Could Have Should Have ( #IWSG )

 

          If thinking was doing then I would have done a whole lot of stuff in my life....

  The Insecure Writer's Support Group

Join us on the first Wednesday of each month in Alex J. Cavanaugh's Insecure Writer's Support Group--a forum of writers who gather to talk about writing and the writer's life. For a complete list of participants visit Alex's Blog. 
     The co-hosts for the August 5 posting of the IWSG are Shannon Lawrence, Diedre Knight, Liza, and Pat Garcia.

August 5 question - As a writer/author what is something you regret? Or something that you wish you'd done differently in your writing process?

            No regrets is my motto, but, yeah, I could have done a lot more differently.   And what I could have--should have--done differently is write more.  Same as now.  I need to write more.

        I've been thinking a lot about that lately...

A OK ( #IWSG )

  The Insecure Writer's Support Group

Join us on the first Wednesday of each month in Alex J. Cavanaugh's Insecure Writer's Support Group--a forum of writers who gather to talk about writing and the writer's life. For a complete list of participants visit Alex's Blog. 
     The co-hosts for the July 1 posting of the IWSG are Rebecca Douglass, Ronel Janse van Vuuren, Cathrina Constantine, and Jacqui Murray.

July 1 question - Is there anything you'd like to see changed, added, and/or rearranged about the book publishing industry?

       I can't say that I know enough about the question for this month that I need to add to this conversation.

       I will say that my roller coaster summer has been leveling off a bit and things have settled to an okay status.  I've been enjoying some of the World Cup games and rooting for U.S.A.  Hope they win the whole enchilada.  

      Next on my own menu is another family Fourth of July this coming Saturday.  We're not expecting as many people this year, but still lots of carne asada, rice, beans, and guacamole will be dished out to our guests.  

      Wishing you all a happy and safe Independence Day and a great rest of the summer.  

Writing Inspiration--When I Get Inspired ( #IWSG )

 The Insecure Writer's Support Group

Join us on the first Wednesday of each month in Alex J. Cavanaugh's Insecure Writer's Support Group--a forum of writers who gather to talk about writing and the writer's life. For a complete list of participants visit Alex's Blog. 
     The co-hosts for the June 3 posting of the IWSG are Victoria Marie Lees, Sarah Foster, Natalie Aguirre, and C. Lee McKenzie

June 3 question - Do most of your story ideas come from one place (the news, dreams, etc.) or do they hit from all over the place?

        This is a great question.  I'm an all over the place kind of writer I guess.  In the past I've come up with many story ideas based on a dream I've had.  Sometimes I've been inspired by something I've heard from someone else's conversations.  For years I've kept a file of newspaper stories and magazine articles that have been a source for a story idea.  My mind is a freeway of random ideas trafficking to and fro.  

       These days my ideas for writing concern real events and life stories.  Hopefully I'll settle down soon to start actually writing again.  Maybe one day I'll write about what is holding me back from writing these days.  

        Have a wonderful summer!

The Fire That Fuels Me ( #IWSG & #AtoZChallenge )

 

The Insecure Writer's Support Group

Join us on the first Wednesday of each month in Alex J. Cavanaugh's Insecure Writer's Support Group--a forum of writers who gather to talk about writing and the writer's life. For a complete list of participants visit Alex's Blog. 
     The co-hosts for the May 6 posting of the IWSG are Jenni Enzor, Jemima Pett, Jamie of Uniquely Maladjusted but Fun, and Kim Lajevardi.

May 6 question - What was the most inspiring feedback you received from readers, including agents, editors, and beta readers?

        Prior to my starting a blog, any readership I ever had was extremely limited so this month's question doesn't apply that much to me.  From the start of my blogging just getting some readers and a few comments was fairly satisfying to me.  It was really never enough to satisfy any writer's ego, but it was nice that someone had read what I wrote and even responded to it on occasion.  

       I guess the best recognition that I've received as a writer who started a blog was the ongoing yearly A to Z Challenge event.  It doesn't say much about my actual writing, but it has been a recognition. I That being said I'll defer the rest of this post to my Reflection on the recent 2026 Blogging from A to Z April Challenge.

      To paraphrase Frank Sinatra, "It was a pretty good year" for me and the Challenge.  I didn't really do much.  I give the biggest credit to the A to Z Team --Thanks to All of you!  I managed a post every day even though they were a bit haphazard and truncated. At least I finished.  Congratulations to every one who managed to get to the end successfully and hopefully see you next year!

#AtoZChallenge 2026 Reflections

Reflections

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Z to A Challenge ( #AtoZChallenge )

 

   Z to A Challenge--I guess it was a rebellion of sorts.  From year one there was the blogger who wanted to be different,  Go from beginning to end.  Whatever.  It's about the commitment.  And I did it again.  A to Z. 

You Know If You Know ( #AtoZChallenge )

 

      You know if you know.  That's the way I see it.  If you know then you know.  If you don't know you might think you know but I don't think you do.  I know. And if you really know, then you know.  And that's what I know.  You know?

Xperience X's My Local Acapulco ( #AtoZChallenge )

 

     Xperience Restaurant Group has closed the Acapulco restaurant that was closest to where I live.  I'd been eating there ever since I first moved to this area 35 years ago.  They'd had a long run in Downey CA, but sadly now they are no longer near me.  I hadn't eaten there in probably a couple of years, but for many years it was a favorite eating place for my wife and me.  She frequently took her father and other family there for celebratory dinners or just eating out.  It was probably the first Mexican restaurant I ate at when I first moved to L.A. though not necessarily my favorite.  But it was pretty good at times.  I will miss this Acapulco location.  I'm not likely to visit any of the remaining locations, but we don't eat out like we used to.  Too expensive for one thing.  And eating is just not as fun as it used to be.

Wonder Wheel ( #AtoZChallenge )

 

        Wonder Wheel--I like the name.  It's filled with wonder and who doesn't like a wheel?  Ferris wheels (which is basically what the Wonder Wheel is) are kind of cool for most of us.  I was scared of them at times when I was a child, but once I got past the height fear I enjoyed the ride and the view.  The Wonder Wheel provides a special ride that goes a bit beyond the traditional carnival Ferris wheel.  It is an "eccentric" Ferris wheel where the gondolas move in other ways than just rotating around a fixed axis.  I vaguely remember riding the Wonder Wheel when I was about 5 years old or so.  I recall the ride being fun and feeling relatively safe.  I wonder if I'd still enjoy the ride?

Vocabulary Lists ( #AtoZChallenge )

 

        Vocabulary lists were given to us most weeks when I was in high school.  I guess it was a combination of learning to spell and knowing the meaning of words we might not have previously known. I enjoyed learning vocabulary and spelling so I was pretty good at it.  One of my favorite childhood pastimes was reading the dictionary and learning new words.  A good vocabulary is a plus in life in my opinion.  Listening to some folks you might not think that this is a prevalent opinion.  I would recommend expanding one's vocabulary not only to help make you seem more intelligent, but also to help you read better.  It can be very distracting to keep looking up words you don't know.  But I don't think some people care.  

Uxorious ( #AtoZChallenge )

 

       Uxorious is a word that I remember from one of my weekly vocabulary lists in high school.  I don't recall ever having used the word, or for that matter having read it anywhere.  I guess it was just of those obscure words that some educator thought we should know.  And it works well if you're looking for words starting with the letter "U".  If you don't know what it means then you can look it up.  That's probably more educational than me telling you.  

Tape Tracks ( #AtoZChallenge )

 

     Tape tracks might have been a term that was totally understandable to most people at some times in the past. Early on in my years of listening to and buying recorded music I started accumulating 8-track cartridges and the cassettes.  It was all music recorded on tape that was made for the purpose of audio storage.  If you wanted to refer to a certain song on the tape then you might refer to a "track" on that tape.  Finding the track you wanted was often not all that simple.  You had to fast forward or rewind until you got to the track you wanted.  Hit or miss was the deal.  I usually didn't have to deal with that since I'm kind of obsessive about listening to an album from start to finish.  I'd read the listing of the tape tracks on the label, but rarely did I search for particular tracks.  It's just the way I've tended to listen to music.  I still do.  When I listen to music, which is not as often as I used to do.

Sad Songs ( #AtoZChallenge )

 

        Sad songs are some of my favorites.  Happy songs can be uplifting or fun or downright silly.  But the sad songs seem to stick with me the most.

Red Rover ( #AtoZChallenge )

 

      Red Rover is one of those games from childhood that I remember existing but me rarely playing.  I can't say how many times I did play it when I was in elementary school--probably in second grade or earlier--but I know I played it at least once or twice.  I always wanted to play it but since you basically had to have a number of people to play, it was something we didn't do much.  Now if I played senior Red Rover I'd likely break my arms or do some kind of damage.  It's a call from the distance of childhood memory that I'll likely not hear again. Do kids play that game anymore?

Quill ( #AtoZChallenge )

 

       Quill catalogs used to come to my office regularly throughout the year.  Quill was an office supply company.  I don't think they had any retail stores, but just delivery in bulk orders.  I don't recall ordering anything from them.  If I did it wasn't very often.  I normally ordered from Staples I think, but that was over 20 years ago.  I don't need many office supplies these days.  But I still love them.

Philately: Postage Stamp Collecting ( #AtoZChallenge )

 

     Philately or postage stamp collecting used to be a very popular hobby when I was growing up.  I don't know that very many kids today collect stamps.  It's probably pretty boring to most modern kids. For me it was a great hobby. I would spend hours with my collection learning so much about the world and history.  But we didn't have so many other distractions in my youth.  It was a simpler time where patience was just what you had to have sometimes.  Peaceful, it was when I think back, but maybe not really.  Now it is all just past.

Ozempic and Other Such Things ( #AtoZChallenge )

 

     Ozempic and other such things I have considered in recent years.  I've been what is considered overweight for a number of years, but in the past couple years I've been losing pounds.  I've yet to resort to any weight loss drugs.  I'm hesitant to do so.  I have however been eating far less than I used to and consequently have been losing some weight. Good news I think.  Hopefully I won't have to resort to any drugs to lose weight. Eating less and doing more exercise is the way I prefer.  I'll walk up and down my stairs more.  That sounds like a good approach.  And less eating.  

Nice Things ( #AtoZChallenge )

 

        Nice things are nice to have.  I have a lot of nice things, but that is my subjective opinion.  My wife doesn't think a lot of my things are all that nice.  I suppose a lot of folks would not be particularly impressed with my possessions, but I like them just fine.  I've got pretty simple tastes and don't really want of all that much.  My needs are met for the most part and I'm pretty content in my life.  I guess that's a nice thing as well.

Minus the Meat, Please! ( #AtoZChallenge )

 

     "Minus the meat, please," has almost become my body's mantra as I get older.  I was never a big consumer of meat, but now it's like I'm turning into a vegetarian.  Not quite, but I seem to be trending that direction.  Oh, I still enjoy a burger now and then, but not too big.  Chili with ground beef sounds fine, but not any huge quantities.  I'm sure I'd enjoy a good steak occasionally, though I've never been a big fan of eating  steak.  

      My body is changing I guess.  Maybe soon I'll be eating even more salads and veggie platters than ever before.  I'm sure I won't totally give up on meat anytime soon, but I'll be likely saying, "Minus the meat, please" more often than ever before.  I guess that will make some animals happy.

Lost Men ( #AtoZChallenge )

 

      Lost men seems like a bit of an oxymoron, doesn't it?  I mean, whoever heard of a lost man?  Okay, I'll admit that I've been  lost a few times in my life--literally and figuratively.  Now GPS helps a lot for the literal geographical way.  Years ago the GPS didn't always seem to get it right and I'd still get a bit lost, but seems like they've worked out most of the kinks.  I haven't really gotten lost in I don't know how long.  But I don't go much of anyplace either.  And if I get lost in my own house--not that it couldn't happen someday as I get older--I don't think it would be for long.  Not many places I can go in my house.  

Kansas Catastrophe ( #AtoZChallenge )

      Kansas was one of my favorite rock groups back in the seventies.  When I saw that they were coming to Evansville Indiana when I was living there for a short while in 1976, I was excited to get a ticket for the concert.  My employer at the time matched me up with her hairdresser who she thought would be a cute date for me.  I was a twenty-five year old guy that didn't really know anybody in town so happy to get connected with someone.  I invited her to the Kansas concert for a first date.

     I don't think she was much of a rock fan.  We got to the concert into the first set which was Bachman Turner Overdrive.  At the end of that set my date complained that the loud music had given her a headache and she wanted to go home.  I never got to see Kansas in concert.  I also decided that going to a concert was not the greatest thing to do for a first date with someone you don't know.  I never saw her again after that and it probably didn't matter.