IWSG Blog Post--Celebrating the 12th Birthday of the Insecure Writers Support Group Blog Hop! #IWSGbloghop

 

Insecure Writers Support Group Blog Hop

#IWSGbloghop

Happy September!

HAPPY IWSG DAY!

Happy BIRTHDAY # 12!

What is the Insecure Writer's Support Group?

Founded by author Alex J. Cavanaugh, the Insecure Writer’s Support Group offers support for writers and authors alike. It provides an online database, articles and tips, a monthly blog posting, a Facebook and Instagram group, Twitter, and a monthly newsletter. 

To find out more, click this link:  Insecure Writer’s Support Group

The purpose of the group is 

* 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! 

You're invited to become a member of this supportive group. 

Click here to sign-up and/or to visit the bloggers this week.

HaPpY BirTHdaY to IWSG!!!

Thank you to our awesome co-hosts 

for the September 6 posting of the IWSG: 

Sonia Dogra, J Lenni Dorner, Pat Garcia, 

Sarah - The Faux Fountain Pen, and Meka James!

September 6 question - The IWSG celebrates 12 years today! When did you discover the IWSG, how do you connect, and how has it helped you?

Doing my math here: 2023 - 2011= 12 years. My first book came out in  2011, so I may have joined in 2012. I kept seeing IWSG popping up on my laptop on what I would assume was my social media, so someone I knew belonged to the group, but I cannot recall who that person would have been. Maybe someone in my publishing house? 

When I figured out SG stood for Support Group, I jumped in to see what this first Wednesday of the month blog post was all about. I really, really, really needed support. And did I ever find it from such a generous group of bloggers/writers. 

I was in the retail flower business for 20 years. My small town had 3 floral shops. Yes, 3! I looked at them as our competition, not friends. But on IWSG, the authors had no competitive attitudes at all. Everyone supported their fellow author even if they wrote the same genre. I was surprised and delighted to find friends among the group.

I think IWSG contributed to my drive to write stories and to publish them. Writing is a lonely game. I felt a part of a group at IWSG, no longer drowning in a sea of publishing mania. I found my life-savers. Thank you!

COMING UP:

Recipes 'n Reads Series every third Wednesday of the Month
Guest L. Diane Wolfe September 20

I am thrilled to welcome L. Diane Wolfe to our Recipe and Reads series on Wednesday, September 20. We'll be celebrating her latest release, In Darkness: The Werewolf. Plus, Diane shares a pizza recipe with a bit of a twist and the reason why she chose this particular one. 

In Darkness: The Werewolf
by L. Diane Wolfe

On her own in England, Vicki trains at a prestigious fencing school. Face marred by a birthmark, she’s suspicious of Nicholas’ attention. A dinner date reveals his genuine interest and they begin to connect. Nicholas is attractive and she wonders why he’s so shy and reclusive.

Then one evening she happens upon him changing into a lycan. Every werewolf legend is shattered by the gentle, fearful creature before her. Vickie accepts his secret, but Nicholas knows he’s an unpredictable beast. Can they trust love enough to overcome their physical challenges?

Congratulations, Diane on this new release! Love the premise of this book.

Girls Succeed: Stories Behind the Careers of Successful Women 

eBook On Sale during Back-to-School Days

Girls Succeed! Stories Behind the Careers of Successful Women by J.Q. Rose
Readers cheer for these incredible women as they overcome obstacles and crash through barriers to complete their goals. Join these hard-working women during a typical workday. Learn about the achievements they have reached in their chosen careers.
Interactive eBook On Sale during Back-to-School Days
Available in eBook and paperback in color
Sale ends September 8

Click here to download the interactive eBook from your favorite online bookseller

Click here to order the paperback at amazon

The Rose Courier

Click here to receive the Rose Courier 
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Filled with photos, updates, new book releases and more!

Click here to be notified when a new article is posted on the J.Q. Rose blog.

Click here to visit more Insecure Writers Support Group  

members participating in this month's IWSG Blog Hop!

Click here to follow me on Facebook at J.Q. Rose, Author.

Thank you for stopping by today! And for clicking around this post!!

Is Author Envy a Real Thing?, Women's History Month, My Work in Progress, Read an eBook Week, #womenshistorymonth, #IWSGbloghop, #writing #readanebookweek

 

Insecure Writers Support Group Blog Hop

#IWSGbloghop

Happy IWSG Day!!

Happy National Women's History Month!!

Hello and Welcome to the IWSG Blog Hop!!

What is the Insecure Writer's Support Group?

Founded by author Alex J. Cavanaugh, the Insecure Writer’s Support Group offers support for writers and authors alike. It provides an online database, articles and tips, a monthly blog posting, a Facebook and Instagram group, Twitter, and a monthly newsletter. To find out more, click this link:  Insecure Writer’s Support Group

The purpose of the group is 

* 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! 

You're invited to become a member of this supportive group. 

Click here to sign-up and/or to visit the participating bloggers this week.

It is my pleasure to be co-hosting this month with these awesome Bloggers and Writers--Diedre Knight, Tonya Drecker, Bish Denham, and Olga Godim.

March 1 Question

 

Have you ever read a line in a novel or a clever plot twist 

that caused you to have author envy?

I do admire writers who paint word pictures within the pages of their books and dream up those twists that add a whole new slant to how the story might end. Delicious.

I don't envy authors, but I appreciate their storytelling talent. When reading an amazing book, article, blog post, I am inspired to improve my writing and dig deeper for words to tell an engaging story or share information with clarity. I am enthralled when I read the first line of a story so well-written that I can breathe a sigh of relief and sit back to immerse myself in the story. 

I remember when my friend, Libby, asked me to play the piano for her at what we called a"contest" when we were seniors in high school. I believe they are now known as music festivals. The high school musicians performed and then received a rating from the judge.

When Libby began singing, the judge put down his pencil, sat back in his chair and just listened. The first eight bars of the song convinced him the rest of the song would be flawless. And it was. 

Much like the beginning of Libby's song, the beginning of a book is the hint of how the rest of the book will read. 

Keep reading and writing!!

March is Women's History Month

According to their website, Women's History Month commemorates and encourages "the study, observance and celebration of the vital role of women in American history." 

The theme this year is appropriate for the Insecure Writers Support Group blog hop-

"The Women’s History Month theme for 2023 is Celebrating Women Who Tell Our Stories. The National Women’s History Alliance shares, 'Throughout 2023, the NWHA will encourage the recognition of women, past and present, who have been active in all forms of media and storytelling…"

They are celebrating gals like us who have told and are telling stories!

Click here to learn more about this very special month.

This theme fits me not only with my writing but also because my purpose these days is to encourage women (and men!) to tell their life stories. I am presenting a workshop this winter on Life Storytelling to the Hernando County Computer Club members. I love teaching, but the best part is hearing the participants' stories. 

Your Words, Your Life Story: 
A Guide for Sharing Memories
by JQ Rose

A few years ago, I published an eBook to help folks write their life stories, Your Words, Your Life Story: A Guide for Sharing Memories. The paperback title is Your Words, Your Life Story: A Journal for Sharing Memories. 

At this time, my work-in-progress is penning a book whose theme is how to write spiritual life stories. The working title is Jesus and Me: How to Write Your Spiritual Memoir. I plan to have it completed for release on April 1. This book is "heart-work" for me. 

I'd appreciate a shout-out about the book during that week if possible. Can you help? Thank you.

Read an eBook Week
March 5-13

NEWS--March 5-13th is Read an eBook Week sponsored by Smashwords. I'm celebrating this special week with deep discounts on all my books. Some are FREE! So load up those books to make the rest of the winter season go fast!

Click here to check them out. Cozy mysteries, memoir, and non-fiction books too! 

TIPS and TOPICS for Writers

My honorary cousin, Sandra Cox, will be my guest on March 15! She will be sharing tips for writers for the Tips and Topics Series on this blog every third Wednesday of the month. Her new Western, Return to Silver Hills, will be released, March 11th. You know we'll be shouting about that too. Mark your calendar to join in on the fun, "pardner!" Don't forget to wear your boots and cowboy hats! Yee-haw!!! 

story.

history

March 5-13 SW sale

Sandra Cox

Women's History Month

IWSG Blog Hop: My Favorite Genre #IWSGbloghop

 

Insecure Writers Support Group Blog Hop

#IWSGbloghop

Happy October!!

Happy IWSG Day!!

👻👻👻

Hello and Welcome to the IWSG Blog Hop!!

What is the Insecure Writer's Support Group?

Founded by author Alex J. Cavanaugh, the Insecure Writer’s Support Group offers support for writers and authors alike. It provides an online database, articles and tips, a monthly blog posting, a Facebook and Instagram group, Twitter, and a monthly newsletter. To find out more, click this link:  Insecure Writer’s Support Group

The purpose of the group is 

* 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! 

You're invited to become a member of this supportive group. 

Click here to sign-up and/or to visit the bloggers this week.

Thank you to our awesome co-hosts for the October 5 posting of the IWSG Blog Hop--Tonja Drecker, Victoria Marie Lees, Mary Aalgaard, and Sandra Cox!

👻👻👻

October Question  

What do you consider the best characteristics of your favorite genre?

Before writing an answer to the question, I decided to look up the meaning of genre. The Vista Higher Learning website concludes there are 5 types of genre--Fiction with many sub-genres, nonfiction, drama, poetry and folk tale. Does the definition surprise you?

My favorite genre to read is mystery. The characteristics I like in mysteries are  putting together all of the pieces of the puzzle to solve the mystery, the constant weighing of evidence to prove who-dun-it, the exciting scenes, but not resulting in a lot of blood and guts and the twist at the end, a complete surprise if the author has done his/her job correctly. 

I love the variety in mysteries--those subgenres--historical, romance, time-travel, fantasy and beyond. But as one experienced author exclaimed one day, "Isn't every book a mystery? We don't know the ending so we read to discover it."

I am anxious to visit other participating bloggers to find out their favorite genres and to receive comments below about your favorites too. 

Click here to hop on over to bloggers who are participating in the blog hop!

👻👻👻

Wishing you a happy and safe Halloween!
J.Q. Rose

👻👻👻

Click here to be notified when a new article is posted on this blog.

Click here to receive the Rose Courier 
delivered quarterly to your inbox. 
Filled with photos, updates, freebies, new book releases and more!

Thank you for stopping by.

IWSG Blog Hop: The One Genre I Would Never Write #IWSGbloghop #writing

 

Insecure Writers Support Group Blog Hop

#IWSGbloghop

Hello and Welcome to the IWSG Blog Hop!!

What is the Insecure Writer's Support Group?

Founded by author Alex J. Cavanaugh, the Insecure Writer’s Support Group offers support for writers and authors alike. It provides an online database, articles and tips, a monthly blog posting, a Facebook and Instagram group, Twitter, and a monthly newsletter. To find out more, click this link:  Insecure Writer’s Support Group

The purpose of the group is 

* 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! 

You're invited to become a member of this supportive group. 

Click here to sign-up and/or to visit the bloggers this week.

Thank you to our awesome co-hosts for the September 7 posting of the IWSG--Kim Lajevardi, Cathrina Constantine, Natalie Aguirre, Olga Godim, Michelle Wallace, and Louise - Fundy Blue!

September 7 Question  

What genre would be the worst one for you to tackle and why?

I love reading historical fiction, but I have not tried writing it--other than my memoir. Sad to say it's historical because it takes place in 1975-76, but not fiction!

I admire those who spend hours or years researching the eras they write about. I have the fear of writing about a time, but using words that don't belong to the times e.g. "cool" meaning something is "in" or a person is "calm." You would never hear cool used in a conversation in 1850! Nothing turns off a historical fiction lover like finding an error in the author's information of the time.

Do you like reading historical fiction? Why? Please leave your comment below.

Thanks for stopping in today. 

Click here to hop on over to bloggers who are participating in the blog hop!

Click here to be notified when a new article is posted on this blog.

Click here to receive the Rose Courier 
delivered quarterly to your inbox. 
Filled with photos, updates, freebies, new book releases and more!

Thank you.

Famous Authors' Advice on Writing First Drafts by J.Q. Rose #writing #firstdrafts #writingtips

 

HAPPY SUMMERTIME!

Welcome to the Focused on Story Blog! I'm your host, JQ Rose. 

Practice, practice practice. I bet you heard that when you were a kid whether it was to practice the piano, throwing and catching a baseball, shooting free throws, driving the car, or ice skating. 

We seem to continue practicing all our lives. When we were kids our parents or coaches or someone was always telling us to practice. Now we are grown-ups and can decide if we want to practice or not.

Have you noticed when you focus on practicing something you are passionate about your skill improves? 

How about cooking? I've come a long way from only knowing how to fry a hamburger and open a can of green beans when I was first married. Now that I have time, I have "practiced" cooking and trying out new recipes, especially with produce from our garden. I love this new found passion, so I am practicing a lot.

Yesterday, I tried a recipe for stir-fried snow peas. Yes, I've made stir fries, but this one had some new ideas. I was very proud of myself when the recipe tasted fine even if I did have to substitute items listed in the ingredients. Since I am now a more confident cook, I was brave enough to try it.

Writing stories is something that takes practice. Don't expect to write a masterpiece with your first draft. It's going to be ugly, trust me. Every first draft is!

Neil Gaiman has good advice for writers dealing with their first drafts.

“For me, it’s always been a process of trying to convince myself that what I’m doing in a first draft isn’t important. One way you get through the wall is by convincing yourself that it doesn’t matter. No one is ever going to see your first draft. Nobody cares about your first draft. And that’s the thing that you may be agonizing over, but honestly, whatever you’re doing can be fixed…For now, just get the words out. Get the story down however you can get it down, then fix it.” — Neil Gaiman

Fix it is the best advice. Yes, you can fix it. 

“Good stories are not written. They are rewritten.” — Phyllis Whitney

Some writers become obsessed with the opening line of the story. Not the first draft or the first chapter, but the first line. Then they become paralyzed and cannot move on. You too?

“Get it down. Take chances. It may be bad, but it’s the only way you can do anything really good.” — William Faulkner

After writing five novels, countless short stories, non-fiction articles and books, I can understand how scary it can be. Sitting at your desk facing that blank screen or empty lines on a sheet of paper is daunting. But---

“I’m writing a first draft and reminding myself that I’m simply shoveling sand into a box, so that later, I can build castles.”  — Shannon Hale

Yes, you can write it. You also do not need to share it with anyone else. You are the only person who will read it. So? Why not begin?

If you are anything like me and many other writers, that first line or first chapter will have to be changed by the time you complete your story or book or article. So don't agonize over it.

Please remember that practice is important in writing. Every time you write, you are strengthening your writing muscles. You are learning your art.

Embrace your passion for telling stories or informing readers about a topic you love. Have fun with your writing. 

If you would like to read 26 encouraging quotes from famous writers about first drafts, click here for the link to the article at the Writing Routines website.

* * *

About J.Q.Rose

Whether the story is fiction or non-fiction, J.Q. Rose is “focused on story.”  She offers readers chills, giggles and quirky characters woven

Author JQ Rose

within the pages of her mystery novels. Her published mysteries are Deadly Undertaking, Terror on Sunshine Boulevard and Dangerous Sanctuary released by Books We Love Publishing.  

Using her storytelling skills, she provides entertainment and information in articles featured in books, magazines, newspapers, and online magazines. With her non-fiction book for girls, Girls Succeed! Stories Behind the Careers of Successful Women, she returned to her first love, writing about real people. J.Q. taught elementary school for several years and never lost the love for teaching passed down from her teacher grandmother and mother. She satisfies that aspect of her character by presenting workshops on Creative Writing and Writing Your Life Story and creating a book for life storytelling, Your Words, Your Life Story, based on her workshops. JQ decided to take the advice she gives to her workshop participants to sit down and write their stories. BWL Publishing released her memoir, Arranging a Dream, in January 2021.

Blogging, photography, Pegs and Jokers board games, and travel are the things that keep her out of trouble. She and her husband spend winters in Florida and summers up north with their two daughters, two sons-in-law,  four grandsons, one granddaughter, three grand dogs, four grand cats, and one great-grand bearded dragon.

 Click here to connect online with JQ Rose on Facebook

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Filled with photos, updates, freebies, new book releases and more! Thank you.