Insecure Writer’s Support Group! Plus Genre Smashing with Tara Tyler, Marvel Movie Trivia Answers, and Ninja and Alex News

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.

My awesome co-hosts today are Sarah Foster, Joylene Nowell Butler, Lily Eva, and Rhonda Albom! Please stop by and thank them for helping today.

The IWSG admins will have a really cool surprise for you guys on the three year anniversary next month – don’t miss it!
And at the Facebook IWSG, we’re dropping Saturday and moving News and Promo Day to Friday.

As for my insecurity today…

I sent my latest manuscript to my critique partners Tuesday night!

After making all the adjustments suggested by my test readers and fine-tuning it a few more times, it was ready. I’m happy with the writing. (Yeah, after three books, I’m finally getting a handle on this grammar and structure thing.) Now, will the story be good enough? Was the original idea, sparked from a song’s storyline, really enough to sustain a novel length story?

All I can do is wait…

Be sure to visit others on the IWSG list!

Genre Smashing

I'm trying to keep this short - it is IWSG day after all. I'm very happy to be here at Captain Ninja Rockstar Alex's megablog talking about...

Sci Fi and Fantasy - Why are they smashed into one big genre?

The major genres in a bookstore are...

FICTION - - - MYSTERY - - - ROMANCE

THRILLER - - - SCI FI/FANTASY

How can they do that? Sci Fi makes me think of robots and space adventures, Star Wars or the Matrix! And Fantasy is totally about faeries, magic, and kingdoms, like the Hobbit! How can they callously throw Sci Fi and Fantasy into one genre??

Well, here's my theory. The biggest element that separates these two from the others is they are both out of this world! Literary fiction, mystery, romance, and thrillers are "realistic" fiction, usually based in a setting of the here and now (or historical). Sci Fi and Fantasy are prodigies of imagination, inspiring infinite possibilities, without the limitations of reality. Writers of Sci Fi and Fantasy stretch the minds of readers. And we usually incorporate pieces of the other genres, too. The fantastic magical or technological settings set them apart!

That and the fact that if they split them into two genres, the sections would be much smaller...

Do you all have any theories of why Sci Fi & Fantasy are grouped together? Out of the top five, which is your favorite genre?

Thank you so much for having me on this busy day, Alex!

NEW! Try this BEASTLY SURVEY and find out which beast you are!

(And don't forget to enter the new August giveaway!)

BROKEN BRANCH FALLS (MG Fantasy)
by Tara Tyler

Available at Barnes and Noble ~~~ Amazon
Add it to your GOODREADS list!

Find Tara -

Twitter ~~~ Facebook ~~~ Blog

Ninja News 

Melissa Bradley has been battling cancer and all the crappy stuff that goes with it for the past few months. The bills are huge and Melissa is struggling. A friend of hers set up an account at Go Fund Me for people to make donations. If you know Melissa and are able, she could really use some help.

Joy Campbell is hosting the Who’s Your Hero Blogfest on October 20. See her site for details.

Available now - Queen of Hastinapur by Jai Joshi





Book Trailer!
Induction Day ... Book 2 in the Butterman Time Travel series by PK Hrezo

Alex News

Voting is open for a few more weeks at the EFestival of Words Awards – CassaStorm is nominated for best science fiction, so if you enjoyed it, please register and vote HERE

Jeremy Hawkins is doing a Summer of T-Shirts series, and on Tuesday he featured my favorite t-shirt. Do you think you know what it is…?

And the awesome Stephanie Faris graced me with the Wonderful Team Member Award. Thanks, Stephanie!

The list of those who have worked hard to support this community is long, but I’m just going to focus on one person. Tina at Life is Good is the kick-butt heart and soul of the A to Z Challenge Team. She keeps the rest of us in line with tough love. And this past month, she was in the hospital for over two weeks and is still trying to recover. Plus Monday was her birthday. Tina, we love you, we miss you, and you are awesome.

Movie Trivia Answers

Marvel movies!
1 – Vampire trilogy - Blade
2 – Actor who started in one series and then hit it big with another series – Chris Evans (Fantastic Four-Avengers)
3 – Blind superhero - Daredevil
4 – In X-Men 3, Jean Grey becomes…Phoenix
5 – Worst rated film of the past twenty years – Elektra (10% on Rotten Tomatoes)

More trivia coming soon!
And movie reviews.
And maybe it’s time I announced another blogfest…

Do you know why the genres are smashed together? Signed up for Joy’s blogfest? Who do you think is a wonderful team member? Get any of the trivia right? And what is your writing insecurity today…?

Guardians of the Galaxy Review, Interstellar Trailer, Marvel Movie Trivia, Music to Write By with MJ Fifield, and Ninja News

I have an interview with Richard P. Hughes for his “What I like about where I live” feature today!

Movie Review

Guardians of the Galaxy

Best movie of the summer!

The Guardians are part of the Marvel universe, but this felt more like Indiana Jones meets Serenity rather than a superhero film. It harkens back to those fun 80’s movies and I sported a big grin for the duration of the film.

The movie hits all the right notes. The action is well paced, the humor spread evenly, and the sentiment shines at the right moments. The five characters come from troubled backgrounds (well, we assume Groot does – he only speaks four words) and grow as they learn to come together as a team.

The banter between the characters is priceless. Think Serenity and Firefly. Each has numerous funny lines and humorous situations. Rocket (the raccoon) pulls off some of the best one-liners. (But the funniest scene involves the interior condition of Peter Quill’s ship. And fortunately, it will go right over kids’ heads.)

They are backed by a great supporting cast. Stan Lee has his cameo, Del Toro returns as The Collector, and even Rob Zombie has a role. And – we finally get to see Thanos!

Overall, it’s one fun and satisfying ride and now my second favorite Marvel film. And from the setup, I predict we will see the Guardians in the third Avengers film.

Highly Recommended!

Music To Write By

Please welcome the awesome MJ Fifield!

I like creating playlists for my WIPs. I know I’m getting serious about a WIP when I start compiling a playlist for it. But I have one playlist that isn’t WIP-specific. It’s called “Mood Music” and when people have seen that particular CD lying around, their minds immediately go somewhere they shouldn’t.

It’s not that kind of mood music. What it is is instrumental music in which I get lost, melodies that make me see and feel my characters. It’s what I listen to when I need to find that deep, often elusive, writing zone.

Today, I thought I would share with you some of the soundtracks which help me do that.

—The Lord of the Rings (composed by Howard Shore)—Sweeping and epic, and everything a fantasy soundtrack should be. From the very first track to the last, this is perfect music to get me in the mindset to write. Standout tracks include: The Bridge of Khazad Dum and The Riders of Rohan.

—Battlestar Galactica (composed by Bear McCreary)—Unless Joss Whedon is involved, I’m not much for shows set in space. The Battlestar Galactica reboot became the exception—and the music was part of the reason why. The main title music is gorgeous, but my standout track here is Passacaglia.

—The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (composed by Jeremy Soule)—A video game soundtrack to a game I’ve never played. Fortunately, Pandora Radio introduced it to me, and I knew instantly that I had to have it. Standout track is From Past To Present.

—Buffy The Vampire Slayer: The Score (composed by Christophe Beck)—From the television show. I particularly love Slayer’s Elegy, Sacrifice, and The Loneliness of Six. There’s another track not on this collection, though, and that’s The Final Fight by Rob Duncan, which appears in the series finale. That track always helps me with—you guessed it—fight scenes.

—Game of Thrones (composed by Ramin Djawadi)—The newest addition to my Mood Music collection. I can’t deny how it makes me feel. Just beautiful, inspirational music. Standout track: Winterfell from season two.

Have any music you like to write to? Please let me know because I’m always on the hunt for new additions to my playlists.

Thanks for having me here today, Alex!
Pick up Effigy on Amazon

Ninja News

Rereleased! Snapshops by Patricia Lynne
Find it at Amazon, Goodreads, and Smashwords



Ali Cross announced the date and location for Indie ReCon Live - Sandy Utah, October 10-11th. Get all the details at Indie ReCon Live


George from Cinemarvellous now has a Facebook Page. If you are on Facebook, please ‘like’ his page.

Shag Carpet Toilet by Al Penwasser now available in print!

Had to share this picture Ellie Garratt posted of Ninja Alex with Beaker!




And don’t forget that Wednesday is Insecure Writer’s Support Group post day!

Interstellar Trailer

In case you missed it last week – an awesome new trailer for Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar. Now I’m getting excited for this film!

Movie trivia

Marvel movies – easy trivia! (All answers are Marvel movies.)

1 – Vampire trilogy

2 – Actor who started in one series and then hit it big with another series

3 – Blind superhero

4 – In X-Men 3, Jean Grey becomes…

5 – Worst rated Marvel film of the past twenty years

Answers on Wednesday!

What music inspires you to write? Any news strike your fancy? Excited for Interstellar? Know the trivia answers? Ready for Wednesday’s IWSG post? And who else saw Guardians of the Galaxy…?

Be sure to visit Richard P. Hughes!