Tag Archives: IWSG

#IWSG – Floored

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Although I knew December’s Insecure Writer’s Support Group post was speeding closer, I forced myself to focus on completing November’s priorities first. So, this month’s question had me stumped… out with no runs. But I’ve jumped ahead and need to back up to address my writing intentions.

Last month, I said my Snowdon Shadows police procedural, Fevered Fuse, was shelved, but some kind writers offered to critique a few chapters for me, as that decision was preying on my mind. They helped me devise a strategy for the series… well, for the first two books, in chronological order. Naturally, my heart is still in Wales.

  1.  ‘Fevered Fuse’ needs work before it is publishable, unless I release it in serial form to fans of Sparkle Anwyl, its quirky lesbian detective. One issue could be that the novel attempted to incorporate Sparkle’s early cases and her earlier teenage conflicts.
  2. ‘Fates Maelstrom’, the second book in the series, is my priority and a better use of my final time here, if I avoid all the pitfalls that plague ‘Fevered Fuse’.
  3. The two other titles, No. 3, Seeking a Knife, and No.4, ‘Ruined Retreat’, will remain as drafts to revise if an earlier title encourages readers to demand more of Sparkle.

As for my Ukraine saga, Freedom Flights, our Ninja Captain was correct in saying, “I know you are passionate about Ukraine. Keep after that story. Don’t let people forget”. The people of Ukraine are why I keep writing. I’m now attempting to write enough episodes to cover two earlier months every current month. Hence, in November, I covered events that took place between April 1st and May 30th, 2025.

Slava Ukraini

Heroiam slava!

**

Every month, IWSG announces a question that members can answer in their IWSG posts. These questions may prompt you to share advice, insight, a personal experience, or a story. Include your answer to the question in your IWSG post or let it inspire your post if you are struggling with something to say. 

Remember, the question is optional!

December 3 question – As a writer, what was one of the coolest/best gifts you ever received?

My first thought was, “I’m stumped, or I’m floored”, since nothing came to mind.

Then, like last month, I remembered “A Sailor’s Life for me”. Aged about eleven, I wrote an essay on ‘A Day in the Life of a Navy Helicopter pilot’, which was among the winners of a memorable three days with the Royal Navy. All the prize-winners went to Portsmouth, toured HMS Victory, visited the Fleet Air Arm’s HMS Ariel, went inside a docked submarine at HMS Dolphin, and travelled on the guided missile destroyer, HMS Devonshire, along the South Coast from Portsmouth to Devonport. Of course, I didn’t join the Royal Navy, as my career took a different path, as I covered last month.

HMS Victory in drydock at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard. Date: 9 May 2008 (according to Exif data). Source/Author: Ballista

However, prizes aren’t gifts, and that means thinking of one that gets me off the floor…

Maybe a tape recorder. Recently, my wife, Juanita, bought me a recorder so I could tape crazy thoughts at night or when my laptop was asleep. Great gift and better than the high-tech digital one that was too small for my fingers in the dark. The only problem is when Juanita asks who I’m talking to. Perhaps creating an acronym, as my detective Sparkle Anwyl does, is my most accessible mnemonic device.

Looking at my desk reminds me of other cool gifts: the decorated notebooks that friends and family have given me over the years… some too attractive for my scrawl.

There are sure to be cooler gifts, but they’ve evaded recall.

**

The awesome co-hosts for the December 3 posting of the IWSG are Tara Tyler, Ronel Janse van Vuuren, Pat Garcia, Liza, and Natalie Aguirre!

Finally, don’t forget to visit other writers via the IWSG site for their invaluable insights on writing:

Insecure Writer’s Support Group

Let’s rock the neurotic writing world!

Our Twitter handle is @TheIWSG, and our hashtag is #IWSG.

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 – and return comments. This group is all about connecting!

#IWSG – A Writer’s Life

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Another month has slipped by, so it’s time for another Insecure Writer’s Support Group post. And yet another chance to reassess my writing strategy, and my life.

Although I’d shelved my Snowdon Shadows police procedural, Fevered Fuse, while I changed focus, that decision has been preying on my mind.

Is ‘Fevered Fuse’ something I need to rewrite to make it publishable? Is Sparkle Anwyl, its quirky lesbian detective, a minus? Is revising ‘Fates Maelstrom’, the second book in the series, a better use of my final time here?  The two other titles of the series exist: No. 3 ‘Seeking a Knife’s first draft is half-written; No.4 ‘Ruined Retreat’s first draft was written in November 2017, for NaNoWriMo. Have I been wasting my time creating Sparkle Anwyl and her world? Did my beta-readers and my editor waste their precious time?

Please, does anyone have enough time to read even the first page or chapter of ‘Fevered Fuse’? If someone is really keen, she/he could read the first three chapters of ‘Fevered Fuse’ and ‘Fates Maelstrom’ to let me know if either is worth continuing with.

Sparkle & Kama Graphics by Jonathan Temples – http://jonathantemples.co.uk/

Maybe I need to skip both titles and revise ‘Ruined Retreat’. 😉

As for my Ukraine saga, Freedom Flights, I face different dilemmas. Will I finish writing the episodes before the war ends? More importantly for the people suffering, when will that end and with the just peace they deserve?

For the few still reading the episodes, including those clicking ‘Like’, I should post the second April 2025 episode later this week. Obviously, I’m still following the news from Ukraine and now the troubling news from Venezuela. Cuban Missile Crisis Mark 2, Trump version?

Slava Ukraini

Heroiam slava!

**

Every month, IWSG announces a question that members can answer in their IWSG posts. These questions may prompt you to share advice, insight, a personal experience, or a story. Include your answer to the question in your IWSG post or let it inspire your post if you are struggling with something to say. 

Remember, the question is optional!

November 5 question – When you began writing, what did you imagine your life as a writer would be like? Were you right, or has this experience presented you with some surprises along the way?

My first thought was, “A Sailor’s Life for me”, but then I remembered when I made my first scribblings and dreamt of “A Farmer’s Life for me”.

A decade later, after part-time work mowing lawns and mucking out horses in Canada, I entered the journalism world… as a lowly sub-editor in London, back home in the UK. Beyond subbing ‘Fishing Reports’ and short pieces in The Field magazine, I was gradually allowed to attend events that required brief reports. Finally, I wrote my first published full-page article, anywhere. It was also my first equestrian article, and about a place where I’d had a summer job, The All England Jumping Course, at Hickstead.

http://www.thefield.co.uk

By then, I wanted to be a journalist, even returning briefly to Canada to cover the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in Toronto, with interesting results, especially equestrian. Writing an article for the Canadian equestrian magazine The Corinthian on a major British event should have been my breakthrough as a journalist, as should have been my brief time at a Journalism College.

However, a series of events turned me into an equestrian photographer, then an organic fresh produce wholesaler, to green campaigner, and a video producer.

I’ve never stopped scribbling, even before my job at ‘The Field’. In my teens, I was already penning short stories, mainly science fiction and fantasy. While at my finishing school in Canada, I produced an SFF fanzine called ‘Mind Sphere’ and received my first and only physical rejection letter.   

In my late thirties, I was briefly the editor of the Socialist Environment and Resources Association’s journal, New Ground, and wrote a few articles. Almost two decades after my first foray into journalism, I became a regular contributor to some equestrian magazines as a journalist and occasional photographer.

Dick Lane and his team of Lipizzaners at Brighton Driving Trials. Photo: Roland Clarke

While watching a show-jumping class at Olympia in London, the ideas for a plot took shape, and thirteen years later, my only published novel, Spiral of Hooves, was released.

My writing life hasn’t been straightforward, mainly because I’ve let myself be sidetracked. Finally, bedridden by multiple sclerosis, I should be able to focus on writing… one thing. Unfortunately, not, as I outlined last month.

Now, I have Sparkle Anwyl, my favourite character, vying with Freedom Flights, for my attention. The latter now dictates my life, but something tells me I need to keep ‘making hay while the sun shines’.

*

The awesome co-hosts for the November 5 posting of the IWSG are Jennifer Lane, Jenni Enzor, Renee Scattergood, Rebecca Douglass, Lynn Bradshaw, and Melissa Maygrove!

Finally, don’t forget to visit other writers via the IWSG site for their invaluable insights on writing:

Insecure Writer’s Support Group

Let’s rock the neurotic writing world!

Our Twitter handle is @TheIWSG, and our hashtag is #IWSG.

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 – and return comments. This group is all about connecting!

#IWSG – Favourite Scribblings

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Another month has passed, so it’s time for another Insecure Writer’s Support Group post. And another chance to reassess my writing strategy.

I’ve shelved my Snowdon Shadows police procedural, Fevered Fuse, while I change focus. I will continue revising ‘Fates Maelstrom’, the second book in the series, although that will require months.

I’ve just posted two more episodes of my Ukraine saga, Freedom Flights. If you read Part 1 of No Cards Game, you may realise how the episode ends before you reach Part 2. Obviously, I’m still following the news from Ukraine.

Slava Ukraini

Heroiam slava!

**

Every month, IWSG announces a question that members can answer in their IWSG posts. These questions may prompt you to share advice, insight, a personal experience, or a story. Include your answer to the question in your IWSG post or let it inspire your post if you are struggling with something to say. 

Remember, the question is optional!

October 1 question – What is the most favorite thing you have written, published or not? And why?

My first thought was, “These are a few of my favourite things”, but then I realised “There can be only one”, but which one? And why?

The obvious work would be my only published novel, Spiral of Hooves, the first book in the ‘Chasseur’ series. The MCs return in the first draft of a sequel, ‘Tortuous Terrain’, as does Zoo Sécurité, an organisation that appears in other series. Spiral will always be a favourite, but not quite number one. Gradually, the Zoos have become a valuable creation.

One member of Zoo Sécurité is a key secondary character in my Snowdon Shadows police procedural, Fevered Fuse, which has yet to reach an audience. However, Sparkle Anwyl has become my favourite character. But the series falls short of that Number One slot despite Sparkle and my overall arc for her career. I’ll still revise ‘Fates Maelstrom’, the second book in the series, and one day, hopefully, another Sparkle mystery, ‘Ruined Retreat’, featuring another Zoo operative.

Sparkle & Kama Graphics by Jonathan Temples – http://jonathantemples.co.uk/

As I attempt to assess my favourite written work by trawling through predominantly unpublished scribblings, I recognise an ongoing obsession that might be holding me back. Creating and outlining series ideas.

If I’d stuck with the characters and equestrian world created in Spiral of Hooves, I might have succeeded in publishing more. Instead, I have five or more unwritten series.

https://aeroscraft.com/

For instance, the Gossamer Flames saga grew from my two ‘Wyrm’ draft novels, written in 2011 before ‘Spiral of Hooves’ was published… but after SoH was written. Instead of revising a draft novel, I built new projects to muddle my writing plans. Like ‘Eagle Crossing’ in 2016, set in a 21st-century Viking North America called Kanata. It was extensively researched at the time of devising, as I believed Kanata was my writing future.

Eventually, I developed Sparkle Anwyl, who became my favourite character.

Yet, the favourite thing I’ve written is Feathered Fire, the 1944-based short story published in the 2020 IWSG Anthology (No. 5), Voyagers: The Third Ghost. My reasoning is, firstly, as a standalone story, all the elements seem to work, thanks in part to the editing by L. Diane Wolfe from Dancing Lemur Press.

 Secondly, writing Feathered Fire gave rise to Freedom Flights, a crucial part of my ongoing writing journey. Readers asked what happened to the two Ukrainian sisters in the story, so when Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24th, 2022, I created their two granddaughters and the modern Night Witches. The present-day episodes led me to start writing about the post-1944 growth of the Chayka Family and their aviation business based in Canada, Chayka Air. Of course, there are at least two Zoo Sécurité operatives involved.

Commander Evdokiya Bershanskaya gives a briefing to her “Witches”. (Archives Vlad Monster,  http://www.ava.org.ru)
https://www.gracpiacenza.com/night_witches_eng.html

So, Feathered Fire inspired the saga that’s now a key part of my writing, alongside the unfolding career of my Welsh detective, Sparkle Anwyl. All other scribblings must be shelved… for now.

**

The awesome co-hosts for the October 1 posting of the IWSG are Beth Camp, Crystal Collier, and Cathrina Constantine!

Finally, don’t forget to visit other writers via the IWSG site for their invaluable insights on writing:

Insecure Writer’s Support Group

Let’s rock the neurotic writing world!

Our Twitter handle is @TheIWSG, and our hashtag is #IWSG.

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 – and return comments. This group is all about connecting!

#IWSG – Fantasy Dreams

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It’s time for another Insecure Writer’s Support Group post. Although I started writing this on April 1st, I’ll stick to the truth and avoid fooling you.

Fact 1. Yesterday, as promised, I received the final edit from my editor’s assistant of my police procedural, Fevered Fuse. Hopefully, this means I will submit the manuscript to the first publisher by the end of this month and should hear back within three months. While waiting for the publisher to answer, I’ll begin rewriting ‘Fates Maelstrom’, the second book in my Snowdon Shadows Mysteries.

Fact 2. In late March, I began writing Episode 36 of my Ukraine saga, Freedom Flights, but it’s now on hold, unlike the deadly war, the fragile peace negotiations, and treacherous Putin’s machinations. Hopefully, the rational leaders can negotiate a dependable and lasting peace in the next few months.

Slava Ukraini

Heroiam slava!

**

Every month, IWSG announces a question that members can answer in their IWSG posts. These questions may prompt you to share advice, insight, a personal experience, or a story. Include your answer to the question in your IWSG post or let it inspire your post if you are struggling with something to say. 

Remember, the question is optional!

April 2 question – What fantasy character would you like to fight, go on a quest with, or have a beer/glass of wine with?

Fact or Fiction? I guess most fantasy is fiction, although centuries ago the first storytellers based their tales on fact. Like some of the heroes and heroines in the Icelandic Eddas were possibly real people, so they could be considered as ‘fact’.

Unlike my choices. First, Geralt of Rivia, aka The Witcher, No. 1, for questing with.

No. 2. Drinking companion: harder as some like Gimli the Dwarf would drink me under the table. However, another of the Nine Companions in The Lord of the Rings, Frodo Baggins, might be preferable with a similar consumption to me.

No. 3. I don’t fancy fighting any of my favourite fantasy characters, as I’d start at a disadvantage, unless, as a Leo, I faced the Cowardly Lion from author L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

The title page of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, also known as The Wizard of Oz, a 1900 children’s novel written by L. Frank Baum and illustrated by W. W. Denslow.

Instead, why couldn’t I choose someone to marry? Perhaps Menolly, the Harper heroine in some of the early novels in the Dragonriders of Pern series, written by American-Irish author Anne McCaffrey.

first edition cover
Source
http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?126781
Article
The Harper Hall Trilogy

Or maybe the shieldmaiden Éowyn from The Lord of the Rings, or my favourite female character from The Witcher novels by Andrzej Sapkowski, and in the Witcher games, the redheaded medic Shani, who’d be the perfect drinking companion… and invaluable in a fight.

The Witcher 3: How Shani’s Role Evolved from the Books to the Games

https://gamerant.com/the-witcher-3-shani-role-purpose-evolution-books-to-games/

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The awesome co-hosts for the April 2 posting of the IWSG are Jennifer Lane, L Diane Wolfe, Jenni Enzor, and Natalie Aguirre!

Finally, don’t forget to visit more active writers via the IWSG site:

Insecure Writer’s Support Group

Let’s rock the neurotic writing world!

Our Twitter handle is @TheIWSG, and our hashtag is #IWSG.

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 – and return comments. This group is all about connecting!

#IWSG – Metamorphosis

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Although it’s time for another Insecure Writer’s Support Group post, I’ve been too distracted by recent international events to plan for this.

At least I managed a March 1st post for my wife’s birthday and St David’s Day.

I have started writing Episode 34 of my Ukraine saga, Freedom Flights, but it’s been hard to write scenes set in September 2024 knowing what happened last Friday in the Oval Office. At least, over the next three days, Volodymyr Zelenskyy was made welcome in the United Kingdom and able to discuss with mutual respect Ukraine’s path to a genuine and steadfast peace.

Leaders from around the world gathered in central London for peace talks on Sunday March 2nd 2025. Press Association

First, with Sir Keir Starmer, my Prime Minister, then with the 18 leaders at the biggest European peace summit since the end of the Second World War. Finally, Zelenskyy’s meeting with my sovereign, King Charles III at Sandringham, his Norfolk home, demonstrated what staunch support the British people, from the Monarch to ‘commoners’ like me, have for the heroic Ukrainians and their courageous President.

President Volodymyr Zelensky with King Charles at the entrance to his Sandringham home where they met for an hour on Sunday. Press Association

Hopefully, the rational leaders can negotiate a dependable and lasting peace in the next few months.

Slava Ukraini

Heroiam slava!

**

Every month, IWSG announces a question that members can answer in their IWSG posts. These questions may prompt you to share advice, insight, a personal experience, or a story. Include your answer to the question in your IWSG post or let it inspire your post if you are struggling with something to say. 

Remember, the question is optional!

March 5 question – If for one day you could be anyone or *thing* in the world, what would it be? Describe, tell why, and any themes, goals, or values they/it inspire in you.

I struggled for days over this question, in part because of recent events. Trump’s speech to Congress angered me so much that I wished I could return home—yes, to the United Kingdom. My wife and I regret not accepting my brother’s offer in August 2022 to fly us home with our dogs.

If I could be anyone or anything for a day, there are some dark and crazy answers like a 2025 Count Claus von Stauffenberg even though his politics hardly differed from Hitler’s.

If I morph into someone else, do I take on that person’s personality? If I became Hemingway for a day, would I write as well as him, but would I also drink heavily?

7th October 1939: EXCLUSIVE American writer Ernest Hemingway (1899 – 1961) works at his typewriter while sitting outdoors, Idaho. Hemingway disapproved of this photograph saying, ‘I don’t work like this.’ (Photo by Lloyd Arnold/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Ideally and morally, a character from my Freedom Flights might suit my current circumstances. Perhaps then I could walk again, although my sniper character is in a wheelchair, having been wounded… and she’s female. Not that I would mind, as I might better understand all my pilots. Maybe flying a jet or helicopter would dissolve my fear of flying. Or I could be a K9 handler, which I came close to being in RL. Dogs are among my best friends.

The key is being able to help Ukraine inspired by Volodymyr Zelenskyy, perhaps as one of the indispensable medics.

The Ukrainian medics risking their lives every day on the front line are credited with saving nine times as many wounded comrades as do their Russian counterparts – MAXIM TUCKER

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The awesome co-hosts for the March 5 posting of the IWSG are Ronel Janse Van Vuuren, Pat Garcia, and Liza @ Middle Passages!

Finally, don’t forget to visit more active writers via the IWSG site:

Insecure Writer’s Support Group

Let’s rock the neurotic writing world!

Our Twitter handle is @TheIWSG, and our hashtag is #IWSG.

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 – and return comments. This group is all about connecting!

#IWSG – Reappraisal

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It’s time for my first Insecure Writer’s Support Group post of 2025, having missed the January IWSG post… I realised it was too late when I saw others posting. At least I managed a Christmas-New Year post.

However, I have also posted Episodes 28-32 of my Ukraine saga, Freedom Flights. I will post the next episode later this week, and there should be many more until I write about the just peace, hopefully this year.

Slava Ukraini

Heroiam slava!

**

Every month, IWSG announces a question that members can answer in their IWSG posts. These questions may prompt you to share advice, insight, a personal experience, or a story. Include your answer to the question in your IWSG post or let it inspire your post if you are struggling with something to say. 

Remember, the question is optional!

February 5 question – Is there a story or book you’ve written you want to/wish you could go back and change?

Cover design by Jonathan Temples. Cover photo by Nick Perry

Initially, I felt I wouldn’t change any of my too few published fiction writings, although Spiral of Hooves was revised for the second edition. Perhaps rereading the novel would make me wish I’d changed more things.

However, some of the shorts posted on this site should be reappraised and, in many cases, revised even though I edit them a few times before letting my followers read them.

As an ongoing episodic tale, Freedom Flights will have to be revised. I’ve already started making changes to the collated episodes whenever I find mistakes and oversights. For instance, as I research the aviation aspects of the story, I notice incorrect jargon. In early episodes, I called groups of four to six planes ‘wings’ rather than ‘flights’… and other basic errors. When I’ve reached the final episode, Just Peace, I will start filling in the gap from 1950 to 2021 and revising the war episodes.

Naturally, there are other projects due for revision… one day.

*

The awesome co-hosts for the February 5 posting of the IWSG are Joylene Nowell Butler, Louise Barbour, and Tyrean Martinson!

Finally, don’t forget to visit more active writers via the IWSG site:

Insecure Writer’s Support Group

Let’s rock the neurotic writing world!

Our Twitter handle is @TheIWSG, and our hashtag is #IWSG.

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 – and return comments. This group is all about connecting!