IWSG: A to Z? OMG!

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Wednesday, April 05, 2017

IWSG: A to Z? OMG!

April launches a curious frenzy called the A to Z Blog Challenge. The rules are simple and sound fun: Blog every weekday starting with a topic that begins with A and ultimately ends with Z. The purpose is to network, get exposure for you and your blog, and for your books. Awesome! Unless you're like me. This kind of organized event, like NaNo, creates a panic in my creative soul that totally paralyzes me.

Maybe it's my ADD with OCD rising that rebels against the frantically paced structure of producing a vast amount of product that will not end up between page one and page end of my W-I-P. Maybe it's the fact that between writing for publication, social media, and my 8-to-5 job and accompanying drive time, I'm already working 15 hours between 4:30 a.m. and 9:30 p.m. every weekday (I know, I'm such a sloth I take an hour for dinner - that I prepare - and watch 1 or maybe 2 hours of TV a day and average about 6 hours of sleep) and use the weekends to write for at least 8 more hours, do the weekly blogs I'm committed to writing, promotional events, and actually venture out to buy food and go to a monthly writers' meeting. The time and active brain cells it would take to think up, execute and then pay my VA to put 26 posts on my blog, plus the stress of finding time to visit and comment on other blogger's posts for that entire month, because that's something I'd feel compelled to do, . . . I know I'm a Gemini, but I'm only one person and that person likes to occasionally sit down at the table and sleep for a few hours.

Maybe this is something I'll jump into with enthusiasm when I retire from the work force. Other writers seem to thrive on the chaos of activity, love the experience, and reap benefits from it. But it's not for me, not now.

Write On, I say! Write on in your own ways that work for you! Isn't that why being a writer is such a fabulous occupation? There are opportunities out there for everyone to stimulate productive juices and fit individual needs, styles and desires. But me, I'll be finishing the first half of the next book in my "House of Terriot" dark shape-shifter series, not adding to my already overloaded plate by fretting about what starts with R or X.


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!

Posting: The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Post your thoughts on your own blog. Talk about your doubts and the fears you have conquered. Discuss your struggles and triumphs. Offer a word of encouragement for others who are struggling. Visit others in the group and connect with your fellow writer - aim for a dozen new people each time.

Let’s rock the neurotic writing world!


Twitter hashtag is #IWSG 

IWSG awesome co-hosts for the April 5th posting will be Christopher D. Votey, Madeline Mora-Summonte, Fundy Blue, and Chrys Fey!

12 comments

  1. I'm so jealous of the people who are able to display the full IWSG hop at the bottom of their post! Us Wordpressdotcom kids still can't do it. Alas, there are too many benefits for me to not switching to Wordpressdotorg at the moment. I'm like you as it relates to A to Z. It's too overwhelming. I'm doing Camp NaNoWriMo at the moment, and it's interesting, because I set a lower, more attainable goal, and perhaps because I relieved some of the pressure, I'm achieving higher daily word counts than when I did Nano in November. :) http://www.raimeygallant.com

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    1. While I still twitch away from NaNo, I was surprised to find how productive I could be doing informal write ins. Numbers don't lie. I love my blog but may be switching over to WP so it works with my webpage. Not a WP fan, either.

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  2. I'm exhausted just reading your daily schedule, Nancy. You're amazing and such an inspiration. I'm still trying to achieve a happy balance between "beneficial" social media time and "quality" writing time - both worked between hefty slices of real life!

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    1. LOL! I have no life, Sandra. That's the secret. Just working on balancing the sanity part.

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  3. The A to Z overwhelmed me when I was teaching full time, still raising children and writing late into the night. I used to write at my kids' baseball games. But I was always glad I went to the trouble. This is my first year off and I'm getting a lot of new writing done so I know I made the right choice.

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    1. I was out of the work force for 15 years while raising my boys and I produced like crazy. I'm hoping those weren't my retirement years in reverse order.

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  4. Any writing time we are able to procure is certainly precious indeed. Good thing, with your busy, busy schedule you're still able to produce such a quality product. Best of luck with your latest. You do continue to inspire me. Thank you for that.

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    1. Sometimes the busy schedule is a blessing (really!) because you treasure those precious hours you can sit at the keyboard and use them to write instead of surf on FB. That said, I still spend too much time surfing the social media wave . . .

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  5. Although I don't have anywhere near the number of "jobs" you do besides your day job. My reasons for not joining A to Z CHallenge are similar to yours. I have too many commitments on my blog, my own and guests' spots) as well as the other weekly or monthly blogs I'm committed to that I can't do it. It's a matter of priorities. I do what I can. Enjoy what you do.

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    1. Do what you can and make no apologies. My new mantra!

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  6. The A-Z Challenge is fun but it's also a ton of work! I helped out as one of Alex's Minions one year and seeing how much goes into it behind the scenes was even more eye-opening.

    But we all do what we can, when we can, how we can. Write on! :)

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  7. You definitely need a lot of free time to tackle A to Z effectively.

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