Janet Alcorn

Suspense | Horror | Romance

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  • IWSG,  Writing

    What it’s like to reread my old work

    February 3, 2026 /
    Insecure Writer's Support Group badge

    This week on the IWSG blog hop, we’re talking about rereading old work. What’s it like to reread my old work? Before I dive into that: This post is part of the Insecure Writers Support Group (IWSG) blog hop. On the first Wednesday of every month, we IWSG-ers share our doubts, fears, struggles, and triumphs. Our awesome co-hosts this month are J Lenni Dorner, Victoria Marie Lees, and Sandra Cox. Stop by and leave them some comment love. Each month our fearless leader (Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh) gives us an optional question to answer. This month’s question is, Many writers have written about the experience of rereading their work years later. Have you…

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    Janet Alcorn

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    Insecure Writer's Support Group badge

    Writing through the seasons of life

    June 4, 2024
    Insecure Writer's Support Group badge

    Dispatch from the query trenches

    March 4, 2026
    The Etiquette of Voles by Karen McCoy

    My greatest fear as a writer–and a middle grade Victorian mystery

    May 6, 2025
  • IWSG,  Writing

    My So-Called Writing Life: expectations vs. reality

    November 5, 2025 /
    Insecure Writer's Support Group badge

    I love books about the writing life. In fact, they are one of my favorite ways to procrastinate from living the writing life (by, you know, actually writing). I want to know every famous writer’s writing routine, favorite beverage while writing, where they wrote, what they wrote with, even the name of the human/animal/epic tragedy that inspired them to write. Writing is a vocation that inspires awe. We like to imagine that it involves some kind of magic (and really, I’m half convinced Stephen King’s works are actually written by a sentient Ouija Board, because he’s clearly channeling something). So let’s talk about the writing life, or at least my…

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    Janet Alcorn

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    Literary genres that are not for me

    September 6, 2022
    Collage featuring logos for BlueSky and Threads, photos of a spool of blue thread and a blue sky, and screenshots of Janet Alcorn's profiles on BlueSky and Threads

    Threads and BlueSky: New Social Media Options for Writers

    October 31, 2023
    Insecure Writer's Support Group badge

    Are holidays for rest or productivity?

    December 7, 2022
  • IWSG,  Writing

    My greatest fear as a writer–and a middle grade Victorian mystery

    May 6, 2025 /
    The Etiquette of Voles by Karen McCoy

    OK, today let’s talk about a topic that plagues just about every writer I’ve ever talked with: fear. In the spirit of honesty and commiseration, I’ll share my greatest fear as a writer, and if you also write (or create or are just a fraidy cat like me), you can share yours in the comments. And I’ll tell you about my friend Karen’s shiny new middle grade mystery, The Etiquette of Voles. But first: This post is part of the Insecure Writers Support Group (IWSG) blog hop. On the first Wednesday of every month, we IWSG-ers share our doubts, fears, struggles, and triumphs. Our awesome co-hosts this month are Feather…

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    Janet Alcorn

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    Insecure Writer's Support Group badge

    No, I don’t want to live in a fictional world

    July 5, 2022
    Insecure Writer's Support Group badge

    Are holidays for rest or productivity?

    December 7, 2022
    Insecure Writer's Support Group badge

    2023: my year in writing

    January 3, 2024
  • Arizona,  Photos,  Short Stories,  What's Been on Your Calendar

    2024 is off to a strong start: the January recap

    January 27, 2024 /
    Looking down on the US-Mexico Border, a black fence across a desert basin

    Welcome to my first What’s Been on Your Calendar post of 2023! I went into my holiday break last month recovering from COVID, exhausted, and struggling to figure out how to rebalance my life so it wouldn’t grind me into fine powder by April Fool’s Day. Then I rested, took a short road trip, spent some time in nature… and felt renewed. January has been the best month I’ve had in awhile. I’m not sure what made the difference but my money’s on rest and spending time really thinking about how best to prioritize the many demands on my time and energy. I’m also not sure how long this new…

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    Janet Alcorn

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    Wupatki National Monument + the usual nonsense

    June 11, 2022

    Sentinel Peak, Enchanted Hills, and Valentine’s Day nonsense (Weekend Coffee Share #25)

    February 11, 2022

    Ironwood National Monument (Weekend Coffee Share #27)

    February 25, 2022
  • IWSG

    An interview with author C. Lee McKenzie

    December 6, 2023 /
    Cover of Rattlesnake by C. Lee McKenzie

    I’m excited to feature my first-ever author interview on this blog! Read on for an interview with C. Lee McKenzie, a multi-published author of young adult, middle grade, and adult fiction and a fellow member of the Insecure Writer’s Support Group. And speaking of the IWSG: 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 C. Lee McKenzie, JQ Rose, Jennifer Lane, and Jacqui Murray. Stop by their blogs and leave them some comment love! Each month, the IWSG provides an optional question for us to answer in our posts. This month’s optional question:…

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    Janet Alcorn

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    Insecure Writer's Support Group badge

    20 years of blogging: a look back

    April 2, 2024
    Insecure Writer's Support Group badge

    I’m co-hosting the IWSG blog hop! (#IWSG)

    March 1, 2022
    Insecure Writer's Support Group badge

    I forgot it’s IWSG day!

    November 2, 2022
  • IWSG,  Writing

    Threads and BlueSky: New Social Media Options for Writers

    October 31, 2023 /
    Collage featuring logos for BlueSky and Threads, photos of a spool of blue thread and a blue sky, and screenshots of Janet Alcorn's profiles on BlueSky and Threads

    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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    Janet Alcorn

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    Insecure Writer's Support Group badge

    Are holidays for rest or productivity?

    December 7, 2022
    Insecure Writer's Support Group badge

    When to start a writing career? The second best time is now (#IWSG)

    January 5, 2022
    Insecure Writer's Support Group badge

    Read these 6 Books to Improve Your Fiction Writing (With a Sex-Related Bonus)

    August 4, 2021
  • Books and Reading,  Writing

    Books to Help You Write Better: A Writer’s Reading List

    October 28, 2023 /
    Stack of books to help you write better, including Bird by Bird, Self-Editing for Fiction Writers, Thanks, But This Isn't For Us, Structuring Your Novel, Stephen King's On Writing, and Revision & Self-Editing

    Want to learn to write fiction? Want to learn to write better fiction? You’re in the right place. The Writer’s Reading List: Books to Help You Write Better will point you to the very best books about the craft of writing (well, the best in my not-so-humble opinion). The books on this list focus on practical skills so you can make the most of your limited learning time. And speaking of learning: Writing is a talent, yes, but also a craft, and crafts can be learned (I wrote a whole blog post about that once). You wouldn’t expect to build a perfect cabinet the first time you picked up a…

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    Janet Alcorn

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    In which I am ambushed by the embodiment of pure evil (and there are books)

    July 21, 2023

    The weekly update: bobcat sighting, books, garden pix, and a small batch of memes

    May 21, 2022
    Insecure Writer's Support Group badge

    Author Envy, or Damn, I Wish I’d Written That

    February 28, 2023
  • Vanishing, Inc.,  Weekend Coffee Share,  Writing

    Successful pitch session and more writing news

    October 8, 2023 /
    Sepia-toned photo of a stone house amid ponderosa pine trees.

    I’m happy to report I survived my pitch session at the WriteNow conference! As a result of that session, I disappeared from the face of the earth–and this blog–for about 3 weeks. Details below. But first: welcome to the Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Natalie the Explorer. Grab a treat, have a seat, and let’s get this party started. Writing News How my pitch session went In my last post, I mentioned I’d signed up for the WriteNow conference, including submitting the first 30 pages of my suspense novel in progress, Delta Dawn, for professional editing and pitching my time travel romance, Vanishing, Inc., to an agent. I should get…

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    Janet Alcorn

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    Vintage houseboat on slough tucked behind twisty branches

    How my novel, Delta Dawn, got its name (#IWSG)

    March 31, 2026
    Round-headed cartoon person staring angrily at computer

    Blurbs, pitches, loglines, and other book marketing necessities I suck at (#IWSG)

    November 3, 2021
    Las Vegas Sphere lit up like a yellow emoji with a surprised face

    Pics of the Las Vegas Sphere – and books

    October 20, 2023
  • Blogging,  IWSG

    Celebrating 4 years in the IWSG

    September 5, 2023 /

    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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    Janet Alcorn

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    State of the blog and most popular posts of 2021

    December 30, 2021

    2023 is off to a weird start

    January 15, 2023
    Creosote, teddy bear cholla, ocotillo, and saguaros in foreground with rust-brown colored mountain in background in late afternoon light

    New story published, Organ Pipe Cactus trip, blog recap, recap, and New Years memes (Weekend Coffee Share #20)

    January 8, 2022
  • IWSG,  Writing

    Finding balance as an author

    August 1, 2023 /
    Insecure Writer's Support Group badge

    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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    Janet Alcorn

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    Insecure Writer's Support Group badge

    20 years of blogging: a look back

    April 2, 2024
    Insecure Writer's Support Group badge

    Are holidays for rest or productivity?

    December 7, 2022
    Insecure Writer's Support Group badge

    I’m co-hosting the IWSG blog hop! (#IWSG)

    March 1, 2022
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