#IWSG – To Boldly Go

September 4, 2024 by Roland Clarke

It’s time for yet another Insecure Writer’s Support Group post of 2024, and I’m sure many of you know where I’m going to boldly go.

The final frontier?

Not yet, as long as I can mention my Ukraine saga, Freedom Flights, although with so many events concerning Ukraine in July I’m still working on the final part, which is due out sometime after this appears.

To keep up to date I might have to make August’s episode brief, even if that means merging it into September using the Kursk incursion. Plus, as I write this on September 3, 2024, there’s been a deadly Russian attack on Poltava I can’t ignore.

Slava Ukrayini

The other news has been canine. Our Beagalier puppy, Taika continues to chew through Juanita’s oxygen tubes, although Monday, her son Jason put up some wall hooks near the ceiling for the tube. Taika will need to grow wings to reach it… except that night he chewed the part where it ran near the ground. Darn it!

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!

September 4 question – Since it’s back to school time, let’s talk English class. What’s a writing rule you learned in school that messed you up as a writer?

Back in the last century, my English Language teachers must have taught me endless rules I’ve either forgotten or absorbed so well they are ingrained.

Split infinitives were the first that came to mind, as did the classic split infinitive.

“To boldly go where no man has gone before.”

That line from the opening title sequence of Star Trek and its iconic mission statement was grammatically wrong we were told. Yet it made more sense to split the infinitive, and over time Star Trek won and people realized an infinitive could be split… most of the time. However, the ‘split infinitive rule’ never messed me up as a writer, not just because of Star Trek.

My best English Literature teacher told me that English grammar was an amalgam of Latin, French and English grammar, which led to oddities and inconsistencies. This included the split infinitive. In Latin the infinitive is one word as it is in French, a Romance language. Therefore: to go = ire = aller. I guess that means that if a verb is French in origin like ‘compare’ you can’t try to boldly compare 😉

Now I am an IFTW… Insecure Full-Time Writer the grammar rule I struggled to learn, is the one that messes me up. It’s also the one my editor questions me on. Maybe, I use it incorrectly.

The Oxford Comma. But rather than explain what it is, here’s an easy-to-follow infographic on its usage.

https://www.yourdictionary.com/articles/oxford-comma-guide

Finally, I’m interested that Grammarly corrected my simple uses of ‘to boldly go’ (and ‘to boldly compare’) but not the Star Trek quote.

For Trekkies: How Star Trek Boldly Made The Split Infinitive Acceptable

https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/83484/how-star-trek-boldly-made-split-infinitive-acceptable

For Pedants & non: To Boldly Split Infinitives

To Boldly Split Infinitives

Sorry for the pedantry 😉

The awesome co-hosts for the September 4 posting of the IWSG are Beth Camp, Jean Davis, Yvonne Ventresca, and PJ Colando!

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 – Synopsis Solution

August 7, 2024 by Roland Clarke

It’s time for yet another Insecure Writer’s Support Group post of 2024, and more canine escapades.

First writing. My Ukraine saga, Freedom Flights, has been delayed since I posted the 3^rd and last part of Episode 23, ‘Witches Troupe’, although I have drafted some of Episode 24.

Freedom Flights: Episode 23 – Witches Troupe – Part 3

Slava Ukrayini

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

As for my Welsh police procedural, Fevered Fuse, my editor has kindly offered to help me get the manuscript ready for submission to publishers at no extra charge in the autumn, as long as I work on a submission package before then. I’m struggling with the synopsis first but will need brave volunteers to read it. Those who don’t know the plotlines so can judge if the synopsis sounds like an interesting story.

Now I must not forget the other change in our house – July’s canine arrival. Our cute 15-week-old Beagalier puppy, Taika – Maori for ‘tiger’ – is still pure energy with sharp nails and teeth, who loves chewing sockets, cables, my wife’s oxygen tubes, boxes etcetera… even though he has plenty of toys from Blondie. Whether he’ll ever be as calm as Quetzal, remains to be seen. We hope the cost of replacing everything he destroys doesn’t eat at our affection.

Finally, our older dog, Treeky is ten today… easy to remember as he kindly agreed to share his birthday with me, though he’s 61 years younger.

Remember, the question is optional!

August 7 question – Do you use AI in your writing and if so how? Do you use it for your posts? Incorporate it into your stories? Use it for research? Audio?

The nearest I come to using AI to write is probably when software like Grammarly and ProWriting Aid improve my writing, although Word also corrects my errors. And they were at work in that sentence and throughout this post.

I’m also aware that AI must be at work in all the high-tech that appears in Freedom Flights. When researching the jets and helicopters integral to the plotlines, I know how AI has played a key role in making them formidable and deadly, even if my understanding is a long way behind the skill sets my characters have mastered… and those of their brave real-life counterparts.

Wallpaper – https://wallup.net/eurocopter-tiger-attack-helicopter-aircraft-42/#google_vignette

The same possibly applies to my characters in Fevered Fuse, though their AI-influenced tech is motorbikes and police radios.

Sorry for this brief answer.

The awesome co-hosts for the August 7 posting of the IWSG are Feather Stone, Kim Lajevardi, Diedre Knight, C. Lee McKenzie, and Sarah – The Faux Fountain Pen!

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.

#IWSG – Writing Gems

July 3, 2024 by Roland Clarke

It’s time for yet another Insecure Writer’s Support Group post of 2024, and more adventures, these canines.

Moving house has been ruled out due to financial constraints, which feels crazy having owned a brick-and-mortar house with a three-car garage until two years ago. At least we bought my wife’s three sons’ homes before the money began drying up.

Fortunately, I can sometimes distract myself from our financial and health issues by attempting to focus on writing. My Ukraine saga, Freedom Flights, still helps the most. On Monday, July 1^st, I posted the 3^rd and last part of Episode 23, ‘Witches Troupe’, with a format change I hope is apparent… as I’ve made it a permanent change. Hopefully, it’s noticeable.

Freedom Flights: Episode 23 – Witches Troupe – Part 3

Slava Ukrayini

The greatest change in our house has been canine.

On June 17^th last year our special fur baby Quetzal passed away, and I struggled to come to terms with her loss for months. I wrote part 1 of her tribute but failed to write part 2… even though I still miss her.

In late March we acquired an Aussiedoodle puppy called Blondie… full name Windsong Blondelle Phoenix. She was adorable though too large to have her jumping on my bed, especially when she landed hard on my legs. Over time it became apparent that we couldn’t give a large one-year-old dog the right attention. Fortunately, Shaunna, one of our caregivers with the previous company, helped us with her, even having Blondie stay one of the nights Juanita was in the hospital.

Last Friday, Juanita bought me a cute 6-week old Beagalier puppy, who we’ve called Taika – Maori for ‘tiger’. He’s pure energy with sharp nails which my scratched arms and chest are evidence of. And he scrambles all over my desk, desperate to chew my water jug’s straw. Whether he’ll ever be as calm as Quetzal, remains to be seen.

And Blondie met him for a few hours before she moved to her new home with Shaunna, her large dogs – already friends – and her family.

Remember, the question is optional!

July 3 question – What are your favorite writing processing (e.g. Word, Scrivener, yWriter, Dabble), writing apps, software, and tools? Why do you recommend them? And which one is your all time favorite that you cannot live without and use daily or at least whenever you write?

When I started writing, I used Wordstar but over the course of time I changed to Word. Almost all of my recent fiction exists as Word files, even those created in Scrivener. From about 2016 when we moved from North Wales to Idaho, USA, until June 2022, I worked on a desktop PC creating draft novels in Scrivener.

I found Scrivener to be a better programme than Word for assembling and keeping track of my novels’ elements such as characters, and locations, with the ease of moving scenes and chapters around.

I’m especially aware of this now that I work without my desktop on a laptop with only Word. I am acutely aware of this as I write Freedom Flights with its multiple locations and characters, and set between 1944 and the present day. I suspect it would cost me money I don’t have to install the newest Scrivener on my laptop.

For editing, I used an excellent online programme called Fictionary, which allows you to move scenes and chapters around, and assess things like flow, repetition, openings and endings, pace, etc. I used Fictionary to edit Fevered Fuse and it was effective. However, I let my sub lapse, so I haven’t loaded my Ukraine project onto it yet.

I use other software like Grammarly and ProWriting Aid to improve my writing, although Word is my Number One writing gem, my all-time favourite.

Hope my format change works.

The awesome co-hosts for the July 3 posting of the IWSG are JS Pailly, Rebecca Douglass, Pat Garcia, Louise-Fundy Blue, 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.

#IWSG – Service or Rebuild

June 5, 2024 by Roland Clarke

Time for another Insecure Writer’s Support Group post of 2024, and more struggles. Getting to this stage has been one obstacle after another, mainly from ongoing health issues for both of us, Juanita’s more troubling issues is her dependence on portable oxygen, plus incessant coughing for months. At least, she now has a nurse practitioner making regular home visits

One concern we have is our trailer home since we discovered it was a meths den before we bought it. Has the meth impregnated the wall so much that our health is suffering? We are desperate to move as soon as possible.

Fortunately, I can sometimes distract myself from my health issues by attempting to focus on writing. My Ukraine saga, Freedom Flights, has helped the most. I posted three times in May, Episodes 20-23, despite rebellious bowels, something akin to sciatica, and bouts of lethargy.

https://wallup.net/eurocopter-tiger-attack-helicopter-aircraft-42/#google_vignette

However, through more occurrences of writhing, I have also been writing what will be June’s Episode 23, ‘Witches Troupe’.

Later today, I must return to writing ‘Freedom Flights’ as time is against me as life gets shorter. Even if the just peace comes soon, I have a gap from 1951 to 2021 crying out to be written.

Slava Ukrayini

Remember, the question is optional!

June 5 question – In this constantly evolving industry, what kind of offering/service do you think the IWSG should consider offering to members?

Apologies if this is brief as I’m struggling for valid suggestions. I had a few thoughts from idea creation to audio-narrator & editor suggestions, but then through meticulous exploration of the IWSG site I found everything somewhere.

If I had located a search feature, my delving might have been faster. Please, can someone tell me where that search function is?

Sorry for posting late.

The awesome co-hosts for the June 5 posting of the IWSG are Liza at Middle Passages, Shannon Lawrence, Melissa Maygrove, and Olga Godim!

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.

#IWSG – Derailment

May 1, 2024 by Roland Clarke

This fourth Insecure Writer’s Support Group post of 2024 is living up to its title.

Getting to this stage has been one obstacle after another, from health issues to writing problems.

My Ukraine saga, Freedom Flights, has caused the most distractions. I managed to post Episode 19 almost on time, but Episode 20 missed the end of April self-imposed deadline. Blame a mix of uncooperative bowels, irrelevant change of conversations, and bouts of lethargy.

Read on for more occurrences of writhing and writing.

Slava Ukrayini

Remember, the question is optional!

May 1 question – How do you deal with distractions when you are writing? Do they derail you?

Apologies if this is brief as I’m struggling for vivid examples. So, I’m listing types of distractions, the worst being self-inflicted… like dozing off mid sentence/phrase/word/thought.

Pain that stops me from typing/thinking.

Random unusable idea.

Somebody changing the subject/interrupting.

Finding an interesting but useless rabbit

New ideas emerging as I’m being interrupted.

Auto-correction misleading the plot.

Fingers hitting the wrong key and changing intent,

Finally, writing rubbish to answer a simple question.

At this point, I fell asleep… and two hours later woke up and discovered two things:

When I type, I have to close one eye to not see keys double (= MS double vision), which wastes time but is not a distraction.
Falling asleep is a distraction, especially when the reason was pain kept me awake last night, because one leg slipped out of my hospital bed and got jammed somewhere and twisted for four hours until a carer rescued me.

Moving on from distractions, I do get derailed, sometimes to the point where I lose the plot until I force my struggling mind back on track. Other times, the derailment is total, at least until inspiration kicks back in… a few hours later, or next day.

As for dealing with distractions, it’s a matter of pushing through by being committed to the project. For instance, ‘Freedom Flights’ and its characters have grown close to me while writing more casual articles doesn’t hold my attention.

Sorry for posting late.

The awesome co-hosts for the May 1 posting of the IWSG are Victoria Marie Lees, Kim Lajevardi, Nancy Gideon, and Cathrina Constantine!

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.

#IWSG – AI Experiments

March 6, 2024 by Roland Clarke

This is the third Insecure Writer’s Support Group post of 2024, so I’m still attempting to avoid repeating the usual gripes and writing failings. I’m aiming to steer away from …boring.

Not so brief, then, my health continued its erratic decline, including one day of dramatically ejecting what I ate. I dismissed the convenient suspicion of attempted poisoning… even if our departing aid company tried to mess up even our last few days. Due to the company’s inefficient scheduler/manager, over the last few weeks, our best aids kept being forced to leave. When our favourite aid, Shaunna, quit, we found ourselves an infinitely better company, Visiting Angels… who live up to their name. We did manage to say ‘hasta la vista’ to our best aids, and at least two were there on my nauseous day.

And Shaunna promises to stay in touch as a friend… of ours and our dogs.

On the writing front, the revision of Fevered Fuse may soon be complete as I’m working on the last 20 pages. However, I fear my editor might find things still need attention. My eyes are taxing me more and more, so I worry about how much more is achievable… a problem, as my Ukraine saga, Freedom Flights, is still ongoing. I’m not even sure when Episode 18 will be written.

However, ending on an upbeat note, my wife Juanita just celebrated her ‘27^th’ birthday on March 1^st, St David’s Day, as noted in my last post. Not only did her family visit bearing gifts, but also some of my ace aids brought flowers, chocolates, and cake. Shaunna even brought balloons and cooked a celebratory meal.

And I haven’t forgotten this photo of the two ‘forever’ roses I gave Juanita… red for Valentine’s Day and periwinkle for her birthday. What colour should I choose for our Anniversary on May 14th? Rainbow?

Two live roses dipped in 24-karat gold and a miniature rose bush.

Slava Ukrayini

Remember, the question is optional!

March 6^th question: Have you “played” with AI to write those nasty synopses, or do you refuse to go that route? How do you feel about AI’s impact on creative writing?

I was hoping to answer ‘yes’ and then give an AI synopsis a crash test. But although I use Grammarly regularly, I’ve not played with its Synopsis setting in the Generative AI… yet.

Going that route might save my eyes.

I’m not sure AI won’t create too many formulaic rip-offs of better-crafted books, flooding an already competitive market. Or perhaps I’m being too pessimistic, and instead, it will help some of us avoid our misteaks 😉

Sorry for my brevity.