It's World Read Aloud Day!

Here we are at our second Insecure Writer's Support Group post of the year. Don't know what IWSG is? Have no fear. Click on the image below to find out how to participate and to read other posts today.

I do want to give a major shout-out to this month's co-hosts because without you this day wouldn't run as smoothly as it does. Thank you! Louise - Fundy Blue , Jennifer Lane, Mary Aalgaard, Patsy Collins at Womagwriter, and Nancy Gideon!

I've decided to forgo this month's optional question to share something special with you! But please, feel free to share your answer with me in the comments to this month's optional question: 

 

Blogging is often more than just sharing stories. It’s often the start of special friendships and relationships. Have you made any friends through the blogosphere? 

 

Okay, so I fibbed. A little. I have to answer this question. Yes, yes, & YES! I've been blogging for over 10 years now, and it has afforded me some of the most amazing and cherished friendships of my life. And it doesn't matter where our writing journeys have taken us. Some of us are still writing full-time; others have cut to part-time or moved on to other endeavors. None of that matters. We will forever be linked as writing sojourners in the land of the blogosphere and friends forever.

 

So, my share today is - IT'S WORLD READ ALOUD DAY!!! 

 

Many of us, especially those who write for younger children, middle schoolers, and high school students, will spend this day online visiting classrooms and groups of students! We share who we are and read to students. We read from our own work as well as those we admire or those books we'd like to recommend to the kids. It's a wonderful time for all.

 

Say a little prayer for me to get through this day. (Students are exhausting, but super fun!) I'll say a prayer for you, too!

 

 

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Many Blessings,

 

IWSG~Do You Finish The Book or Put It Down?

Happy New Year!

Knowing that, for most people, Covid put a huge damper on any New Year's celebrations, I still have to ask - Did you do anything special, anyway? How did you ring in this new year?

Me - my hubby and I went out to dinner with friends and called it an early night, thankful that we could go out at all.

🦋🦋🦋

Moving forward, the IWSG (optional) monthly question is an intriguing one. I really had to think about this one.

Image Credit

 

Question: Being a writer, when you're reading someone else's work, what stops you from finishing a book/throws you out of the story/frustrates you the most about other people's books?

 

 

 

 

 

To even ponder an answer to this question, I literally had to search through my bookshelves to jog memories of books that made me pause at inopportune times or that I couldn't finish. In all honestly, for the most part, I usually finish every book I start.

1. I feel like I owe it to the author to forge through to the end. Being a writer, I understand the accomplishment of writing an entire novel - *like most of you.
2. I owe it to the story to see where it journeys, to follow the twists and turns of the character arcs.

As far as frustration while reading a book, I guess I might have a bit of apprehension for those books that jump around the story a little too much. What's too much? Hmm...like most else in reading and writing, that is subjective. For me, it's when I flip to the next page and can't remember the character, problem, or (short-term) goal of the story thread. So when I have to flip back a few chapters to refresh my memory. 

On the other hand, that might not be the writer's fault. I am getting older, you know... :) 

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Offering up a warm 'thank you' to all this month's co-hosts -  Ronel Janse van Vuuren , J Lenni Dorner, Gwen Gardner Sandra Cox, and Louise - Fundy Blue!

What about you? Anything about a book make you put it down or quit reading it?