For today’s Insecure Writer’s Support Group post, I’d like to share a quote:

The mind can proceed only so far upon what it knows and can prove. There comes a point where the mind takes a leap—call it intuition or what you will—and comes out upon a higher plane of knowledge, but can never prove how it got there.

This quote comes from Albert Einstein. It first appeared in an article from Life Magazine in 1955. As I understand it, Einstein was talking about more than just scientific discovery here.

I like this quote because it encapsulates what I believe is the best—and worst—thing about writing.

The Best Thing About Writing

Writing is a struggle.

I could elaborate on that, but I don’t think I need to. If you’re part of the Insecure Writer’s Support Group, you already know what I mean.

But there comes a moment when the struggle is suddenly over. Your story problems seem to solve themselves, and all your plot points just fall into place. You might not understand how this happened, but that’s okay because at that moment you are a writing god (or goddess)!

This experience really is like coming out upon some higher plane of knowledge. We writers get to have that experience over and over again, and that’s the best part about being a writer.

The Worst Thing About Writing

Except you never really understand how you reached this higher plane of knowledge. Some sort of subconscious voodoo happened that was beyond your control. It was intuition, as Einstein said. It was a leap of faith.

And that’s a bit frightening, and more than a bit frustrating, because when you can’t remember how you solved a problem, you have no idea what to do when that same problem happens again. So much for feeling like a writing god/goddess.

At that point, the only thing left to do is trust some fickle subconscious intuition nonsense will come through for you again. And who knows when or if that’ll happen?

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Today’s post is part of the Insecure Writer’s Support Group, a blog hop where insecure writers like myself can share our worries and offer each other advice and encouragement. It’s a safe place, and it’s the best. Please click here to learn more about the group and to see a list of participating blogs.

Each month, the Insecure Writer’s Support Group gives us a question to answer. I usually forget about the question, or I choose to ignore it because there’s something else I want to/need to talk about. But this month, the IWSG question gets to the heart of my chronic insecurities.

When do you know your story is ready?

Short Answer: As soon as I have a story that’s ready, I’d be happy to tell you.

Long Answer: My Tomorrow News Network short story series has been “ready” several times now. The first time, my stories were ready because:

• I’d set self-imposed deadlines for each story. When a deadline came, whatever I had had to be good enough because I needed to move on to the next story.
• The problem was that most of my stories were rush jobs. They felt amateurish to me. Even though I’d created my own world populated with my own characters, at times my stories read like bad fan fiction.

So I worked with an editor and did a lot of studying on my own. I learned a bunch of writing rules and editing techniques (remove adverbs, avoid the verb to be, cut your manuscript’s length by 15%). After all that, my stories were ready because:

• I’d fixed the specific issues my editor had identified, I’d cut my manuscript’s length by the recommended amount, and I’d conformed my writing style to the rules I’d learned. My stories definitely felt more polished, more professional, but….
• I realized that my stories now suffered from something that I now call generic narrator syndrome. I can’t put my finger on what defines a generic narrator, but I know it when I see it. I think it happens because when everyone follows the exact same writing rules, we all end up having the exact same narrative voice.

So my challenge now is to establish a unique J.S. Pailly narrative voice for my stories. Not sure what that means. Don’t know yet what differentiates my voice from everyone else’s. But I think I’ll know it when I see it.

At that point, my stories will be ready. I hope.

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Today’s post is part of the Insecure Writer’s Support group, a blog hop where insecure writers like myself can share our worries and offer advice and encouragement. Click here to find out more about IWSG and see a list of participating blogs.

We writers are a diverse lot. We approach writing with different goals and objectives. We have different styles. We use different tools. Some of us have secret weapons. Today, I’m going to share my secret weapon with all of you.

But first: April was a pretty good month for me. I did a totally awesome interview with Sue Archer at Doorway Between Worlds. We touched on a number of things, but mostly we talked about sciency research.

This was an eye-opening experience for me. Like the proverbial frog who doesn’t realize the water around him is gradually coming to a boil, I never realized how much research has come to permeate every aspect of my writing life. I’ve become a research-oriented type of writer.

And this is where my secret weapon enters the story. It’s called Google Scholar. A few of you may be nodding your heads, but I’m guessing more of you have never heard of this particular resource before. For a long time, I didn’t know about it; now, I can’t imagine life without it.

Google Scholar is basically Google with a twist. Rather than searching the entire Internet—including all the political rants, conspiracy theories, and “simple tricks” for weight loss that make the Internet such a special place—Google Scholar zeroes in on academic publications and academic publications alone.

That’s not to say Google Scholar is flawless. It’s only as good as the publications it searches, and not all academic journals are created equal. Even the best peer-reviewed journals make errors.

But if you’re a research-oriented writer—like I apparently have become—this is a resource that can really help you find the kind of reputable sources of information you need.

So there you have it. I’ve revealed my secret weapon. Well, one of them.

So fellow writers, now it’s your turn. What’s your secret weapon?

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Today’s post is part of the Insecure Writer’s Support Group, a bloghop where insecure writers like myself can share our anxieties, offer advice and encouragement, and sometimes give out tips to help us all get better at this writing thing.

The Insecure Writer’s Support Group is hosted by Alex J. Cavanaugh and co-hosted this month by Stephen Tremp, Fundy Blue, M.J. Fifield, Loni Townsend, Bish Denham, Susan Gourley, and Stephanie Faris. Click here to sign up and to see a full list of participating blogs.

I believe I have reached a major turning point in my life as a writer. I’m better organized than ever. I’m making rapid progress toward my goals. I’m doing things with my writing (and my art) that I never imagined I might do, and by the end of this year, I may have some pretty exciting news.

But that is not what I want to talk about today. Instead, I want to thank some people. I want to thank them for knowing not to spare my feelings in their criticism, for holding me accountable whenever I get lazy, and for giving me space and time when I need it (also, for tolerating all my sciency puns).

Most importantly, I want to thank them for believing in me even when I didn’t believe in myself. Without their help and encouragement, I would have given up on my dreams a long time ago.

So to all my dearest friends—especially Jen, April, Lee, and Dave—thank you.

It is often said that writing is an inherently lone06ly activity, but I have learned that it doesn’t need to be. In fact, it shouldn’t be. As a writer, you can do a lot more and go a whole lot further with a little help from your friends.

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Today’s post is part of the Insecure Writer’s Support Group, a bloghop hosted by Alex J. Cavanaugh and co-hosted this month by Megan Morgan, Chris Votey, Viola Fury, Christine Rains, Madeline Mora-Summonte, L.G. Keltner, Rachna Chhabria, and Patricia Lynne (Wow, there are a lot of co-hosts this month!). Click here to find out more about this amazing group and see a full list of participating blogs.

Today’s post is part of the Insecure Writer’s Support Group, a bloghop hosted by Alex J. Cavanaugh. Click here to find out more about this amazing group and see a full list of participating blogs.

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Is there such a thing as a reverse writer’s block? Is there a term for that? I feel like there should be.

This was my crisis this past month. I had too many ideas jockeying for my attention. Granted, my ideas all had some things in common. Space. Spaceships. Space battles. Strong female protagonists, specifically strong female protagonists in space.

But I couldn’t focus on just one idea. Basically, it felt like this:

I can almost pinpoint the moment when things officially got out of hand. On Friday, February 19^th, at approximately 2 p.m., I threw down my pen in frustration and took the rest of the day off.

The next morning, after a generously large and delicious breakfast, I grabbed a notepad and started writing descriptions/plot summaries for all the projects I wanted to work on, starting with Tomorrow News Network (represented by the blonde woman above) and my blog (represented by the planet Venus wearing lipstick).

I ended up with seven projects (including my blog). Seven! It would have been eight, but one story idea turned out to be less interesting than I expected once it was on paper. Also, one of these projects is actually part of my personal diary, so it’s really six. Still, six projects seems like way too many. I need to pick and choose.

Or do I? When I had ideas coming at me from all directions, it was overwhelming. But now, all these ideas are organized. They’re manageable. I think—I don’t know, maybe this is crazy talk—but I think I can do this. And ever since the February 19^th reverse writer’s block catastrophe, my confidence has only grown stronger.

So are six (or seven) writing projects too many? How many projects are you working on, and how do you keep multiple projects separate and organized?

In 2015, I completed a yearlong research project here on my blog called the “2015 Mission to the Solar System.” Month by month, I traveled through space exploring the Sun, the asteroid belt, and all the planets (also Pluto). Now the mission is over…

… and I’m not quite sure what to do with myself.

I don’t know what the heck I want to do next with my writing. In fact, this is the first time since I can’t remember when that I don’t have a New Year’s resolution, writing related or otherwise. I’ve always been so obsessed with planning ahead that it feels weird having no plan at all for 2016.

But I think I’m okay with that.

I can say this: I want to continue blogging about space and science, but without a specific mission itinerary like the one I had last year. I’ll just go wherever the wind takes me… or rather, wherever the solar wind takes me.

Meanwhile, I think it’s time to get back to the fiction part of science fiction. That means figuring out what I’m doing with Tomorrow News Network. Do I want to continue that project, or is it time to start something new? I do have a new story idea, based on all that planetary science research I did in 2015, and I kind of want to explore that idea further.

So right now, I have only a vague sense of where I’m going: a little science, a little fiction. But no specifics. I’ll just have to feel my way forward, one small step at a time, and hope that if I get lost my muse will point me in the right direction.

So what are your priorities for 2016? Do you have a plan, or are you just winging it like I am?

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Today’s post is part of the Insecure Writer’s Support Group, a bloghop hosted by Alex J. Cavanaugh and co-hosted this month by a surprisingly long list of people: L.G. Keltner, Denise Covey, Sheri Larson, J.Q. Rose, Chemist Ken, and Michelle Wallace. It’s amazing and exciting to see how much IWSG has grown and how many people are now involved!

Click here for more information about IWSG and to see a full list of participating blogs. Click here to find out about the IWSG Anthology Contest (winners are being announced today!).