Today is both #IWSG day and day six of #NaBloPoMo!

My style and reflections on the A-Z C... I got time.

Today is both #IWSG day and day six of #NaBloPoMo!

Let’s combine the blog hops today, shall we?

This post is part of the Insecure Writer’s Support Group blog hop. The first Wednesday of every month is 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. The awesome co-hosts for the the May 6 posting of the IWSG will be Eva Solar, Melanie Schulz, Lisa-Buie Collard, and Stephen Tremp!

During the month of May I’m doing the NaBloPoMo challenge–blogging every day of the month on the theme of photos.

Today’s prompt: How often are you in your photographs?

Photo: Your Love

I thought about how I could combine today’s posts. How often am I in my photographs? Constantly! I love having my picture taken and having pictures taken of what I’m doing. And from the writing perspective, how often am *I* in my photographs–that is, my books? How much of myself is in each one, and how would that make me insecure, exactly? Let me explain.

All of us have heard the phrase “write what you know.” Some people live by it and some people think it’s ridiculous. After all, how would any spy novels or murder mysteries get written if only spies and detectives wrote these novels? Or historicals, or sci-fi? Do you have to live on an alien planet or travel back in time to write these things? Of course not. You do research and use your imagination. I interpret ‘write what you know’ as ‘write what you’re enthusiastic about and can put the time and dedication into.’

But putting yourself into your work can make you feel insecure in two opposite ways:

– If you put too much of your passion and yourself into something, and people don’t like it, what then? Does that mean they don’t like you? Does it mean you should change genres? It’s scary to put your heart and soul into something and put it on display for other people.

– What if you branch out and research something you don’t ‘know’ and you don’t write it well enough, or correctly and honestly? Will people who have experienced the subject call you a phony? What if you get laughed at? What if they can tell you’re just an intruder in their sandbox?

Writing is a lot of nail biting and hoping that your work resonates with someone, or they at least don’t mock you. Putting yourself into your work–writing what you know–is even more nerve wracking. Just like taking a picture of yourself, you hope somebody hits that ‘like’ button.