Jessica Ferguson

Author, Writing Coach, Speaker

IWSG: Harry Potter’s Invisible Cloak

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 The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. We post our thoughts on our own blog. We talk about our doubts and the fears we have conquered. We discuss our struggles and triumphs and offer a word of encouragement for others who are struggling.  This group is all about connecting!   

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

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

Every month, we announce a question our members can answer.

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.

My response:
Some of you know I share a birthday with Harry Potter, July 31st. Well, I’ve always kind of envied him his invisible cloak. Oh, please, please let me wear his cloak for at least a weekend. Not JUST one day. What I could do with that cloak!
I’d sit in my favorite author’s office, maybe browse around while she clicked away on her next best seller. I’m sure she probably talks to herself. Most of us do. I might even look over her shoulder, take a peek at her rough draft. I have to wonder if her first draft is rougher than mine.
I’d “crash” writing retreats and listen to famous authors brainstorm and encourage each other. I need encouragement too! They’d never know I was there.
And oh! the wonderful conferences I could attend FREE OF CHARGE!
I’d definitely look over the shoulder of any editor or publisher who read my latest proposal. I’d like to learn what they really think. Surely they talk to themselves too. Did my first sentence grab her? How about my first chapter? Too slow? Too much backstory? How far did she get before she quit reading?
Just think, if I had Samantha’s twitchy nose and Harry’s invisible cloak, I’ll bet I could actually write and sell some books! Okay, I might need more than a weekend!

IWSG: My Writing Tools

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The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. We’re encouragers! 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!
Let’s rock the neurotic writing world!
Our Twitter handle is @TheIWSG and hashtag is #IWSG.

 

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!

 

Our Optional 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?

 

No matter what tools, apps or writing programs I purchase, I always end up returning to Microsoft Word. I work faster there.

I’ve owned Scrivener for years and never been able to completely figure it out. Just in the past few months, I’ve taken the time to watch a few instructional videos and mastered another step or two. I know many authors swear by Scrivener but I also know I’ll never be one of them. If you’re interested in Scrivener, you can try it for FREE. I suggests you do what I do, use just the basics and learn at your own pace.

I also purchased Plottr a couple of years ago. I loved it. I watched a lot of YouTube sessions/interviews with various authors on how they used it and I have to admit, I created a beautiful outline for my latest WIP. I was able to create character sketches and scenes for each chapter but guess what – I’m a combination pantser/plotter and I have not been able to finish my book—even with a detailed outline and scenes. For the first time, I think I understand what authors mean when they say outlining ruins the story for them. I always thought that was a crazy thing to say but it’s the only excuse I can come up with because my novel is basically planned out and waiting for me to finish it.

With Microsoft Word, I can sit down and soar. My old arthritic fingers still type pretty fast and I enjoy letting my characters lead me. Usually the first three chapters move fast. In the middle I falter. So once I slow down and stumble through that middle, I’ll turn to my NOTES app on my iPhone. That’s where I drop pieces of dialogue, ideas for scenes and description as they comes to me at odd times. I can’t do without NOTES on my phone.

What I really love is YouTube. Anytime I need to know how to do something, YouTube is my go-to for help. I’m very thankful for those authors who take the time to create how-to videos and seminars on Zoom.  And blogs like this one: Jill Kemerer

My question for you: what would we do without each other?

 

 

IWSG DAY: Five Special Things

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This post is part of the Insecure Writer’s Support Group blog hop. The first Wednesday of every month is Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. We Members talk about our fears, insecurities, dreams and failures and our inspirations. We encourage each other.

Co-hosts for the December 5 posting of the IWSG are J.H. Moncrieff, Tonja Drecker , Patsy Collins, and Chrys Fey!
The question for December is:
What are five objects we’d find in your writing space?
My writing space moves here and there—from my dining room to a coffee shop; from my office desk to the den sofa. But when I sit in my cluttered office five of my favorite items I’ll share with you are as follows:
1) A poster of Elvis on my closet door. My first book, The Groom Wore Blue Suede Shoes was inspired by my then-five-year-old daughter and her love for Elvis. The book came out in 1996. I’m too sentimental to remove the poster.
2) A post card of Stephen king is on my bulletin board. He’s sitting with his feet propped on his desk. Can anyone be more creative than SK? The post card reminds me how important it is to know our characters. SK is not only a great story teller but his characters are memorable.
3) I especially enjoy looking at a framed poster of the made-for-tv miniseries, Celebrity by Tommy Thompson. The best selling novel was about three former friends bound by a dark secret.
Thompson was born in Texas and covered the JFK assassination. He wrote for Life magazine and was the first writer to locate Lee Harvey Oswald’s home and wife. Hubby and I had the pleasure of meeting him at a Houston writers conference. He invited us to his hotel room with others who attended his session and regaled us with fascinating stories about his writing career.
4) My statue of John Wayne reminds me that some day I’d like to write a western.
5) You’ll always find copies of Woman’s World magazine on my desk. I read and study their weekly romance and mystery, hoping to figure out how to please the WW editors. So far, I’ve garnered nothing but rejection slips but that’s okay. Writing short 800 word romances—even if they’re rejected—teaches me to make every word count.
So those are a few treasures that inspire me and keep me writing.  Of course there are many more. I could just as easily name five friends who have encouraged or inspired me, or five books, or five reasons I hate WordPress … even five snacks I eat at my desk but we’ll save all of those for another time.

ETBU Christian Writers Conference – Part III

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This is my third (and last) installment of my ETBU conference experience. If you missed them and you’re interested, read ETBU, Part I and  ETBU, Part II to catch up.

Posting my experience has been good practice for getting me back into blogging mode. I started blogging in 2007 and posted almost every day. It was a habit, and I can say with certainty that bllogging helped my writing as well as my confidence. If you don’t blog–try it, even if you do it secretly.

Now about the conference: The ETBU Christian conference definitely wasn’t the norm when it comes to conferences—at least not like any I’ve attended. I wouldn’t say it was really a “How-To” experience. Hubby called it a “conceptual” conference. I guess it was a combination of the two, but without a doubt, motivational. I came away with my creativity fully charged. That had as much to do with the speakers, their friendliness and encouragement, than what they actually said. No one–absolutely no one in any of the sessions I attended offered a negative word. Believe me when I say that’s unusual.

After my one-on-one with Cecil Murphey, I hurried to Kristen Clark’s session on How to Write & Publish the Inspirational Short Story. As you know, I hate entering a session late or walking out early, so here’s a funny story of my own; maybe it’s an inspirational one. After all, God works in mysterious  ways.

Because I missed the first thirty minutes of Kristen’s talk when I met with Cec, I missed her reading a couple of short stories. Hubby was sooooooo glad I wasn’t there. You see, I have the weakest stomach around and Kristen read, in graphic detail, a story about an eating disorder. Yeah, right, you get the picture.

Oh, thank you, Lord, that I missed that reading. If I had met with Cec at ten o’clock on Saturday morning as I was supposed to and been Kristen_booksitting in my front row seat right in front of Kristen … well, use your imagination.

I’m reading Kristen’s book now and enjoying the step by step instruction on writing and submitting. If you have an interest in writing short—especially for Chicken Soup for the Soul—or pulling together compilation books, head on over to Amazon and grab How To Write & Publish The Inspirational Short Story. It’s a good, informative read. Also, visit Kristen’s website.

My fifth session was called Failure: A Necessary Step Toward Success by Cecil Murphey. Okay, who in their right mind wants to attend a session on Failure. We can do that without any instruction, right? Wrong! We need to learn how to fail—pay our dues—and make it work for us. This was one of the most inspirational and creative sessions I’ve EVER attended. Every step we take toward publication is a learning experience, and that including failing. There are actually people (writers) out there who fear failure so much that they never submit anything. Looking back on my writing career, I can see where I’ve sabotaged myself just because I think I might fail. Cec made me realize I need to view failure as another stepping stone to publication–not a nail in my writing coffin.

My last hour of the conference was with James Pence, author of Blindsight, Unseen and Mercy Killer, and the NF book Terror by Night. James’ topic was called 21st Century Publishing: A Word of Exciting (and Confusing) Opportunities. In a nutshell, James advised all of us to take a hard look at where we are in our writing careers, make note of all options then determine the BEST option for us.

Books James recommends: A.P.E. (Author, Publisher, Entrepreneur – by Guy Kawasaki

The Fine Print of Self-Publishing by Mark Levine

The Rise of the Machines by Kristen Lamb

If you’ve never been to writers’ conference, you’re missing out. Doesn’t matter if you attend a big one or a small one, just do it. You’ll come home refreshed, challenged and ready to write.