if you’re new here, welcome! Feel free to raid the fridge, snoop in the medicine cabinet, and put your feet on the coffee table. Perennial topics here at Camp WTF include: Writing–mostly whining, a few successes, some snarky commentary (come to think of it, that sentence sums up my life quite nicely). See my other IWSG posts for examples. Travel–mostly around Arizona, mostly including pictures of cactuses. So. Many. Cactuses. Wanna see some? Also pictures of flowers. Especially cactus flowers. My Garden–more pictures of flowers. Just smile and nod and pretend you care. Books–sometimes mine, mostly other people’s. If it has words on it, I’ll read it. Let me tell you about this great cereal box I read yesterday… Music–mostly 80s, mostly rock, always loud My Life–do yourself a favor and skim those parts. I’m boring as hell. Memes–if I include memes in my blog posts, then scrolling social media is actually research, right? RIGHT? Lie to me baby. Lie to me. This month’s optional IWSG question Every month, we IWSG-ers are given an optional question we can answer in our posts, in case we need a writing prompt. I rarely need a writing prompt–I can babble on about damn near anything and usually do–but the questions are thought-provoking, so I usually answer them. This month’s questions is: Have you ever been conflicted about writing a story or adding a scene to a story? How did you decide to write it or not? I’ve been conflicted a few times about adding a scene to a story or keeping it after I’ve written it. I’m currently struggling with the fate of two scenes in my time travel romantic suspense, Vanishing, Inc.: A lighthearted scene that touches on the main conflict only tangentially but which shows my main character bonding with a secondary character whose help she’ll need later. I like the scene, and my critique partners liked it too, but I hear a lot about how writers should cut anything nonessential. So, should I cut it? I don’t know. For now, it’s staying. The climactic scene in the same novel, which includes an on-the-page attempted rape. It’s not over-the-top graphic, but it’s still going to upset some people. I think it needs to be there to be true to the story and the characters, but on-page sexual violence is a deal-breaker for some readers (and agents). I don’t know yet what I’m going to do about this scene. I’ve talked about where to draw the line in my writing before. It’s hard. Writing Memes! I don’t usually include memes in my IWSG posts (I save them for my weekly Weekend Coffee Share posts), but I’m breaking tradition this time because, 1) I want to give my new visitors a good sense of what they’re in for if they decide to come back to my wacky corner of the interwebs, and 2) I suspect we can all use a few laughs. So, without further ado, I bring you: writing memes! Writing avoidance I never cease to be impressed at my ability to avoid actually writing. RIP, Meat Loaf. Writing: the only activity I avoid more than housework. Dammit. The psyche of a writer A writer’s brain (or at least this writer’s brain) is a dark and twisty place. Yeah, I’ve literally done that. I’ve also done this: Yeah, whatever you do, don’t look at my browser history. I don’t want to know how many watch lists I’m on. And finally: A writer’s (lack of) career options Whether you’re a regular here in these parts or a first-timer, thanks for stopping by! Say howdy in the comments, and come on back real soon, ya hear?