IWSG, Reading Changed Me

Our Twitter handle is @TheIWSG and hashtag is #IWSG

This month's Insecure Writers Support Group topic is:

How has being a writer changed your experience as a reader?

The truth is...A LOT

I was always a voracious reader. I was the kid in school reading as she walked to class, totally oblivious of people saying hello or...to my utter dismay, opening doors. I chewed through tomes in just a couple of days always on the prowl for a new series to swoon over. Often quoting characters and expecting others to understand my nerdy references. Yeah...that kid.

Now I am an adult version of that kid. I still read like its going out of style. I still tend to get lost in a book even in a crowded room.

BUT...reading took a little of an unexpected turn for me. It became a learning experience on how to write. 

As an author, I can appreciate what an author is doing in terms of technique. When I read, I notice things like dialogue, world-building, character development, story arc...and I learn a ton from each author.

Reading helps me identify what works and what doesn't. What I like and why I like it.  And hopefully, improve my own writing.

I figure the more I take in great writing...better writing...than my own...the more I learn.

Because of this, my choices in books has changed to reflect my taste for higher quality products. The YA genre in particular is pumping out some amazing series...I am truly excited as a reader and fan!

So now, happily, I have an actual professional reason for my book hoarding! Yay me!

Please take a look at some of the other insightful posts by the Insecure Writers Support Group...you never know where inspiration might strike.

+Raquel Byrnes

Anniversary and Contest Winner!

I started blogging three years ago this month! I can't believe how much I've learned from all of you during that time. I think my first post was basically a picture of my kids and like..."We went here for the summer." 


Yeah, I had no clue.


But thanks to all of you and your blogfests, contests, awesome posts on craft and the industry...I've come to not only enjoy blogging, but have made friends with many of you.


From celebrating a positive reply to a query to feeling your pain when we get a "No," its been so lovely to connect with other authors and lovers of the written word.


I'm looking forward to the coming year and can't wait to see what all of you do with it!


Until next time...Go Write!

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Congratulations to Gail M. Baugniet! You have won the Detective's Surveillance Kit Giveaway!


Prizes include; goodies to eat and drink during your "stake out," an Amazon gift card, a cool gadget from ThinkGeek.com and copy of Purple Knot!


Thank you all for entering and for being so supportive with your blog posts, Tweets, and "likes" for my book!


Photograph by Squeaky Marmot.

Climbing Out From Under the Desk

It’s been over a week since I last posted anything, but I have a super good reason...I volunteered to write up a proposal and some chapters for a novella coming out next Christmas and that's taken up all of my blogging time. There's no guarantee my novella will get selected, but at least there's a shot and that's all we struggling writers can ask for, no?

It was interesting to write because it was a novella of only 20,000 words. I usually write in the 97,000 + range so condensing a story to so few a word count was challenging, but I feel I learned a lot also. Nothing like parceling out words to make your descriptions and dialogue tighter.

The parameters of the project were very clear and I had a fun time working within that type of assignment. It’s interesting how we can work around what is required, and still be creative and have fun with it. I learned a lot about pioneers, cabin life, and baking in the 1800’s. Talk about a hard life, people!

Research has always been a great love of mine in writing. I really got into the whole chinking vs. mud sealing, what kind cabin designs were where, and types of cooking paraphernalia actually available at that time, in the particular region of wilderness I chose to set my story. What really got me interested in the time period and genre were the first hand accounts found in letters, diaries, and newspaper articles of the era. We have such amazing access through library digital archives…yay technology!

I said that I would send a few chapters as examples of my work, but I got so into the story that I’m on chapter seven right now. It’s the last chapter I’ll submit with the proposal, but it’ll be a hoot to write because it has a huge storm in it and a flooding creek and whipping wind…whew! Can’t wait to finish it. Another plus about this is that I will have fodder for the Weather Blogfest coming up on August 14th so that's two birds, baby!

Anyway, I missed out on quite a bit over the week and I’m anxious to read what you all have been talking about. Erin over at Hold on to Your Bloomers! said the High Drama Blogfest was awesome so I’m heading over to check out some of your entries. See you in your comment sections…Until next time…Go Write!

Photograph by g-hat.

A Word About Blogfests...

I was never a joiner. I used to be the kid on the bleachers with my nose in a book during flag football.  It goes against my grain as a writer to share unfinished work. That being said...I think Blogfests are a great resource for writers.

First of all, it gets the creative juices flowing. Meeting someone else's criteria and word count are part and parcel with a writing career so getting used to the idea is helpful.  I've meet a lot of writers I would not have otherwise come in contact with through blogfests....some as far as Greece, some as near as the next city...all of them push me to be a better writer.

It's fun. I've been told that great writers read voraciously, both inside and outside of their genre. The blogfests I've entered have hosted YA, horror, science fiction, and a host of subgenres I'm just learning about.  Reading the work of other authors and getting feedback on my own is helpful and encouraging.

So take a peek at some of the Blogfests listed in the sidebar to your right.  --->

I don't enter all of them, just the ones that are a fit for what I'm doing at the moment.  You might make some interesting network buddies, or maybe even learn a thing or two.

I hope to see you in the ether...can't wait to read what you've got. Until next time...Go write!

Photograph by MrTopf.