Rebecca M. Douglass, Author

It's the first Wednesday of the month, and that means IWSG day! 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 writers - aim for a dozen new people each time - and return comments. This group is all about connecting!   Don't forget you can post your link on the IWSG Facebook page .    Let’s rock the neurotic writing world! Our Twitter handle is @TheIWSG and hashtag is #IWSG   The awesome co-hosts for...

I was chatting with a couple of young women the other day, and used the words "writing" and "work" in the same sentence. That got a reaction from one (another word geek) as she said something like, "but writing's fun!" Thus this brief meditation on how fun writing is and sometimes isn't. Because while I can't think of anything I'd rather do, work-wise, there are times in the process when writing is, in fact, a great deal like work. I've been editing  Edited Out for what feels like ages, which might explain why just now I'm not thinking writing is the most fun work ever. Having spent two whole days just contemplating my shortcomings with regards to comma usage, I find myself wondering if I even know English well enough to write (note: it is my native language and really, I do. But commas!). I figure it takes me about 6 weeks to draft a novel, and 6 months to revise it. Then I am astonished, every single time, to realize it takes anot...

It's the first Wednesday of the month, and I'm excited that it's not only IWSG day, but I get to be a co-host! 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 writers - aim for a dozen new people each time - and return comments. This group is all about connecting!   Don't forget you can post your link on the IWSG Facebook page .    Let’s rock the neurotic writing world! Our Twitter handle is @TheIWSG and h...

I know I just checked in with a writer's update last week for the IWSG, but when I'm editing, I need all the check-ins I can get. I think I'm making progress, and I fear I'm failing to see something huge. Big thanks to Jemima Pett for agreeing to take another look. I can always count on her to give it to me straight!   Back in April I reviewed Matt Haig's  The Comfort Book .  A wonderful friend saw it and gave me a hardback of it for my birthday. Inspiration from a piece called "It's Okay" "It's okay to be a mess... It's okay not to make the most of every chunk of time. It's okay to be who you are. It's okay."   As for the actual writing update... I'm making progress. That's the best I can say, but it's okay :)   Rebecca M. Douglass, 2025 As always, please ask permission to use any photos or text. Link-backs appreciated. 
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Book 3 of the Seffi Wardwell mysteries really is coming soon... depending on how you define "soon." I'm plugging away at the edits, and my cover artist has finished the semester and is at work on the cover (Right, Maggie?). I can't believe how long this is all taking. When will I learn that the revision stage is hard, and always takes longer than it should? And why?  Because I avoid it, and because it really does take a long time to work through the whole book so many times. Anyway, here is the blurb, and as soon as I have a cover I will set up pre-orders and give myself a hard and fast launch date! Feel free to offer suggestions on the blurb--nothing is set in stone yet! Who rubbed out the writer?   Winter in Maine is long, dark, and cold, and California transplant Seffi Wardwell is combating the winter blues with a full calendar. Tending the plants at the local bed-and-breakfast, writing reports for the library, and generally keeping an eye on...

After my lovely week plus in the canyons of Utah, I'm back at the computer, and finally taking the dive into the notes on my next Seffi Wardwell mystery, Edited Out. Things don't look too bad, but there is plenty of work to be done. I love hiking and scrambling around the canyons, but you know the best part of this trip? Little to no cell coverage, and thus a lovely news block-out. I know I can't keep my head in the sand all the time (hmm... given the stuff the winds were blowing around into faces, meals, etc. for a couple of days, that might be more literal than intended!), but a true break from all the scary news is a good thing sometimes! Since I was traveling with a couple of good friends, for once I didn't do a lick of work. I had my draft with me, and my laptop with a couple of other projects I could have messed with, but chose to be social, and just to read when we were hiding in our cars because the weather got... interesting! In other writer news, just before ...

I'm teaching a short-story class at the senior center just now--primarily providing writing prompts and some conversation about aspects of story-creation. Since a chunk of the class time is spent in writing to the prompts, I'm taking the opportunity to do so along with my students. I had to finish the story at home, but it was fun to sit in a room with other people, all of us scribbling or typing away. This was my take on one of the prompts... what happens when a superhero needs a vacation.  A Quiet Day at the Beach   Lois stripped off her cape, letting the fabric waft to the floor, heedless of the dust. She could regret that later when she had to clean it. Silly thing to wear, anyway, but it did look cool when she was flying. She made herself pick it up before she wriggled out of the bodysuit that went with it. Damn, but it was getting hard to keep in shape for an outfit like that, super-powers or no. When the magic powers were handed out they never t...

 It's the First Wednesday again already, and time for another post for the Insecure Writer's Support Group!   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!   Don't forget you can post your link on the IWSG Facebook page !   Let’s rock the neurotic writing world! Our Twitter handle is @TheIWSG and...

 It's the First Wednesday again already, and time for another post for the Insecure Writer's Support Group!   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!   Don't forget you can post your link on the IWSG Facebook page !   Let’s rock the neurotic writing world! Our Twitter handle is @TheIWSG and...