Stephanie's Studio

One of the most invigorating and strengthening things for a writer is inspiration. I believe inspiration comes from the muses and enjoy actually writing about them in character form as well. They make a cameo in my work-in-progress, "Out of the Blue," a novel. I've had fun researching everything I could about the muses, as they are so essential to my writing practice. Anyway, when you are inspired as a writer, it is hard to feel insecure because you are in your zone--you own your sweet spot, and there words flow. In your sweet spot you are secure. When thinking about blogging this morning, knowing it is the first Wednesday of the month, the designated day of the month that we bloggers involved with the Insecure Writer's Support Group , post, an old soul song with just a hint of gospel, came to mind. I'm leaving you with it this morning, as inspiration for your writing practice today. When the Inspirations lyrics refer to "her" I would envision your wri...

Today you get the double whammy. It is the first day of the A to Z Challenge and the day for our monthly IWSG (Insecure Writer's Support Group) post. My focus is on editorial opinions. On and off I work with editors. Most often they are from within the publishing house publishing my books. Sometimes, I work with freelance editors. My last editor and I worked together on and off for about 9 years. With many projects on my plate (grants, submissions, and so forth) I decided four eyes would be better than my two subjective ones. I set about looking for a new editor. I'd found my last editor on one of the now defunct online freelancer boards. I looked at Reedsy.com, urged on by unsolicited emails I've been receiving from this new startup. Then thought oDesk would be more suitable for my needs. I write about all this for IWSG Wednesday because hiring an editor means you have to release some of your insecurities. It forces you to show your work to strangers and receive o...

If you don't know what IWSG stands for you'd be like me a few months ago. It stands for Insecure Writer's Support Group. We post the first Wednesday of the month. I took a few months off but am back this month to post about criticism. Before we get to that, if you would like to learn more and think this is a group that might be a good fit for you, visit the blog of its creator, Alex Cavanaugh,  here . Most artists are sensitive. It motivates us and enables us to penetrate the surface of situations, seeing the world in a unique way. Sensitivity can lend itself to vulnerability. Artistic people need constructive criticism to hone their craft. Criticism, however, particularly in the age of the internet, comes in many shapes and nameless forms. Before I was published, I noticed how actors took to their criticism. I heard, with great curiosity, how some said they never even read it. I read mine and then I don't for years, only to go back to it and read it again. My...

Not sure if it's luck, hard work, lots of wishing or a combination of all three but it is with sincere gratitude that I report in, this first Wednesday of November for the  IWSG (Insecure Writer's Support Group)  monthly blog post. I could look at my situation negatively because much of what I've been going on about here in this space has turned out to be... but everything happens for a reason. I've decided to return to the pure source of my inspiration. This requires me to simply write as much as I can and to paint with a open heart in my studio.  All this is easier said than done. I had gotten extremely distracted and pulled away from creative writing and painting by various projects and part-time jobs. I was over-scheduled and distracted. Distracted to the point where I couldn't breathe, let alone be creative. It all left me drained of creativity and my body revolted. I am a bit under the weather, thus I haven't been posting much or visit...

This is my monthly installment, as a member of the Insecure Writer's Support Group . Follow the link, as this is an exciting time for us. It is the anniversary for the group, brainchild of Alex Cavanaugh, who has worked tirelessly building a safe, rewarding and meaningful community for bloggers. Over the last few months since I've been participating in IWSG, things have been rapidly developing and changing. It's almost as though, as a result of admitting my insecurities, airing them out and working on resolving or at the least dealing with them, I've embarked on yet another amazing journey. I do attribute some of this movement forward to my re-engagement with the possibilities of the Law of Attraction, metaphysics, magick and earth-based spirituality. With all of these thoughts and desperate practices coming together, the possibilities in life seem endless. These possibilities encompass every aspect of my life. Since writing is at the forefront, ...

Where have I been? What have I been doing the past two weeks? Making decisions, sorting things out, and as my last post suggests, moving forward. While sometimes I imagine I've gone down the ubiquitous rabbit hole, what I've been doing is necessary. To grow is to change and changing takes place on a convoluted path in its own time. As a writer and member of the Insecure Writer's Support Group , I gained some much needed courage. It may sound counterproductive but I quit a year long writing class that wasn't serving my needs. I'd been tortured about quitting it since the beginning. You have to apply for the class. Twice I was rejected but last year I was finally admitted. It's a small class that promises a lot. In the end I could see it was never going to deliver. Our teacher was disengaged all month and seemingly only thought about the class a few days before we were to meet (our meetings were once a month). The week I quit she asked us to...

(Untitled: Colored pencils on Paper by Stephanie Rose Bird) Whew! That was a busy post I did previously called  Getting the Word Out There . I wrote it as a member of IWSG  for our monthly blog hop. Thanks so much to so many new people for stopping by during that event, joining this blog as members and adding me to your circles on Google+. I have been humbled by all of the new connections I've made with fellow bloggers, readers, writers, artists and people generally this past year. I am a private and quiet person. Coming out of my den and connecting with the world once again has been an inspiration. As I was busy blog hopping last Wednesday and Thursday as a part of the support group experience, I stumbled upon a post by a fellow member Gwen Gardner called  Giving it Another Try . One of the most compelling parts of her post for me was that she posed the question to us, is blogging dead? As an artist specializing in painting, I've heard that topic discusse...

Insecure Writer's Support Group It's no big secret. I'm not fond of critiques. Last April I wrote a post called  Critique Anxiety . This was about presenting an excerpt from my manuscript for a workshop. That was the same manuscript that I almost gave up on and wrote yet another post about my loathing of rejection called  Query Burn Out . While it seemed to me that I was bathing in rejections, eventually I got a publishing deal for my debut work of fiction. Now that the book will be published I have gone about setting up a blog tour or even hiring a publicist. I reached out to a publicist and unexpectedly she critiqued my online presence. Signing up for a critique or asking for one through your actions, such as submitting work for review, is one thing. When they come out of the blue, it's quite another. Unbeknownst to me, the publicity firm combed through my social media. Then they reported back what they thought I needed to do to make it better. This didn...