IWSG: Inspiration

Happy First Wednesday!

It is time to share our writerly woes, achievements, and thoughts with others like us. This was created by Alex J. Cavanaugh, and there are now hundreds of writers who participate! There is also a website now, which can be visited HERE.

A couple of weeks ago, my cousin messaged me to tell me her son was writing a story, "Just like Deborah."* It definitely made me get a little misty, and it also made me feel like I have to keep pushing myself to write and get to that publication goal to make him proud. I'm sure by this week, he'll want to be a fireman or something, but it was just nice to hear. Some people do find the inspiration to write from authors they've read, so I would love to be that author for someone out there.

Hope to visit you today!



(*He actually wrote a two-sentence story on my old laptop when he was 4, so when his mom told him that, he said, "Oh, so this is my second novel?" haha)

IWSG: Sinking

Welcome to another Insecure Writers Support Group Meeting!

I'd apologize for bringing the mood down, but do I need to in this circle? Not sure. But anyway, I believe I'm starting to fall into depression, which 1) is hard to say and 2) I wouldn't tell my family, who think I'm a hypochondriac. Over the weekend (and another time last week) my sister told me that our niece and our cousin both said that I'm no fun. That really upset me (and confused me because it's not like both go out partying with my little sister or something).

On one end, I don't go out unless it's with my family or choir members, I don't do wild, spontaneous things like get pierced or dye my hair (in fact, the only thing I've really done with my hair is chop it off every few years, and that's not happening again), and I'm shy around guys, even though I'm almost 30. Something my sister also pointed out: I either act really old or really young and need to find my age.

But maybe they also see that I'm not happy. I'm not ANYwhere I thought I would be at 29, not with my career, personal life, living arrangement, NONE of them. I'm still living at home (even though it's with my sister and other cousin, but I've been there 14 years) with a terrible temp job with terrible benefits where I can't even afford medical, unable to get a real job because I'm over-qualified for most of the ones in town, and you have to be a fricking magician to get a state job, and still fricking revising this story I started ten years ago that I had hoped would be done and published by now.

I'm sleepy every day; even when I get to sleep at a decent hour, I wake up in the middle of the night. Loan companies are hounding my cell, e-mail, AND somehow got a hold of my job placement's number (not even my personal line or the temp agency's number). I don't want to be at this job anymore but really have no choice, and I just want to crawl back into bed and sleep away my life.

So, that's where I am at this moment.

Looking at my 1st 300 on my 100th Post!

This is my 100th post! How do I have so much to talk about?! I owe many of my posts to Alex J. Cavanaugh-sensei, Jackie at Bouquet of Books, and Dani at Entertaining Interests. Otherwise, I'd probably just be doing this at random and probably forget about it after some time.

I wanted to celebrate by reflecting on my February 20th post about my first 300 words for my WIP.
http://debramckellan.blogspot.com/2013/02/the-first-300.html

Why am I reflecting? Because hardly 4 months later, I revised it! It's crazy what a difference a pair of eyes makes. I had picked up a crit partner and forced my sister to beta read. I have neither at this point (well I have my sister, but she doesn't like fantasy, so I told her she could stop after the Book One), but the insight they gave me was really helpful, and I've been inputting so much more into this story that I feel it is slowing it appropriately and rounding it out significantly.

I've even rearranged the opening to provide a little more voice and the thought process of the princess. My hooker, everyone (haha):

If things went how the Crystalline Princess desired, she would be swinging through the air in the next few minutes. Otherwise, she would have to explain to her watchmen why breaking her arms and legs was a good use of her time.

In my next 100 posts, I hope to be able to say I've written a successful query, at least to an agent who has expressed their love for it, and in the next 100, I hope to say I'm published. It can be done!