Time for our monthly meeting of the Insecure Writer's Support Group! Hosted as ever by Alex J. Cavanaugh, the aim of the group is to offer a safe space where writers can share doubts and insecurities without fear of being judged. This month's co-hosts are PJ Colando, Pat Garcia, Kim Lajevardi, Melissa Maygrove and Jean Davis.
Today's optional IWSG question: What were some books that impacted you as a child or young adult?
This is a great question that will generate a lot of discussion. Although, as a whole, Terry Pratchett's books had a great impact on me in terms of their skewering of human behaviour, I can pinpoint three titles I absorbed as a young adult that turned out to be a great influence on my writing years later and continue to be so today. These are George Orwell's 1984, Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 and Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse 5. The dystopian, censorship and anti-war themes are extremely thought provoking in all of these, and made me think more deeply about how these problems exist in the real world - sadly, they are probably more relevant today than ever. They show how writing about challenging themes can highlight how humanity asserts itself even in the most straitened circumstances. That's definitely something refracted in my work and I think books such as these play a big part in that.
I'd love to hear your answers to these questions! In other news, it seems like age is catching up to me but I embrace it, grey hairs and all, not to mention my first ever glasses, which I need for reading and writing. I like them, but I'm not sure if they've increased my IQ.
Don't forget you can always check out other IWSG entries at the list found here. See you next month!
