OH, MURSI, MURSI ME

This post is part of the monthly blog hop/therapy session known as the Insecure Writers Support Group, founded by the one and only, Alex J. Cavanaugh. If you're a writer, insecure, or just supportive of writers—insecure or not—please join us. It happens the first Wednesday of each month.  I encourage everyone to visit at least a dozen new blogs and leave a comment. Your words will be appreciated.

May's IWSG Question: 

What is the weirdest/coolest thing you ever had to research for your story?

Funny that today's question has to do with weird research...

Just yesterday... 

I was looking at images on Google of women in their 30’s...

To use in Scrivener for one of my character profiles.

I'm scrolling, scrolling scrolling...
When all of a sudden...

This image of an African Mursi woman shows up.  

Obviously, not at all what I was looking for.
Curious, I hit the image to enlarge it...

   
  
                            


And then...

Another Mursi woman with lip plates shows up...

And this one sporting a thingamajig on her head.

OY!

 I continued scrolling when... 

WHOA!!!
This image of tribal men from New Guinea...

With gourds covering their thingies pops up. 

I was curious about the concept...
But more so confused...

I just couldn’t wrap my head around it...

Not that I wanted to wrap my head around any of those thingies. 

But don't ya just wonder... 

How do they go to the bathroom?

How does the gourd stay on?

Do any guys have gourd envy?

What happens if they get excited?

Do the gourds ever get stuck or caught on something? Owie!

 
And do women brag?  

"My guy’s gourd is longer than your guy’s     
gourd haha haha."

And look...

There’re even stores that sell these gourds.

Hmm?

Can the guys try them on for size?
Or...

Are they one size fits all?

And here's a thought...
It'd make an interesting gift for the guy who has everything...
Bet he doesn't have one of these. 

So there I was, contemplating these poking questions when...

“Em!”

“Huh! Who’s that?”

“Your muse!

How much time are you going to waste...

Looking at Mursi women with thingamajigs, and penis gourds?

"Well...um...er...uh...
“Get back to work!”

“Yes, ma’am.”

And I did...

Well, needless to say... 

I didn't use any of these images for my Scrivener profiles...
And I gotta tell ya...

I’ll never look at a gourd the same way again.
So? 
Ever see or hear about these guy-gourds?

Always,

Em-Musing

STILL, IN LOVE WITH YOU

This post is part of the monthly blog hop/therapy session known as the Insecure Writers Support Group, founded by the one and only, Alex J. Cavanaugh. If you're a writer, insecure, or just supportive of writers—insecure or not—please join us. It happens the first Wednesday of each month.

I encourage everyone to visit at least a dozen new blogs and leave a comment. Your words will be appreciated.

April 5 Question: Have you taken advantage of the annual A to Z Challenge in terms of marketing, networking, publicity for your book? What were the results?

First up…

Yup!

I’ve taken advantage of the A to Z Challenge…

Two times, actually in the last five years.

It’s grueling ! It’s fun! And it’s a great marketing tool

But not this year…

I’ve got a project on the front burner…

And it’s overheating as I write.

Next year, though, I will…

Second up,

Did some nit-picky editing the other day…

So there I am breezing along when…

Holy guacamole!

When did my grammar go rogue?

What’s with using “till” instead of until or ‘til?

So I went to the “find” feature in Word and…

Holy frijoles!

Surprisingly, not so many “tills”…

But dozens and dozens of “still’s”…

I had no idea I used that word so often…

Usually my overused word is  “so”...

So I got curious…

I began stalking my conversations for "still".

And what do you know? 

It turns out I don’t say “still”…

I only write “still”.

Hmm?

What’s up with that?

So?

Not including using different speech for characters…

Do you use words or phrases when you write...

That you don't use when you speak?

And what are they?

Always,

Em-Musing

This post is part of the monthly blog hop/therapy session known as the Insecure Writers Support Group, founded by the one and only, Alex J. Cavanaugh. If you're a writer, insecure, or just supportive of writers—insecure or not—please join us. It happens the first Wednesday of each month. I encourage everyone to visit at least a dozen new blogs and leave a comment. Your words will be appreciated.

This month’s prompt question:Have you ever pulled out a really old story and reworked it? Did it work?  

Oh boy!

I’m in that exact process now.

Rewind ten years ago...

To the first manuscript I wrote and completed.

The story came easily...

The research, though intense, was immensely enjoyable...

The genre?

Religious Horror? 
Spiritual Thriller? 
I Haven't a Clue, genre.

Just couldn’t quite nail that puppy down...

But though a toughie to pitch...

Pitch it I did...

And got a few agents interested..

Using the first query letter I ever wrote.

(can’t seem to master that process now)

But low and behold...

What kept this manuscript from going any further?

All agents said it wasn’t ready...

And my ego took a nosedive.

I was a newbie to the business of publishing...

So I filed this manuscript away...

And it hasn’t seen the light of day until recently...

When a writer friend encouraged me to look at again...

"The timing is right for that genre - NA Dark Fantasy," 

So I got a beta, a critique partner hired an editor...
And have been tweaking ad nauseam.

It's ready now...

And I’m going to publish this baby.

Am I insecure about doing this?

You bet!

But this forum with all the fantastic writers...

Gives me hope and courage. Love these guys!

So?

What about you?

Ever pull a dusty manuscript out and reworked it?

Always,
Em-Musing

DANGLING BELIEF

This post is part of the monthly blog hop/therapy session known as the Insecure Writers Support Group, founded by the one and only, Alex J.Cavanaugh. If you're a writer, insecure, or just supportive of writers—insecure or not—please join us. It happens the first Wednesday of each month. I encourage everyone to visit at least a dozen new blogs and leave a comment. Your words will be appreciated.

This month’s challenging question is:  How has being a writer changed your experience as a reader?

Being a writer is easy…

Blissfully crafting a story…

The premise, the plot...

The arc, the black moment, and the resolution.

Creating memorable characters with distinctive voices... 

Fantastic settings and building worlds …

Weaving research invisibly into the story…

Like stitching on a fine quilt …

To make it all believable no matter the genre.

After countless hours, days, and months…

Chapters accumulate until finally…

Your story is a manuscript…

But definitely not ready for publication.

Oh, no…

Now comes the “work” part…

Editing…

Editing…

Editing…

Until your eyeballs are red and bleary…

Ready to fall out.

If you’re a writer…

You know what I’m talking about.

And that’s why being a writer has RUINED me!!

Me, as a reader, that is.

Every book I read, I try turning off my internal editor…

But when I find repetitive words…

That don't enhance the story…

Dangling & squinting participles…

Too many adverbs, especially those ending with "ly" *wink wink*…

Sloppy punctuation, lazy grammar…

And one-dimensional characters…

My mind screams…

Who didn’t catch these?

Because now I’ve lost my emotional connection with the story.

*sigh*

And lately, I've been reading many like this. 

What about you?

Has being a writer changed your experience as a reader?

Read any clunkers lately?

Care to share?

Always,

Em-Musing