#IWSG for January 2017

The Insecure Writer's Support Group (IWSG) is the brilliant idea of Alex J. Cavanaugh. The purpose of the group is to share doubts and insecurities and to encourage one another. Please visit the other participants and share your support. A kind word goes a long way.

This month's awesome co-hosts are: Eva @ Lillicasplace, Crystal Collier, Sheena-kay Graham, Chemist Ken, LG Keltner, and Heather Gardner!

This month's IWSG question: What writing rule do you wish you’d never heard?

The one rule I hear a lot, and I don't know if some people would even consider it a rule, is that you must plot out a story before writing it.

I'm a pantser. I've tried plotting, and my stories have deviated from the very general plans I'd laid out every time. I'd like to believe my muse has good instincts, and so I fly by the seat of my pants, loving every second of it.

From some of those that believe plotting is a must, they also add: an author cannot write quality books if they aren't plotted.

This I wish I have never heard. This is where my doubts creep in. Is the reason I'm not successful because I'm not a plotter? Do I lack a vital skill that might make me a great writer? It gnaws away at me, but try as I might to change from pantsing to plotting, I can't do it. My stories flow the way they want to flow, and that is at once both scary and joyful.

Happy New Year to you all!