IWSG February 2024 - Modestly Remarkable

Welcome readers, writers, authors, and bloggers!

We're glad you're here! It's the First Wednesday of the month when we celebrate IWSG Day in the form of a blog hop featuring members and guests of the Insecure Writer's Support Group. Founded by author Alex Cavanaugh (Thank you, Captain!) and fostered by like-minded associates, IWSG is a comfortable place to share views and literary news as we record our journeys. Check out the February newsletter here.

The awesome co-hosts for the February 7 posting of the IWSG are:  Janet Alcorn, SE White, Victoria Marie Lees, and Cathrina Constantine!

Today’s entirely optional question:  What turns you off when visiting an author’s website/blog? Lack of information? A drone of negativity? Little mention of the author’s books? The constant mention of books?

I’m not usually shopping when I visit author websites; I’m visiting. So, I’m not keen on sales pitches. But I appreciate the blurbs. I love author blogs because they invariably offer tantalizing tidbits of interest about the author, clues as to why they write what they do, and how they go about marketing. What inspires the author, and where do they store that endless supply of confidence?

“Dare to be remarkable” ~ Jane Gentry

Have you ever noticed how you meet the nicest people in the Greeting Card aisle? Can you imagine meeting someone who would one day change your life in a cemetery? Charles Dickens, born on this day in 1812 with a knack for creating indelible characters, wrote a classic novel around this premise. Have you read “Great Expectations”?

It’s Library Lover’s Month, and we’re right in the middle of Freelance Writers Week. 2024 is a Leap Year, so a few good people might be walking around with an extra birthday later this month. Leap Day is otherwise known as National Time Refund Day.

I love a good mystery, especially when it gets solved, and I wonder how I missed it. Hopefully, between tonight as I write and tomorrow when we meet again, I will have figured out how a perfectly good tub of homemade Red Chile ended up in my washing machine! To Be Continued…

Happy writing!

 

How the Dickens?

Welcome Readers and fellow Writers, to the December 2018 online meeting of the Insecure Writer’s Support Group! Founded by author Alex Cavanaugh and comprised of writing members just like you (and me), featuring writing tips, resources, articles, contests, and IWSG swag! See what we’re all talking about here and join us as we share our writing journeys.

*We meet on the first Wednesday of every month – join us and enjoy!

Visit our gracious Co-hosts, and let them know you’re here:  J.H. Moncrieff, Tonja Drecker , Patsy Collins, and Chrys Fey!

This year, Christmas songs were playing on the radio before the Thanksgiving turkey was an item on my grocery list. No pressure, right? As I wondered how the dickens I’d ever accomplish all of the goals I’d set long before the days grew short enough to pass too fast to notice, a much more inspiring dickens occurred to me: It took Charles Dickens only six weeks to write A Christmas Carol. If that was possible, anything is ;-)  More Charles Dickens fun facts can be found here.

Somewhere between the first draft and last revision, have you ever thought about how many times you tweak that first line? I sure do – think about it, that is. After all, it could mean the difference between a ‘Welcome’ mat, and one that reads: “Ring bell and pull weeds till someone answers.”

Here are a few of my favorite First Lines:

“I have been afraid of putting air in a tire ever since I saw a tractor tire blow up and throw Newt Hardbines’s father over the top of the Standard Oil sign.” ~ Barbara Kingsolver   The Bean Trees - 1988

“I write this sitting in the kitchen sink.” ~ Dodie Smith   I Capture the Castle - 1948

“Ships at a distance have every man’s wish on board” ~ Zora Neale Hurston   Their Eyes Were Watching God – 1937

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This month’s optional question is: What are five objects you’d find in my writing space.

An Hour Glass

A small silver alien made of squishy rubber lies across the number keys of my desk phone

A candle that smells like a stack of new books (it really does!)

A Magic Rub

A small yellow-haired Wishnick balances (for the most part) on the rim of my pencil caddy

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What’s your favorite first line? Do you have a personal best first line?

Happy Holidays, Everyone!

“What greater gift than the love of a cat?” ~ Charles Dickens