C is for Connecting with the Community & Cheating on Challenging Chapters #AtoZChallenge #IWSG

Posted April 3, 2019 in Creative Writing / 4 Comments

The Blogging from A-Z Challenge continues today. Throughout April I’m posting about my life as a writer, including my inspirations, frustrations and celebrations.

The letter C also happens to coincide with the Insecure Writer’s Support Group posting day (1st Wednesday of every month), so I’ve combined the two events into one post. I’m pretty proud of that alliterative title!

Connecting with the Community

The Insecure Writer's Support Group badge

In my post about the benefits of blogging yesterday, I mentioned how blogging can be a fun way to network with members of the writing community. I’ve made so many friends through the Insecure Writer’s Support Group and I rely on them for wonderful advice and constructive feedback. The group has been instrumental in building my confidence as a writer. I also love keeping up-to-date with everyone’s news.

This month’s wonderful co-hosts are J.H. MoncrieffNatalie AguirrePatsy Collins and Chemist Ken!

My news this month

  • Masquerade: Oddly Suited releases on the 30th April and I am beyond excited! I am looking forward to holding the finished book in my hands.
  • I made myself an official author website! What do you think?
  • I was a bit down about missing a competition deadline last week. I had a good idea that fit the theme but I just ran out of time due to other commitments. However, I’ve decided to complete the story and submit it for another contest in the future.
  • The blog tour for Masquerade: Oddly Suited is well underway and so far I have loved reading all the guest posts and interviews. Shout out to all the fabulous bloggers hosting us-thank you so much!
  • I’m considering entering this year’s IWSG anthology competition. The genre will be middle-grade historical adventure/fantasy. I don’t normally write middle-grade so this could be a challenge, but if the theme (to be revealed May 1st) inspires me then I’ll give it a go.
  • Stay tuned for the Masquerade Ball Blog Hop running from the 18th to the 30th April in which you can discover fan art and exclusive scenes based on the stories from Masquerade: Oddly Suited. A huge thank you to Elizabeth Mueller for organising this event.
  • Don’t miss Myles Christensen’s Story Spotlight on the IWSG anthologies post later today! Mine will go live next Wednesday.
Advert for the Masquerade Ball Bloghop

Cheating with Challenging Chapters

This month’s optional question from the IWSG: If you could use a wish to help you write just ONE scene/chapter of your book, which one would it be?

I would probably ask for help with the final battle scene in my WiP. I find writing realistic fight scenes challenging and I usually have to watch videos of battles to understand the movements and tactics my characters might use.

There’s often not much dialogue in these scenes and you have to explain many things happening simultaneously to different characters. If you’re not careful, it can end up as a boring sequence of actions lacking emotion and tension. It’s also hard to make your fight scene original and not use tired clichés.

Yet, fight scenes usually occur at the climax of the story when the stakes are high and readers are invested in the characters, so you don’t want to let them down. Having a genie grant me the perfect fight scene would be a blessing!

Before you go…

Writers: do you think you’ll enter the IWSG anthology contest this year? Have you ever missed a contest deadline? Which scenes do you find hardest to write?

Readers: what do you think makes a good fight scene? What are your least favourite scenes to read?

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4 responses to “C is for Connecting with the Community & Cheating on Challenging Chapters #AtoZChallenge #IWSG

  1. I actually really enjoy writing battle/fight scenes. For me it would be the opening chapter – it’s definitely the one I go back and tweak the most!
    Debbie

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