Exciting IWSG News!

Wednesday, August 2, 2017

Today is IWSG post day. As we do each month, we share our insecurities and offer encouragement to other writers who may need it. Today’s hosts, along with Captain Alex are Christine Rains, Dolarah @ Book Lover, Ellen @ The Cynical Sailor, Yvonne Ventresca, and LG Keltner!

August question - What are your pet peeves when reading/writing/editing?

In terms of writing and editing, the only peeve I have with myself is starting the job without some kind of outline. It wastes time when I have to go back and check through the manuscript for make and model of vehicles, where characters live, as well as their habits. It makes the job so much easier if I note this from start. 

In reading a work not my own, it's hard to enjoy a story when it is riddled with typos or inconsistencies.

Exciting IWSG News!
The IWSG pitch party was a wonderful event with #IWSGPit trending on Twitter on the day. If you didn’t get to participate, not to worry, you’ll have another opportunity in January.

As always, there is something coming in the pipeline with the IWSG. In October, on our IWSG post day we’ll have another contest! Post a photo of yourself (or your alter ego) with any of the IWSG swag or with the IWSG logo. 

After you post, leave a comment on the IWSG website’s post or the IWSG Facebook thread with a link to your photo. (All blog, Facebook, Goodreads, and newsletter members are welcome to participate, but your photo must be posted on a blog or Facebook to qualify.) 

The IWSG site admins will visit each post and pick the top three for some awesome prizes, which are listed below.

Third place – EBook of A Change of Mind and Other Stories by Nick Wilford, eBook of The Remnant by William Michael Davidson, eBook of Cling to God by Lynda R. Young, eBook of Already Home by Heather M. Gardner, and eBook of Dragon of the Stars by Alex. J. Cavanaugh. 

Second place – The entire eBook collection of the Totem series by Christine Rains, eBooks of Princess of Las Pulgas by C. Lee McKenzie, audio book of CassaSeries by Alex J. Cavanaugh, eBook of Black and White by Nick Wilford, and your choice eBook from J.L. Campbell. 

Grand prize winner - IWSG website interview, IWSG newsletter spotlight, IWSG pinned tweet for one week, C. Lee McKenzie's Featured Follower for the month, the IWSG Goodreads book club eBook for October/November, a short chapter critique, and a pair of IWSG erasers. 

We have some great IWSG swag – pens, mugs, magnets, erasers, etc. All proceeds will be used to fund the upkeep of the IWSG site.


Last, but not least, on August 24th at 2:00 pm EST, Chrys Fey will be participating in a LIVE YouTube interview with Evan Carmichael, an entrepreneur who she'll be interviewing about his book Your One Word and getting some great advice for IWSG members. You'll be able to watch the interview live HERE. You can set a reminder if you click on the link, or you can watch it later. The video will be uploaded in the August 30th IWSG newsletter issue. Link - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xf6dTwSZr4

18 comments:

  1. I used to frustrate myself by not outlining. I'm better at doing it now and have also learned to plan all the books in a series before starting the first one.

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  2. I outline, make character sketches, and create a timeline. Doing a 5 book series with character stories overlapping taught me that.

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    1. You sound super-organized. I have a series where I will need to work like that.

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  3. I also need an outline. I even write outlines for the chapters because it helps me to keep going forward.

    Show Us Your Writer Insecurity will be a lot of fun.

    Thanks for mentioning the YouTube interview!

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    1. Wow, you're disciplined, Chrys. I used to be like, but these days ...

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  4. If I started without an outline, I'd be lost.
    October fourth will be a fun day!

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  5. I'm a pantser so I pretty much never have an outline. However, my newest story idea involved two POVs and different timelines so I definitely wanted to figure that one out before I started writing.

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  6. I always have, in addition to the outline, some kind of 'fact file' where I note the characters' ages, appearance details, pets' names , street descriptions, and stuff like that. Usually it is a simple text file, no formatting. It is very convenient, especially when you write a series and forget from one novel to the next whether one of your secondary characters lives on the second floor or in a basement.

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  7. Or eye color. I forgot that once, oops!
    Keep up the good work!

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  8. I'm getting better at outlining, even if it is after the first draft has been written!

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  9. Great news for IWSG. Inconsistencies bother me, too. I have to write down all the details lest I forget. And believe me, I forget a lot. I keep the detail file open as I write so I can add anything new or check out a detail. A lot of people use Scrivener that can keep track, also.

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  11. I hear you on the typos...
    When it comes to trad pub books, especially the Big Five, my expectations are high and I’m annoyed by unnecessary typos and grammar errors. Not fair, I suppose. But I always imagine that these books have big budgets in place, and top notch editors working on the manuscripts…am I right?
    Okay, maybe not always big budgets...

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    1. The world of publishing has changed much, as you know, Michelle, so big budgets apply to the superstars, to mid list writers, not so much. :/

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  12. Typo's are a popular pet peeve this month :)

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Don't be shy, I'd love to hear what you think.