WEP Encouragement Award & Internal Conflicts (#IWSG March 2022)

Posted March 2, 2022 in Creative Writing / 5 Comments

writing update

First, I must apologise for missing last month’s IWSG post. Life has been hectic lately and, as always when I’m beginning to feel overwhelmed, my hobbies are the first things I have to drop in order to get the essentials done.

WEP Encouragement Award

I was proud of myself for participating in the WEP flash fiction challenge last month (you can read my entry here). It was cathartic letting out some of my emotions in poetry.

WEP encouragement award Anstice Brown Feb 2022

Yesterday, I was pleasantly surprised to hear that I won the encouragement award. Congratulations to the winner, Sally Stackhouse and runner up, Michelle Wallace. I enjoyed reading the wonderful variety of flash fiction and poetry for this challenge. Every time I participate I learn so much from the other authors.

Thank you to the WEP admin team for continuing to make this online writing event a success.

Internal Conflicts

This month’s optional question:

Have you ever been conflicted about writing a story or adding a scene to a story? How did you decide to write it or not?

I often have internal conflicts over whether to write something. Sometimes I have a gut feeling that a story or scene is just not working. The best thing for me to do is set it aside and come back to it with fresh eyes at a later date. I will then either continue with it if I can think of a new angle or discard it if it’s still not flowing.

Binning a draft is absolutely the right decision if my original idea was misguided. I am fascinated by mythology from all over the world, but I try to be mindful of cultural appropriation. Sometimes, after research and reflection, I come to the conclusion that a particular story is not mine to tell.

I don’t usually shy away from writing about the darker aspects of life, but I do include content warnings if I think the topic could be triggering for some readers.

I haven’t completed a novel yet, but I think getting feedback from beta-readers is a good way to decide whether a scene should be included or not.

The Insecure Writer’s Support Group post on the first Wednesday of every month. We want to help writers of all stages to overcome their insecurities, and by offering encouragement we are creating a community of support.

This month’s awesome co-hosts are:  Janet Alcorn, Pat Garcia, Natalie Aguirre and Shannon Lawrence.

Do you have any writing news or goals to share? Let me know in the comments!

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5 responses to “WEP Encouragement Award & Internal Conflicts (#IWSG March 2022)

  1. I love that you know when it is not your story to tell. I am also a lover of myth and am too afraid to touch any of them. I will have to settle for inventing my own. Also, good point about beta readers! Hope you get more time for writing and congrats on WEP (I completely forgot about it!)

  2. Elizabeth Mueller

    Anstice! It’s been a long while. So good to hear from you. Thank you for dropping by.
    I completely understand how it feels when something feels off and keeps feeling off the further we write until we just have to stop and address it. Yes! It can be intimidating to insert an added scene or weave in a new idea throughout the story to maintain consistency.

    Obeing the muse is very important!

  3. Way to go on winning the award. Content warnings are a good idea.
    Hope you’re having a great weekend! My latest blog post has my theme for the April #AtoZChallenge (I’m writing speculative fiction and looking for prompts).
    There’s a Christine Herbert signed-book giveaway from Feb 23 that’s about to end over at Operation Awesome.
    March quote: “Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do.” – Mark Twain

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