- Andrea Torrey Balsara
IWSG: Stressors & Delights in Writing

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!
The awesome co-hosts for the December 1 posting of the IWSG are PJ Colando, Diane, Burton,Louise – Fundy Blue,Natalie Aguirre, and Jacqui Murray!
IWSG December Question: In your writing, what stresses you out the most? What delights you?
Writers are supposed to know their grammar, right? Well, I don’t.
I had just moved back to the States after living overseas for years, and my 8th grade
grammar teacher was so obnoxious (or maybe I was the obnoxious one?) that I made a
conscious decision to NOT learn from her. I went through the motions, turned in my
assignments, and then forgot everything, thinking I’d really shown her. Now I have a huge
gap in my knowledge that I have to keep learning and relearning because the rules of
grammar weren’t engrained when I was young. Thanks, 8th grade me! Good plan.
What delights me is when I have my writing soundtrack going and the perfect song is
playing, my characters are lined up and ready to go, and I have a clear vision of the scene
I’m going to write. Then I “spin the top” and watch what happens. As the music plays and I
become more and more immersed in the moment, my characters seem to write the stories
themselves and I just record what I’m seeing. When that moment of creative synergy
happens, I feel like I’m flying. It’s blissful and hours can pass in what feels like an instant.