IWSG: Secrets

12 CommentsBlogging, Insecurities, travel, writing
Logo for the Insecure Writer's Support Group. Picture of a lighthouse with text reading "THE INSECURE WRITER'S SUPPORT GROUP"

Purpose: 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!

 

The awesome co-hosts for the June 3 posting of the IWSG are Pat Garcia, J.Q. Rose, and Natalie Aguirre!

June 3 question – Writers have secrets! What are one or two of yours, something readers would never know from your work?

The question is optional… but I’m having trouble thinking of anything better.

I write Science Fiction and Fantasy, so I’m having trouble coming up with anything that people would guess about me from my books.

I don’t zip around in space ships or reanimate the dead. Not in real life, anyway. And the relationships in my book are far more interesting than any I’ve ever been in.

So, what about me?

I was supposed to be in Yellowstone, getting all sunburned this spring. Summer at the latest. There were supposed to be bears. And wolves. And baby animals being born. I hadn’t pinned down a date, when the Covid-19 thing started. “Wait and See” became “Maybe Next Year.” I’m still looking for places to spend my vacation, and boy… do I ever need a vacation.

I also owe myself a reward for finishing my revision. It’s weird how I freeze when I think about spending money on myself. Someday, I’ll publish my book, get a movie deal, and win the Tour de France. Then, I’ll probably celebrate. With a kiddie-sized bowl of ice cream. If it’s on sale.

The year is not turning out as I had intended. No secret there. I’m sure a lot of us are in the same boat.

And right now, I’m feeling particularly shallow and self-centered to be worried about it.

12 Comments

  1. Madeline Mora-Summonte

    Reply

    I always say I’m going to reward myself for something – a writing project finished, etc – but I rarely ever do. And yet I’d be the first person to tell someone else they should do it. Sigh.

    Sorry to hear about your vacation plans.

    • Karen

      Reply

      Other peoples’ accomplishments always seem so much better than my own. I do the same thing.

  2. joylenebutler

    Reply

    I know what you mean, I feel depressed then look at the news and feel instant shame. What do I have to be sad about? My life is so much easier than most people’s. We’re human, Karen. We’re allowed to acknowledge our fears and anxieties. If we can, I believe bad thoughts will turn around faster. Happy IWSG Wednesday.

    • Karen

      Reply

      I’m slowly working toward that future that I know has to come, one way or another. You’re right, of course. It does have to turn around, eventually.

  3. Loni Townsend

    Reply

    I love how frugal you are. 😀 Good job with that revision!

    I hope you get to make it to Yellowstone sooner rather than later. I grew up within a day’s drive of there, so I got to do family trips. I think my favorite part as a kid was going to the gift shops. Apparently I didn’t have a strong appreciation for nature except to wrinkle my nose at the smell. 🙂

    • Karen

      Reply

      I wasn’t all that into nature as a kid, either. Part of it is just that I’m too much of an introvert for summer camp, or group outings, so I was fighting the social element of it, up until I was old enough to hit the trails alone.

  4. Lidy

    Reply

    Never thought 2020 would be like this once the ball dropped and fireworks went off. And with the way the year has been going so far I say go ahead and splurge and live a little. Celebrate finishing your revision by rewarding yourself with that celebratory bowl of ice cream now and upgrade it to a super sundae.

  5. Diane Burton

    Reply

    I know what you mean. No vacations for us, no cruises for a long time. But I have hope that our lives will get back to normal—what that “normal” will look like is up in the air. Have a good writing month.

  7. Annalisa Crawford

    Reply

    I always mean to reward myself when I finish something big, but then I just forget and move on to the next stage. I really owe myself a lot! Congrats on the revisions.

  8. Beth Camp

    Reply

    OK, I’m guilty. I so wished the coronavirus would simply end. After 86 days of stay-at-home, I was more than ready for those newscasters to talk about something else. Please. But this? This unending stream of protestors in harm’s way yet with courage to say, enough, all this may be taking our country into a deeper look at social and racial injustice. I hope. For now, and pretty much always, my writing remains a focus, an excuse to turn within. I’m still hoping for healing. Please. And it’s ok to be human, to want to cuddle some animals, have a vacation. At least, I hope you get some ice cream. And keep writing.

Leave a Reply

%d bloggers like this: