Seven Things

01 - My writing ambition has somewhat demised. I haven't been sending out my short stories to any online journals. I think now I prefer writing contests more. At least the competition isn't everybody. I had entered a couple of writing contests before and of course I didn't win but it just seemed somewhat easier than having to randomly choose which story to send because as specific as online journals are with their guidelines (and sometimes themes or genres), they are still sort of vague in some strange way while writing contests are while just as specific, at least, they are not as vague but maybe that's just my experience. Anyway, writing contests are just easier although failure rate is kind of higher.

02 - I haven't been doing the Friday Writings challenges. I think having the restriction of writing the maximum words of 369 is something I'm not good at even though whatever writing (fiction, that is) I posted, I try to restrict to a low number although higher than 369. I guess I'm not one for brevity.
    Plus I think the Friday Writings challenges is more for poetry and prose as the participants are mostly writing poetry which I don't do any more. I like that they tell you what next week's prompt is so that you can write in advance. Check out Poets And Storytellers United over here if you like to participate.

03 - I haven't been participating (posting) in respect to Insecure Writers Support Group so they took me off their sign-up list. I actually haven't joined any other writing groups or even discussion groups so I guess being kicked off one matters little. It is nice to talk about your complaints, failures, activities and anything that gives amateur and seasoned writers something to share and bond over but like I said above, I don't have much writing ambitions so I didn't really have much to talk about. Visit the Insecure Writer’s Support Group blog here.

04 - Book series connecting to one another — I don't like the idea of an author's book series all connected into a single world. I prefer a series (as most books are series) as belonging to itself, its own little universe. Also with connected series, you feel like you didn't really finish a series unless you read the connected other series. It's awful enough that book series are like twenty books long but now they are connecting all the series, it's maddening.

05 - Ebook pricing is really getting ridiculous — Recently I saw an ebook for $22.95 (pricing is usually set by the publishers) which usually are at $12.99. Then there were ebooks at $19 and even $35 - what have changed to make ebooks this ridiculously high? 
    I can't understand the pricing of ebooks but I think ebooks should be lower than paper books. When you buy an ebook, you're not buying a book, you're buying the rights to read a book so why should people pay the same amount equal to paper books when you cannot resell ebooks or even lend them unless you hand over your ereader.
    Frankly, I think people should just invest in their public library and borrow books from them. This way, everyone benefits. But that doesn't really solve anything. What would be better if publishers allow public libraries to have perpetual licensing of ebooks they purchase since they pay triple or even quadruple the price, way more than regular consumers. If publishers are going to treat ebooks like paper books, they should allow permanent ownership (not just letting ebooks sit in ereaders or have temporary licenses) of ebooks when people and public libraries purchase them.
    Here are two links talking about ebook pricing:
    - The hidden truth about ebooks & eaudiobooks
    - The problem with e-books (video)

06 - If anyone is interested in murder mysteries, there is a magazine, Deadly Pleasures, all about new and upcoming murder mysteries books. They now offer their magazine without subscription fees. Check it out over here.

07 - Book samples that only has an introduction — When I read a book sample, I expect to read some of the book not just an introduction. So yes, an introduction is part of a book but it is not the actual book, it's an opinion, an essay, a glorified love letter to the author or the book and it sometimes contains spoilers. For those reasons, I always skip reading the introduction when I read book samples but also when starting a book.
    For a real book sample, it should show the text, like chapter 1 and then some text - this shows samples of the writing style or how the book is structured or formatted, even a little taste of the characters. You don't get that reading an introduction.

What's on your mind these days?

Update: Things I like to continue, start or restart

Back in January I made a list of things I may or may not do. I'm going to give some updates because it's the middle of the year and I guess updating this is sort of a reminder. You can read the original list here.

01 - Continue blogging - Succeeded — This I did but not consistently but I haven't been consistent with my blogging for at least ten years so I don't expect that to change but at least I'll keep blogging.

02 - Continue to refuse to join any social media or anywhere else to embarrass myself except in a blog - Succeeded — Yep, still only doing blogging.

03 - Restart commenting more on blogs - Semi-Succeeded — I did comment more sadly not more than I like.

04 - Start practicing procrastinating in my sleep - Semi-Succeeded — While I was sleeping, I forgot what I did so I may have succeeded without knowing.

05 - Restart on finishing my artworks - Failed — I just don't seem to remember to work on them or rather I looked at the long list of (artwork) files, found it too daunting, turned to do something else and then forgot about them.

06 - Continue to not learn any new people skills - Semi-Succeeded — I guess I don't quite know how to be polite anymore when people are rude.

07 - Restart finishing/editing my novels and short stories - Semi-Succeeded — I have tried to finish a few pieces but only made a little progress. I don't know where my motivation went.

08 - Start watching less youtube - Failed — I have a terrible habit of watching youtube when I'm stressed or when I'm unable to motivate myself to do things. Sometimes getting lost in someone else's lives makes you think you have nothing to worry about.

09 - Start exercising every day or at least briefly consider to consider doing it - Failed — why is this so hard?

10 - Continue trying to go wireless - Failed — Even when I'm tripping over them, I seeme unable to keep the wires at bay. I don't think people can go wireless because no matter whatever technology you use, there will be wires.

11 - Continue doing jigsaw puzzles - Failed— I haven't done one puzzle in almost a year. 

12 - Restart reading more fantasies, science fiction, middle grade books and books that are not murder mysteries - Semi-Failed — I shouldn't bother trying to have varieties in my reading. I find most books boring now so it doesn't matter what genre they are in. There's nothing wrong in reading the same types of books.

Did you make goals at the start of the year and if you did, did you succeed? 

Things I like to continue, start or restart

These are not new year resolutions - I don't do those. These are things I may or may not do and I may or may not take some of them seriously but I put them here more as reminders than mandatory tasks I have to do. I think if you force yourself, the results may be satisfactory but the struggle to get them done is probably worst than not doing. Anyway, here is a list of things I may continue, start or restart.

01 - Continue blogging — I don't have to say it but I like to just to remind myself just in case I go mad and quit blogging. 

02 - Continue to refuse to join any social media or anywhere else to embarrass myself except in a blog.

03 - Restart commenting more on blogs — I may have slacked in this since last year and I have no excuses for it. I just don't seem to have things to say like I used to. Sometimes I re-read a post a dozen times trying to find something to say but just end up with something brief or not leave any comment. It probably doesn't matter what I say but I like to say something worth reading however brief they may be.

04 - Start practicing procrastinating in my sleep.

05 - Restart on finishing my artworks that may have been piling up for years — I have no idea how many unfinished artworks I have but I'm sure it would take a couple of years to finish them all but no one would really finish everything in their lifetime so trying for a couple is at least something.

06 - Continue to not learn any new people skills — I don't know why but my people skills aren't getting better. I always try to be polite but sometimes people are not polite and I can't help but treat them the same way they treat me. I can only tolerate so much crap.

07 - Restart finishing/editing my novels and short stories — I keep working at them and keep not finishing them and even after many tries, I still fail to finish. But I persist anyway. Because I have a need to finish. There is a growing number like my artworks and I may never get to them but I hope I can finish a couple.

08 - Start watching less youtube — This is probably not something I can do too well but I can try. I think less screen time would do me good. At least I'm not watching youtube on a phone.

09 - Start exercising every day or at least briefly consider to consider doing it.

10 - Continue trying to go wireless even though there is no such thing when you have to charge everything with wires.

11 - Continue doing jigsaw puzzles — I haven't done one in a long while but I like doing them and they help me to spend less time staring at screens.

12 - Restart reading more fantasies, science fiction, middle grade books and books that are not murder mysteries — These few years, I had been reading nothing but murder mysteries so now I think it's time to add back the books I used to read. I don't want to say reading too much murders is bad for me but having more varieties in my reading is better.

What do you plan to continue, start or restart doing this year?

IWSG Nov 2025: Some quirks that might be mad

More about the
Insecure Writer’s
Support Group here

I'm skipping the November Insecure Writer's Support Group question and go straight to reading quirks that are also writing quirks. I can only dismiss so many reading/writing quirks but I'm seem to struck on some more than others. But I'm listing just three today.

01 - Sometimes a singular word used often in one book can drive me nuts for no reason other than their repetition. Usually it's the more obvious repetition (such a phrase a character might keep saying) that get noticed but for me, single words getting used repeatedly always kind of annoys me. I don't know why that is or why I see them more often now. But I guess it's one of those reading quirks that some readers have to deal with.

02 - Whenever I read my name or names of people I know, sometimes I feel this certain unease. In a book I previously read, one of the character had the same name as me so I somehow read that name into some other version or else I skim over it. Why should it be weird characters have your name? Unless you have one of those unique names that never gets used in books, which I do not have, you will come across it. But somehow it's just odd reading it.

03 - Fair Enough (or sometimes Fair Point) - this expression (according to the Oxford dictionary) is "used to admit that something is reasonable or acceptable." Something about this sounds like some throwaway or useless phrase people say when they have nothing to say or when they agree to disagree or sometimes it seems it is used as some sarcasm or slight irritations. I don't know why I just get annoyed by this phrase. I don't think there is any good synonym to this other than 'I agree' which is quite simple. I'm wondering if that's why people use such phrases as 'Fair enough' to replaced simpler phrase which might sound bland.

What reading quirks do you think is maybe a bit mad to be mad about?

IWSG Oct 2025: Love what you create?

More about the
Insecure Writer’s
Support Group here

The October question at Insecure Writer's Support Group is What is the most favorite thing you have written, published or not? And why?
    There a lot of things I really loved that I had written but somehow I can't think of them today. Maybe it's the ideas I loved more than the actual writing. My mind at the moment is more focused on what I'm working on now rather on what I had written. 
    Before with only a few writing experiences, I thought most of what I wrote was pretty decent but now with more years of writing, I have different opinions. It's pretty easy to fall in love with your creations even when you don't realize it. So I have learned to be more brutal (probably too strong a word) on what projects (writing or otherwise) to give up once I realized I'll never get them to the way I want. Some of my stories do stayed with me even when I had decided not to continue finishing them. 
    I've redo a lot of my artworks because I thought I could do better so with my writings, I do the same thing - rework them into better versions of what I want them to be or abandon them if necessary. Although I am a habitual procrastinator so what I abandoned doesn't always stayed abandoned

Do you always love what you created (writings or other creative endeavors)?

IWSG Sept 2025: Motivation, Procrastination

More about the
Insecure Writer’s
Support Group here

Supposedly I lied to myself because I thought I would be submitting some of my stories to literary online journals but all I managed to do is submitted one story and that's was it. So now I'm thinking I'm too cowardly or something. I don't think it's rejection that's stopping me.
    It would be nice if someone would take my stories and do the editing and the submitting because I certainly don't seem to be doing it. And I have a hard time deciding which stories to submit considering most of them I can't submit. (Sadly, most online journals do not accept stories that had been posted on your blog - that is considered published. And some have so much requirements that I'm not qualified.)
    In terms of writing and pretty much all my projects, I am constantly putting off what I can finish right away. For some odd reason, I seem to be waiting for something but I don't know what.
    I think it's due to lack of motivation that I haven't submitted more stories or finish writing them. I'm not as motivated as before. I keep  procrastinating thinking I'll get back to it. But of course if you keep procrastinating you'll probably never get to finish anything. But I think finish/do what you can and worry about the rest later but maybe that's another form of procrastination - you think later but there seems to be no later. I don't know where the motivation went. But hopefully, motivation will find me again or I'll find it somehow.
        
What do you do when you can't find that motivation? Do you like procrastinating?

IWSG Aug 2025: Writing Habits

I have some writing habits that I'm mostly trying to break but it's easier to say you're doing it than actually doing it. But I'm trying, probably too slowly.
    One habit is using the word so. I don't use it as often in my fiction writing but on my blog, I may have used it too often. So is a very see-saw word - sometimes it sounds right and other times it sounds a bit childish. Another is run-on sentences - I don't actually think it's wrong to use them because people have a way of thinking that they sometimes do not pause in between thoughts but I guess in writing, it would seem wrong because periods allow the reader to get the meaning without having to figure out where a thought begins and where it ends.
    Sometimes it's a thin line between what is writing style and what is correct grammar. There's an author who does not use quotation marks and people love that author's books and editors and publishers are certainly not correcting them so is this a style or a bad writing habit? In a way, habits that we associate as being bad can be a style of writing.
    I think people are brought up in certain ways that their language in thinking and writing is a certain way that becomes habit. We can't stop our habits just because someone or a whole bunch of someone says it's bad or wrong. But I guess in terms of grammar, what's wrong is wrong but is it wrong? We are used to other people's standard to judge our own habits. Even if you are good at making your own judgements and even think you are an independent thinker, it doesn't mean you aren't influenced by others.
    It's not easy to unlearn habits you have formed and kept for a long time. I certainly don't want to lose all my habits (good or bad) because they are hard to lose and because I like some of them.

What writing habit (or habits) you think are bad but still use?

[More about the group over at the Insecure Writer’s Support Group blog here]

IWSG July 2025: Do you like pen names?

One reason to use pen names (aka pseudonyms) is to write under someone else but I guess these days, even if someone uses pen names, they just reveal their real name so it's no secret who is who so what's the point of using a pen name if everyone know who you are?
    I like pen names as they are way more creative, unique and easier to pronounce. Recently I read a short story collection titled, Bodies from the Library: Lost Tales of Mystery and Suspense from the Golden Age of Detection, and in the author bios, tons of authors used pen names. These authors probably didn't go about telling people their real names but then again, social media hadn't been invented so it was probably easier to keep your name a secret.
    I think every person, whether you are a writer or not, deserve to have a name they want or like even if is not legalized. We're in a society where names are sometimes ridiculed which is just rude of people. But I don't think people have to stick to the name they are given. At least, not completely. Also, I side with female authors who altered their names to a more masculine or androgynous name because of how unequal gender is. This is why you get all these authors with initials for first names and yes, I got my pen name from that idea because why not?
    Names, whether real or not, is makeup because no one have a name tattooed to their butt when they are born. It's because our names are legalized, we accept them as truth which is true but a person's name is still makeup or else how to explain people being able to change their name (legally or otherwise)?

Do you like pen names? What do you think of pen names?
  
[More about the group over at the Insecure Writer’s Support Group blog here]

IWSG June 2025: Short Author Bios

I often read those short author bios (or what I call mini bios) at the end or at the beginning of a book or the back of book jackets and find them quite easy to read but to write them is not so easy. How can you write a couple of sentences (under 200 words or less) and give people a basic portrait of who you are? I have noticed most bios consisted of these things: your name, education, job title and function, experience, accomplishments/accolades, where you live, something personal and usually written in third person. But these bios change with the author so accolades are added later and any changes to the author's life is also reflected. How creative and what you choose to share is up to you but I have noticed most bios are straight forward with bare information. For me, I would put only things that I'm comfortable to share.
    Here are some drafts of my author bio. If you feel incline, give me your honest thoughts on them and pick the one you think is the best. (M. Faith is my pen name.)

~ 01 ~
A transplant New Yorker, M. Faith often likes to believe she is a high-functioning and quiet introvert but shares her bias thoughts freely on her blog. While not working as a graphic designer, she spends a bit too much time roaming the web. When she is writing, she is often lost in whatever wormholes she may hypothetically find while pursuing a character who may have a penchant for disappearing into thin air.

~ 02 ~
M. Faith is a graphic designer by day and by night (and all other free hours), she is a multi-task blogger with a penchant for writing paranormal stories full of obstinate heroines and disguised good guys. A transplant New Yorker, she rarely leaves home but loves to travel around the internet.

~ 03 ~
M. Faith is a public-school educated graphic designer, writer, artist, blogger, procrastinator and sometimes rebel. She lives in New York and has never wandered too far from home but likes to travel when writing, often going off to worlds full of paranormal beings and highly obstinate heroines.

~ 04 ~
M. Faith is a transplant New Yorker who graduated from the Fashion Institute of Technology with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. Currently working as a graphic designer, she spends her free time running a personal blog where she complains too much and shares her artworks and short fictions. Sometimes when she has the motivation, she writes stories with a penchant for the paranormal, the weird and the mildly amusing.

~ 05 ~
M. Faith is a lifelong introvert with a history of talking too much on the internet especially on her blog. She is a life-long book lover with a penchant for writing paranormal stories with weird and highly stubborn heroines.

How would you write your mini bio? I invite you to write your mini bio in the comments or on your blog.
  
[More about the Insecure Writer’s Support Group blog here]

IWSG May 2025: Slightly above mediocre

This months question is: Some common fears writers share are rejection, failure, success, and lack of talent or ability. What are your greatest fears as a writer? How do you manage them?

My fears, out of many as a writer, is being mediocre and not having readers. I'm not a published author but I do post stories on my blog and that maybe gets read. I like to believe my writing is slightly above mediocre and sometimes on days when I especially thought myself clever, even a tad higher than that. I know I'm not born with an innate writing talent so I do work hard at it. Most of the time. Maybe I can be a bit lazy with grammar and maybe I get tired of editing my own writing that I sometimes don't work too hard at it.
    Even we are not picky about grammar and structure, we can be picky about what we like. People's preferences can make them dislike what they read. This doesn't change how authors write or at least, I don't think it should. I prefer to write what I want to read so even there is no audience, that's something that I can accept.
    I do try all the time to improve my writing but there is so much you can improve after a while. So I try not to think about if what I write and share is mediocre or not but whether I would enjoy reading it. But mostly, I just keep on writing.
  
[More about the group over at the Insecure Writer’s Support Group blog here]

IWSG Apr 2025: Are cliches bad?

You hear it all the time in book reviews - the writing is cliche or something similar. Cliche or cliché, according to dictionary.com, refers to something trite, hackneyed, overly familiar, or commonplace phrase, theme, or expression.
        I try to avoid using cliches in my writing but I think I fail sometimes because I don't think anyone can avoid them if they are readers and in most cases, writers. I am all too familiar with words I read often and some sticks to my mind so even when I don't try to use cliches, they just pop in my head without me realizing.
    Generally, I don't think cliches are bad unless they are used excessively though I can't say I know all the cliches but just enough to recognize them. There are cliches that are just right and says exactly what can be easily understood so using them isn't a bad idea. Maybe not everyone can recognize cliches because when you're reading, you don't go looking for them but they certainly populate books even if you don't know them.

As a reader or as a writer, do you think cliches are bad?
  
[More about the group over at the Insecure Writer’s Support Group blog here]

IWSG Mar 2025: Paper or digital?

I used to write using a pen and on notebooks and notepads and then typed them into the computer. For some reason, the writing seemed easier and ideas seemed to flow better. But then comes the typing and then I realized how hard it is to actually do the typing. I write in linear form but some ideas come up for farther on in a story so they swim alone and then I have to remember to put them in the proper order. After a while, this process just got tiring so I switched to mostly digital.
    I still write ideas, certain phrases and notes on notepads and then type them into the computer but my handwriting is not so great so sometimes I have to leave behind ideas because I can't decipher them especially when I write them in the middle of the night under some faint light.
    Mostly, I do like writing on a computer and also the spellcheck function is really useful. I'm more likely to delete writing (bad, excessive or unnecessary) on a computer than on paper but on paper, I cross out the text, I can somehow still have those deleted text unlike a computer. Of course there is the whole losing documents or even corrupted documents since all my writings are basically computer files so when my computer doesn't work or when my backup drive doesn't work, I can't access them. I can print them out and keep them as a record but that seems like a waste of paper. I think no matter if you use paper or go digital, it's still pretty much the same but I admit, I'm much more organized when writing digitally.
    
Do you prefer to write on paper or digitally using your computer or some other devices?

(P.S. The app I use to write is iText Express  (Freeware for Mac, no PC/Windows version) > link - a very simplistic text app that I have been using for years.)
  
[More about the group over at the Insecure Writer’s Support Group blog here]

IWSG Feb 2025: Plot Pet Peeves

Reading is a preference which I have to remind myself whenever I read something pretty dumb. Here are some of my plot pet peeves:

01 - When the protagonist is knocked unconscious or taken away so he/she is not a witness to an important event and neither is the reader until afterward — I only read maybe three books with this but it's still annoying because there seems to be no reason for it and if there is a reason, it isn't all that great. If the protagonist doesn't witness an event - okay fine but if the reader doesn't get to witness it either - why? So maybe in a book where readers only get one point of view it makes sense he/she wouldn't witness something when they are not there but this doesn't mean they can't get another character to tell about the event in a detail manner instead of a summary.

02 - When a character delays in telling another (mainly the protagonist) something important or hide something that could have an impact on the whole of the story or clear up a huge misunderstanding — The whole I want to protect him/her is not really much of an excuse because eventually this something will get out in the worst kind of way to make the protagonist suffer more. Once in a while, having characters tell each other secrets (sooner rather than later) is not such a terrible thing. I get so annoyed when things get dragged out for too long.

03 - A small subplot (such as a petty crime) is talked of throughout a book and then is dropped/dismissed after a while with little or no explanation — If you open up a problem, however minor, talk about it throughout the book, it should have a resolution and not a one-sentence dismissal or completely forgotten.

04 - Bad guy/villain coming back from the dead for the third or fourth time — I'm not talking about fake deaths, I'm talking about a character dies and then gets resurrected in a way that they are the same. I know some villains are so good (or loved by readers) that they get resurrected but I hate that. If a bad guy is killed off, he/she should stay dead. What purpose is it to bring back dead bad guys except to prove that the good guy will only be better if he/she battles with the same bad guy or prove how incompetent the good guy is at killing bad guys?

05 - A character (maybe the bad guy/villain or even a main character) gets minor or no punishment after they admit their wrongdoing — Some of them even get forgiven which I have always found kind of wrong especially if someone tries to kill you, forgiving them seems like saying it's okay, I don't mind dying, blab, blab... There should be consequences to people's actions, some type of punishment or karma especially if they did something terrible or wrong.

What are some of your plot pet peeves?

(I got this plot pet peeves idea from Pages Unbound over here. I couldn't comment on that post because I have no wordpress or facebook.)
  
[More about the group over at the Insecure Writer’s Support Group blog here]

IWSG Jan 2025: What if you never finish?

What if you keep writing and writing but never finish any of the writing projects you had started? Even given all the free time, the one thing I'm not doing is finishing. From time to time, I can work on a project for days, weeks even months and then it just fizzle out. Mostly, the motivation is just not there. When I get struck and stop writing, I kind of forget to continue.
    It's easier to start than to finish - at least, it seems to me. I guess you can say I lack motivation and because there is no one chasing me to finish anything, I got lazy. I have way more unfinished stories than finished ones. But finishing isn't the end because there's more editing and more re-writing so maybe I'm avoiding that? Who knows? Maybe I will finish most of my writing some day.
    
Do you worry you'll never finish your writings?

[More about the group over at the Insecure Writer’s Support Group blog here]

IWSG Dec 2024: Gender Perspective

When I was writing this story, a query came up: If a man is feeling awkward or in some slight discomfort and is sitting down, does he widen his feet or do the opposite? This story is from a male perspective so I'm wondering if I'm right to make him have his feet moved farther apart. When someone widen their stance, they are trying to stabilize their body, hence, this sort of make them a little more at ease. My thinking is, your body would automatically do what is comfortable to you in certain situations. I'm not assuming all males are like this but when I'm writing, I am making the assumption.    
    Some people might have a different opinion on this because everyone's different. Even if we assume from the conventional male perspective, there would be deviations we might not know of. I think a character's perspective, whether it is male or female, cannot always be correct because different people have different ideas of what makes a male or a female. But I am mostly speaking from a conventional point of view.

As a reader or writer, do you think writers get it right when it comes to gender perspectives?
  
[More about the group over at the Insecure Writer’s Support Group blog here]

IWSG Nov 2024: Writing Pet Peeves

I'm skipping this month's Insecure Writer's Support Group question and list some writing pet peeves.
    Reading is a preference so what I like, other people might not and what I dislike, other people might so feel free to disagree with me. Here are some writings that I dislike.

01 - End a book by reverting everything back to its beginning or make whatever happened in the first 90% of the book invalid — What is the point of this? If the real story is a different one, then why not tell that one instead? I don't encounter this a lot but when I do, I wish I hadn't read the book.

02 - Dumb makeup words for non-magical people — It works in Harry Potter but somehow it doesn't work in other books and mostly because the terms they use are so ridiculous and maybe insulting to human kind. I guess I prefer a little more creativity and less insulting. Normies (which I read in a book), for instance, is particularly annoying to me.

03 - Cliffhangers in a first book in a series — I now expect every book to be a series but I also expect it to finish a certain plot other than the larger plot. It makes no sense to force readers to get the next book to complete a story that should have been completed in the first book.

04 - Book series with different content ratings — Is it wrong to have a whole series in the same general rating content-wise? So for children's book, the audience does change as the characters grow up but I just don't think it is necessary to write more mature content with details that changes the audience. An example: in a young adult book, the first book is considered g-rated but then the second book had explicit sex scenes and probably would be rated R and then the third book is back to being g-rated. Maybe this didn't matter if the reader is an adult but for children's book, the details are probably not necessary.

05 - When a main character finally gets an answer to a secret that they wanted to know but is stopped by something stupid — I'm not saying you can't delay the answer, I'm saying if you want to delay the answer, don't tease the reader and make us think we're getting it when we're not. One tease, fine, two, maybe, but if the delay gets a delay, then it's the most annoying thing in the world.

06 - First person narrative — Somehow I never got to like this all that much. Who exactly is this person (the narrator that is) talking to? I'm especially curious who they were talking to when they have an attitude. An example of this: 'Yep, I love eating donuts with cheese, do you have a problem with that?'  I guess my issue with this is when I'm reading, it's directed at me because I'm reading it. I never assume things about any character other than if they are the murderer in a murder mystery.

07 - Unreliable narrator - I read one book with an unreliable narrator (although told in third-person) once and I didn't like it. If we can't trust the text we are reading about these characters and their actions to be true, then how are we to believe what is going on is actually going on? This is a preference but I just don't get how people can like a story told in this way.

What are some of your writing pet peeves?

[More about the group over at the Insecure Writer’s Support Group blog here]

Seven Things: Some Bookish Queries

01 - Does cursing make characters sound more like real people?
I find cursing to be very distracting in a story but if a character curse in anger, I can easily accept it but to use it just to make a character sound more realistic? No, just no. Excessive use of the F word certainly make me not like a character and also make me think they are not well educated but that's a cliche, right? I guess I'm more use to not cursing in books so it always takes a bit getting used to if there is excessive cursing.
    
02 - Do you read horror and how do you enjoy reading horror without scaring yourself?
I'm too much of a scaredy-cat to read horror. I avoid them because I know I can't handle it plus, having scary imagery in my head makes me an insomniac.

03 - Why do so many mystery/thriller books have prologues?
I have been reading mysteries/thrillers and have come across more prologues than any other genre. In most, the mysteries are almost always related to the past so we get this small past insight before the book starts and I don't know, it just seem unnecessary sometimes because almost every time, we never return to that scene.
    There was one book where the author included the prologue as the first chapter and I thought that was good but I was still reading a prologue in disguise which somehow didn't irk me as much.

04 - Do you read books in a series out of order?
I prefer to read books in a series in order because I'm like things in linear order. I did read a few books series out of order because I didn't know they were part of a series.
    Sometimes I think publishers and authors kind of disguise their books in a series and make readers think they are standalones. If you look at covers, they don't always say it's part of a series and if they do, they don't even bother with book 1 or book 12, something to indicate where that book stands in that series. It's like they don't care if readers read books out of order. I care. But I guess this will never get changed because publishers don't want turn people off who don't like book series.

05 - Should you hate popular books you didn't read?
Popular books are everywhere, shoving into everyone's faces (at least whose who hangs out at youtube a bit too much), it's only natural to grow some sort of emotions toward these books, right? Either that or I'm judgmental and that's allow. Maybe it's wrong to judge books I didn't read but I know them well enough to form opinions and most are negative opinions. So why I am wasting time hating books? I guess if you can't enjoy loving a book, you can you enjoy hating it, right? I also think you can't be a well-rounded reader if you don't hate some books.

06 - Do you get annoyed by Goodreads' reviews where some said  [This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers] and when you click on [Show full review], there's no spoilers?
What's up with that? It's annoying especially when I expect spoilers. Maybe some readers make a mistake and click on the wrong button? I don't use Goodreads so I don't know how this feature works but it would be nice if people don't overuse it.

07 - As a reader, do you think you have bad book taste?
Sometimes I think I must have terrible taste in books because there are so many books people love and I just don't and I don't see why they do. I like to believe I have good taste but I guess it's all depends on what one believes is good taste. But reading is a preference so even if a book is hated by millions, there would be one or two people who loved it so I don't think anyone's book taste is good or bad, just different from everyone else's.

Do you have some bookish thoughts to share?

IWSG Oct 2024: How can you tell if your writing have improved?

I'm going to skip this month's question and talk about improvement. To make my writing better, I read a ton of articles, blog posts, how-to books and watch a lot of youtube tutorial/info videos and continue to do so but it's hard to say whether they help or hinder because every idea or useful info can also make me question my writing and doubt my own skills and ability to judge correctly.
    Upon re-reading my old writings, I can tell I have improved because those old writings were really bad. At least in terms of grammar. But at the same time, I think my writing has gotten a bit less fanciful. Before, I seemed to write with a somewhat poetic style which may be because I had been writing poems but I don't know. I now write in a bit more direct way and I don't try as hard to make every sentence sound good but I still look up tons of words just to see if I am using them correctly. I like to think this change is an improvement but I'm not 100% sure.
    I guess the way to see if you have improved is to ask people to read your stuff and give their opinion but then you have to decide if you trust their opinion more or yours. If you ask an editor about your writing, you might get a more accurate answer but again, this depends on if you trust them or yourself more. In the end, it's your writing so you are the only one who can judge.

What about you? How can you tell if your writing have improved?

[More about the group over at the Insecure Writer’s Support Group blog here]

Insecure Writer’s Support Group - Sept. 4, 2024

I decided to join the Insecure Writer’s Support Group. I hope being two days late in posting, they won't kick me out. I meant to join but always forget so it's why I'm late.
    Am I an insecure writer? Maybe half yes and half no. I haven't decided if the title of writer belong to me yet. I've been writing fiction for years but I haven't written a piece that I finished and truly proud of but it could happen one day. Assuming I'm not too lazy to finish it because I have a problem finishing my writing (and my artwork but that's not today's discussion).
    This month's Insecure Writer’s Support Group's question is: Since it's back to school time, let's talk English class. What's a writing rule you learned in school that messed you up as a writer?
    I didn't learn any writing rules because they didn't teach any, at least, not that I could remember. I attended public school and have a lot of classmates with English as their second language so there weren't any emphasizes on proper English. I wasn't even sure I had learned English the proper way, only that, I had learned it. It's only after I started writing fiction (and blogging which I started at about the same time) did I realize my grammar wasn't that great. I had used 'of cause' for years (on my blogs) before I realized the correct version is 'of course' since no one corrected me and spellcheck does not check phrases. I do wish I had learned proper grammar as a child or else I wouldn't keep doubting my words so much. [ More about the group over at the Insecure Writer’s Support Group blog]

If you're a writer, have you learned any rules or methods that is helpful with your writing? Or what's a writing rule you learned in school that messed you up as a writer?

Some ramblings about motivations

chill out

Just some ramblings that may or may not be about motivations. The art above (chill out) is a piece that I have re-done awhile ago and I thought it's time to share it plus it makes me happy to see it. And perhaps people can look at it instead of reading my ramblings.

01 | Is it habit or are we all prone to only talk about things we're interested? I find I now post mostly what interest me: books, art and fiction that I create, and sometimes meandering posts like this. It makes sense that I would post what interest me, right? But sometimes it does seems like I'm blogging about the same things over and over and it does feel a bit repetitive. But my interest rarely widen all that much. I guess I should get some new hobbies?

02 | Are you participating in NaNo (National November Writing Month) this month? I think NaNo is great if you need an excuse to write for a month along with other crazy people who thinks writing is something to enjoy with thousands of other people instead of doing it alone. I've not participated in any of the group writing gatherings so I've never truly benefit from doing NaNo. But mostly I'm not participating now because I have zero motivation to write a novel or even finish the twenty I have started.  (Go here if you're interested in National November Writing Month)

03 | I was going to post the last part to Trudy Fine's Very Short Journey Through Space but then I decided not to post it until later. I usually don't take too long in writing because I use writing prompts (mainly Words for Wednesday) and they have a schedule though I'm usually late in posting. I sometimes write a bit of the story and then finish it after I get the prompts or just write from scratch after I get the prompts. So often I write these fairy quickly, perhaps two days, so I'm wondering maybe I should spend more time on them because I find myself correcting what I had already posted. People probably don't realize it but I had make some corrections to the Trudy Fine posts because there were mistakes to the story, tiny mistakes but I corrected them. Even if there aren't people reading it, I still would correct it. It's one of my habits, probably a bad habit. I don't like seeing mistakes where they can be easily fixed. Does anyone know what I mean?  (Go here if you want to read the first three parts of Trudy Fine.)
    I like using writing prompts because it motivates me to write and finish a story instead of procrastinating on it. But maybe I should start participating in writing challenges like WEP (link) again. One should hone their craft even if they are never going to publish a book, right? Supposedly participating in writing challenges helps a writer to grow and get better but do they? I'm not really certain but it's still better to allow other people to read your writing than to keep it to yourself.
    
04 | It's November but it seems like it was January just yesterday. I don't feel I have accomplished anything this year. It's like I've been half-sleeping my way through the months. I can't even tell you a single thing I did that stood out aside from blogging.    
    I blog so that I can sort of say I've been doing something but in fact, having a blog is kind of showing me I haven't been doing much. I would like to have been doing more with my time other than staring at screens and eating meals and trying to remind focus at whatever I was doing but I don't know. Either I'm too lazy to do something or I'm too frustrated with everything to do anything. I'm more motivated to watch youtube videos than finishing any of my hundreds of unfinished projects. I've talked about this before, I lack motivations. I struggled to finish things but maybe I'm afraid to fail. One of the quotes I remember by Erica Jong: I went for years not finishing anything. Because, of course, when you finish something you can be judged. It might be that reason I don't finish things. Or maybe I'm just naturally lazy.

How about you? Do you wait until motivation hits you to do something or do you just start doing without a need for motivation?