Wednesday, December 6, 2017

IWSG: #NoRegrets

Well this year flew by! It's hard to believe that this is the last meeting of the year for the Insecure Writers Support Group. Luckily, you can sign up whenever you want, because this is a year-round event that happens on the first Wednesday of every month. If you are a writer and need support or just want to mingle with like-minded writers, go HERE to sign up. 

Thanks to Alex J. Cavanaugh and his co-hosts for hosting this event every month. Today's co-hosts are: Julie Flanders, Shannon Lawrence, Fundy Blue, and Heather Gardner!

Here is this month's optional question: As you look back on 2017, with all its successes and/or failures, if you could backtrack, what would you do differently?

My answer is: No regrets and no backtracking, only moving forward. I've taken it pretty slowly the last two years, and I haven't accomplished as much as I could have. It's because I took a step back in order to regroup and move forward again. I've been studying the craft. Again. Or still. Whatever. Although I know the rules intellectually, it seems like it takes a while to really sink in. That's why writers just have to keep writing. And I found that putting too much emphasis on word count and volume and pushing ahead to publish as quickly as possible simply does not work when you're still a newbie (after 8 years, I still feel like a newbie) learning the craft. I took a good long look at my published works and decided they were lacking--and unpublished my two novels and a 3-novella series on January 1st of this year. 

My writing has improved, because I slowed down, took my time, and paid closer attention to the whole atmosphere of my work. And while I wish that time wasn't passing so quickly, this past year was totally worth it. 

How was your year?
Any regrets?
What would you change if you could?