IWSG: Which child do I love the most?
Okay, that's not *exactly* the question the IWSG is asking this month, but it might as well be?
Purpose: To share and encourage.
Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing
foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer
assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all
kinds!
Posting: The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Post your thoughts on your own blog. Talk about your doubts and the fears you have conquered. Discuss your struggles and triumphs. Offer a word of encouragement for others who are struggling. Visit others in the group and connect with your fellow writer - aim for a dozen new people each time - and return comments. This group is all about connecting! Be sure to link to the IWSG page and display the badge in your post. And please be sure your avatar links back to your blog! Otherwise, when you leave a comment, people can't find you to comment back.
Let’s rock the neurotic writing world!
Our Twitter handle is @TheIWSG and hashtag is #IWSG.
The awesome co-hosts for the October 1 posting of the IWSG are Beth Camp, Crystal Collier, and Cathrina Constantine!
Every month, we announce a question that
members can answer in their IWSG post. These questions may prompt you
to share advice, insight, a personal experience or story. Include your
answer to the question in your IWSG post or let it inspire your post if
you are struggling with something to say.
Remember, the question is optional!
Remember, the question is optional!
October 1 question - What is the most favorite thing you have written, published or not? And why?
I love this question, even though I'm not sure I can answer it. First, just to get it out of the way, this is the leading question that led to my mom delivering a nice zinger to us kids. When asked which kid she likes the best, she started to answer, stopped, and said, "Wait--you mean it has to be MY kid?"
Since I don't want to get into trouble, I will stick with answering this about my own "kids"--my books and stories. Now, I've written far too many bits of flash fiction to even think about them, though I do have some I really like. But let's stick with choosing among my dozen novels. (First, we will note that I'm boggled that I've published a dozen novels!)
Deep breath. Here goes. I will always have a special spot in my heart for my first published book, The Ninja Librarian. I know it's flawed in some ways, and sometimes think about re-editing it to improve it. For that matter, I have a lingering love for my very first completed and never-published novel, Dispatched to Death. Another flawed work, but one I wonder at times if I couldn't rewrite to really work. It'd be historical fiction now, though it was contemporary when I drafted it, 30+ years ago!
Right now, I'm also really in love with my current series, the Seffi Wardwell mysteries. I don't know if I could choose between the 3 out so far, though.
And while I am blathering on about my own work, how about a nod to the cover artists? I love the Seffi covers by Maggie Samella (https://www.instagram.com/pinkmagpies/). I also really love most of the earlier covers done by Dani English (https://www.kanizo.co.uk/). And for a variety of reasons, my favorite cover is one Dani did, for Halitor the Hero. I'm pretty danged fond of the book, too, which is the only one that I truly wrote for middle grade kids.
Bottom line: I may have some reservations about some of my books, mostly lingering thoughts that they could be made better (particularly the early books... how could they not have room for improvement? With all due modesty, I think I've improved a lot in the last 15 years or whatever it's been since I started my Ninja Librarian stories), but I love all my books. I'm proud of my work. I do my best to produce a professional product and I think I do pretty well at it.
How about you? Any real favorites in your work? Or what the heck, in mine? Leave a comment and tell me about it!
You can check out all my books here, with links to wherever you like to buy books. Or petition your library to get a copy!
P.S. Lots of photos posts coming up, so if you enjoy seeing my travels, now's the time to follow me! (Or just check in on Saturdays).
Teaser Iceland photo:
©Rebecca M. Douglass, 2025
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It can feel like the books we write are our kids. I can see why you have a soft place in your heart for your first published story.
ReplyDeleteIt has also been my most consistent seller, so I may not be the only one!
DeleteYour mom had a funny comeback.
ReplyDeleteFifteen years since my first book, so yeah, I bet there is room for improvement.
If we haven’t learned anything in 15+ years of writing, we should be ashamed of ourselves!
DeleteAnonymously Esther O'Neill, Some lit crit experts claim that Persuasion's flawed, because of Jane Austen's approaching death.
ReplyDeleteNext ? What if a writer chose a favourite book ? Would the other titles gang up, estrange their author, claim they'd never been loved ? Dangerous !
Oh… nice story idea there…
DeleteI'm having fun imagining my other stories circling my office with torches and pitchforks.
DeleteIt's crazy how much we grow over time. Looking back on past works, my fingers itch to start retyping too.
ReplyDeleteI *think* it makes more sense to keep moving forward. But self-publishing opens up options that you’d never have in a trad-published world. OTOH, working with an editor, assuming I could have gotten to that point, might have sped up the learning process.
DeleteIt's satisfying to look back and see how much improvement has happened over the years while practicing the writing craft. Congratulations on your work and for taking pride in it.
ReplyDeletehttps://cleemckenziebooks.substack.com/
Thanks! Thinking consciously about craft also changed revisions from a pain to something both creative and rewarding.
DeleteYour mom is priceless! The first child is always special. 😉
ReplyDeleteShe is :)
DeleteI have a book in The Closet, now over 20 years old, that I keep going back to and toy with publishing. I don't think it will ever happen (it feels like it was written by a different person) but there's a part of me that wants my first ever book to see the light of day.
ReplyDeleteI hear you. I haven’t re-read that ancient novel since I put it aside, but it brings back memories of a great time in my life, and I love the characters.
DeleteRebecca, you are a wonderful wrier, and I need to read more of your books! Love your Iceland Teaser photo. But then I love Iceland! All the best to you!
ReplyDeleteThank you :). Iceland is beautiful, though I’m not sure I’d care to spend all my life with that wind!
DeleteWell, I couldn’t choose between your books, and I think I’ve read them all except the A to Z of camping. Still waiting for the book starring Xavier Xanthum, though….
ReplyDeleteI think the best I could do with Xavier is collect up the stories. I can’t imagine trying to turn him into a novel!
DeleteI love your mom's response. It made me laugh. Your Iceland photo is gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteThanks!
DeleteLove your books :-) The Iceland photo is gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteRonel visiting for IWSG day Spring Cleaning: Composting Old Manuscripts
Thanks!
DeleteYour mom's a witty one! And a dozen novels--congrats on that! I'm not surprised you've grown over the course of writing so many books.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by my blog. I like the story you told about your mom. I too like The Ninja Librarian and just realized that I never reviewed it. I'll have to re-read it to give it a fresh perspective. While I'm very attached to all my stories, I can't help but have a favorite. It was the first.
ReplyDelete