I participate in some wonderful writers groups, but realize that I need to connect with more thriller suspense writers. Searching the International Thriller Writers (ITW) website, I found and applied to thriller-tique,

“a program that matches members with similar writing experience and sub-genres, placing them in virtual critique groups of up to eight participants each. These monthly Zoom meetings are led by trained facilitators and follow an ITW-approved standardized format. Join in the fun and be part of a community that understands the genre-specific nuances of writing to thrill. Designed by thriller writers for thriller writers, this service is free to all ITW members.”

Getting matched to a group can take a while, so we’ll see…

Getting to attend the Realm Makers writers conference this summer was amazing! I think I will always love that conference. Read about it in my post, Realm Makers writers conference 2023.

Immediately after the conference, I attended a virtual Deep POV workshop through AutoCrit. It was SUPER helpful. I just might be able to attack that next phase of my writing 😊 And because I attended, I can submit 1,000 words to be critiqued. Super exciting!

Then a crisis happened on our little homestead (we homestead by the way 🐓). Gumdrop, a month old Embden gosling – our first naturally hatched baby – was accidentally stepped on by her daddy, Hansel. He broke her leg. Being our only baby, we treated her more like a pet. This involved a lot of hands-on care. Totally derailed my writing and editing schedule. The silver lining: I got to constantly snuggle with a fuzzy baby goose.

Additionally, my depression and sickness continued to pop up. Not super severe, but enough to disrupt daily life. Which also got in the way of writing. My mindset evolved from being excited about my writers conference experience to thinking there was no way I was going to connect the dots and successfully write Deep POV, etc. I was frozen.

Then, we went on vacation. Our first longer-than-a-weekend trip since 2010!! I’d say it was needed. We visited Zion National Park, Arches National Park, Grand Canyon National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, and Snow Canyon State Park. We had quite the adventure. I wrote specifically about our unexpected Left Fork (Subway) Bottom-Up hike adventure here. And mentioned our twilight zone experience at the airport on social, here.

After getting back from vacation, it was like I was finally myself, refreshed and awakened. (I highly recommend vacations) I am now trying to write Deep POV and hoping I’m doing it correctly because I’m having so much fun!

What has derailed you and your plans? Are you able to take some kind of break to refresh and renew?

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