Shannon Lawrence

Yay, it's time for the first Insecure Writer's Group of 2026! Crud, I have to remember to write that on checks and medical check-in forms now. We'll see how many times I mess that up. Anyway, Happy New Year! The IWSG was created by Alex J. Cavanaugh to provide a place for writers to air their insecurities and support each other. Anyone can join. Simply click on Alex's name above and add your blog to the linky list. The co-hosts this month are Olga Godim , Jean Davis , Jacqui Murray , and me! The optional question this month is: Is there anything in your writing plans for 2026 that you are going to do that you couldn't get done in 2025? Well, yeah! By virtue of having had a gazillion jobs at the same time in 2025, it was a crap year for me in writing. I've been frozen in burnout from having done that to myself since I finally got out from underneath the extraneous jobs, but this year, that changes. I intend to write more, submit more, to finish editing the curre...

It's time for the December Insecure Writer's Support Group. The IWSG was created by Alex J. Cavanaugh to provide a place to discuss our insecurities and lend each other support. It occurs the first Wednesday of each month, and anyone can join. Just click on Alex's name and put your blog on the linky list. The co-hosts this month are Tara Tyler , Ronel Janse van Vuuren , Pat Garcia , Liza , and Natalie Aguirre . Optional question: As a writer, what was one of the coolest/best gifts you received? Man, I've received some great gifts, but my husband is probably at the top of the list as the gift giver. He made a giant book cover for me with velcro stick-ons saying "Signed by the Author" and "Now in Session Author Meet and Greet Book Signing" for my first ever book launch. He also got me my formatting software and installed it. For someone who doesn't enjoy reading, he is great at supporting me as a writer. Speaking of book launches, I released my ne...

Yes, it's that time again! Time for another month of the Insecure Writer's Support Group. Created by Alex J. Cavanaugh , the IWSG is a blog hop that gives writers a space to air their insecurities and to provide support to other insecure writers. Anyone can participate. Simply click on Alex's name above and sign up. This month's co-hosts are: Jennifer Lane , Jenni Enzor , Renee Scattergood , Rebecca Douglass , Lynn Bradshaw , and Melissa Maygrove . The optional question this month is: When you began writing, what did you imagine your life as a writer would be like? Were you right, or has this experience presented you with some surprises along the way? I had the same misguided optimistic idea of  being a writer, thanks to the movies, that most people go in with. My first professional writer's conference took care of that pretty quickly. Now that I've seen the realities (you probably won't sell your first book right away, you likely won't be a millionaire)...

It's time for the September Insecure Writer's Support Group. The IWSG was created by Alex J. Cavanaugh so we writers can share our insecurities and support each other through them. Anyone can join. Simply click on Alex's name and add your blog to the list. Our co-hosts this month are Kim Lajevardi , Natalie Aguirre , Nancy Gideon , and Diedre Knight . The optional question this month is: What are your thoughts on using AI, such as GPChat, Raptor, and others with your writing? Would you use it for research, storybible, or for creating outlines/beats? I have zero interest in using AI for any aspect of my writing or research. Aside from my personal feelings about using AI for writing, it's notoriously unreliable for information, so even for research I feel it's pointless. Plus, I love research and compiling information, in addition to writing. What I *want* is for AI to clean my house. Where's Rosie the Robot? I'd rather that over having my work stolen to feed...

It's time for the Insecure Writer's Support Group! Created by Alex J. Cavanaugh , the IWSG provides space for writers to share their insecurities and to get and give support. Anyone can join. Simply click on Alex's name and add your name to the linky list, then post the first Wednesday of each month. The co-hosts this month are: Ronel Janse van Vuuren , Natalie Aguirre , Sarah - the Faux Fountain Pen , and Olga Godim . The optional question this month is: What is the most unethical practice in the publishing industry? (I'll be skipping the question this month, because wow, I could probably just keep writing about it.) My insecurity this month is about some big chances I'm planning on taking soon. I've quit the job that has been basically killing my soul (sounds dramatic, but it's also true), and I have been setting up stuff in my office so I can hopefully make a triumphant return to creativity and writing in a way that I've been too mentally dead tired ...

And here we are, back at another new month. Time for the Insecure Writer's Support Group! Created by Alex J. Cavanaugh , the IWSG provides a place for writers to give and get support for their insecurities. Anyone can join. Simply click on Alex's name and put your name on the list. This month's co-hosts are Rebecca Douglass , Natalie Aguirre , Cathrina Constantine , and Louise Barbour . Be sure to stop by and thank them for hosting! The optional question this month is: Is there a genre you haven't tried writing in yet that you really want to try? If so, do you plan on trying it? I've been wanting to play around with mystery. Specifically, I have an idea for an amateur sleuth series. I've tested the waters by writing two mystery short stories and submitting them, and both sold quickly, so I'm definitely planning on writing more. Last month I updated with some new releases. Well, I had another while I was in the UK! It's free to read at Pulp Asylum . Let U...