Rosie J.
- Jul 5, 2023
- 6 min read

#IWSG July 2023: Where do the ideas come from?

The Insecure Writer's Support Group in alternating white and orange words

Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds! Posting: The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Post your thoughts on your own blog. Talk about your doubts and the fears you have conquered. Discuss your struggles and triumphs. Offer a word of encouragement for others who are struggling. Visit others in the group and connect with your fellow writer - aim for a dozen new people each time - and return comments. This group is all about connecting! Let’s rock the neurotic writing world! Our Twitter handle is @TheIWSG and hashtag is #IWSG.

The awesome co-hosts for the July 5 posting of the IWSG are PJ Colando, Kim Lajevardi, Gwen Gardner, Pat Garcia, and Natalie Aguirre!

The following link will allow you to peruse everyone in the Blog Hop.

Link | IWSG Blog Hop Participants

***************

July 5 question - 99% of my story ideas come from dreams. Where do yours predominantly come from?

***************

Hello, friends!

I am running behind with today's post! Usually, I get these things pre-written a week or so ahead of time and just have to hit Publish on the Wednesday of, but it has been a crazy month!

On the 21st, I presented at my first "grown-up" conference in my career field. I had to get that presentation together, travel to the conference, travel home, etc. It was a long week! But a super rewarding experience getting to be the "expert" on something and have people -- some of whom were my professors in grad school -- asking me questions!

It also just happened to coincide with the one year anniversary of starting my first job in my career field. It's been such a wild ride the last year.

Then, we had to trap cats. Yup. Early in June we noticed a kitty had taken residence in our barn. Knowing that the kitty was a tortoiseshell and that meant she was most likely a girl and most likely pregnant or recently so, it was just a matter of time before we saw the kittens. And sure enough, she had a litter of five. She moved them to an abandoned house across the street, which took a few days to figure out, but for most of the month my partner and I have been in the process of feeding, trying to tame, trapping, and then fostering/socializing in kennels in our basement. They have an appointment to get fixed on the 18th. And we've found homes for 3 of the 5 of them!!

Kitten pictures for tax:

Just look at those cute faces. There's only four of them, but I posted a second pic of the tortie kitten because she's so stinkin' cute.

It's hard to get a good picture of the mom -- to the left -- because she's been a very spicy girl and she looks angry in all of them, but she's calming down and starting to accept us. At least when there's food involved!

It's been a lot of work, but I'm so happy to give these babies a chance at a better life in the lap of luxury. The two tabby babies are going to my partner's sister and her boyfriend. And a friend of mine is taking the tortie girl. We will likely keep the mom, since she trusts us and it's been a long process to get her to where she is now. I don't know how well she'd do with others. And the tux kitten, we're not sure about yet. My parents are slightly interested, but if they decide not to keep him, then he may just stay with us, too!

Now, onto some writing things!

Ghostwriting

If you read my May IWSG and June IWSG posts, then you probably read about how I was working on getting my start in ghostwriting through participating in my friend Mai's Romance Fiction Queen ghostwriting program.

Since my last update, I did an entire developmental edit on the outline that the client already had for a story. It needed help. I cut a good portion of the first 15 chapters because it was all backstory/info-dumping. I submitted the first 10k to the client last week AND SHE LOVED IT.

I'm finishing up the next 10k for her now, and hoping she loves it just as much.

Even though my name will never be on this book, it's been so validating to write a story that someone is enjoying reading and is going to be happy to publish.

What do you think of my little logos? I have one with "Rosie" and one without.

I'm thinking of doing an LLC, if this gets going enough to warrant one, and it would probably just be "Whispered Words, LLC" but for my ghostwriting business, I do like the use of "Rosie's Whispered Words".

IWSG Monthly Question

The question this month asks where your story ideas come from...

Whew. Anywhere and everywhere really. It depends on the story, too. But especially for romance stories, I get a lot of those ideas from people watching. I have a couple scenarios I saw that I think would be great contemporary romance novel starts just from observing people and their interactions and making a story up for them in my head.

For example, we went to eat the other day, and there was a woman (no wedding band) sitting at a table with her two kids. This waiter came out to talk to them (he wasn't their waiter), but they clearly knew each other. I got a hint, from their conversation that I picked up on, that they maybe had a past together. When he walked off, she had that look on her face like she'd just gotten asked on her first date, and she was pondering the possibilities. To my eye? That was a second-chance romance meet cute right there! So I've filed it away in my TBW (to be written) pile of possibilities.

For my fantasy stuff, it varies. Maybe a show I watched gave me an idea, or a book I read, or even a video game I played. My urban fantasy manuscript was inspired by driving through the Appalachian Mountains all the time and wondering what's really back in those mountains. And my current high fantasy WIP was inspired by a video game! I talk more about that in this blog: Unexpected Inspiration

The high fantasy is still a work in progress, and it has evolved a lot from that original idea, but it still came from a video game!!

What about you? Where do your story ideas come from? Tell me in the comments!

Twitch Writing Sprints Reminder!

Purple background with a couple hearts. Text: Writing & Productivity Sprints on Twitch, Wednesdays 8-11pm Easter, Fridays 1-4pm Eastern, twitch.tv/RoseEvenstar21

Shameless plug!

I'm still having a blast doing Writing & Productivity/Coworking sprints

on Twitch every week! Come join me to hang out, have fun, and get shit done!

Wednesdays at 8 pm EDT and

Fridays at 1 pm EDT

on Twitch!

Having an accountability group is so wonderful! If you're not into Twitch, but are on Discord, I also have a group there that has a lot of writers, artists, musicians, gamers, etc., who support each other. We talk writing on a regular basis and generally have a good time!

Feel free to join The Rose Garden on Discord!

Thanks for stopping by and let me know in the comments your thoughts about the July question or tell me about your general writing goals for the month or what's happening in your writer life (or life in general).

Be sure to see my links down below for other places to keep up with me online and other related blog posts!

For now,

Rosie J.