#IWSG: Speaking From Experience

It's time for another Insecure Writer's Support Group blog posting. IWSG was created by the awesome ninja captain Alex J. Cavanaugh, and you can find a list of all the other members of the group here

 

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!

 

Alex's awesome co-hosts for the October 7 posting of the IWSG will be TB Markinson, Tamara Narayan, Shannon Lawrence, Stephanie Faris, and Eva E. Solar!

 

 

 

Any writer who plans to market their own work, at that is probably about 99.9% of us, speaking well is a benefit well worth pursuing.

Even if you never intend to do a book signing, a radio interview, or join a panel discussion, speaking well gives you the confidence to excel in other areas of writing.

I’ve been a fair-weather member of Toastmasters since 2010. I would give one or two speeches a year before my local club members. Then I would take on other roles in weekly meetings for a number of weeks before drifting away. My ability to speak in front of an audience never improved.

This year, I decided it was now-or-never. I wrote and gave Speech #7 in July. Scared out of my wits. Held only the polite people’s attention for any length of time; misunderstood in my main point by others. I decided I needed more help than I was getting up to date.

Ask and you shall receive.

Our VP of Education agreed to mentor me. After I wrote Speech #8, she did a quick edit. I practiced, practiced, practiced the speech until I felt confident it was the best I could do. I gave the speech, entitled Writing the First Draft and won the blue ribbon for best speaker that week.

I was so excited about winning, I posted an article on my blog site and spread the word on Facebook. The editor of Sisters in Crime, Inc.’s newsletter, First Draft, asked me to write an article for November that explained speaking with confidence is beneficial to writers. With my confidence level soaring, I wrote and submitted the article.

From there, everything I touched turned, well, not to gold, but into a successful project. I wrote an emotional speech for Speech #9 but it was so emotional, I had trouble with the beginning and went over my allotted time. Even though I was ineligible for a blue ribbon, I was voted best speaker that week. Trust me, I didn’t care about the ribbon.

In October, I am holding a “mock” Toastmasters meeting for our Sisters in Crime/Hawaii monthly meeting, to give our members a taste of how learning to speak in front of an audience or small group is a beneficial goal for all writers.

You may have seen the survey that shows the most feared human experience, even ahead of dying (as in: I’d rather die), is speaking in front of an audience. Admitting you are petrified to speak in public is a good first step toward becoming a confident speaker. Trust me, I’m speaking from experience.

 

 

THE MELODY LINGERS ON: #FridayReview 1 of 71

My goal is to read and review 71 books between October, 2015 and October, 2016. Not all reviews will be confined to stories in the mystery genre, though I may lean heavier in that direction. My eclectic reading list ranges from first-in-series self-published novels to the classics. At the end of each review, I will list the next book slated for review. I begin with a mystery.

Mary Higgins Clark

The Melody Lingers On

 

I started reading Mary Higgins Clark with her first published suspense novel, Where Are The Children. She hooked me on the first chapter. I went on to read a dozen or more of her novels over the years.

At some point, I stopped reading her stories but not because the writing lagged. She has always maintained a high quality in her writing style and level of tension. She understands what her readers want in the way of a mystery, and she consistently delivers. My tastes may have changed or I needed to experience new writers as a means of learning the craft of writing. I believe it is Stephen King who advocates that if you don’t read, you can’t write. 

Over the years, having already devoured all of Robert Ludlum’s books, and impatiently awaiting the next gunslinger novel from Stephen King (oh, the endless wait!), I “discovered” John Sandford, Sue Grafton, Michael Connelly, Tess Gerritson, Kathy Reich, James Lee Burke . . . the list is also never ending. 

But all roads lead back to the Queen of Mystery, Mary Higgins Clark. 

As I read the opening chapter of The Melody Lingers On, I felt the draw of Clark’s first novels, such as The Cradle Will Fall and Weep No More, My Lady. She builds suspense slowly, allowing the reader to absorb each newly introduced character before asking them to draw an opinion or conclusion. Villains and heroes are treated evenly, making it difficult to determine which is which. My indecision always keeps me reading to learn more. 

If you have ever been on the wrong end of some sadistic person’s scheme to derive pleasure from cheating others, you will relate, as I did, to this suspense-filled novel. With such a personal investment in the story, the hook is set, and you will find that reading this novel from cover to cover is inevitable.

 

Next up for review is:

Moloka‘i by Alan Brennert