The Bald Eagle

The Bald Eagle

Wednesday, October 5, 2016

ISWG, October 2016, The Voices In My Head


Hello Everyone,

It is the first Wednesday of the month and IWSG Time has come around again. 

IWSG, a writer’s support group, which was created by Alex Cavanaugh, is a big help to many of us who do not mind sharing our insecurities, our successes or giving encouragement and help to others. 

So, if you are interested and would like to join, the link below will lead you directly to us:

My report:

I did not submit any new stories this month.

 Submissions still out:
1. Two stories to Glimmer Train
2. My first chapter to SF RWA in their Heart to Heart Contest.
3. Still have two outstanding stories that I have not yet heard whether they are accepted or rejected.  So I am still waiting.
4. Submitted one short story to Wordhaus, an online publication. Should be getting an answer sometime this month.
I am chugging along with my rewrite/revision of my manuscript. I have extended the submission date once again.  I am not ready to send it to my writing coach/book editor. I need to recheck whether my writing is strong and also the show and tell ratio in terms of harmonizing together.  Like I said below, in my answer to the newsletter question, my gut is telling me not quite.
 My blogs are alive and well.  I enjoy posting once every two weeks on my blogs and once a month on this one. I might add another category to this blog and blog twice a month but I am not sure.






The Voices In My Head


I am adapting, learning how to process as I process change.  It is scary and exhilarating.  No one fear comes at me; I think all of my fears are doing double time to keep me from moving farther out. The voices in my head punish. To ignore them makes it worse. The fears get stronger as I progress forward, but I am learning to live with them and to keep looking upward.

Our Newsletter Question for the Month of October.

Our question for this month is when do you know your story is ready?  To be quite honest with you, I think this is an incredibly subjective question with no right answer because it deals with what I call your gut feeling.  It is something that says after months or years of hard work on your manuscript, I have gone beyond my very best and reached a stage of excellence, which cannot be topped.
To feel your story is ready has nothing to do with perfection; it has to do with a conclusion derived from your gut.  No one else can tell you; it is a treaty between you and your spirit that says all is well.













Shalom aleichem,
Pat Garcia