#IWSG: Writing Update
It's the last first Wednesday of the month for 2025 (cue "how did we get here so fast?" comments), and time for the IWSG post.
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.
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!
December 3 question - As a writer, what was one of the coolest/best gifts you ever received?
I'm not sure that I've ever really received a "writer" gift, aside from journals. I've gotten a number of very nice journals, though, and always appreciate them. And there's my sort of profane attitude-filled grammar mug, but that might be less about me as a writer than me as a person. Some questions are best not asked.
Actually, the best gift I think I've gotten is that my best friend, who has been sending me corrections for typos in my books, has promised to proofread the next one for me BEFORE I publish. That's huge, and I couldn't be more grateful. Thank you Deirdre!
I don't really need a whole lot of writer-related stuff, since I have my computers and a pile of notebooks. What else does a writer need? Pens, sometimes, and I have a lot of those, many of which are gifts from a group of friends with a history of bringing each other pens from our travels :)
I'm really hoping my kids heard my request for a heated foot rest for use at my computer, since my feet are usually cold, and I'm a little too short for my desk.
ETA: I somehow forgot about the great Snoopy mouse pad my son sent me for my last birthday! That's a writer gift, for sure!
Okay, how about you? Share something good!
Writer Update:
I don't have a lot to report. I've been working on my new novel, spewing out the ugly first draft of Painted Over, my 5th Seffi Wardwell mystery (3 of them are out now). I've not been quite as prolific as sometimes when I'm drafting, both because the story hasn't been flowing as I'd like, and because I just got back from visiting the kids in CA, which involved 3 days of driving and more time spent being social than writing. I'm not complaining, but I am struggling to get my momentum back, and to wrangle the ideas that keep wandering off in all directions. It's like herding cats.
Word count as of 12/2 is just under 53K (out of a target of 80K). See the widget in the sidebar for the exact count, updated mostly every day. I started drafting on November 2 or 3, so not doing too badly. I've written every day except this past Sunday, when I drove from Oakland, CA, all the way to Seattle.
Zero submissions, zero acceptances, but I did set up my ebook store on Buy Me A Coffee, partly to have an option for direct sales of ebooks when I'm doing live events, though I'm also hoping to steer more sales this way, as my profit margin is higher than with other retailers.
Okay, that's it! I'll do a year-end wrap-up later this month or for the January 7 IWSG post.
Oh, and the gratuitous photo content, from spending Thanksgiving in the Bay Area with my kids.
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| My totally scrumptious apple pie, which to my sorrow got fully consumed (alas, no pie for breakfast). |
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| A banana slug candy cane. |
©Rebecca M. Douglass, 2025
As always, please ask permission to use any photos or text. Link-backs appreciated.
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Cool that you can sell eBooks with Buy Me a Coffee! Happy holidays.
ReplyDeleteRonel visiting for IWSG day Mic Drop. An Author’s Year in Review 2025
Is that not an option for you? I sort of stumbled on the option to set up a store, but it may be available only in the US :(
DeleteWhat an awesome gift your best friend is giving you. I hope you get the foot warmer for Christmas.
ReplyDeleteYes, to both of those!
DeleteA heated foot rest. Bet my wife would want one of those.
ReplyDeleteI thought I was going to have to invent one, but of course someone has already done so, and they are out there. If your wife's feet get anything like as cold as mine, get her one!
DeleteThat pie makes me hungry. Optioning a books is always fabulous! Wishing you a lovely Christmas!
ReplyDeleteIt was one of my better attempts.
DeleteHi,
ReplyDeleteHope you get your foot warmer. I could use a warm blanket for my legs. Like you I don't collect writerly things, but I do collect cups with encouraging words on them whenever I find one.
Shalom shalom
I have a few mugs with helpful writer things on them, but don't really need any more :)
DeleteAn offer of proofreading is a wonderful gift for a writer.
ReplyDeleteLove the pie photo. Wouldn't mind one in real life. I love pies. I just dislike baking them.
I actually like baking. I mostly cook because I like to eat, but baking is a bit more therapeutic.
DeleteI love getting journals, but I often forget to write in them. Love that pie, and wish I'd had a slice. Here's wishes for a great holiday season, Rebecca!
ReplyDeleteThanks! I can't seem to establish a daily journal habit (like so much advice tells us writers to do), but I do keep a daily journal when I travel, and write in it at home when I have something to record or something to think out, including plots for stories and books.
DeleteThat is a beautiful banana slug! A heater foot rest sounds amazing!
ReplyDeleteDoesn't it? And I think banana slugs are beautiful, but especially the ones from the Bay Area, which seem to be the brightest yellow.
DeleteOMG! You mean I missed some of your typos on your final draft?! Or did you sneak in another final final which I didn’t see? Thinking about foot warmers….
ReplyDeleteSome of each, probably. I think you read it before I did my final tweaking and polishing. Almost all the typos (except misspelling "Chloe" as "Cloe") were introduced as artifacts of changing the wording around a little.
DeleteThat banana slug creeps me out, Rebecca! I hate slimy things. Okay that' out of the way 😂. I hope you get your heated foot rest. That sounds awesome. Good luck with your WIP. All the best to you!
ReplyDeleteNot everyone can love them. My kids did. Still do, which is why I was visiting "Banana Slug World" with my daughter on Saturday!
DeleteLove the banana slug candy cane! The bright yellow ones are kind of pretty, unlike the brownish ones I used to toss across my yard in Portland (If slug-tossing ever becomes an Olympic sport, sign me up).
ReplyDeleteI don't think I've ever seen such a bright yellow slug!
ReplyDelete