Insecure once again...

Hello my dear fellow Insecure-ists!!

Welcome to the December post for the Insecure Writer's Support Group, and thank you for stopping by even if I did miss last month's post and have not, in fact, posted since mid-October. I'm plenty insecure about that, let me tell you.

I mean, I used to be so good at the whole blogging thing... commenting on other people's blogs (sorry guys, I've been really, really bad at that), posting about my writing, telling stories for blogfests... I did it all, but I don't any more, because I do not seem to be able to find the time. I don't know why not, since my workload hasn't increased all that much. Has my Mr Muse left me? Am I tired of the online life, so to speak? Maybe a little, for both. Mr Muse is definitely a little put out by my lack of attention (he's sensitive that way).

I did dedicate part of November to him, though - I participated in NaNo and managed to get my 50.000 words down on paper, so that's definitely something. It's mostly rubbish - I admit I did include character interviews and long descriptions of settings that recur in the story, along with some background stuff that wouldn't actually show up if I ever (ever) get to the publishing point. But still, 50.000 words are 50.000 words, right?

How about you? What are you feeling particularly insecure about? Do you fear losing touch with the whole online community sometimes, no matter how much fun it is and how helpful? Did you take part in NaNo? How did it go? Or did you do something completely different?

Something on Sunday

Sunday! Oh no, the week is about to start all over again... *sigh*

Hello my dearies!

It's Tessa again, and I'm not looking forward to Monday. I missed a lot of last week due to an annoying stomach bug, so the pile of work on my desk is H-U-G-E.

but

BUT

I has an idea! Since yesterday! I am going to host a blogfest that is based on casting shows... but since it's NaNoWriMo in November I'm going to let the idea sit and do it in December ; )... 

However, I did want to share something about writing today. I haven't been doing very much of it lately for a whole slew of reasons. I plan on changing that, but then I always seem to plan on changing that. At least I've more or less kept up with my blogathon (I'm not counting my missed fever days last week). That's something, right? 

ANNNND.... I'm going to sign up for NaNo again. Yep, I am. It's kind of like an addiction... 

Saturday Night

Hello my dearies!

It's saturday night and I'm home alone, watching the most inane casting show ever. Is there such a thing as "Supertalent" in US television? I'm going to guess the answer to that one is either YES or SOON. These kind of things tend to be epidemic. Have you ever watched on of those? 

Does the world need a pair of dogs playing For Elise on a doggy-adapted piano? So the kid rapping and dancing is cute but really? And the guy who really can't sing, we all know he's there for comic relief, right? 

But it did get me thinking. What if there were a casting show for writers (ok so I'm assuming there isn't one...is there?). What would it look like? How would it work? And then I realized that really, what are we doing here? 

Blogging, I mean. Isn't this kind of like a social-networky talent show? How many followers do you have, and do you really care? Is it just about the pleasure of writing for you or is it all about having a tangible (well, sort of) measure of your writerly popularity? 

And then there's the blogfests... which gives me an idea... *puts on thinking hat* 

I'll leave you with the suspense on that one and let you know when I've figured it out! 

ps. word of the day today is "snollygoster"... *snigger*

Friday Fiction - or, in this case, a movie

I've just been to see Gravity, the new Sandra Bullock and George Clooney movie. Have you seen it? It's about this team of astronauts doing repairs to the Hubble telescope and then there's a whole lot of space junk..... *shudder*

It's a very scary subject. Lost in space, alone in the wide, empty universe - empty of air, of sound, of people, of help... very, very scary. But I digress. 

What I wanted to say was that this is a movie worth watching if you want to see some beautiful pictures of earth from space. I'd love to know whether those are actual ones or if they're totally computer-made or somewhere in between. Other than that the movie has some pretty hairy situations, and some really overly hollywood-soppy moments (including violins in the background...). The no-gravity scenes are pretty cool, as is the realism of the inside of those space stations. But then Hollywood has always been good at that sort of thing. 

I do think they overdid the violin moments, though. The flying around in space without a safety line bit was hair-raisingly scary, yes. A bit of relief from all the tension is necessary, and with only one character involved in a scene any sort of dialogue is going to be internal, but still... 

Have you seen this movie? What do you think? 

Angels and Angles

Hello my dearies!

No, I'm not going to do a post on typos today... although that's an interesting one, isn't it, angles and angels? What I wanted to ask you guys was whether or not you've noticed the current trend towards angel-based stories. I'm going to go out on a limb here and assume that most of you have, in fact, seen this development.

What I find REALLY interesting is the way it started (as far as I could see) in the YA section of the market. I mean, there were LOADS of vampire novels out there (starting with Anne Rice) before Twilight came along. Maybe I'm wrong about this, but I think most of the more popular angel-involved novels have been YA ones. And now we have more and more novels on the 'adult fantasy' side of things that involve angels, too. I'm thinking Tad Williams' Bobby Dollar Novels, here, or Lou Morgan's Blood and Feathers, and also the Fallen series by Thomas E. Sniegoski.

So I'm curious to hear what you guys thing - why angels? And am I right or did I miss something about where it started?

Gods of the North (A Blogfest)

Welcome to the Norse Gods Blogfest hosted by Siv Maria Otem  in celebration of her book and her birthday (HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!):

The obvious choice for my favourite northern god would probably be Thor...especially considering the rather tasty version currently running around Hollywood... *ahem*....

But I have to say my favourite is Loki, the trickster, has been since I first watched that old kid's movie Valhalla. I'm not sure it ever came out in English, though, so I don't know if you know it or not. 

The trailer doesn't really tell you much, but here it is anyhow...

Anyway, I couldn't help but think Loki got the short end of the stick, somehow... *grins*...ok maybe not the short end of the stick but he is rather amusing... 

Good Intentions and Daytime TV

Hello my dearies,

So... you may have noticed that I've missed a couple of days in my October Blogathon. Well. Turns out that at that wedding I went to last weekend, the one with the photos? I caught some sort of stomach bug that's had me in bed till now, with nary the energy to read a book, never mind write anything.

I had to resort to daytime TV, can you imagine the horror??

OK so it wasn't all that bad... I haven't actually seen any Murder She Wrote or Diagnosis: Murder episodes in ages, and it was rather fun watching reruns of my childhood/early teen favourites. Did you ever watch one of those series? Apart from the eighties-ish style horrors that crop up they were rather good - classic whodunit with lots of humour thrown in for good measure. I must admit that I don't usually read that sort of thing, but watching them was certainly entertaining.

Do you like watching classic whodunits? Or reading them? What's your favourite entertainment when you're ill and can't really do anything that involves thinking?

#selfie

So... I know I said I'd be posting about writing, but I'm busy attending a cousin's wedding today so I thought I'd leave you with a picture of my very Austrian hair-do.... *snigger* (and yes, I'm wearing a dirndl in that one). And here's one for tonight....

Fiction Friday - The Selection by Kiera Cass

Hello my dearies and welcome to today's episode of Fiction Friday!

You may have noticed that I am currently lacking a logo for my Fiction Friday. Sorry, I'm working on that....

*ahem*

I haven't read much YA in the last few months (because frankly, it all started sounding the same) so I was rather surprised with myself for picking this particular book off the shelves. I like the cover (I happen to be very fond of blueish green or greenish blue or however you want to call that), so maybe that explains it. 

This particular YA "distopian fairytale", as Kiersten White calls it on the back cover, is the first in a series by Kiera Cass. I do believe it's her first novel of this type (she wrote one called The Siren earlier, but I haven't read it). It is set in a world after a 4th World War, in a country where the number of your caste determines everything - your job, your prospects, the likelihood of you going to bed hungry or not.

America Singer, aptly named for a country that fought hard for its independence, is quite happy being a 5 - an artist by caste. She's in love with Aspen, a 6, one caste lower than hers, but she doesn't care about that. Love conquers all...or does it? When she's selected to be one of 35 girls to compete for the hand of Prince Maxon in a Bacheloresque TV-show setting, she finds out that feelings are not that simple.

And then, as if falling in like with the Prince in spite of herself, living through rebel attacks and trying to get along with the competition (35 girls wanting one thing? Bitchiness is pretty much pre-programmed there...), she has to decide what to do with her feelings for Aspen... does she love him still?

The whole book was a nicely flowing read, and kept me amused well into the night (yes, I had to finish it before I went to bed...always a good sign for a book). I rather like the way more and more of these fairy-tale inspired stories are turning up. Fairy tales have been around so long for a reason - they're classic plots that fit a whole load of situations and cultures. This book is clearly starting with a Cinderella premise, but I'm very curious to see if it'll start leaning towards a Lancelot-Arthur-Guinevere triangle situation...

I wasn't expecting to like this book as much as I did. Ok, so I still prefer the epic scale and intrigue of, say Brandon Sanderson's The Way of Kings (Stormlight Archives 1), but this book is GOOD. Definitely one of the best YA novels (especially of the dystopian kind) I've read in the last couple of years, and that's saying something. There's been a lot of really good YA literature going around the last decade or so.

Therefore, without further ado, I do say this book deserves

Four out of Five Stars! 

Thrilling Thursdays of Talking to Tessa's Characters...

Hello my dearies!

It's Thursday today and I've decided to unearth a type of post I used last autumn but then sort of forgot about. In honour of my October Blogathon, Thrilling Thursdays are back! Well, they thrill me, at least -   I hope you like them, too.

Let me explain the concept - one of my favourite methods of characterisation and plot-development is through character interviews. I pretend I'm sitting down right there with one of my characters, and we strike up a conversation. Sometimes it worked out stranger than others (here's a short one and here's another), but no matter what, I've always had fun doing character interviews.

Tessa Conte sits in a comfy armchair before a happily dancing hearth-fire in a room full of books and leather. She has a yellow legal pad on her lap, and is busily chewing the end of her pencil. 

There's a knock at the door.

TC: Come in, please.

A man enters the room, dressed in a desertman's garb, all loosely flowing robes and leather belts holding it all together. He's armed with at least two blades -  a sword on his back and a knife in his belt - that Tessa can see, but there's bound to be more. He comes to a stop before Tessa's chair. 

TC (waits a bit, tapping her pencil against the legal pad): Well? Are you going to sit down? (He sits and pulls off the black turban and veil) Thank you. So, what are we talking about today? How about we start with you introducing yourself to the audience?

R: I'm Rashid.

TC: That's it? Just Rashid?

R (he's studying the room, the fire, the books, anything but looking straight at Tessa): Yes. I'm the Peacemaker's guard.

TC (frowns): Care to elaborate on that? And why aren't you looking at me?

R (deliberately turns his head to look straight at a spot behind Tessa's right shoulder): I'm just a guard, I shouldn't be looking at you.

TC (watches him for a bit): Are you looking for threats, Rashid? (he just nods) So you'd protect me, too, then?

R (apparently startled, he meets Tessa's gaze and she sees that his eyes are a strangely mezmerizing honey shade): Yes, my lady. Of course I would! That's my purpose, is it not?

TC: To protect?

R (frowns, then nods as if he needs to reassure himself of this): Yes. I protect, that's what I'm here for. There's nothing else for me, is there?

TC: You don't sound very certain of that.

R (looks into the fire; his hand is resting on the hilt of his dagger, clenching and unclenching): I don't know what to think. I have no memory older than the day I was given into the Peacemaker's service, you know that, don't you? How am I to know what or who I was before then? It should not matter. I know I can't be that anymore, that I'm not allowed to, but...

TC (leans forward): But?

R: But there's something there, shadows, echoes of something...

TC (sits back in her chair): We'll figure it out, don't worry.  

Insecure in October

Hello my dearies and welcome to this month's IWSG post! (you can find the other participants on a linky list if you click on the tab up above)

brought to you by Ninja Captain and Author Extraordinaire

Alex J Cavanaugh

Not only is it the first Wednesday of the month, it's also the second day of my self-imposed October Blogathon. This month, I am trying to post every single day, and not only that - I'm going to post about my writing, or bits of my writing, or something specifically relevant to writing. No complaints, no whining, nothing blue, if you know what I mean.

The reason? I have come to the realisation that I do two things waaaay too often: I don't blog at all or I blog only to complain about how little time I have for writing. So for once, I am not going to talk about that. Instead, I give you a small sample of what I'm writing right now - tell me, what do you think of it? I haven't checked it for tenses or grammar or the like, I'm just going for the feel of it right now.

The market was teeming with people, and every one of them wanted to shake the peacemaker’s hand. It made Rashid’s skin crawl, but it wasn’t his choice, and it certainly was not an argument he could win. Master Aleh said it was part of a Peacemaker’s job description to be known to people, and that was that. So they walked through the crowded Moonday morning market, not jostled, exactly, but certainly surrounded by what the master called his Potentials. Potentially his customers, potentially affected by what he did, by the judgements he handed down. 

Potential threats, is how Rashid thought of them. It took all he could all his willpower to keep his hand from clenching on the grip of his sword. It was his job to keep the master safe, and in this kind of environment, that was close to impossible. Even more so since the master insisted on handing everything he bought to his bodyguard, as if Rashid didn’t need his hands to protect him. Halfway through the market, he was already loaded down with no less than five neatly wrapped parcels. If someone truly meant the peacemaker harm, it would be impossible to even put himself before the blade and protect his master that way. All he could do now was glower at the people pressing against the peacemaker, vying for his attention, and hope he looked scary enough to give any evildoer pause.   

It took them what felt like several hours to cross the market, and by the time they got to the master’s home with the things they’d set out to buy, Rashid was covered in cold sweat and he could have sworn he wore through his teeth, he’d been grinding them so hard. Jol, the master’s housekeeper, met them at the gate to relieve Rashid of the parcels he was carrying. Jol could have done the shopping for them, of course, but the master liked to think of their weekly trip into Rashid’s own personal hell as a recruiting trip, advertisment of his services. Unfortunately, it worked. 

“Master, there is a man here waiting to speak to you,” Jol said while trying to close the door and keep hold of the parcels at the same time. 

Back in the Game

Hello my dearies!

It's the first of October already - we're officially in the fourth quarter of the year. Time flies, more so lately if you ask me. That's what happens when you have a lot of stuff on your plate... in the end, you don't have time for anything. At least that's how it feels to me. 

I've also realised that most of my posts lately have been about the same old, same old - I haven't been writing much. 

I want to remedy that, and to achieve such a goal, I'm starting a project: 

*drumroll, please* 

the

October Blogathon!!

In preparation for November (NaNoWriMo!!!) I shall be attempting to post every day this October. Small posts, mostly (well come on, I have a day job), but one post every day is the aim of the game. There's one more rule, too: no whining. I can only post about writing, post writing, or something to do with writing. 

What do you think, will I make it? Want to join me? 

From FYI to WTF....

I've recently come across an article by Adrian Magson in Writers' Magazine with the rather ambiguous title of "Spell it Out". "Make sure readers know exactly what you are talking about," says he. 

OMG (= Oh my God) that's so true it isn't even funny. I mean, using acronyms in twitter may be a useful way to fit the word limit, but anywhere else (and sometimes there, too) it's worth the time spent on explaining what you mean. Not everybody is up on the lingo, so to speak. You can't expect your readers to know everything, especially if you're aiming to market your book internationally. What a reader from the US understands without question doesn't necessarily hold any meaning for someone from Spain, or Greece, or Russia. Or worse, it might mean something completely different. That holds true on other levels, but let's stick with acronyms for now. 

Here's a couple I use that are probably understandable: 

FYI

OMG

ROFL

LOL

CIA

FBI

NSA

TGIF

ELTB

SSDD

ASAP

SYL

I think I'd feel safe enough using any of those in a story, should it fit the context, but mostly I'd do as Mr Magson advises and make sure the reader knows what I'm talking about. 

What do you use regularly and  have you come across any strange ones that you had to look up? How much explaining do you think one should do when writing, and how much can you just imply and trust the reader will understand?

ps. spot the acronym I smuggled into the list... *grins*

And Alex has done it again!!!

It's a very special week we have right now...it's almost time for Alex J Cavanaugh's long awaited third book in the Cassa series!!

Alex, who is also the founder of the Insecure Writers' Support Group (see tab up above), has once again outdone himself. He also gave his loyal followers an opportunity to ask questions, and I'm not going to withhold his answer... 

(to clarify: one of the questions asked by someone before me involved transparent pants....) 

My question was the following: 

What is courage? Although the transparent pants sound interesting, too...

and here's what Alex said: 

Courage is not being afraid to wear transparent pants in public!

Real courage is doing what is right and what needs to be done whether you feel up to it or not. It’s taking a leap of faith.

Alex certainly took a leap of faith, sharing his work with the rest of the world (in fact, I think it probably feels a bit like wearing transparent pants in public...)- and I'm heartily glad he did! Here's the blurb for the third volume in the Cassa series... check it out and see how Byron shows his courage! 

CassaStorm

By Alex J Cavanaugh

From the Amazon Best Selling Series!

A storm gathers across the galaxy…

Commanding the Cassan base on Tgren, Byron thought he’d put the days of battle behind him. As a galaxy-wide war encroaches upon the desert planet, Byron’s ideal life is threatened and he’s caught between the Tgrens and the Cassans.

After enemy ships attack the desert planet, Byron discovers another battle within his own family. The declaration of war between all ten races triggers nightmares in his son, threatening to destroy the boy’s mind.

Meanwhile the ancient alien ship is transmitting a code that might signal the end of all life in the galaxy. And the mysterious probe that almost destroyed Tgren twenty years ago could return. As his world begins to crumble, Byron suspects a connection. The storm is about to break, and Byron is caught in the middle…

“CassaStorM is a touching and mesmerizing space opera full of action and emotion with strong characters and a cosmic mystery.” – Edi’s Book Lighhouse

“Cavanaugh creates such an unforgettable world, and these characters will stay with you long after their story is over.” 
- Cassie Mae, author of Friday Night Alibi and How to Date a Nerd

Find CassaStorm:

Barnes and Noble 

Amazon 

Amazon Kindle - 

Goodreads  

And you can find Alex here: 

Website

Twitter 

Goodreads 

I hope you have fun reading!!

All the best,



More book facts:

$16.95 USA, 6x9 Trade paperback, 268 pages, Dancing Lemur Press, L.L.C.

Science fiction/adventure and science fiction/space opera

Print ISBN 9781939844002 
eBook ISBN 9781939844019

$4.99 EBook available in all formats

It's the Fourth of September, and the Insecure Writers turn Two!!

Today's a very special day - not only is it the fourth of September (which means most people's summer holidays are over and gone), but it's the two-year anniversary of Alex J Cavanaugh's wonderful invention, the

Today's posts are hosted by Alex and his faithful group of co-hosts,

Chemist Ken

SL Hennessey

Michelle Wallace

and

Joylene Nowell Butler

and the group is more than THREE HUNDRED STRONG!!! 

(imagine fireworks right about now, please)

Let me take this opportunity to say thank you. 

1. THANK YOU to Alex for coming up with this idea. 
2. THANK YOU to Alex's co-hosts for helping him implement it. 
3. THANK YOU to all the other insecure writers for baring their writerly souls once every month and showing everyone else that no, we're not alone. 
4. THANK YOU to everyone who takes the time to comment on other people's posts (mine in particular), even for those of us who don't always have time to return the favour. For me, every comment I get puts a smile on my face even on the worst of days. 
5. THANK YOU, again, to Alex, who somehow always manages to pop in on my blog and say hi. You've made lots of my days that much more fun. 

And for once I'm not going to rant about my writing problems, but just leave the post like this, and leave you with a question - is there anyone in particular you'd like to thank for supporting your writing? 

ps. on that note, THANK YOU to my Book Bunny friends, for being there to support my writerly soul. *HUGZ*

On Holiday - A Write, Edit, Publish Bloghop post

Hello my dearies!

I hope summer is treating you well and you've had a chance to go on holiday and enjoy all that warmth. I'm on holiday right now, as a matter of fact - which is both good for and bad for my writing, all at the same time. For one, I'm regaining some of the energy that gets lost if all you do is work. On the other hand, holidays are not precisely conductive to actually sitting down and writing - what with all the sun and beachy things to enjoy.

So I post here for you, for Denise's Write...Edit...Publish bloghop,  not what I originally wanted to post, and what I have, in fact, been working on whenever I actually made it to my computer, because that something is not finished (or perhaps not fit for human consumption). Instead, I give you this:

Hot skin salt water

scent of brine and coconuts

Finally! The beach. 

The flickering air

covers multitudes of sand

fata morgana

Or, for the occasion of someone bumping into my car this morning (nothing happened, but my license plate was loose and had to be screwed back on) (and all that before my morning coffee)... 

Stop and reverse now

mirrors are decoration

never mind others.

Patience and temper

elusive, hot, cold, shaking.

Deep breath and onwards.

Well, that's all, folks! I hope you like my little Haikus (or as much of a haiku as I manage, anyhow). How are your holidays? Get lots of writing done? 

Don't forget to pop by the Write...Edit...Publish blog and see who else is taking part!

Holiday story post for Denise...(just a note)

Hi there!!

Since I'm actually really truly on holiday right now, I'd just like to let you all know that the post for Denise' bloghoppy thingy (see sidebar for link) is going up on the 23rd, because that 's the next time I'll be able to get to a computer.

See you there,

Once more, with feeling! (an IWSG post)

Oh yes, indeed! That's what's going on today - it's the first Wednesday of the month and that means it's time to welcome all my fellow insecure writers (brought together by the wonderful Ninja Captain himself, Alex J Cavanaugh, and his equally wonderful co-hosts) - so here goes:

HELLO MY DEARIES!!!!

I hope summer is treating you well so far. Mine has been rather unspectacular - I've been to the beach in Spain, yes, but mostly I've been working. There's so much to do, so little time! (I do believe there's a quote from Cecil Rhodes to that extent, though I could not find it - anyone out there who can enlighten me?) Other than the time factor, there's also the small problem that very little gets done around here because

a) everyone is on holiday
b) it's really hot here right now and nobody has energy to do anything
c) it's really hot here right now and everybody is short-tempered

so what the hey, I'm off on holiday next week. Yay me.

But wait, we're a WRITERS' support group, aren't we? Ooops. You don't care about my problems (ok you're all super nice so maybe you do but you know what I mean right?), you want to hear about WRITING!!!

Well, other than an abysmal failure to complete Camp Nano (I admittedly signed up on a total whim) (not that I'm making excuses or anything) (seriously, no excuses) (ahem), it's been going rather well. I'm working on one particular story right now (have been, exclusively, for over two weeks which for my story ADD is rather good), and I haven't gotten lost yet. I've gone back to one of my first and favourite methods of writing (or rather plotting)...drumroll please...

The Scene Card!! 

Ta-daaaa!!!

What is a scene card, you ask? (if you know already, feel free to skip this bit...) Here's what you do:

• take an old-fashioned index card
• write a title for the scene at the top
• make notes on who's in the scene, where it takes place, what happens
• take the next old-fashioned index card
• write a title for the scene at the top
• etc etc etc until the end

Why do I use this system? Because I'm not very good at writing things in order, nor am I good at plotting. So I write a scene, make a scene card for it, put the card in a pile. Sometimes I'll just make the card and write the scene later. I can then shuffle and re-order the cards at will, in an attempt to fix a plotline. I've been known to use different colour index cards, too, for different key characters or different subplots (think pink for the romance subplot). 

I've also, to my endless joy, discovered that this system works rather well with Scrivener (and I love Scrivener, NaNoWriMo be praised for that). 

So that's what I've been doing, writing-wise - rediscovering my roots. How about you? What's going on in your writerly life? Do you use index cards, too, by any chance? 

All the best,

ps. go HERE for the list of participants

Summertime vs Time in Summer

Well, it's official. Summer is here, it's hot, the sun is shining, I'm working my way up to a tan as much as that's possible with factor 50 sunscreen, people are on holiday all over the place. Things at work are getting on at the pace of a snail on sleeping pills, because everyone who'd do anything useful is on holiday. Nothing constructive seems to get done.

Sounds like I'd have lots of time to write, no?

Unfortunately, things don't seem to work like that. My time is eaten up by work (mostly planning for what must be done as soon as everyone is back from the holidays...), planning my own holiday, getting that tan and trying to keep all that ice cream from sticking to my hips by running away from it for about 7 km every two days.

So when do I write? I don't even seem to have time to socialize properly.

I suck. And I'm failing miserably at Camp Nano, too.

I'm insecure and wallowing in it...

Hello my dear fellow Insecurists!

It's that time of the month again, thanks to the wonderful Alex J Cavanaugh, Ninja Captain extraordinaire, and his co-captains for the month, Nancy Thompson, Mark Koopmans and Heather Gardner. Go on over and give them a shout! You can find the entire list of participants (and there are many of us) on any of their blogs or here on mine if you click the tab up beneath the title. 

So, what have I got to tell you this month? Half of 2013 has already passed us by and yes, it really did pass me by. I haven't gotten ANYTHING done that I've meant to get done! Where has all that time vanished to, can you tell me that? 

And on top of my I've-got-no-time panic moments, I've signed up for Camp NaNoWriMo and I have yet to write a single word. But I will. Because you know what? I may not have done much writing done lately, I may have Story Attention Deficit Disorder, my Muse may be temporarily absent, but in spite of all that, 

I AM A WRITER!!!!  

Insecure or not. 

See me there...(Independent Minds)

Hi my dears, just wanted to let you know that I've posted over at The Book Bunnies if your interested....

Independent Minds ... what do you think of "academic ghostwriting" and the likes?

Insecure. Still.

Hi there! It's the First Wednesday once again...

Welcome to my blog for another post where I tell you about all my little insecurities. Or at least some of them.

Ok only one today, but it's a big one.

I have this short story I wrote some time ago, a horror story, and I've been editing and re-editing and leaving it be for a long time now. Some of my bloggy writerly friends have read it and given me some pointers, but still, I'm not happy.

I mean I like the story, but I don't have the confidence to let anyone I know less well than my writing group buddies. Never mind actually trying to get it published.

So yes, I'm insecure. Really, really, insecure. And I'm incapable of letting go of my 'babies'.

*sigh*


ps. say hi to all the other Insecurists out there...

Get Healthy! - The Blog Hop

Hello my dearies! Welcome to my blog for today's Get Healthy Blog Hop!

hosted by 

Stephen Tremp

Alex J Cavanaugh

L Diane Wolfe

and Michale di Gesu

Today's all about getting healthy and staying healthy. I think we all have days we feel better and days we feel less healthy. Last year, I had a really bad I-feel-so-unhealthy day, and decided it was time for a change. I'd been meaning to do something for ages, but this time, my resolve held firm. I went on a diet, started doing lots of sports, and now, a year and a couple of months later, I'm 13 kg lighter and a whole lot fitter. I went from a jeans size 32 to a 27, 26 on good days. I feel a lot better about myself.

So I can tell you it's possible to change out of personal experience. All you need is a plan and a whole lot of willpower, along with the ability to get back up if you fall down. Backsliding is part of the process, the point is that you realise you're slipping and FIX IT as soon as you possibly can.

I started my better-me project by going swimming first twice, then three times a week. I didn't count how many laps I swam, I just made a point of not getting out of the water before 30 minutes were over, and over time, I managed more and more in the same amount of time. I started with swimming because it's easy on the joints, you can do it really, really slowly, it's easy enough to take a break after every lap if you want to without looking/feeling like a complete and utter failure, and - this was important for me - once I went through the effort of getting to the pool, getting changed, and getting in the water, I wasn't likely to give up half way through my set time.

After a while, I felt better about myself and that's when I started running. That's what I still do, mostly, and though I'm not particularly fast (my average at the moment is 7:10 min/km), I can feel my body adjusting and getting stronger, I know I can go further and further without needing a break. Maybe, just maybe, I'll have enough courage to join a race (my ultimate goal: finish a half marathon).

Much more recently I've started going to Bikram Yoga classes whenever I have the opportunity (I posted on the similarities between Bikram Yoga and writing in case you're interested), and I'm really liking that, too.

What do you do to get in shape and/or stay that way? Have you had one of those days when you know you have to change, and you went and did it? Would you like to know what diet I went on (I didn't want to bore you with that here)?


ps. I've started a blog to keep track of what I'm doing, health-wise... Lemons, Mokka and Green Tea

And here the other participants: