"There is more treasure in books than in all the pirate's loot on Treasure Island." - Walt Disney

Wednesday, January 6, 2016

IWSG: Reborn

It’s time for another group posting of the Insecure Writer’s Support Group! founded by Alex J. Cavanaugh. Time to release our fears to the world – or offer encouragement to those who are feeling neurotic. If you’d like to join us, click on the tab above and sign up. We post the first Wednesday of every month. Your words might be the encouragement someone needs. You can also join us on twitter using the hashtag #IWSG, or on the Facebook page.

Hello all! I hope you were able to enjoy a wonderful holiday season doing things you enjoy. It's our first post of the year, and a time of rebirth. As many people tend to do, I decided to make a few New Year's resolutions. However, I decided to limit myself to just TWO this year. That's doable right? I can handle two tasks. Easier said than done.

Resolution #1 - Complete tasks - this didn't become a problem for me until I had kids. In fact, I have OCD tendencies that demanded I finish things just so. However, anyone with kids knows that when you have two infants, or multiple toddlers, or anyone else living in your house, everything can quickly become about them and not you. At first, it was necessary for me to learn to let things slide, but after a while it became a habit. Then, it became an excuse. This leads me to:

Resolution #2 - Trust myself - confidence has never been my strongest trait. i.e. sometimes it's hard to find any at all. This applies to many areas of my life, but especially in my writing. No matter how many articles, short stories, poems, pictures, blog posts, whatever, that I publish I'm always questioning my abilities. When I finally do complete a work and submit it, I anxiously wait. I'm so excited about the piece I've submitted that I can't wait to hear back. This problem always leads to one of two outcomes. One: they rejected it, and I'm left wondering what made me think it was okay to submit. Or two: they accept it with congratulations, and I'm left wondering what's wrong that they are willing to publish my work. Is there something wrong with the publisher? Did they not receive enough entries? Why are they publishing me? Super neurotic, right?

So, those are my two resolutions. Thankfully, I recently found a book that has made me feel so much better - The Shy Writer - Reborn: An Introverted Writer's Wake-Up Call. It's opened my eyes to some of the things that cause me to feel the way I do, how so many others are similar, and what I might do to help myself.

I highly recommend this book. It doesn't matter if you are a beginner, or a multiple award-winning author. We all struggle with our confidence from time to time. Whether you dread marketing, public speaking, and/or sharing your creations this book can help. The author, C. Hope Clark, helps you to embrace your strengths and weakness, and to move forward with renewed confidence. This book is a true comfort that has earned a permanent place on my bookshelf. I hope you will give it a try.

Happy New Year, and Happy Rebirth!

What kind of resolutions are you making?

15 comments:

Tamara Narayan said...

This year I'd like to write more, but I have two kids who love to suck up my time, so it's tough. I'd also like to get rid the clutter messing up our house and stop eating so much junk food. (I guess that means I need to put away the Cheezits on my desk and grab a carrot. Oy.)

Debra Renée Byrd said...

Those sound pretty decent. Congrats on making the anthology!

Yolanda Renée said...

Wonderful goals! Wishing you all the best in achieving them!
Congratulations on placing in the Anthology!
Great start for an exciting New Year!

F. Stone said...

Congratulation. I trust you are doing a super happy dance to celebrate, LOL.

J.Q. Rose said...

Congratulations! I used to be a perfectionist, but thought I gave it up at 12 years old. Those tendencies still dog me. But I will continue to fight against it. Now I'm going back to read this again to check for punctuation, spelling, grammar...See what I mean?? Best wishes on accomplishing your goals for 2016!

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

I'll check out the book!
What was wrong with us? We thought your story rocked. Congratulations again on making it into the anthology.

shelly said...

This year I've decided to just go with the flow.

L.G. Keltner said...

Congratulations on making it into the anthology!

Liza said...

Thank you for the book recommendation, and most of all, CONGRATULATIONS on your story making it into the IWSG Anthology. Well done!

Denise Covey said...

Hi Sylvia! I came by to congratulate you on your inclusion in the Anthology! Can't wait to read all the stories!

Cynthia said...

Having two children myself, I know how tough it can be to complete tasks, especially housework! Glad to hear you made it into the anthology! Woo-hoo!

Rebecca M. Douglass said...

Thanks for sharing the book. I'll have to take a look at it!

And I remember, all too well, how little I was able to finish (or even start) when my boys were little. They are just 18 months apart, so for several years, well, nothing got done! Now they are grown and no way can I use that excuse :D

Stephanie Faris said...

That book sounds perfect! It's funny--I don't mind having my books set up on tables at craft fairs and school carnivals, where people come up and ask me questions. I don't even mind booksignings where I just sit and people come up to me. (Aside from the fear that nobody will show up and I'll be sitting there all awkward!) But the thought of standing up in front of people and speaking makes me want to hide forever. Or even walking into a bookstore and introducing myself and asking if I could sign copies. I did that when my first book came out and sometimes it went great but the times where the bookseller was rude or awkward about it made me terrified to try again. I'm definitely an introvert!

Sylvia Ney said...

Thank you all for the congratulations. I can still hardly believe it. Super excited!

Kristin Smith said...

Happy New Year! Congratulations on making it into the Anthology!! Hopefully this will be a confidence booster and will help you exercise your second resolution for the year. I'm sure your story is awesome! :)