It's the first Wednesday of the month,
the day that members of the
Insecure Writer's Support Group
share their writing struggles
and writing successes
and offer their encouragement
and support to fellow writers.
To visit the IWSG website, click here.
To become a member of the IWSG, click here.
Our wonderful co-hosts who are volunteering today,
along with IWSG Founder Alex J. Cavanaugh are PK Hrezo, Pat Garcia, SE White, Lisa Buie Collard, and Diane Burton.
I hope you have a chance to visit today's hosts and thank them for co-hosting.
I'm sure they would appreciate a visit and an encouraging comment.
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Every month the IWSG announces a question that members can answer
with advice, insight, a personal experience, or a story in their IWSG posts.
if they aren't sure what to write about on IWSG Day.
Remember the question is optional.
This month's featured question is:
This month's featured question is:
Are you a risk-taker when writing? Do you try something radically different in style/POV/etc. or add controversial topics to your work?
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Till next time ~
Fundy Blue
Happy April, Everyone!
I'm dashing this off Monday afternoon at the new CIRCA
on Fremont Street in Downtown Las Vegas.
Tomorrow Terry and I fly home after a blissful week of freedom.
If everything goes right, this will post on Wednesday,
and I'll be good to go with the IWSG.
Freedom!
Legacy Lounge, CIRCA, Downtown Vegas
Sunday, April 4, 2020
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue All Rights Reserved
Throughout my life I have primarily written nonfiction,
in many non-fiction genres: newspaper articles,
scientific and non-scientific research projects, papers, and theses,
grant proposals, company reports, curricula, blogging, and memoir ~
You name it; I've likely written it.
I've used 1st, 2nd, and 3rd POVs depending on the situation.
I have experimented with writing short stories and have two published,
one in the Canadian literary journal The Antigonish Review,
and the other in the 2020 IWSG anthology Voyagers: The Third Ghost.
I am currently working on a memoir.
In my memoir and in my memoir-based blogging posts
I have dealt with controversial subjects:
starvation, sexual abuse, mental illness, and racism.
Some of my writing, especially on my blog has garnered angry or hateful commentary,
and I'm sure my memoir will generate some similar responses.
However, I will handle it, because I believe in writing the truth.
Why else would you write?
This month I indulged in a gentle and courage-filled memoir by IWSG member J. Q. Rose. She shares her story of an undertaking many would never contemplate. She and her husband, accompanied by their baby daughter, leave the security of the known and familiar and strike out to achieve their dreams. It's hard enough moving to a strange town in a different state where you know no one, but image doing so to start a greenhouse and flower shop business! Vision, determination, hard work, and the willingness to eat a lot of mac and cheese can definitely help you succeed. But so do love, respect, new friends, and standing up for yourself. What I will long remember is the tender, fierce love of a mother for her baby and the poignancy and guilt of relinquishing nursing her to become an entrepreneur.
Enjoying a meal I didn't have to cook
with the special guy who made my dreams come true!
Magnolia's, Four Queens, Downtown Vegas
Sunday, April 4, 2020
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue All Rights Reserved
Enjoying Stadium Swim
CIRCA, Downtown Vegas
Sunday, April 4, 2020
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue All Rights Reserved
I invite you to stop by the IWSG Anthology blog today and check out the latest posts. iwsganthologies
Print copies of Dark Matter: Artificial are available for preorder on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and from the publisher, Dancing Lemur Press! eBooks are also available. Release date is May 4, 2021.
Happy IWSG Day, everyone!
Till next time ~
Fundy Blue
Vegas Vickie in Her New Home
CIRCA, Downtown Vegas
Sunday, April 4, 2020
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue All Rights Reserved
You both look like you are having a wonderful time, freedom at long last.
ReplyDeleteIt was wonderful, Jean! Now back to reality. It started snowing shortly after we made it home from the airport ~ LOL Hugs to you and Hugh, my friend!
DeleteGlad you are enjoying Vegas!
ReplyDeleteHey, what happened to your family when your father was teaching really happened. You can't erase the truth.
Thanks, Alex. Made it home last night and slept eleven hours, something I've rarely done! I am motivated to tell the truth because so much was buried, especially by the government and its agencies. Enjoy today!
DeletePleased to see you back on line Louise,
ReplyDeleteAlso noticed you enjoying Vegas......like I did.
I dod envy you as I write.
Take care.
Yvonne.
I hope things will be much freer for you very soon, Yvonne. It did feel good to feel alive! I was, still am, wiped out from sensory overload. Please take care, my friend!
DeleteGlad that you're enjoying your trip. And when you're writing nonfiction and a memoir, it's essential to tell the truth.
ReplyDeleteI certainly agree, Natalie! It's hard to write about painful and unjust things, but if you decide to do so, you have to work through it. All my best to you!
DeleteSo wish we could've hit Vegas this year for our anniversary. Next year we can do it right though.
ReplyDeleteYes, and you'll have lots of fun, Diane! Live entertainment will be back, and it will be safer health-wise. Take care!
DeleteLooks like you're having a great time in Sin City! Remember when Vegas used to be called that, LOL?
ReplyDeleteI still think of it as Sin City, Debra! I saw the Winnipeg Jets on the world's largest sport book screen at CIRCA, and immediately thought of you! Hugs to you, my friend!
DeleteYou both look so happy! That is a wonderful thing to see. Maybe you guys can come visit us next year. We live 20 minutes from Puerto Vallarta. Hope you're tempted.
ReplyDeleteYou're so sweet, Joylene! I would love to see you in person! If we're within striking distance for sure we'll see you!
DeleteI think traveling these days takes a lot of courage, though I too am going to. I loved Janet's book, also. I wouldn't even try what she didn't even question. Good post!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jacqui! Vegas definitely didn't feel "safe." Despite the efforts of businesses, more and more health protocols were being broken every day. We did our best, but it was impossible not to make mistakes unconsciously. Enjoy today!
DeleteTelling the truth means someone will be upset. That is just how it goes. But emotions are what help us change!
ReplyDeleteYou're so right, Steph! Have a good one!
DeleteLooks like you’re having a great time.
ReplyDeleteYes, Diane! We had a blast, so welcome after a year in the house! Take care!
DeleteWhat a great trip - you both look so happy and relaxed!
ReplyDeleteKudos on writing your truth. I am more than a bit weary of the current insufferable writing culture that demands we sacrifice our truth for every little possible trigger or imagined microaggression in the world.
Thanks for the encouragement, Lee! Have a Happy IWSG Day!
DeleteYay for the restoration of a vacation! The country's re-opening, via vaccine and common sense, will refresh us all.
ReplyDeleteI write comedically and call my genre 'loose with the truth' because I riff on real life. Facts may shift and bend via my pen. I applaud you for your non-fiction facts. Writers write to process their feelings... and to remain sane! And, that is the truth!
Vacations are definitely restoring! Tomorrow a facial and a massage. I probably won't be able to sleep tonight because of excitement! I've definitely been processing my feelings through writing, but it's brought me close to a mental breakdown at times. All my best to you, PJ!
DeleteI tried to comment on your post but was blocked. So here goes: Oh yes, please delay hurt until the afterlife ~ If only! Loved this PJ, from one Brainiac to another!
DeleteHope you enjoyed the vacation and finally being free of the confines of the house. Even though you still got to walk around with all the nature and deer poop lol
ReplyDeletePffft to the hate mail. You get them or hateful comments you know you are doing something right. I just block em and snicker at bit.
Right on, Pat! When I get hate mail, I just pop out my velociraptor claws and flick it into oblivion! Have a good one, my friend!
DeleteWe took our first trip in over a year to visit friends in another state. Drove like crazy, with no stops, but then, all vaccinated, simply sat on the patio to talk, ate at restaurants, hiked new paths. How wonderful to be a part of the world again! Congratulations on your trip to Vegas. Thank you also for highlighting the risks we take when we write the truth! That's not such an easy path.
ReplyDeleteTalking, dining, and hiking with friends, so normal and extraordinary at the same time! I'm glad you got to step out, Beth! Being fully vaccinated is the key to freedom. Take care, and Happy IWSG Day!
Delete"writing the truth" is definitely worth it. I'm sorry you have received hateful comments. Thank you for your courage in writing anyway!
ReplyDeleteAnne from annehiga.com
Thanks, Anna! I delete hateful comments when I get them. Time removes the shock and/or sting. I hope all is going well for you! Take care!
DeleteI prefer Fremont Street to the Strip in Vegas. As a geologist, the area around Vegas should be interesting--climbing high above the city in Red Rocks, or down into the Black canyon below the dam (where there are nice hot springs).
ReplyDeleteI see you're reading my friend's, Michael Cohen" book on Yosemite. I hope you enjoy it.
Hi, Jeff! I am enjoying the book. Today Terry had a completely unexpected heart attack. He's okay. If he had not been getting a cardiac angiogram when his heart stopped he would have died immediately ~ 100% blockage on his main heart artery. The Big Guy Upstairs was watching over us. I drove him to the emergency room at the hospital nearby, because we were just "being safe" and checking out his tired feeling. He felt weird. I kept hearing Carrie Underwood's song "Jesus Take the Wheel. Every light was green, everyone was speeding, and he was into the cardio angiogram room so fast. I have a lot to be grateful for tonight, my friend!
DeleteI just read your new post and so glad to hear he's okay.
DeleteThanks, Jeff!
Deleteo i cannot even imagine that a gentle sweet and brilliant soul like you can receive such comments dear Louise
ReplyDeletei agree that truth is problem for those who do not have courage to bear it because it is hard to look at mirror when you feel guilty .
i enjoyed lovely photos and wishing you best of luck for trip and all you are upto!
peace ,health and happiness!
hugs and prays!
Hi, Baili! Thank you for your kind words. Terry had a heart attack today, out of nowhere. 100% blockage of the main artery to his heart. By the grace of God, he told me he was feeling tired, weird after playing two hours of pickleball, and I drove him straight to the emergency room at the nearby hospital. Every light was green, people were all speeding on the road, I walked him into the emergency room. He was whisked off straight to the cardio angiogram room. He had a heart attack on the table and would have died immediately if he wasn't there. We were very, very lucky. As I told Jeff above, the Big Guy Upstairs was watching over us. I'm going to bed. It has been an exhausting day, and I have to return to the hospital early tomorrow. I keep you, your hubby, and your three sons in my prayers every night. Thanks for the hugs and prayers.
DeleteI don't understand people who feel they need to make awful comments. They must be miserable people. I am sorry to hear what you've had to read.
ReplyDeleteAnd sorry to read about your husband. I hope he recovers. All the best.
Thanks, Luciana! Terry is doing much better, and his outlook is very good.
DeleteOh how I envy you both in that pool!!! Louise I hope you had a fantastic trip and good for you for writing a memoir. I think it's a fantastic idea!
ReplyDeleteHi, Rain! For some reason Blogger wouldn't publish my comments yesterday. The pool was wonderful! I never imagined that one week later Terry would be lying in ICU after a major heart attack. He is okay and recovering well. I just posted about his heart attack. I'm beyond tired, but very grateful and hopeful.
DeleteYou two are so cute!!! I agree with you, I believe in the truth too! Sometimes, it's hard to speak or write about, because you think you will be judged, but it is the best! There are somethings, I might never tell my mom, but I have let out somethings to close people around me and hinted on my blog and I felt good, letting it out! Big Hugs!
ReplyDelete