We're rolling into the month of May, and with a new month comes a new posting of the Insecure Writer's Support Group. Hosted as always by Alex J. Cavanaugh, the purpose of the group is to provide a safe place where we can vent our fears and insecurities over writing without fear of judgement. This month's excellent co-hosts are Lee Lowery, Juneta Key, Yvonne Ventresca and T. Powell Coltrin.This month's IWSG question is "What was an early experience where you learned that language had power?"
This is a great question. I could cite various early attempts at writing stories, but one experience that stands out was performing a play by Harold Pinter, The Caretaker, in my school drama project. Pinter is notorious for including lots of ominous pauses in his dialogue, so there is almost as much as empty space as there is conversation. This is a pretty simple but effective method of creating a feeling of unease and I suppose was when I learned that what is not said, what is between the lines, can be just as important as the actual words on the page. That's the kind of power that we'd all like to have as writers!
We have two amazing announcements today!
Masquerade: Oddly Suited - An Insecure Writer’s Support Group Anthology
Young Adult Fiction: Romance - General/Paranormal/Contemporary
Print ISBN 9781939844644 $14.95
EBook ISBN 9781939844651 $4.99
Find love at the ball…
Can a fake dating game show lead to love? Will a missing key free a clock-bound prince? Can a softball pitcher and a baseball catcher work together? Is there a vampire living in Paradise, Newfoundland? What’s more important—a virtual companion or a date to the ball?
Ten authors explore young love in all its facets, from heartbreak to budding passion. Featuring the talents of L.G. Keltner, Jennifer Lane, C.D. Gallant-King, Elizabeth Mueller, Angela Brown, Myles Christensen, Deborah Solice, Carrie-Anne Brownian, Anstice Brown, and Chelsea Marie Ballard.
Hand-picked by a panel of agents and authors, these ten tales will mystify and surprise even as they touch your heart. Don your mask and join the party…
Find Masquerade: Oddly Suited here - Barnes and Noble, Amazon, iTunes, Kobo, and Kobo
You can find out more about the authors of Masquerade: Oddly Suited here.
And the authors of Masquerade: Oddly Suited are hosting a live Q & A session on Discord! Join them on Sat 11th May from 1:00 pm EST / 6:00 pm GMT to find out more about the anthology and the contributing authors and ask any burning questions you may have.
The Q & A will be held on Discord. Please follow the invite link: HERE
The 2019 Annual IWSG Anthology Contest is now open for submissions!
Guidelines and rules:
Word count: 3500-5000
Genre: Middle Grade Historical – Adventure/Fantasy
Theme: Voyagers
Submissions accepted: May 1 - September 4, 2019
How to enter: Send your polished, formatted (double-spaced, no page numbers), previously unpublished story to admin @ insecurewriterssupportgroup dot com before the deadline passes. Please include your full contact details, your social links, and if you are part of the Blogging, Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter IWSG group.
Judging: The IWSG admins will create a shortlist of the best stories. The shortlist will then be sent to our official judges:
Elizabeth S. Craig, author and honorary judge
Dianne K. Salerni, author
S.A. Larsen, author
Rachna Chhabria, author
Lynda Dietz, editor
Tonja Drecker, author
David Powers King, author
Prizes: The winning stories will be edited and published by Freedom Fox Press next year in the IWSG anthology. Authors will receive royalties on books sold, both print and eBook. The top story will have the honor of giving the anthology its title.
Our previous IWSG anthologies:
Masquerade: Oddly Suited
Tick Tock: A Stitch in Crime
Hero Lost: The Mysteries of Death and Life
Parallels: Felix Was Here
Will you be picking up a copy of Masquerade? Entering this year's contest? When did you first experience the power of language? Don't forget to check out more IWSG posts here
27 comments:
What's between the lines - good point! Some people are masters at that.
Great reminder, Nick! I think we often get so caught up in the words themselves that we forget how much power exists in the spaces between them.
Hi Nick, I agree that sometimes what is not said, what the reader can read between the lines, can be just as important as the actual words on the page.
Yes, as writers that's the kind of power we all would like to have in our writing!
Oh, I liked this, Nick. You make an excellent point about those "ominous pauses."
Really interesting point about what goes on between the lines! Looking forward to reading Masquerade!
What's between the lines can be really powerful. Unless it's someone who is really dense!
Oooh, or when no language had power... Nice example.
You get those authors who are masterful when it comes to lean writing skills and allow the reader to 'fill in the gaps'.
Happy IWSG Day, Nick.
I love the idea of what's between the lines being just as important as the actual words on the page.
How interesting that you learned about the importance of the spaces between words. Sometimes they can create suspense in writing too.
The power of silence! There are some movies/shows that do that very well as well. :)
The long pause. Yeah, they can speak volumes.
What's between the lines is very important. Good point.
I totally agree! What's not said is just as important. Readers don't want to be spoon fed. They also aren't stupid. They can fill things in for themselves. I hate when books are obvious, like we're morons or something:)
Yes, filling those white spaces between the lines with the reader's imagination is tricky, and amazing when it happens!
The first time I had lines in a play, it helped me get over my fear of public speaking. Language is just powerful.
All communication has power--the spoken, the written, and the things left unsaid.
what a great question. Words are so powerful.
Cellar Door.
I like your example of the power of words. It's more difficult to do that with the written word than other creative outlets.
Sometimes the things that are left unsaid is very powerful on the page -- I like to incorporate that in my stories :-)
Ronel visiting for #IWSG day: Help Me, Please!
Oh, I like that. What is not said...often the most important thing!
Hi Nick - what an impressive play to have acted in ... gosh - yes ... with those pauses. You obviously picked up a lot ... congratulations with the two anthologies - cheers Hilary
What's not said is as important (sometimes more important) than what is said. Thanks for the reminder.
Wow - what an austute observation. So true, often what is unsaid is often more powerful than words that are spoken.
And yes, indeed, I am picking up a copy of Masquarade! Wouldn't miss it!
Excellent observation on Pinter and the power in a 'pause'. My moment was discovering Tolkien and his craft with words, and not being emulate him without first learning the power of less - similar to Pinter's spaces and pauses, I suppose.
As for the next IWSG anthology, as I said to Captain Alex, I'm hesitant about 'Middle Grade' as it's even more out of my comfort zone than YA. But I'm tempted by 'Historical – Adventure/Fantasy' so might see if something arises in my weird brain.
Power in what's not said . . . that's interesting! I think it's fun to observe groups of people to see who can't deal with even a few moments of silence in between the conversations.
Pinter, very cool! :)
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