Wednesday, March 7, 2012

IWSG: What I'm NOT Insecure About




I love this support group, but one month follows the next too quickly lately.  I feel like I'm dipping my toe in my puddle of insecurities a little too often.  Today, I need to look on the bright side and turn this IWSG upside down - I'm going to talk about what I'm not insecure about. 

I am confident I can string words together into grammatically correct sentence structures with well-placed commas and semicolons (unless I'm tired, which I am right now).

I feel good about my ability to write snappy dialogue.  I used to write technical documents, where contractions are forbidden - the opposite is true for dialogue apparently.  It's taken about two years and lots of feedback from my CP's and daughter to get to the point where this former insecurity turned into something I'm secure about.  Yay! 

I've been collecting an entourage of quirky characters since I was a child.  Unlike gym class, the oddest and most socially awkward ones get picked first.  I was a teller at a bank in college - that's when I realized crazy people were attracted to me.  Maybe they noticed I noticed them.  They waited for my window. 

I am one of those people that can visualize everything bad that can happen every minute of the day.  I'm very secure in my ability to make the worst possible thing happen to my characters at the worst possible and most ironic time.  I'm certain my kids and husband are happy I've found a use for this particular talent (besides worrying about them).

I have absolute confidence in the support of my husband and children.  They believe in me, which makes it so much easier to believe in myself.

Writing is my thing - it's what I love to do, the thing (besides my family) that gives me purpose and hope.  It completes me.

What are you not insecure about as a writer?

Thanks again to Alex J. Cavanaugh for hosting this monthly group therapy session.

41 comments:

  1. That's hilarious about your ability to imagine the bad things that could happen. Every writer needs this ability because it makes for an exciting story!

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    1. Terrible chains of events too. It's amazing what one drop of water on the floor can do to you. :)

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  2. Glad you took the positive side today! We need that as well. I've done a lot of technical writing as well, so the casual flow of a novel was difficult at first. Not to mention that the perfectionist in my kept trying to make it perfect on the first try.
    I'm better now!

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    1. They are definitely completely different writing styles. The perfectionism gets me too, but I save it for the testing, I mean revision, phase. And I revise again and again and again.

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  3. awe- I loved this take on it. Yes, I seem to have a tatoo on my forehead that says 'I wish to meet your crazy today' too.

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    1. I like to think that it's because we're sympathetic, not because we're in the club.

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  4. What a great idea, I love your positive take. I also visualize everything bad that can happen at any time, LOL, but I never thought about turning this around as far as my characters go. Great post!

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    1. Better to turn it on your characters than your loved ones. My kids were starting to get a little fidgety too. :)

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  5. Love this post. As a 'crazy magnet' myself, I can relate. Maybe that's what makes us want to write so much. All the crazy things we see, and in my case DO.

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    1. I agree. Or maybe it's the writer in us that makes us crazy-friendly. Like I want to figure out how they got to that state.

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  6. Great idea to post something positive about your writing. I think we need to focus on what we're good at sometimes instead on concentrating on the bad. I'll try and take a leaf out of your book (and see how long that lasts!)

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    1. I just couldn't go to that dark place today.

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  7. Love this turnaround! I had to laugh at your statement that your kids and husband are glad you found a use for visualizing bad things happening. My husband will read a book of mine, then ask me, "Are you sure you love me?"

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  8. Love this new twist on the insecure writer's support group! I think it can be a day to share insecurities, encouragement, or a day to simply say, Yes, this is what I do well . . .in affirmation of our writerly calling.
    Thanks for sharing!

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    1. I think we have to remind ourselves about the positives to keep from drowning in the negative.

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  9. Also, you are good at finding the positive stuff in your writing. Good on you for the terrific post!

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  10. This was a great idea--it is encouraging to think about what we're good at. I love that 'noticing the awkward' thing. It is interesting to think about how people end up the way they do, isn't it?

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    1. I think every person has an interesting story. I've read lots of people saying that novels should be about extreme situations or they aren't worth reading. I'm not so sure.

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  11. Great post. Like you, I know I can write. Not sure I can tell a story effectively, but I know I can write a decent sentence. :))

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    1. If we were girl scouts, we would have grammar badges. :)

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  12. My New Year's resolution was to try not to be negative, so I felt more or less the same when I realised it was time for the Insecure post again! What a great idea to list the things you're not insecure about - I'm going to do that too, just for my own sake!

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    1. That's great! I definitely did it for me. I can't look my insecurities in the eye today. They need to stay hidden under the bed until I get my WIP finished.

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  13. Funny, I just found out a friend is getting divorced and I'm not insecure about my marriage. I know its not writing but still...big thing that I kind of take for granted.

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    1. Good for you. I agree - it's good to notice the things in our lives that are going well.

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  14. I love how you compared your characters to getting picked in gym class! It's so important to have the support of your family, and nothing makes me happier than when my son willingly talks to me about my blog! Glad you focused on the positive today! Julie

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    1. My daughter reads my blog sometimes and genuinely likes to hear about it. I think she's really proud of me.

      I've had enough negative lately to last me a while.

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  15. I did the opposite to you! I actually dug up an insecurity and posted it.

    I enjoyed your securities about writing. An inspiration!

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  16. Focussing on what we ARE secure about is a great way of taking away the power of our insecurities. This is a refreshing post.

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  17. I believe in you, Tonja! You can add me to your list. Closer I get to publication, the more insecure I get.

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    1. To my list of crazy characters?? No way, you're gonna do great! And you actually seem very calm and determined. That actually would make an awesome character - someone a mess on the inside that doesn't show any cracks. Kind of scary.

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    2. Oh, wait, maybe that's been done - eek, The Shining.

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  18. I feel secure in my seemingly endless story ideas. More than I'll ever live long enough to write. Great idea for this group fest today.

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  19. I don't think I have much confidence at all actually.

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    1. Well, I think you have a lot to be confident about. Your writing is awesome. I cannot imagine the insecurities that would surface with a book about to be released. Fingers crossed for you.

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  20. thats awesome! your good vibes rub off on us =)
    and i have a list of items for future meetings, ha!

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  21. Funny that one of things I had decided to do subsequent to this month's ISWG was to start a file of writing I was proud of, to counteract my insecurities. So good call on this. :)
    Okay, one thing.
    I can create characters that I (and those few people who have read my writing) would read about no matter what happens in their story. I can't seem to plot worth a darn, but hanging out with the people in my novels is always fun regardless.

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