Interview at The Mighty Books Podcast

 This is a tiny post to say thanks to Ryan Oliver for the interview at The Mighty Books podcast!

If you would like to give it a listen, it's here:

If that bit of code doesn't work, you can find it on Youtube here: The Mighty Books Podcast. 

March IWSG 2023

 

Today is blog hop day for The Insecure Writers' Support Group, started by Alex J. Cavanaugh and co-hosted this month by:

Diedre Knight, Tonya Drecker, Bish Denham, Olga Godim, and JQ Rose!

Many thanks to all who participate and make IWSG possible!

The March 1st Optional Question is:

Have you ever read a line in novel or a clever plot twist that caused you to have author envy?

Heck yeah. I think the first author envy I had was as a kid. I wanted to write like C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. They made it look effortless. My first novel draft written at age 12 went into the garbage can because I thought it was terrible. I envied/hoped/longed to be able to write well.

I still have that yearning, even after finishing several books, stories, and poems, even after getting some of my work published by professional small presses and traditional places, as well as publishing my own work. Even after I took second place in a poetry contest just recently. The yearning to improve my writing craft and become a "really good" author is still there. 

However, I don't throw my stuff out anymore. I mine it for rough cut gems and polish them. 

Yes, some days I read a book and sigh with amazement and envy over another author's perfect words, characterizations, plot twists, or resolutions, but then the longing to learn and improve and become the best author I can be with my strengths comes back to me. With that in mind, I head back to work. 

I write to writing prompts, I read craft books, I write stories, poems, songs, articles, novels, and I keep on keeping on, hoping to learn, improve, and discover more heights and depths in my writing along the way. 

The reality is, I'm not going to be an author just like someone else, and I have realized that I don't want to be an author just like someone else anymore. I want to be the best author I can be which means constantly moving forward, step by step. My writing has improved and continues to improve as I lean into my strengths and work slowly at my weaknesses. I'll never be Tolkien or Lewis, but I'll be the best Tyrean Martinson author I can be. 

What about you? Do you ever struggle with author envy? 

How do you work on and take ownership of the best version of your writing?

NEWS FROM THE WRITER'S DESK

I started a Substack. It's here: Tyrean's Substack

I have a different website over here: Tyrean's Tales

Dark Blade: Tempered (Dark Blade. Vol. 2) is going well on Kindle Vella. 

Dark Blade: Forged is going through preparations for eBook and Paperback release. 

Resonance (Rayatana 3) is spinning in a time loop, but eventually I will finish it. 

I have a pseudonym (or two) and will be writing about that here in a few weeks. 

And, as always, my family keeps me on my toes, and my health is making turtle-like progress.