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Woe or Whoa? #IWSG

Posted on February 1, 2017February 1, 2017 by Loni Townsend

I decided to track down the last time I wasn’t feeling like I was slowly sinking in a sticky mess of overwhelmed craziness. It’s been over six months. HALF A YEAR! Since mid-July of 2016, it’s been illness and injury and mishap around every turn.

That leads me to my insecurity. It’s been half a year with little to no progress toward my personal goals. And honestly, I’m not sure that’s going to change, because every time I put forth effort towards accomplishing what I want to do, something else steps in to swat down my attempts.

I could regal you with my tales of woe, but really, I’ve moved beyond frustration to simple resignation. Things probably won’t let up. There’s nothing I can do to avoid it. I can’t keep the snow from falling, I can’t keep the kids from catching colds and other stuff at school, and I can’t keep my husband from getting injured.

If you’ve read Oh, The Places You’ll Go! by Dr. Seuss, I’m stuck in that most useless spot called The Waiting Place. I’m just trying to figure out how to escape.

Optional IWSG Question: How has being a writer changed your experience as a reader? I now notice the use of past progressive verbs. It drove me nuts when I was attempting to read The Passage, so much so that I didn’t finish the book. That might be a personal problem though.

About Insecure Writer’s Support Group
Insecure Writers Support Group Badge
You can find the sign up for the IWSG here. We owe Alex J Cavanaugh a huge thank you for thinking this blog hop up.

On another note, C.G. Coppola tagged me in a thing called First Day, First Paragraph.

  1. Publish your own post on the first day of the next month (March).
  2. Use the graphic above
  3. Thank and link back to the person who tagged you. (Thanks, C.G. Coppola!)
  4. Explain the rules, like I’m doing now.
  5. Post the first paragraph of a story you’ve written, are writing, or plan to write someday.
  6. Ask your readers for feedback.
  7. Finally, tag someone to do the post next month and comment on one of their posts to let them know the good news.

I’m going to tag ChemistKen at My Hogwarts Sabbatical. I’ve been interested in reading his stuff for a while now. This gives me another thing to prod him with. πŸ™‚

Here is a segment from Murder Most Fowl, which is still a WIP. I tend to lean toward super short paragraphs when writing the Cera Chronicles, so you get a bit more than just the first.

     At times, alternate worlds could be seriously foul. Or was that fowl?
     A winged shadow made another pass over my head. He’d been circling me since the town before last. Not that I minded the occasional bit of shade. But his unnerving screech raised the hair on my arms.
     He swept low, giving me a glimpse of razor-sharp beak and glistening gold feathers. A disconcertingly intense gaze met and held mine as he cut across my path.
     Normally I liked attention. But I could’ve sworn this creeper was waiting for me to keel over and die.

Hopefully you enjoyed the snippet. If not, please let me know what bugged you. πŸ™‚ Thank you for tagging me, C.G. Coppola. If you don’t know her or haven’t checked out her writing, you definitely should. I super enjoy her work.

How is life treating you? Read anything good lately?

28 thoughts on “Woe or Whoa? #IWSG”

  1. CD Gallant-King says:
    February 1, 2017 at 10:42 AM

    Hopefully someday soon you’ll escape all that waiting and staying, and find the bright places where boom bands are playing.

    I feel your pain. I think that maybe when I retire I’ll have thetime I really want to devote to my projects. Or at least when the kids go away to school.

    That being said, I’ve got about 28 days, 9 months and 19 days left until I can retire, so I’ve got to find SOMETHING to keep me distracted until then…

    Reply
  2. M.J. Fifield says:
    February 1, 2017 at 10:47 AM

    I’m so sorry that you’ve been mired down in overwhelming craziness for so long. Please hang in there! I firmly believe that…

    “Someday you’ll escape all that waiting and staying. You’ll find the bright places where the Boom Bands are playing…” (even if it takes a little longer than you’d like.)

    Oh, and I enjoyed the snippet very much.

    Reply
  3. Madeline Mora-Summonte says:
    February 1, 2017 at 10:57 AM

    Hang in there, Loni. You know that saying, this too shall pass. Unfortunately, “this” is taking longer to pass you by. But it WILL pass. Just like the snow WILL stop falling. πŸ™‚

    Reply
  4. J.C. Jackson says:
    February 1, 2017 at 11:17 AM

    Oh goodness. Here’s to hoping for at the very least a lengthy reprieve. I’ve started coming to similar conclusions myself. Things are going to happen and I have to roll with it and just keep plugging along.

    As for me, things have been…interesting. That’s probably the nicest possible way I can put it right now.

    Just keep plugging along. A little here and there adds up over time. Not the fastest path, but one that is still moving forward. If you need someone to look at something, feel free to hit me up. I’ll probably need a break from the hair pulling.

    Reply
  5. Alex J. Cavanaugh says:
    February 1, 2017 at 12:46 PM

    I liked the snippet!
    Sorry you are stuck in waiting. It will change.

    Reply
  6. chemistken says:
    February 1, 2017 at 12:52 PM

    Resignation can be useful, as long as you don’t let it get you down.:)

    Enjoyed the snippet. Now I want to know more about this winged shadow and what part he/she/it plays in the story.

    Thanks for the tag. It’ll force me to go back to my first chapter and clean it up.

    Reply
  7. J.C. Jackson says:
    February 1, 2017 at 12:56 PM

    Oh goodness. I’ve been in a similar situation the past couple of months. All you can do is roll with it and keep going (even if it’s at a slower pace). You’ll get there!

    As for me things have been…interesting. That’s the nicest way I can put it.

    If you need someone to look at something or whatever, feel free to hit me up. I’ll probably need a break from the hair pulling.

    Reply
  8. Liesel says:
    February 1, 2017 at 1:14 PM

    Aw don’t let life’s chaos get u down. I hadn’t made much progress in my writing for about two years before this year. I’ve done more writing in January than I have in the previous six months combined. You’ll figure it out. Keep the faith! ?

    Reply
  9. Chrys Fey says:
    February 1, 2017 at 1:25 PM

    I’m sorry your goals aren’t working out, but don’t push them aside totally. Chip away at them when you can. I love your writing, so thanks for sharing that teaser. πŸ™‚

    Reply
  10. H.R. Sinclair says:
    February 1, 2017 at 2:42 PM

    I like the excerpt a lot! Sadly, I know how you feel. I thought January might be a fresh break, but alas, I was wrong. I know how exhausting and mentally draining it is that when you have time to write, you really just need a nap. Hang in there. Squirrels overcome–they are amazing strong and resilient and that’s why they’ll take over the world.

    Reply
  11. Erika Beebe says:
    February 1, 2017 at 2:59 PM

    Yikes! I just downloaded the
    Passage. Now I am scared…lol. Let me know if you need anything. I am happy to help if you feel stuck and you need a creative and crazy brainstorming mind. Love the passage! Vivid! I loved the first sentence too. πŸ™‚

    Reply
  12. Susan Gourley says:
    February 1, 2017 at 3:14 PM

    I’m sorry you’ve been stuck in that most awful place. I’ve been there too and I had no time to do things I wanted to do for me. For my life and career. That time is here now though in every stage of life there are things that take over. I hope you find your way out soon.

    Reply
  13. Crystal Collier says:
    February 1, 2017 at 3:24 PM

    Yuck on being stuck. Let me throw you a cheese lasso so you can get can out of that rut.

    Great snippet. If I had more of a brain, the line editor in me would rear its head, but that part of me pretty much died the death a few hours ago. No worries, it will be alive tomorrow and out for blood. πŸ˜‰

    Reply
  14. Lexa Cain says:
    February 1, 2017 at 4:04 PM

    I sympathize. I was forced to stop writing on my half-finished WIP for 9 months while I took care of other things. Now I’m back at it, but only revising because I need to get back in to the story and characters. By the time I start actually writing again, it’ll be 11 months. Meh. What are you gonna do? It’ll be finished eventually — and so will yours. I liked your paragraph. Eerie and ominous as well as funny. It took me two readings though since I didn’t understand if the first line was figurative or if this was a real SF alternative world thing.

    Reply
  15. C.G.Coppola says:
    February 1, 2017 at 4:16 PM

    Hang in there, Loni. Maybe this is just the crappy time you have to pay for a really amazing one yet to come πŸ™‚

    Loved the snippet! The only (seriously – only) criticism would be the first four sentences of the paragraph are short and read the same in my head. Maybe extend/shorten some? Or combine the last two? Other than that, loved it! I want to know more about why he’s following her. I’m intrigued. I need to know more!

    Reply
  16. Ellen @ The Cynical Sailor says:
    February 1, 2017 at 6:14 PM

    I probably need to learn what a past progressive verb is πŸ™‚ I love the First Day, First Paragraph challenge. What a great idea and what a great excerpt from Murder Most Fowl. You totally hooked me with it.

    Reply
  17. Olga Godim says:
    February 1, 2017 at 7:12 PM

    Love your snippet! The tension starts right from the first line.
    Sorry life treats you poorly, but it will pass. Sometimes, there are periods in our lives when bad things happen, one after another. I promise you, it will stop. Everything will be better one of these days. Hopefully soon. Good luck!

    Reply
  18. Elizabeth Otten says:
    February 2, 2017 at 12:40 AM

    I am totally with you in The Waiting Place right now, just for different reasons (AKA an unsuitable day job). Your second paragraph sums up exactly how I’ve felt lately; every time I gain a little momentum, something comes along and throws me back down again.

    I love your snippet! It sounds like it will be a story worth reading πŸ™‚ And I like this First Day, First Paragraph tag, I may have to follow it.

    Reply
  19. L. Diane Wolfe says:
    February 2, 2017 at 6:11 AM

    Waiting is just another season. Not a fun one though. Take the time to be still and listen.

    Reply
  20. Laura W. says:
    February 2, 2017 at 2:18 PM

    I can sympathize with that. I’ve had a series of things piling on, too, one after the other, and it gets discouraging. But hey, the clouds have to clear eventually, right? You’re not a bad writer for dealing with life stuff first! That stuff’s important, too. πŸ™‚ Take care of yourself.

    Also, I liked the snippet a lot!

    Reply
  21. Cherie Colyer says:
    February 2, 2017 at 2:47 PM

    It’s the things out of our control that can cause the most anxiety. I hope things settle down for you soon.

    I enjoyed your snippet. πŸ™‚

    Reply
  22. Jemi Fraser says:
    February 2, 2017 at 5:44 PM

    That’s a fun snippet! I know a lot about your world/character already – well done πŸ™‚

    We’re going on 15 months of chaos at this point so I know how you feel!

    Reply
  23. Jeri says:
    February 2, 2017 at 10:26 PM

    As an editor and former English teacher, I have a hard time with pleasure reading because of all the crap I notice, lol. It gets in the way of my creative writing too, but little by little I’ve been turning off the inner editor. Yet even with fast-paced easy reads with relatively straight forward language, I quickly turn out when certain language usage issues keep cropping up.

    Reply
  24. Arlee Bird says:
    February 2, 2017 at 11:03 PM

    I know what you mean about illness and injury putting one off center. I’ve had some of those times that were rather unsettling. On the plus side I tend to read more if I’m bedridden–that and sleep is about as much as one can do when laid up.

    Fortunately things have been mostly good lately. Slow, but good.

    Arlee Bird
    Tossing It Out

    Reply
  25. Juneta says:
    February 3, 2017 at 10:52 AM

    Oh my, Sending your positive energy that your challenges are conquered and the rest of the year brings joy and prosperity.
    Happy IWSG Belated Day!
    Juneta @ Writer’s Gambit

    Reply
  26. Sarah says:
    February 4, 2017 at 11:41 AM

    I believe it’s been much longer than that for me. Not that I’m competing, I’m just saying I know how you feel. Yes, I have read “Oh, The Places You’ll Go!” and know where you are. (I’m the one sitting closest to the door, drinking red wine and staring at the floor.) πŸ™‚ Here’s to things letting up a bit for you. Be well.

    I love the MMF excerpt. I love the story, as you know, but also your style when you write Cera’s books.

    Reply
  27. Mason T. Matchak says:
    February 5, 2017 at 8:35 PM

    I hear you on all that, and I hope things settle for you soon, or at least get a little easier to deal with. >_< Trying to plot has been like that for me lately – nothing works. I'm trying to push through, but… gah.

    And I liked the first paragraph bit. ^_^ There's a good mix of immediate detail and suggestion of something larger going on, and I like the way whoever's talking phrases things – I'm getting a little bit of insight into their character, and they could easily be someone fun to read.

    Reply
  28. Christine Rains says:
    March 1, 2017 at 9:25 AM

    Best of luck getting out of The Waiting Place. I hope the music they’re playing isn’t irritating! Great first paragraph. Made me laugh. πŸ™‚

    Reply

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Welcome to my blog. I post here on Wednesdays most of the time, but you can find me on social media any day of the week. My topics include my stories and writing, life at the Town's End, creating and tinkering with graphics, things I learn and think might be helpful to others, and the occasional amateur photo. Thanks for stopping by! I hope to see you around.

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