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.
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.
Or, the question can inspire members
if they aren't sure what to write about on IWSG Day.
Remember the question is optional.
This month's featured question is:
Do you remember writing your first book? What were your thoughts about a career path on writing? Where are you now and how is it working out for you? If you're at the start of the journey, what are your goals?
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Happy April, Everyone!
I hope you had a happy and creative March.
We're home in Colorado, and the snow is falling as I write.
I'm missing the tropical air and sunshine of Waikiki.
The Fort DeRussy Area
Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
March 4, 2023
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved
🌺 🌺 🌺 🌺 🌺 🌺 🌺
This month's question begins by asking if you remember writing your first book.
I do. I was ten years old and in Grade 5.
It was a murder mystery starting with a diver discovering a skeleton in a lake.
Then out of nowhere we were moving to the mysterious North,
and my book fell by the wayside.
Story of my life!
Real life continued to disrupt my book writing throughout my life.
I'm still working on my first book, because life is still disrupting.
I never considered writing as a career.
From a very young age my parents made it clear that I was going to university.
To their credit, they insisted that all four of their girls get a university degree
as well as their son ~ This was an unusual goal for parents at the time.
Each of us was expected to have a career and to be independent.
My parents did not see writing, art, or music as careers leading to independence.
They were hobbies.
My mother was especially determined that her girls
would never have to depend on a man for support.
Her grandmother and mother's husbands died young,
and they had to find a way to support themselves and their children.
My mother never forgot what they went through as widows.
My Mother Sara (2nd from left) with her brother John, sister Louise, and Parents Ella and Jack MacDonald
This was shortly before my grandfather died.
My Aunt Louise still lived at home.
Smith's Cove, Nova Scotia, Canada
Summer 1943
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved
I dutifully attended Acadia University in Nova Scotia from which both of my parents graduated.
I earned a B.A. with a double major in Geology and English
and double minor in Mathematics and Theatre.
This dichotomy resolved itself when oil went bust in the early 1980s,
and Terry talked me into leaving Petroleum Geology
and earning a B.Ed. in Elementary Education.
I became the first in the eighth generation of teachers on my father's side of the family.
My careers were demanding and rewarding, and writing remained a hobby.
Throughout my careers I wrote a lot in a variety of genres:
reports, theses, papers, plays, newspaper articles, poetry,
letters, journals, speeches, and short stories.
I would periodically tackle my memoir.
I always considered myself a writer, just not a writer of books.
Now that I am retired, I've added blogging as another genre.
I continue to work on my memoir, but life continues to sidetrack it.
I think when life gets challenging, I can focus on shorter pieces of writing,
but a book-length project overwhelms me.
And, yay! 🎉 🎉 🎉 🎉
My short story "Dare Double Dare" was published
in the IWSG Anthology Voyagers The Third Ghost.
Have I given up the goal of publishing my memoir?
No way! I'll get there.
I've overcome a lot of challenges in the past several years,
and I think they have made me stronger.
The toll is written in my face and body and hair, but my spirit is undiminished.
Having a Mai Tai at The Original Mai Tai Bar
at The Royal Hawaiian
Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
March 8, 2023
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved
🌺 🌺 🌺 🌺 🌺 🌺 🌺
If you are celebrating Passover, I wish you a kosher and joyous Passover.
Enjoy IWSG Day. Stay happy and safe.
Till next time ~
Fundy Blue
https://selkiegrey4.blogspot.com
My next post will be on Friday, April 28th
