IWSG...Keeping it fun

Every first Wednesday of the month, this group of writers comes together to offer support, advice, encouragement or simply to let  frustrations and woes flow. Writing is a tough journey, and we don't have to go it alone.

Thanks goes to the brain behind this group, Alex J. Cavanaugh! If you want to join in or find out more (because there is so much more to this group), then head on over here.

Twitter is @TheIWSG and hashtag #IWSG . They can also be found on Facebook or on the IWSG blog.


Not only am I thrilled to help co-host today (because that's always tons of fun), but the winners of the anthology contest are being announced, too! I was lucky enough to be one of the judges, and wow! The stories were terrific! This anthology is going to be a real treat and probably not what you expected. Adventurous? Yep. But each story is so much more than that.

The winners can be found HERE ... the IWSG blog (after 5am EST)!  Congratulations to all of them!

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Don't put down those pens, yet! January is just around the corner, which means it's almost time for...

From 8am to 8pm EST, you can tweet a pitch of your finished and polished manuscript (with genre, audience age group, and #IWSGPit ). If you receive a like/heart from a publisher or agent, then check out their submission guidelines, send in the desired materials, and Wa-La! Your story will get at least a glance.

I, personally, love peeking in on these just to see all of the awesome stories. The ideas are always amazing!

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I'm skipping over today's question because I wanted to share something with you, instead.
My co-author loves to whittle and has been creating the characters from our WIP.  We have quite the cast, and the ones I'm showing you aren't necessarily the main characters. At least, not in the first book. Let's just say that someone is going to be whittleing for many moons to come. 

The first two figures are still in the making, but I couldn't resist giving you a glimpse anyway (hope Mr. Co-Author forgives me.) 

This is Niles, a fifteen-year-old, who is trying to support himself and his sick, little brother. He works as a janitor at the castle. Later, he needs to learn how to fight... the scenes from which this figure originates. On his back are the arrows, and he's holding a bow. (I can't wait to see it when it's sanded.)

Meet Anglia (oh, I hope I spelled her name right!). She's nine/ten-years-old and a bit of a handful. She's extremely playful and has a rich imagination...maybe a little too much so? Niles becomes a big brother figure for her (that's why he's currently standing at her back). I'm super excited about where her story will take her during the series (yep, we're writing a series!) She packs tons of surprises! And yep, this is definitely a YA read...take that as a very slight and impossible-to-know-where-it's-going hint at what her future holds.

Meet Midnight. She's not a character in this first book and is a very, very tinsy-tiny side-character, whose name might or might not be mentioned in the series (We're still working on book one and although the basic plot stands for the series, who knows what surprises will pop up!). But her best friend, Fay, is definitely a force to be reckoned with in the first book. Fay carries so much spunk that her little body can hardly contain it. Since I can't find my Fay photo (and I'm sure Mr. Co-Author emailed it to me..hmmm), I decided Midnight was too interesting to ignore. Her wings are iridescent, and you can kind of see that in the photo if you squint. She's still drying in this image...perhaps, that explains her scowl? But then, she does have a bit of a dark side.

As you can tell, Mr. Co-Author and I are having fun. Considering how much rewriting and editing is involved, fun is a vital element and keeps the excitement level high.

So, does chocolate.

Tons of chocolate.


Have a Happy Holidays! And see all of you next month!!!