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
along with IWSG Founder Alex J. Cavanaugh are
Stop by their posts and thank them for hosting.
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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.
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 optional question is:
Many writers have written about the experience of rereading their work years later. Have you reread any of your early works? What was that experience like for you?
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Happy February, Everyone!
I know my Canadian and American friends would like winter to go away already!
May you stay safe and warm!
This month's question asked if I have reread any of my early works
and what that experience was like for me.
Yes, I have, and the experience was humbling and oddly a source of pride.
I've been writing since I was eight, and I haven't stopped.
What made me proud is all the different kinds of writing I have tackled over my life.
What is humbling is I have some early goals that I haven't achieved.
I've noticed that my style has changed.
I'm a lot less wordy ~ I remember my 6th grade teacher Mr. Keast
chewing me out for writing a sentence with 67 words in it.
He called my mother saying I was mocking him and his lesson on using adjectives.
Ouch! (And I was the babysitter for his children!)
Over the years I've used more and more dialogue, something I rarely used early on.
I've almost eliminated adverbs which I once loved as much as adjectives.
My writing has become less formal,
and I've developed a passion for precise words, especially for nouns and verbs.
It was simpler when I was a young Canadian living in Canada and writing.
Now I'm caught forever between Canadian and American grammar and conventions.
But I'll take it, and I'll keep writing wherever it leads me.
I Love This Woman's Vibrant Style!
I could write a 67-word sentence about her!
Waikiki, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
January 31, 2026
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue. All Rights Reserved
We're in Honolulu escaping winter.
Wherever you are, I hope you're warm and safe!
Happy creating in February.
Enjoying an udon-noodle lunch with our nephew Conor.
Marugame Udon
Waikiki, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
January 30, 2026
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue. All Rights Reserved
If you are also a member of our Facebook Group,
I invite you to visit and provide a link to your IWSG post.
Facebook members are invited to answer our February question too.
Take care!
Till next time ~
Fundy Blue
Standing Into Danger https://selkiegrey4.blogspot.com
Copyright ©2026 – All rights reserved.
My next post will be Friday, February 13th. 🤞
Just so you know, I monitor my comments before publishing them. This means your comment won't appear immediately. I will not publish mean spirited or commercial comments.
Precious friend Louise 🥰
ReplyDeleteYour response to group’s questions are always remarkable 👍
I felt peace and pride when you said you felt proud about your older writing 🥰♥️
Yes you deserve this absolutely because you have such amazing way to write that captivate the soul of readers with it’s beauty,precision,depth and meaning 🥹♥️
I am huge admirer of your writing since I read you first time many years ago 🥰
Yes ,it happens to me when sometimes I go to my older work and generally wonder if I wrote it lol yes our creativity comes from deeper corners of our mind ,slightly far from our brain that deals with practical life.so going back surprises us sometimes but it also feels nice too ♥️🫂
Hi, dear Baili! Thanks for your uplifting comment. I've enjoyed your writing for many years too. You kept bringing me back because of how you share your world and your vivid, fresh poetry, not to mention your philosophy Now you are a sister-friend! Much love to you and your family. ❤️❤️❤️
DeleteI am happy you are enjoying warm weather , stay blessed and you guys look happy 🤗
ReplyDeleteI'm grateful for the warm winter too!, Baili! And we are definitely happy! 🌺🌺🌺 Aloha!
DeleteNot a fan of those digs, can't find any treasure lol unless you count dog poo.
ReplyDeleteI cringe a bit at some of my word choices and such of my earlier works. I've become less wordy too. But each were a stepping stone as onward we go. Good job on mocking the teacher too haha even if you weren't intentionally doing it.
That treasure is as bad as the used condom I stepped over on the way to hula yesterday. 😱. I would never intentionally mock a teacher. Too often they were my parents or worked with my parent. 😂. Have a great day, my friend!
DeleteYou're smart that you're spending time escaping winter in Honolulu. How cool that you remember what your sixth-grade teacher said about your writing. It's funny that he called your mom. It's great you see so much improvement in your writing.
ReplyDeleteI'm so happy to be here in Hawaii, Natalie! I remember my teachers well from first grade on. I think I was always meant to teach, even if I worked in the Oil Patch for a while. Have a great day!
DeleteHe called your mother? A little extreme.
ReplyDeleteWe aren't as bad as Canada but we do still have snow.
I thought so at the time, Alex. Mr. Keast thought it was out of character for me. I think of you, Diane, and others along the East Coast every time I see the weather. Burr! Enjoy visiting around today!
DeleteA 67-word sentence! So inspired! And I love how the Pink Lady in the photo matches her dog!
ReplyDeleteThe Pink Lady and the Pink Dog were delightful. That's one older woman who is refusing to be invisible. So more power to her! I haven't seen Hula Dog this year. The hula show I used to see him at has been cancelled. Change is constant here. All the best to you, my friend! 🌺
Delete...Louise, you and Terry picked a great winter to soak up the Hawaiian sun. Be well and use your sunblock.
ReplyDeleteWe sure did, Tom! Wishing you the aloha spirit. Stay warm and safe with your Sweetie!
DeleteHi Louise!
ReplyDeleteA sentence with 67 words!? That's WOW.
And is that a plush toy or a tortured dog with that woman:)
Happy February to you too!
😂 It's a tortured dog, Rida! Actually the dog was proudly prancing along with the Pink Lady. (I like alliteration too). Have a great day! ❤️🌺
DeleteI recently reread a bunch of my journal entries. Sometimes I brings sadness, sometimes joy, always enlightening. Enjoy the warmth!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jeff! I hope you are staying warm and safe! Reading old journals is always enlightening. Have a great day!
DeleteI imagine it gets confusing since Canadian and American words can be different. Sprinkle in both versions and see what works!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the advice, my friend! Enjoy today!
DeleteEnjoy Honolulu! My daughter is going to school out that way shortly and I think we'll have to visit...at least once. Meanwhile, we'll welcome our warm weather back in Florida. (We lived on the Canadian border for a couple years and I don't miss the snow! Not one bit.)
ReplyDeleteLucky daughter, Crystal. The daughter of a friend of mine in Colorado went to university here and really enjoyed the experience. All the best to you!
DeleteI love the pictures you add. I could also write a bunch about the picture of the gal with the tiny dog on a leash.
ReplyDeleteIt reminds me of the description I wrote once of a very unattractive person at the county fair drinking out of the cow tank.
OMG, Larry! Drinking out of a cow tank at a fair. Yikes! Did you put the description in a story? I'm glad you enjoy my photos. Have a great day!
DeleteHi, Larry. I visited your blog, but I had trouble posting a comment. Your three-part story on a master epistle was original and inspiring.
DeleteYour memes were hilarious! Unlike the rest of North America, we are having a balmy February here on the West Coast. I'm glad you are able to get away to Hawaii. What perfect timing!
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting that you became less wordy as you grew. I still have to add more words usually to my writing, because I tend to write sparse. Although I did get a little bit wordy with my latest because I got so into the character's voice that I had a hard time stopping. Happy ISWG!
I hope you had a great IWSG Day, Jenni! I'm still making the rounds. I'm always having to cut, cut, cut words. 😂 I'm glad that you had fun getting so into your character's voice. Happy creating in February!
DeleteI think using 67 words in one sentence is an excellent exercise for a young writer, especially if the sentence still made sense. Your teacher should have applauded you, instead of berating you. If it was me, I would have aimed for 100+ words per sentence in my next story.
ReplyDeleteMy parents got calls from the teacher about my writing, but that was because I wrote stories about my classmates getting violently murdered. See, it was a tradition that every Halloween, everyone in class would write horror stories about their classmates. I'm the only one that wrote sequels for Christmas and Valentine's Day, though.
😂 Hilarious, C.D. ~ I'll bet you were an interesting student! That's one writing assignment I never gave my second and third graders for Halloween or any other time. Have a great February!
DeleteGreat photo of the lady with her dog! And a 67 word sentence is simply amazing. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Holly! Sometimes you get lucky with a photo, and I loved the Pink Lady and her Pink Dog. Thanks for visiting!
DeleteYour photos are terrific and I'm glad you are having a warm and wonderful time. I have recently reread some old writing. Some not bad; some -- well, I'm better now!
ReplyDeleteHi, Jeanie! I'm way behind. Hopefully the longer we write, the better we get. Happy weekend!
DeleteOMG! I'm cracking up at the 67 word sentence. That is crazy funny. I also like what your story lines were too. Murder of classmates. We would have been good friends as kids. But we have now so that's ok.
ReplyDeleteOh PS, Conor is a very handsome young man
ReplyDeleteI'm over (or up) in the BC interior and all I'm getting is rain. I feel like I moved to Vancouver. hehehe
ReplyDeleteYour reflection captures the honest evolution of a lifelong writer
ReplyDeleteIt's funny because if your work gets famous enough, a 67-word sentence would probably go viral and increase your fame. I don't know that I fully agree on the "war on adverbs and adjectives," but strong nouns and verbs are a good thing.
ReplyDeleteHappy IWSG day! I'm co-hosting this month.
"A good book gets better at the second reading. A great book at the third." — Tyler DeVries
J (he/him 👨🏽 or 🧑🏽 they/them) @JLenniDorner ~ Speculative Fiction & Reference Author and Co-host of the April Blogging #AtoZChallenge international blog hop