I'm facing a fear

I've entered a few contests but not one with my own branch of RWA (Romance Writers of America). I'm a member of Georgia Romance Writers and we have an annual conference every October. It's called the Moonlight & Magnolia Conference and we invite others in our craft to speak about tools to improve our skills. 

This group is my foundation for turning my hobby into a side career. I wouldn't be a best selling author without the people in this group. They gave me the boost to pull my manuscripts out of the closet and share them with publishers. It's my growth with them that got me to Secret Cravings Publishing, where I found a home in the publishing world. 

Most of you know that I'm busier than a mosquito at a nudist colony. Between school, a 40 hr a wk day job, family, and writing, I'm a hot southern mess. But, I am smiling :-). I have taken a few minutes to write (on days when the teacher isn't poking holes in my attention span) and currently have 2.3 finished manuscripts that I'm going to be submitting. But this hasn't left me much time to promote the two that are currently out there. I'm going to see what I can do about that.

Here's where the fear comes in.

I've decided to submit both of my novels to our local contest. YIKES! I know the talent that I'm surrounded by in this group but I'm throwing mine into the mix anyway. Yes, there's a big chance that I won't win as I'm in awe of the competition, but I'm doing it. It's like winning the lottery. You know that the chance is slim but you won't win anything if you don't actually get the ticket. Right?

So, I'll have months to wonder about it (like when we submit queries for our manuscripts) but my nerves are used to being strung tighter the the tightrope over the Grand Canyon. The fact is that I'm looking fear in the beady little eyes and seeing where I land. If nothing else, I conquered my thoughts on not being "Worthy Enough" as being published already shows that I hit that mark. It may even give me the boost to push other limits that are aiming for my comfort zone but those can't be faced until after I graduate. Fear isn't setting that line in the sand but my psych is too thin to push my luck. I have my goals and I'm smiling at them.

So what fear is hiding under your fictional bed? Do you need a hand to hold? Are you too worried about what others will think of your attempts? Does it matter, in the grand scheme of things?

Talk to me.

)))Corset Hugs(((

Ginny Lynn

Wench Writer

How I Unblock My Scenes

As a busy writer, I sometimes leave my scenes for weeks (months, cringe). This is because of  my working and attending college, so something has to give.

Once, I left a character bleeding and broken on the edge of her bathroom tub, for almost six months. Needless to say, she was not pleased when I found the time to get her curvy butt off of the fixture. I knew that I needed to get her out of there but she was giving me the silent treatment. I'm surprised she didn't lose her limbs from them falling to sleep quicker than Snow White.

After that, I learned a few tools to get myself back into the feeling of the manuscript.

1. I always try to leave myself a paragraph (or three) a the bottom of each manuscript so I know where I am in the story and where I need to focus.

2. When that doesn't help, or I'm fighting writer's block, once I have a spare moment to writer, I figured something else out. I start writing or typing every little thing that could possibly happen in the scene. Say that same young lady was not talking to me after I left her in that bathroom, go figure, I would then read the paragraph I left myself as a note. If she still isn't warming up to me, then I would start going over everything that I could possibly do to her, like: have a goblin run in, have the sprinkler go off on her, leave her with no towels, have someone walk in on her....etc. Then it becomes apparent what is the best, or worse thing (mwahahaha) to do to her.

Both of these have saved me on many an occasion, so I thought that while I further my writing tools, I can see if any of this helps my fellow writers.

Would you need something like this or do you have any tools that you could share that have helped you? Please let us know.

)))Corset Hugs((

                             Ginny Lynn

                           Wench Writer

Pros and Cons of being Me - body issues

Pros and Cons of being me

I've decided to do a list of these things as I take the year to feel better about being an individual. This one is about my self image.

I'm 42 years old and need to be happier in the body that I possess. If I had my way, I'd be built more like Kate Upton or Fergie, but I'm not. They have the money and lifestyles to have personal trainers, dieticians, and life counselors. Not me.

So, this blog is about the comments I have received about my body issues. Guys, I used to be anorexic and even though I am back to loving food, I still feel as if I'm too big. I didn't become anorexic because I thought that I was fat. That may surprise you but it's true. I have a nervous stomach and hate conflicts/stressful situations. I get physically sick if I'm plagued with too much negativity and this makes my sleep and hunger wane away.

 (me at 17)

At 18, I was wearing size 12 little girls jeans. I still have them, in my hope chest. Now, I'm 150 lbs at 5'5 and that's twice what I weighed at 18. Back then I was so upset about my life that eating a piece of bread with a glass of water filled me up for the day. Looking at food made me nauseous. I had to wake up from that and "fix" myself, as no one else could do it for me.

(me at 19) 

I was 134 lbs at 26 when I was pregnant (pic below) and I'd like to be that size again, even if my mind is screaming for 12 lbs less than that. I have to be realistic. I'm curvy, like eating, have little time for exercise while I work and attend college. Looking in the mirror hurts but the last six months I've been taking selfies so I can prove to myself that I am nowhere as big as my mind tells me that I am. I do have some very fit friends who still encourage me to focus more on diet and fitness. I love them but if I were to push too hard then I could see myself as becoming obsessed with being a size 3/5. That scares the crap out of my husband as he was with me when I was anorexic.

 ( me 3 wks pregnant)

Well, with new years resolutions in the air and people being more focused on their own self image, I have to look at mine with better eyes. Yes, I need to stress less and work out more. I'm already on track with this and I pray to stay on track. But this is my body. This is what is getting me through the next 50+ years, if I'm lucky. I need to love it, in any way that I can.

Last month I was reminded by some people that they don't see the same thing that I do. I get this as no one is more critical of their own body than themselves, unless you're a modeling agency and that is a whole other story to tell. I need to start looking in the mirror, at all of my flaws, and say Hi to them. acknowledge they are there but that they don't add up to the sum of my parts. Yes, I have cellulite, stretch marks, scars, bulges, and wrinkles. I can hide them with makeup or clothes, even take better care of myself but they're still mine. I can't take them off and trade them in for something that I like better.

I will try to smile at the trim people who think I'm too large, and the overweight people that think I need to shut up. No one needs to love me better than I do. Right? I mean, I want love, but I need to work on myself and what I'm made of. It's hard after also being told that I was "damaged", "unwanted", and "ugly" for more than half of my life. But, I have enough time to fix this, as I'm not planning on going anywhere for a very long time.

)))Corset Hugs(((

Ginny Lynn

Wench Writer

February Firsts - My very own blogsite

It was this time last year that this site was started. Noelle Pierce had been working on the website for hours and she made it look great.

I had decided to do Firsts as the post for the first week of each month and have been trying to keep up with it. Now the site is it's own blog post.

I started this up when I was no longer a member of a group blog post. I won't get into those details other than I saw it as a way to branch out. I'm glad that I pulled the trigger.

I don't like Mondays and decided to call them Moandays. Does anyone actually like Mondays? It was the whole reason that I decided to make that the morning that the blogs went live. It was a way of getting my work week started and hopefully on a good note.

I went with Wench Writer as that was my designated brand and it was one of my better decisions. This was almost called something else and I won't say what as I may use it at a later time.

Wanting this to be primarily paranormal was good for me as I've only written one non paranormal manuscript. It was Just to be Left Alone.

Angela Simpson took the great picture of me for the header and then Noelle added the fangs plus the headstone that I'm sitting on. No, the pic was not actually taken like this. Through magic photoshop skills it was possible. Those who really know me would know that I would never sit on a tombstone as I have respect for the dead. Besides, I'm way too big to even try that. Did you guys even know I had fangs in that pic?

I've been trying to mix a little bit of everything into my blogs as I'm too off the charts to talk about a limited number of topics. I admire the people who only type about writing skills or their travels as I'll never be still enough to stick to a normal regimen. At least I know what my limits are.

A few times, I've asked you guys what you wanted me to blog about. I had gotten requests for info of my first experiences (like pitching and book contracts), plus the people who love to read about my corset making skills.

I try to keep it real as that's the only way I can make it these days. I've even gotten wise enough (giggle) to do some of these posts a month in advance as I have so much homework going on these days. Thank God for technology!

So, is there anything you want me to share on my blog? Are there any topics that you want me to check out for you? Do you want to guest blog on here? Tell me what you're thinking because you are my audience and I love you for that.

)))Corset Hugs(((

Ginny Lynn

Wench Writer