Wednesday, September 4, 2013

A Little Bit of Knowledge






It's the first Wednesday of the month so it must be time for a post from all the folks in the Insecure Writers Support Group. What is IWSG?


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!

After visiting here, please take time to hop over to other blogs and hear their voices. You can find a list at Alex's IWSG page 

"A Little Knowledge is a Dangerous Thing" by J.Q. Rose

This old saying certainly applies to me when it comes to writing books. Before becoming a "published author", I would write with abandonment. I didn't care if I used "but" 48 times in a chapter or adverbs sprinkled throughout the pages like salt on my watermelon. Every character had his or her own POV and butted in to share it with the reader anytime he wanted to. And dangling participles? fuhgetaboutit.

After my books were accepted and published, I have a little more knowledge about how to write a story. I find I am more cautious about writing. All the rules are flowing through my head and cause not writer's block, but rather, writer's paralysis.

I know. I know. Just write the dang story down. I guess I want to craft a story that is better than the previous mysteries and written with beautiful language and colorful word pictures. I want this book to have a satisfying ending for the reader and to have the reader feel it was worth spending the time to turn the pages all the way through to the end. It all comes down to my desire to write a masterpiece, and it scares me!

I've had other authors tell me their third book was difficult to write too. Has anyone experienced this? Thanks for any suggestions you may have for me.
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Come back on Thursdays as we continue the Hobby Hoedown event into the fall months. If you have a hobby, besides writing, and want to share it with readers, email me so I can schedule you this fall. (Also it's a great opportunity to shout about your book. Please, no erotica). My email addy is jqrose02@gmail.com 

Thanks for stopping by.










14 comments:

Vikki T said...

Just stopping by from the IWSG to say Hi :)

Im not published so i cant comment on personal experience, but, I've heard a few "authors" say that, actually, the whole thing gets harder, because you're much more aware of your readers, and their opinions.

Good luck honey, i don't think you're alone in how you feel.

xx

Anonymous said...

Oh, yeah! And about the "show, don't tell"...Well, what does that MEAN??? Took a while to grasp that concept through this old blockhead, heh heh.

Salt sprinkled on watermelon, eh? At least you didn't blow that salt in my face! Yikes!

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

I can totally relate! Yes, my third book was torture, not so much to write, but just to come up with a good idea for ending the series. There is a lot of pressure to make the next book better than the last.
Just do the best you can and know that you have indeed improved since the last one.
And if you have any links you'd like to share for the IWSG site, feel free to email me.

Michelle Wallace said...

Your third book? Wow! That's awesome! And here I am with one flash fiction story accepted by an e-zine, and I'm wondering how on earth to better that?! Talk about pressure... LOL
Michelle
September co-host for the IWSG.
Writer In Transit

J.Q. Rose said...

Vikki, I'm sure you will be pubbed some day with all these writers here to support you. I guess my problem is a good one to have if I have to have a problem. I wouldn't be worried about a third book if I didn't have two, eh? Thanks for your support.

J.Q. Rose said...

IB--so you're writing now as well as being the unofficial reporter? Wow...I didn't know you COULD write! Hey save me some of those chocolate bars so when I DO get over this writer's paralysis, I can snarf down the chocolate for strength!

J.Q. Rose said...

Hi Alex, Glad to know you had the same experience with #3. I have perfectionist tendencies which I thought I had abandoned when I was 13. Guess not. Best wishes on the new website. Anxious to see what will develop. Thank you!

J.Q. Rose said...

Hi Michelle. Congrats on the flash fiction story. Flash fiction is hard for me to write. I think you are on your way to a great writing career! Just keep doing it!!! Thanks for stopping in.

J.Q. Rose said...

Vikki, I stopped in to read your article but couldn't find a comment section? I did leave you 5 stars. I cannot work on more than one ms at a time because I mix up characters. LOL....I get what you mean!

Leona~Author said...

I'm glad I'm not the only one who messed up POV...and I really thought I understood it. I've only seen the 1st ten chapters of my edits, but the red marks lit up like a Christmas tree. I guess our first ms is a huge part of the learning process.

J.q., I finally got a review posted on Amazon for Coda to Murder. Sorry it took me so long. I loved your book. I'm not very good at writing reviews. They are too much like doing book reports in school, many long years ago.

Helena Fairfax said...

JQ you sum up everything I've been feeling for the past few months! When I first started writing it was fine. No one was ever going to publish my stories, so why worry? I just wrote what I enjoyed writing. Now I've been published, and I have a crowd of editors, agents and readers looking over my shoulder, judging every word of my next book. It's inhibiting - not to say terrifying! After reading your post I've resolved to go back to my old ways, and just write what I want, without worrying. Maybe then the words will flow! Thanks for a great post!

J.Q. Rose said...

Leona, I had to pare down my POV's when editor Karen McGrath got ahold of my Sunshine Boulevard ms. I was so smug when I turned it in and gloating about how there were no mistakes, etc. Ha...Looked like someone bled all over the pages with all the red when edits were returned to me!!
You certainly made my day when I just now read your 5 star review! I'm with you on they are like writing book reports. Thanks so much for taking time to leave a review!!

J.Q. Rose said...

Helena, just keep writing is the best advice anyone ever gave me. I'm stuggling with this third book, so I'm having fun just writing short stories for my own entertainment!! Thanks for stopping by.

Anonymous said...

Oh no, I haven't heard back about my first yet.

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