Welcome to the Insecure Writers Support Group, August edition. Alex Cavanaugh leads the band of fledgling, fun writers. Join us HERE.
And now for the two-part IWSG question of the month!
What was your very first piece of writing as an aspiring writer?
I never anticipated becoming a writer. But when my psychologist career took a downturn in 2007, I got hooked on the TV show Prison Break. The dark themes and conspiracy theories of the show echoed my own gloom at the time, I guess. I stumbled across a section on the Fox discussion board: Fan Fiction. “What’s this?” I thought. I read some stories and shook my head. “What LOSERS are writing stories about TV characters?”
Fast forward a couple of months and I started writing my own fan fiction! The first piece was laughable in its inept writing. I was lucky for kind TV fans who encouraged me. I decided to write a Prison Break story about what I knew: swimming. My writing style was bloated, but some readers gave me positive feedback about the plot and characterization.
Years later, I reworked the story with my publisher. We cut over 70,000 words and published the story as my third novel: Streamline. It’s a military murder mystery centering around my favorite sport of swimming.
(I can’t BELIEVE my beloved TV show returns in 2017, yaaayyyyy!)
I just finished writing my seventh novel, SPIKED (Blocked #3). I believe my writing has become tighter, and I can’t wait for Spiked to launch on 10-1-16. Once again this story features swimming, so I’ve come full circle. We shared the cover reveal two days ago.
Happy writing to all!
Jennifer Lane Books 
That's epic! My first ever novel will be my 4th one published. Here's to us! We rock.
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It's really cool to hear how your early fan fiction contributed to your writing career. Makes me feel a little less embarrassed about my own early dabbling in fanfic.
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I am so happy that your first critics were kind and helped you want to write more. I hope the return of your favorite show is all you want it to be. The return of The X-Files was a bit of a hit and miss for me, but at least I got to see Fox and Mulder again. 🙂
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Awesome people encouraged you! Hey, I never had aspirations of being an author either.
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What a great story behind your first story. I hope the new version of your TV show holds up. I'm kinda looking forward to the new Gilmore Girls episodes myself.
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You're an awesome writer, Jennifer. And those eyes on SPIKED's book cover have me in a trance. Wishing you great success. Blessings
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Congrats on the upcoming book! It is so cool that it lead to your successes – gives me hope that my time writing fanfic was not wasted after all.
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You made it into a THIRD novel?! That's impressive!
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A lot of people got started writing with fanfic. It's cool that yours blossomed into a separate novel. Congrats on your upcoming release!
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Congratulations, Jennifer. Your seventh book! That is wonderful. I look forward to saying I have my first book out. All the best. Shalom aleichem,Patricia
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How cool that something that happened during a downturn ended up changing your life in such a wonderful way! It's amazing when that happens. Great story. And congrats again on your latest!
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Your writing has gotten SO tight. I'm amazed by how clean your first drafts are – and still with the engaging characters & plot.
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That is really cool how you turned your fan fiction into another novel in your own world. Very, very cool. Juneta @ Writer's Gambit
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