IWSG - An Exercise in Introspection (or how I almost quit writing)

June 1, 2016

The Insecure Writer's Support Group
http://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com

I think the scariest thing I’ve experienced since being published was the dry season at the beginning of this year.  For the first time since 2003, I seriously considered pulling the plug on my writing career.

The timing to take that action was perfect. Amber Quill Press had announced it was closing. This meant all but one of my KC Kendricks books would be going out of print. I could pull my one indie release, take down the KC website and fade away. It was tempting beyond measure.

For two weeks I did nothing related to writing. I played on the computer and kept in touch with friends, but if it wasn’t pre-scheduled, it didn’t go out. I wanted to know what life could be like without writing, and the answer was sobering, if not downright frightening.

Fast on the heels of discovering I actually could walk away from writing, my mother landed in the hospital. It was a comfort to me, in my heart, to know that if I had to devote more time to her care, I wouldn’t miss writing with gut-wrenching, heart-rending sorrow. 

June is my birthday month. I live with the duality of being a Gemini. Some folks think astrology is hogwash, and while I won’t say I agree or disagree, I do see in myself many of the traits attributed to the Twins. The introspection of the last several months has been good, at least for part of me. I think that in small ways I’m sad my passion for writing isn’t the same as it was in 2003, but looking at the Big Picture, my dry spell was a positive thing. I want to write.

Writers weather many storms. We’re in touch with emotions in a unique way. We have to be to translate them to the page. This sometimes leaves us at the mercy of our own feelings. If we can step back, look at ourselves as we would one of our character creations, we might discover the path we just traveled, and the road to our own future, isn’t as scary as we thought. Sometimes we walk in daylight, with our eyes closed, and we only think it’s night. When we discover the truth of what lies beneath our own skin, we write.

And sometimes we write better.

KC Kendricks

http://www.kckendricks.com

www.twitter.com/kckendricks

www.facebook.com/kckendricks

It explains so much

September 13, 2012

So I took a little quiz. 
The results are not surprising for a Gemini. 
Nope. 
Not at all. 

KC

 

Right Brain/ Left Brain Quiz The higher of these two numbers below indicates which side of your brain has dominance in your life. Realising your right brain/left brain tendancy will help you interact with and to understand others. Left Brain Dominance: (9) Right Brain Dominance: (9) Right Brain/ Left Brain Quiz

The daily confusion

Gemini’s Horoscope for August 25, 2010

You need to let yourself really push on your career track, even if you'd rather be doing other things. You can make more progress than you realize if you just shift some resources around.

I’ve been thinking about my horoscope all day and wondering to which career it refers. There’s my day job, where I spend forty-plus hours a week wowing everyone with my administrative skills, and there’s my writing career where I spend forty-plus hours a week trying to survive as a little bitty fish in a great big pond.

You’d think I’d rather concentrate on the career where I get heaps of praise, but not so. I prefer life in the crowded waters of the pool.

If I had my ‘druthers’ my career as office manager/administrative assistant would be winding down, and my writing career ramping up. Maybe that’s my answer. Writing is what I want to do, so I need to make the push at the day job.

Do the stars and planets deliberately set out to confuse me?

And what resources are they talking about? I wish these things came with a detailed outline and a roadmap. I'd worry about getting it all figured out, but come tomorrow, I'll have a new puzzle to solve. Until then, it's time to get back to work. I'll let you figure out which career I'm working on today :)

The Daily Horoscope Reading

June 20, 2009

You're in the sweet spot today, and should be able to get your people to follow along just through the power of your personality. It's one of those days when you can start a million different projects!

Hmm. ‘Get my people to follow along.’

That’s my horoscope for June 20, 2009, and it’s not reassuring. ‘Get my people to follow along.’ I can’t even get my dog to follow along, most days. And as for starting a million different projects – oh no. No, no. OH NO. Not gonna happen. I have toooooo many projects started now.

One thing is correct, though. I am in a sweet spot. It’s Saturday, and the spousal unit is contentedly parked in front of the television watching the US Open. Golf is good because, unlike like baseball, it is watched quietly. As a reward for blessed silence, I’m watching the newswires and snagging photos of Tiger in action for my honey’s screensaver.

In the Chronicles of Amber, Roger Zelazny writes, “All roads lead to Amber.” My destinations today are a bit less metaphorical. I can join the golf watching, read a book, write a book, take a nap (that one seems to be winning), or even call up some friends and go frolic at the mall.

Or maybe I’ll just lean back and laze the day away. That would definitely be sweet.


KC Kendricks
https://kckendricks.blogspot.com/p/open-roads-by-kc-kendricks.html
http://www.kckendricks.blogspot.com
http://www.twitter.com/kckendricks