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Threads and BlueSky: New Social Media Options for Writers
Writers are told we need to “build platform”–have websites, grow our email lists, and build community on social media. Many of us have invested many hours over several years to grow a following on the Site Formerly Known as Twitter, only to watch one egomaniacal billionaire destroy that site piece by poorly-redesigned piece. I’m still on there (for now; follow me @ja_alcorn), but I’m engaging less and less as the most interesting people leave the platform and the bigots and haters take over. Instead, I’m trying out Threads and BlueSky, two new social media options for writers. I’ll share my experiences with both platforms in a minute, but first: The…
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Celebrating 4 years in the IWSG
Today the IWSG celebrates its 12th birthday, and Monday was the 4th anniversary of my first-ever IWSG post. How cool is that? Anniversaries give us a reason to look back, to see how we’ve grown and changed over the years and to celebrate the person–or in this case, people–who have accompanied us on that journey. But first: In case you’re new here, the first Wednesday of every month is Insecure Writers Support Group day, on which we insecure writers share our doubts, fears, struggles, and triumphs. Our awesome co-hosts this month are Sonia Dogra, J Lenni Dorner, Pat Garcia, Sarah – The Faux Fountain Pen, and Meka James. Stop by and give them some comment love. We…
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Finding balance as an author
In this month’s post for the IWSG, let’s talk about finding balance as an author. How do we choose how best to spend our limited time and energy when there are approximately 40 gazillion author-related tasks clamoring for our attention? But first: In case you’re new here, the first Wednesday of every month is Insecure Writers Support Group day, on which we insecure writers share our doubts, fears, struggles, and triumphs. Our awesome co-hosts this month are Kate Larkindale, Diane Burton, Shannon Lawrence–and me! This will be my third time co-hosting the monthly IWSG blog hop, and it’s always a blast. Come on in and join the party! We IWSG-ers are…
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Where do I get my writing ideas?
Where do you get your ideas? People ask writers that question so often it’s become a cliché, yet it usually elicits interesting answers. So I thought I’d share a little about how I get my weird and wacky story ideas. But first: In case you’re new here, the first Wednesday of every month is Insecure Writers Support Group day, on which we insecure writers share our doubts, fears, struggles, and triumphs. Our awesome co-hosts this month are PJ Colando, Kim Lajevardi, Gwen Gardner, Pat Garcia, and Natalie Aguirre. We’re also given an optional question we can answer in our posts. This month’s question is: Where do your writing ideas predominantly come from? The origin stories…
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What if I stopped writing?
If I stopped writing, would I still be a writer? A former writer? A not-writing-right-now-but-plan-to-write-in-the-future writer? A too-busy-with-other-stuff writer? A burned-out writer? These aren’t just rhetorical questions. My current state of non-writing As of the time I’m drafting this post (late May) I haven’t written much this year other than blog posts, and I haven’t written anything other than (very occasional) blog posts in the last month. This is my longest dry spell since I started writing fiction back in 2014, and I’m afraid I’m allowing it to become more than a dry spell. I’m afraid I’m allowing it to become my new normal. I appreciate this month’s optional question…
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On inspiration and perspiration
I only write when I am inspired. Fortunately I am inspired at 9 o’clock every morning. Attributed to William Faulkner People who aren’t writers (a/k/a normal people) like to talk about inspiration. Where do you get your ideas? What inspired that story? A few will ask about writing routines, and I figure they’re aspiring writers looking for some magic formula for finishing the Great American Novel. I’ve been writing fiction for only about 9 years, but already I’ve figured out there’s no magic formula, no combination of creativity exercises + daily routines that will magically put words in a document and turn them into a good story. What does put…
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Taking stock of my writing career
So there I was, minding my own business, when along comes the April IWSG question to make me get all self-reflective. In case you’re new here, the first Wednesday of every month is Insecure Writers Support Group day, on which we insecure writers share our doubts, fears, struggles, and triumphs. Our awesome April co-hosts are Jemima Pett, Nancy Gideon, and Natalie Aguirre. We’re also given an optional question we can answer in our posts. This month’s question is: Do you remember writing your first book? What were your thoughts about a career path on writing? Where are you now and how is it working out for you? If you’re at the start of the…
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Author Envy, or Damn, I Wish I’d Written That
Do you ever read a novel, a story, or even a sentence that wows you so much, you wish you’d written it? That’s author envy, and it’s what we’re going to talk about in this month’s post for the Insecure Writers Support Group blog hop. In case you’re new here, the first Wednesday of every month is Insecure Writers Support Group day, on which we insecure writers share our doubts, fears, struggles, and triumphs. Our awesome March co-hosts are Diedre Knight, Tonya Drecker, Bish Denham, Olga Godim, and JQ Rose. We’re also given an optional question we can answer in our posts; this month’s question is: Have you ever read a line in novel or…
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New year, new writing progress
Welcome to my first IWSG post of 2023! (Because I’m a huge dork who forgot to post in January.) The first Wednesday of every month is Insecure Writers Support Group day, on which we insecure writers share our doubts, fears, struggles, and triumphs. Our awesome February co-hosts are Jacqui Murray, Ronel Janse van Vuuren, Pat Garcia, and Gwen Gardner. Please stop by and leave them some comment love. Each month our fearless leaders provide an optional question we can answer in our posts. This month’s question is: If you are an Indie author, do you make your own covers or purchase them? If you publish trad, how much input do you have about what…
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Are holidays for rest or productivity?
I’ve spent the last few days on holiday planning. I’m an academic, and my university shuts down from just before Christmas till just after New Years, giving me ~10 days off during which I don’t have to monitor email or think about work in any way. I don’t have much family, so I don’t have holiday houseguests, and I’m not expected to travel anywhere. Yet I manage to stress about Winter Break every year. Why? Because overthinking is one of my superpowers (the others are being so lazy my FitBit thinks I’m dead and eating my body weight in Extra Toasty Cheez-Its). Before we get to my overthinking of Winter…
Janet Alcorn
Suspense | Horror | Romance
