Wednesday, July 3, 2024

#IWSG day! July Movie Preview and New Releases


It’s time for another group posting of the Insecure Writer’s Support Group! Time to release our fears to the world – or offer encouragement to those who are feeling neurotic. If you’d like to join us, click on the tab above and sign up. We post the first Wednesday of every month. I encourage everyone to visit at least a dozen new blogs and leave a comment. Your words might be the encouragement someone needs.

The awesome co-hosts for the July 3 posting of the IWSG are JS Pailly, Rebecca Douglass, Pat Garcia, Louise-Fundy Blue, and Natalie Aguirre!

Don't forget to add your link over on our IWSG Facebook page - it helps people find those who have posted.

The July 3 question: What are your favorite writing processing (e.g. Word, Scrivener, yWriter, Dabble), writing apps, software, and tools? Why do you recommend them? And which one is your all time favorite that you cannot live without and use daily or at least whenever you write?

Despite all of the tools and software out there, I really only use Word. I know, there are all these neat programs like Grammerly and AI software, but I’m happy to just use Word and its features. Simple but it works.

Thanks for all of the suggestions from last month’s question! We pulled together some of the top requests and are trying to work them into the system. We’ll keep you posted.



And please welcome the newest IWSG Admin, M. Louise Barbour!
She is taking over for Sandra Cox.
Sandra, thanks for helping us and being a part of the Admin team.
Louise, welcome to the rocking IWSG Admins!
Now, everyone go tell her she’s awesome.



New Releases!


Ghostly Protector by Stacy McKitrick


He finally found his long-lost love, but will he have to arrest her for murder?

Find it at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, iTunes, Kobo, Google, and Smashwords



Out of Circulation by Elizabeth Spann Craig


In the sun-kissed haven of Charleston, Ann and Grayson race to solve a deadly puzzle before more than just books are out of circulation.

Buy links for every platform are here.




July Movie Preview

Here are the theatrical releases for July. Descriptions courtesy of the IMDB. Snark provided by me.


3 –


Despicable Me 4
Directors: Chris Renaud and Patrick Delage
Stars: Steve Carell, Kristen Wiig, Joey King
Gru, Lucy, Margo, Edith, and Agnes welcome a new member to the family, Gru Jr., who is intent on tormenting his dad. Gru faces a new nemesis in Maxime Le Mal and his girlfriend Valentina, and the family is forced to go on the run.
Um…Banana!!!!


12 –


Longlegs
Director: Oz Perkins
Stars: Nicolas Cage, Alicia Witt, Maika Monroe
FBI Agent Lee Harker is assigned to an unsolved serial killer case that takes unexpected turns, revealing evidence of the occult. Harker discovers a personal connection to the killer and must stop him before he strikes again.
Nicolas Cage, bat-crap crazy. Take one thousand!


19 –


Twisters
Director: Lee Isaac Chung
Stars: Glen Powell, Katy O’Brian, Kiernan Shipka
An update to the 1996 film 'Twister', which centered on a pair of storm chasers who risk their lives in an attempt to test an experimental weather alert system.
Different movie. Or is it the same cow?


26 –


Deadpool and Wolverine
Director: Shawn Levy
Stars: Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Emma Corrin
Wolverine is recovering from his injuries when he crosses paths with the loudmouth, Deadpool. They team up to defeat a common enemy.
The Reese's Peanut Butter cup of movies. Two great things that (we hope) go great together.




What software do you use for writing? Picking up either new release? What movies catch your eye this month?
I'll be gone for a while this month, so catch you guys here and there.

61 comments:

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Alex – welcome to Louise … and thank you to Sandra for being part of the IWSG team: it's a very helpful resource. Congratulations to both new releases by Stacy and Elizabeth …
The film 'Longlegs' sounds interesting …
Enjoy your break Alex … cheers Hilary

Elephant's Child said...

The whole team is awesome. Huge congratulations to those with new releases.
Enjoy your break.

Ronel Janse van Vuuren said...

Yay, Louise!

Last month's responses to the monthly question had me think about what I use and others might find useful, too, so that's what my post is about today.

Ronel visiting for IWSG day A Round-Up of Resources For Writers

T. Powell Coltrin said...

Thank you IWSG Admin team for all your help. You do rock!

I laughed out loud at, is it the same cow? I live with tornadoes and straight winds, all the time in Missouri, so I don't watch tornado movies. :) I have all kinds of stories. I just had a tree trimmer here to take care of a tree down and large limbs all over my yard. A few years ago, my in-laws house was literally picked up and scooted off the foundation. They were in the SW corner of their house and okay.



Liza said...

Happy IWSG day, Alex! Hope you enjoy your break!

TWW said...

looking forward to Despicable me 4, Twisters and Deadpool & Wolverine (big wolvie fan, huge Ryan Reynolds fan, totally adore Deadpool movie version).

have fun around the web.

Nick Wilford said...

Congrats to Louise. I'm just Word as well. Not letting any AI come near me!

Cathrina Constantine said...

I've only used Word too. Congrats to Louise, Stacy, and Elizabeth.

Have a wonderful July!!

H. R. Sinclair said...

I'm not on Facebook, so I'm unable to link there.

I tell ya, Cage's movie have been a lot more entertaining these days.

Jennifer Lane said...

Many thanks to you, Sandra, and Louise!

Best wishes to Stacy and Elizabeth for their new releases.

None of those movies appeal to me, but I did enjoy Inside Out 2 with my niece.

Lynn La Vita said...

Hi Alex,
I appreciate you reassuring us the team is working together to work the top requests into the system. I'm sure it's a huge job.

I confess, last month I just started looking at the IWSG Home page. I was surprised at the good info there. I wonder if there is a way to cross promote within the site. Or perhaps post on the Home page and on a secondary page that specializes in that topic?


Welcome M. Louise Barbour! and thank you, Sandra Cox.
Twisters, the same cow?

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Teresa, that's scary that the whole house moved.

Holly, that's because they let him go bat-crap crazy.

Lynn, we'll see if we can make any adjustments.

PT Dilloway said...

I have a Chromebook so I use Google Docs for the rough draft but I still find Word easier for more advanced formatting. And then for Amazon books I use their Kindle Create which is remarkably, mind-numbingly awful to use.

I'm curious to see what Disney/Marvel is going to do with Deadpool. I hope among all the Easter eggs and fan service is an actual story.

Melissa said...

Congrats to those with new releases! And congrats to the new admin!

I'm like you, Alex. I stick with MS Word.

Damyanti Biswas said...

I've read and watched very few of these, but I'm looking forward to checking them out in the future. Despicable Me has always been a crowd favorite amongst my friends and family, so I have high hopes!

Señorida Anastasia said...

Not on Facebook:(
Excited for Despicable Me 4! Been waiting for it.
Have a great day:)!

Lidy said...

Used Word for years, much longer than Google Docs. I like using both as they're both easy and simple to use. And I could easily convert the latter to the former. And they work interchangeably.

My son is looking forward to the latest Despicable movie. But the whole family is looking forward to the new Deadpool & Wolverine movie. As for me, I'm especially looking forward to the new Beverly Hills Cop movie releasing on Netflix today. Watched the first three to get ready, so looking forward to the Easter eggs.

Madeline Mora-Summonte said...

I'm pretty much there for anything involving Minions!

Your comment about the cow in the Twisters movie totally cracked me up. :)

Tonja Drecker said...

Yep, Word is all I need, too.
Congrats to Stacy and Elizabeth!

Steven Arellano Rose Jr. said...

Thanks for coming on as our administrator, Ms. Barbour! And thanks for having served as administrator, Ms. Cox!
No movies of the ones listed hold my interest. I may have to look to Indies for this month. Although a couple of the crime/serial killer films look like they could be pretty good, the genre just doesn't hold my interest.

I go with Word and, secondarily, NotePad.

Pat Garcia said...

Hi,
I like your answer. Use what is best for you. That's what counts.
Have a happy Fourth of July.
Shalom shalom

Karen Jones Gowen said...

I enjoy Elizabeth's cozy mysteries, glad to see she has another one out. There can never be too many tornado movies!

diedre Knight said...

Howdy Captain,

"...Or is it the same cow?" Hahaha! You crack me up ;-)

I usually like Nicolas Cage's movies. Twisters sounds good, and "Out of Circulation" sounds like a must-read.

Welcome to your new Admin. post Fundy Blue!

I might be just a creature of habit, but Word is still my fave ;-)

Happy July!

Rawknrobyn.blogspot.com said...

Congratulations to the authors on their new babies.
I'm intrigued by Deadpool, and enticed by Despicable me 4. That one, I'm most likely to see. Love that silly series.

Be well, Alex.

Nancy Gideon said...

Big welcome to Louise!! Sandra, enjoy your well-deserved "time off"! My son will probably drag me to the Deadpool/Wolverine movie . . . and I'll love it in spite of myself because as much as Deadpool annoys me . . . hey, Hugh Jackman and popcorn!!

Tyrean Martinson said...

Welcome to Louise and congrats to all on the new books!

Shady Del Knight said...

Hi, Alex!

I don't care how bad it is, I'm always down for a Nicholas Cage film. I also love movies about twisters and am eager to see the latest technology employed by those storm chasers. (Can't wait for the next Sharknado either. :)

Have a safe and restful Fourth, good buddy Alex, and look for my next post on the 16th.

Pat Hatt said...

Yeah. Word is all I really need too. Let's hope they go well together and it turns out to be a good movie.

Sherry Ellis said...

I've only used Word, too. I had no idea there were so many apps!
Looking forward to seeing some of the suggestions from last month's post. One I didn't write about, but think might be good is to have a review group where we can read each other's books and post reviews on Amazon or Goodreads. Reviews help sell books!

Elizabeth Spann Craig said...

Thanks for mentioning my new release!

I'm like you, in terms of Word. I tried Scrivener, but it was a case of old dog, new tricks.

J E Oneil said...

Anyone who uses AI for their work gets banned from writing.

Gwen Gardner said...

I still use Word, but I've added ProWritingAid and Atticus to the mix to round out the editing and formatting process. It makes the writing/Indie life so much easier.

Jemi Fraser said...

I'm a huge Scrivener fan - really helps my bouncy brain.
I'm really hoping Wolverine/Deadpool works!

Joanne said...

love Minions, love the Reese's concept (Hugh, Ryan, they can't screw up together), not all that keen on cows and frankly tornadoes in real life are too scary - the hot dog cowboy tornado wrangler is too much of a joke.
Love your snark. Happy July and stay cool.

Birgit said...

I just use word. I neverveven heard of the others. I want to see Kevin Costner's Horizon but I'd like to see Deadpool and Wolverine. You have a great summer and hope you check in from time to time.

Sandra Cox said...

Yay, Louise. Many congrats. I know you are going to do an amazing job.
'Lo, Alex:)

Fundy Blue said...

Hi, Alex! I had a funny feeling I had visited your post this morning and had forgotten to comment ~ yup! Congratulations to Stacy and Elizabeth! Thanks for all the encouragement about becoming an admin. I'm looking forward to it!

Liz A. said...

Word is a great program, and everyone should know how to use it. That said, once I picked up Scrivener, I was a convert. But, I write weird. I like to have three things open at the same time and move between them. It's gotten more and more awkward to do that on Word as they've "refined" Word. Scrivener makes that easy.

Leigh Caron said...

It's Word for me, I've tried a couple of others...but nope....always went back to Word. And I love me some Minions!

Lisa Buie-Collard said...

Thank you to both Sandra and Louise!!! Not seen too many movies lately, but will see the Wolverine and Deadpool, now that I know they team up!

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Lidy, hope the fourth film doesn't disappoint you.

Madeline and Diedre, I'm here to amuse!

Elizabeth, you're welcome.

Liz, that many things open would confuse me.



Olga Godim said...

Congratulations to the new releases. Louise, welcome to the Admin.

Loni Townsend said...

Word is a great software, and I use it to polish up stuff, but as a multi-POV epic fantasy writer, I need the ease with which I can move around scenes and note where each POV is.

I'm so excited for Deadpool 3. A local tech company offered free tickets to my workplace, so my family and I get to go on the 26th! I'm so stoked.

Miffie Seideman said...

It's just Word for me, too. At least for the actual writing. I have an Excel spreadsheet that blends story beats with story structure points, but otherwise its Word. I was so tickled with my current WIP to figure out how to use a table of contents to click myself to the scene I want to work on, instead of scrolling for 80 pages. (It's the little things). Thanks for the post.

kimlajevardi.com said...

I’m also a Word user.

mail4rosey said...

I like Word when I write things for my classroom. Nothing fancy. Happy to have it. Have a Happy 4th of July! :)

Donna K. Weaver said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Janet Alcorn said...

Thanks, Sandra, and welcome, Louise! Alex, I hope you enjoy your time away.

Joyana Peters said...

I was traveling yesterday, so Happy Belated IWSG Day! Word and simple are great. Why fix what's working for you? Glad you found some good ideas from last month. Thanks for all you do!

Victoria Marie Lees said...

Hi Alex! I loved the old Twister movie, so I might see the new one. My daughter just saw Despicable Me 4 yesterday with my grandsons. She said it was good and that Gru had a son [shh...and a twin brother].

Thank you for all you do to assist writers. All best to you!

Samantha Bryant said...

I'm Team Scrivener, but I know LOTS of folks are Team Word. They all get us there. @samanthabwriter from
Balancing Act

dolorah said...

Probably the same cow, lol. I also use Word. Same old same old just works for me.
Have a great month Alex.

Rhonda Albom said...

Even though I never finished my book, I love Scrivener, although I won it. I don't know if I would have bought it.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Loni that's awesome.

Victoria, don't worry, saw it so it's not a secret.

Stacy McKitrick said...

Oh Alex, thank you so much for the new release mention. Much appreciated!

As for writing, I use Word and Excel. Word to write the book. Excel to keep track of characters names used (one big list!) and separate sheets for each book indicating what each chapter is about and which character is in the chapter (along with what page it starts). Yeah, I have to update the book sheet a lot, but it is helpful to me. Simple, but works.

Mary Kirkland said...

All of those movies sound good but Deadpool and Wolverine is the one I'm most looking forward to. I do love Nicholas Cage to though. I hope you had a nice 4th of July.

Jean Davis said...

I'm looking forward to Deadpool and Wolverine. That's my humor right there. LOL

Word rocks. No extra distractions needed.

Joylene Nowell Butler said...

Thanks for more reviews, Alex. They're very helpful. And wow, Louise is onboard; that's awesome. She is one of my favourite people.

Tara Tyler said...

hope you are taking a well-deserved vacation - hope you can tell us where you went when you return =)

congrats to the new releasers - look like fun rides!

and always love the sneak previews of movies - thanks!

stay cool!

Tara Tyler Talks

Patricia JL said...

I use Word and Libre Office. I'd use only Libre Office if their formatting for adding page numbers wasn't so annoying. It's very easy in Word.

Shannon Lawrence said...

I primarily use Word, as well, including for formatting collections. Welcome, Louise! And thank you, Sandra! I'm looking forward to the new Deadpool!