Melissa Maygrove

I am skipping this month's IWSG due to work obligations  (annual skills fair + NICU re-designation, for those in the know - Gah!).  So, I will leave you with a link to a past post about speed writing.  Maybe it will help you NaNoWriMo. Click here to go to >  Speed Writing (Eleventh hour help for all you NaNo people) Thanks for stopping by. :)

  This is my   Insecure Writers Support Group   post for October 2023. Alex's awesome co-hosts this month  are:  Natalie Aguirre,   Kim Lajevardi,   Debs Carey,   Gwen Gardner,   Patricia Josephine,   &  Rebecca Douglass! Please stop by their blogs and say thank you .  💻💻💻💻💻 October's question: The topic of AI writing has been heavily debated across the world. According to various sources, generative AI will assist writers, not replace them. What are your thoughts? I'm still learning about AI and forming an opinion, but I agree.  From what I understand, it is not without significant limitations.  It can't be trusted for accuracy, and asking it the right questions is imperative.  This AI-generated image says it all. "Jesus flipping over tables at the temple." I don't fear AI. Honestly, it seems like a lot of hype over nothing.   I might let it help me brainstorm or outline a story, but I doubt I would ever let AI write a manuscript, especially cons

I have big news. HUGE NEWS! Today is STUFF YOUR E-READER day! ( Actually today & the next two days, because the promo broke Amazon last time .) Hundreds of authors have come together for this event.   Over 2,400 books are FREE to anyone who wants them.  Yes, you read that right. 2,400+ books . All books are either romance or have a romantic element. All new! No duplicates! None have EVER been featured in this promo before. There's a large variety of categories and a range of heat levels. The books are also grouped by author type, such as authors with disabilities, in case you wish to show your support. These books are genuinely free , not just free in Kindle Unlimited, so they won't count toward your KU limit. ( Check the price before clicking 'buy,' because glitches happen .) No Kindle? No problem. Many are available from other retailers. (You can also get the Kindle reading app for other devices.) Each book is listed with a brief story description and keywords

  This is my   Insecure Writers Support Group   post for September 2023. Alex's awesome co-hosts this month  are:  Sonia Dogra,   J Lenni Dorner,   Pat Garcia,   Sarah - The Faux Fountain Pen,   and  Meka James! Please stop by their blogs and say thank you .  💻💻💻💻💻 September 6 question: The IWSG celebrates 12 years today! When did you discover the IWSG, how do you connect, and how has it helped you? Goodness! Has it been 12 years? I feel old. You are old, Melissa. I had trouble locating my first IWSG post. But that's probably because I signed up, forgot to post, and got kicked off. Alex was gracious enough to let me try again. Since then, I've left the hop and rejoined, as life and blogging time allowed. I enjoy touching base with my cyber-friends, and I find comfort in knowing other writers struggle with the same things I do. I've also learned a lot over the years. My August 2012 post on the almost- one-year anniversary of IWSG  was one of my funnier ones. Click i

  This is my   Insecure Writers Support Group   post for August 2023. Alex's awesome co-hosts this month  are:    Kate Larkinsdale,   Diane Burton,   Janet Alcorn,   and  Shannon Lawrence! Please stop by their blogs and say thank you .  💻💻💻💻💻 I had planned to skip this month's question, but my answer is short, so I changed my mind. August 2nd question: Have you ever written something that afterwards you felt conflicted about? If so, did you let it stay as it was, take it out, or rewrite it?   I don't shy away from strong emotion or vivid descriptions when I write, if it's appropriate for the story. IMHO, novels should evoke strong feelings of all kinds.  On a micro level, I have chosen to redo portions of scenes - usually so I don't go too far for my audience or have extremely dislikeable MC behavior - but I can't recall making any changes on a large scale, such as nixing an entire chapter or story. ### Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Editor? Finding and hi

I hope you all have a happy, safe holiday. I'll be spending mine with the preemies. To any IWSGers who stop by, sorry I missed you.  See you next month.