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It May Be Awesome #IWSG

Posted on June 7, 2017 by Loni Townsend

After months of misery, I’m happy to report that life is AWESOME. Medical problems still persist and my house is a wreck, but writing wise, life is good.

Last IWSG had me hoping I could finish chapters 8 and 9 in Isto. I did even better! I had breakthroughs on a character scale, decided to murder a character who had previously died due to a natural disaster, and gave an inanimate object a life of its own. I have 14 chapters I can confidently call finished and I added 7K to my total keepable word count.

So what makes me an insecure writer this month? I just made a pact with a friend to hold each other accountable. She’s aiming for a certain number of words a week, I’m going more based on concept. I must kill the character I mentioned earlier. Oh, I’m all sorts of excited to do so, it’s just getting it all laid out properly. Can I get all the scenes finished before next Tuesday? We shall see.

IWSG Question of the Month: Did you ever say “I quit?” If so, what happened to make you come back to writing?

Honestly? Nope. I’m a bit of an odd duck when it comes to writing. I have no great aspirations of commercial success. I don’t do prompts. I don’t write for other people. I don’t try to make stories work.

I write to tell Derek’s tale. Oh, I might deviate from time to time if I’m invited/encouraged to participate in an anthology. Especially if inspiration strikes. But I always return to Derek. If I lost him, then yeah, I might quit. Until then, I will keep plugging to share him with other people.

How was your May? Do you have an accountability partner? How do your approach your writing/creative goals?

About Insecure Writer’s Support Group
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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.

30 thoughts on “It May Be Awesome #IWSG”

  1. Ellen @ The Cynical Sailor says:
    June 7, 2017 at 8:21 AM

    I’m so glad to hear how AWESOME things have been in terms of your writing. It’s really nice to read this post. So encouraging πŸ™‚

    Reply
  2. Erika Beebe says:
    June 7, 2017 at 8:22 AM

    Hi Loni! Yay for your break through! I do have an accountability partner. They make a world of difference πŸ™‚

    Reply
  3. Nicola Burggraf says:
    June 7, 2017 at 8:29 AM

    So happy life is gooood. Congrats on your progress. The good thing about housework, it will wait πŸ™‚ or is that a bad thing LOL! Stay cool!

    Reply
  4. L. Diane Wolfe says:
    June 7, 2017 at 8:50 AM

    Congrats on achieving your goal and even more. Have fun killing that character.

    Reply
  5. CD Gallant-King says:
    June 7, 2017 at 8:52 AM

    Isn’t it great when stuff is going smoothly? Man, it makes writing easier when life is good. Or maybe it’s the other way around? Either way, can’t complain.

    Hope the momentum keeps up and the accountability partner is useful. I don’t have any such useful tools, just me, myself and I. The biggest and most useless tool. πŸ˜›

    Reply
  6. Anna says:
    June 7, 2017 at 9:22 AM

    We are much the same. Sure money would be great, but I have other priorities. I’m glad the health issues are better. πŸ™‚

    Anna from elements of emaginette

    Reply
  7. Madeline Mora-Summonte says:
    June 7, 2017 at 9:32 AM

    So glad things are going better, Loni! And good luck with the accountability. I think having that helped me during Story A Day last month.

    Reply
  8. Alex J. Cavanaugh says:
    June 7, 2017 at 10:21 AM

    Good for you! Keep after it.
    I never had aspirations either. Funny how things work out.

    Reply
  9. J.C. Jackson says:
    June 7, 2017 at 10:44 AM

    Awesome! I can’t wait to see what you have and where you’ll be going.

    I think I need an accountability partner. I’ve been slacking. When I had someone I had to show something to every month I was on the ball about editing. But that group kind of fell by the wayside for the last few months.

    Reply
  10. M.J. Fifield says:
    June 7, 2017 at 10:51 AM

    I have a pair of critique partners who are kind of like accountability partners. I always want to make sure I have something to submit for our meetings.

    And I’m in that same odd duck boat. I really lack aspirations of commercial success, too, because I just wanted to tell my characters’ stories the way I wanted to tell them. Still occasionally frustrating, because I don’t feel as though I’m doing right by my characters, but I can’t imagine that I’ll ever actually give up on them. Even if they maybe wish I would…

    Happy writing! Have fun murdering your character!

    Reply
  11. Crystal Collier says:
    June 7, 2017 at 11:02 AM

    On the up and up. LOL. You’re excited to kill the character… I don’t think I’ve ever been excited to kill a character. Not even the bad ones. How weird is that?

    Reply
  12. chemistken says:
    June 7, 2017 at 11:04 AM

    Wanting to share your character with others. That’s what makes us writers!

    Congrats on the progress. If only you could bottle that up and send me some.

    Reply
  13. J.H. Moncrieff says:
    June 7, 2017 at 11:20 AM

    Congrats on your breakthrough, Lori! Sorry to hear you’ve had struggles with your health. I’ve certainly missed you.

    I do have accountability partners, but I’ve found nothing works until I’ve made up my own mind to stop wasting time and get writing. Once I’ve found my inner motivation, it’s a powerful thing.

    Have a great month!

    Reply
  14. Jeri says:
    June 7, 2017 at 12:57 PM

    I do write best when I use an accountability partner, or at least that worked while I was drafting my novel. Now that I’m posting to blog a nonfiction book that has helped my motivation a lot. I know I’ll revise the posts down the road, but for now the act of hitting publish keeps me writing.

    Reply
  15. Donna McNicol says:
    June 7, 2017 at 2:09 PM

    Way to go, Loni! Great attitude….

    Reply
  16. Sarah Foster says:
    June 7, 2017 at 2:21 PM

    Very awesome that you got so much done! Having an accountability partner sounds like a good idea. I could probably do something like that with my husband (he’s a comedian and should be writing more jokes) but I think we’d let each other slide too much.

    Reply
  17. Juneta says:
    June 7, 2017 at 2:59 PM

    I have a cheering partner, does that count. Happy everything is going so well. I know that feels good,
    Juneta @ Writer’s Gambit

    Reply
  18. Olga Godim says:
    June 7, 2017 at 3:21 PM

    You’re doing great on the writing front. Hopefully, your medical problem will be resolved to your satisfaction soon.
    Thank you for visiting my blog and suggesting that critique group. I’ll certainly check them out.

    Reply
  19. C.G.Coppola says:
    June 7, 2017 at 4:26 PM

    Happy to know life is back to AWESOME (as it should be).

    I hear the excitement in your voice (tone?) about writing and am *so* happy it’s there. Oh! I also love that you go back to a Derek every time. It’s like author-character soulmates. πŸ˜‰

    Reply
  20. HR Sinclair says:
    June 7, 2017 at 4:31 PM

    Congrats! It’s good to hear things are flowing (and other things are settling down).

    Reply
  21. Julie Flanders says:
    June 7, 2017 at 6:19 PM

    Hooray! So glad to read things are going so well on the writing front. I could feel your enthusiasm just reading the post. Happy for you!

    Reply
  22. Mason T. Matchak says:
    June 7, 2017 at 8:22 PM

    It’s funny how, even when other things are going bad, having the writing go well can make everything better. ^_^ And hey, nothing like a murder to make a story better.

    As for me, well, you’ve seen my blog so you know what I’ve been dealing with. I’m just glad to have pulled through it. >_<

    Reply
  23. Susan Gourley says:
    June 7, 2017 at 8:24 PM

    Making a pact with another writer is a great way to stay accountable. I like your reasons to keep writing.

    Reply
  24. Elsie says:
    June 8, 2017 at 6:46 AM

    I’m sorry to hear that your health isn’t doing so great. I can relate. I’m happy to hear that you’re rockin’ and rollin’ on your writing. That’s awesome! I hope the trend continues. All my best to you!

    Elsie

    Reply
  25. Joleene Naylor says:
    June 8, 2017 at 11:30 PM

    Awesome! I’ve never managed to keep a writing accountability partner, they always give up, LOL! SO I just set deadlines and announce them and then I am held to that or else I look bad.

    Reply
  26. Misha says:
    June 9, 2017 at 11:14 AM

    Yeah I do have an accountability partner, but I gave myself a break over the past couple of months when I burned out.

    I might be getting in touch with her again, soon. πŸ™‚

    Glad to read that you’re making such good progress.

    Reply
  27. Michelle Wallace says:
    June 10, 2017 at 2:48 AM

    Kill a character? Crikey? I struggle with that.
    Do I have to? Literally? I suppose not.
    Depends on the story, hey?

    Get better soon, Loni! πŸ™‚

    Reply
  28. Tamara Narayan says:
    June 10, 2017 at 4:30 PM

    No, I don’t have an accountability partner, but that seems like a good idea. Nothing like someone depending on you to get those words going! Belonging to a writing group used to help, but too many people moved away so it fell apart.

    Reply
  29. Nick Wilford says:
    June 15, 2017 at 5:48 AM

    That’s great you have a friend with whom you can share mutual encouragement. Hopefully you can spur each other on, even though your approaches are different. Glad to hear you’re making progress!

    Reply
  30. Arlee Bird says:
    June 19, 2017 at 3:15 PM

    When awesomeness comes into ones life, the other not so good stuff doesn’t seem so bad.

    Arlee Bird
    Tossing It Out

    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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