I missed last month’s Insecure Writer’s Support Group. Unfortunately, I didn’t have any great news of finishing my book or anything. Even now, I’m still about 17K away from The End (estimating it’ll be the same 170K length). But The End is in sight! I’ve written the scenes leading to the final battle, and soon all the characters will be in place. Speaking of characters, I wrote a poem about mine!
FLAWS
Derek’s from another world
He’s hung up on his ex
His alter ego murders people
And he’s cursed to not have sex
MaTisha is judgmental
She has a gutter mind
She catalyzed the Thanmir War
Now she’s hard to find
Kaio always shifts the blame
An enabler to his brother
But can you really fault him
With the villain as his mother?
(Yes, yes you can)
Cameron jumps to wrong conclusions
Based on what was said
But all that torturing drama
Exists only in his head
They all make bad decisions
(What protagonist does not?)
But without their flaws and issues
There would be no plot.
(Okay, these aren’t in the same order as the poem, but rather the order I drew them in.)
ISWG Question of the Month – Many writers have written about the experience of rereading their work years later. Have you reread any of your early works? What was that experience like for you?
Seeing that I’m currently rewriting my decade old book 1, yeah, I’ve reread some of my old work. Honestly, it still makes me smile in places, but I can better spot the tension issues, telling, and unfocused plot aspects. I feel I’m a better writer now. My style has shifted to deeper scenes with more internalization and more character voice. It’s more along the lines that I like to read.
Have your characters ever inspired you to write other, non-story things about them? How’s your 2026 been so far? Is the cold kicking your butt as it is mine?
About Insecure Writer’s Support Group
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.
170k?! Yikes. That’s an epic for sure. Are you planning to split it into installments or serve it all up at once?
LOL. It’s definitely a single book, the first in a 5 book series. Book 2 is 200K. 😉
Whew! Crazy. But when you have superfans, they eat that stuff up, eh?
I really love that poem—especially that last stanza!
I wrote a couple of poems/song lyrics about characters from my fantasy series for a musician friend of mine who set them to music.
And hey, having The End in sight is fantastic progress!!
That’s exactly what I’m seeing right now as I revise an older work too. When you first start writing, the gap between what you write and what you aspire to write (and like to read) is vast. It’s so nice when that gap starts to close!
Love your art. And the poem is wonderful too. Good luck finishing the story.
Okay! Great poem. I loved having something to read that was fun.
As to the cold, I was on my deck today looking for shade. It was 80 degrees. This is not normal.
That is really cool that you can draw your own characters.
The more I write the better I know my characters. They surprise me, or is it I surprise me? hehehe
I loved the poem! And of course, ya know, I love your character drawings always!
I was almost singing that poem. I’m not sure why. Congrats on getting as far as you have. I know it’s been a struggle. (No, I will not comment on the weather. I will not comment on the weather. I will not comment on the weather.)
Great drawings. Fun poem! Love that as a way to entice readers.
Happy IWSG day! I’m co-hosting this month.
“A good book gets better at the second reading. A great book at the third.” — Tyler DeVries
J (he/him 👨🏽 or 🧑🏽 they/them) @JLenniDorner ~ Speculative Fiction & Reference Author and Co-host of the April Blogging #AtoZChallenge international blog hop
You should be doing fantasy art for other authors.
You are quite talented, Loni. I wish I could draw characters…or anything other than stick figures. You know, great tomes take time to develop. Stay strong, dear friend.
Great poem. Even if you haven’t finished your manuscript, it’s good you see an end in sight.
I love the poem! How perfect!
I was hoping for a pup update too, but the poem and art makes up for it. LOL
170K. Wow.
Great character poem 🙂 A fun way to keep track of their issues. I love when my previous works allow me to laugh and enjoy the characters, and plot lines too..
I can’t help imagining your poem as a jaunty ballad sung by a bard in a tavern. 😛
Love the art, as always!
It’s weird and wonderful to reread my old stories. They can still surprise me and make me laugh out loud too. I’ve definitely grown and changed, but those characters always live in my heart.
It’s a good sign when we read our old work and know we can do better. That means we’re improving! (At least, that’s what I tell myself, lol.)