#IWSG August 4th: Writing Inspiration

#IWSG First Wednesday of the month!

IWSG August 4th: Writing Inspiration

Insecure Writer’s Support Group—A database resource site and support group for writers and authors. Featuring weekly guests and tips, a monthly blogfest gathering, a Facebook group, a book club, and thousands of links–all to benefit writers! #IWSG Website / Facebook Group / Twitter / Book Club Reedsy Discount / Past Issues Fast Five Free Gift–Mobi / Epub / Pdf Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer help and guidance. It’s a safe-haven for insecure writers of all kinds! Posting: The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Post your thoughts on your own blog. Talk about your doubts and the fears you have conquered. Discuss your struggles and triumphs. Offer a word of encouragement for others who are struggling. Visit others in the group and connect with your fellow writer—aim for a dozen new people each time—and return comments. This group is all about connecting! Be sure to link to this page and display the badge in your post. And please be sure your avatar links back to your blog!  Our Twitter handle is @TheIWSG and hashtag is #IWSG.

 You ready?
Let’s rock the neurotic writing world!

August 4th IWSG Co-hosts

The awesome co-hosts for the August 4 posting of the IWSG are PK Hrezo, Cathrina Constantine, PJ Colando, Kim Lajevardi, and Sandra Cox!

IWSG SWAG

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IWSG August 4th: Writing Inspiration

August 4th optional question –What is your favorite writing craft book? Think of a book that every time you read it you learn something or you are inspired to write or try the new technique. And why?

My Answer:

I don’t have just one. Save the Cat help me to really see how structure worked together with all the elements, and Robert McKee just so many insights I never thought about. Jordan Rosenfield was very specific about tension and the way it works. Christopher Vogel made me look around and see the character archetypes in my own life, in the people surrounding me and how I could make better characters. Romancing the Beat gave better insight as to how romance fit in a story in structure, pacing, and the why. There are more great craft books out there but this is my top five.

Save The Cat Writes A Novel, by Jessica Brody
Dialogue: The Art of Verbal Action for Page, Stage, and Screen by Robert McKee
How To Write Page Turning Tension by Jordan Rosenfield
The Writer’s Journey – 25th Anniversary Edition: Mythic Structure for Writers by Christopher Vogel
Romancing The Beat by Gwen Hayes

THE SEVENTH ANNUAL IWSG ANTHOLOGY CONTEST
SUBMISSIONS ACCEPTED: MAY 7–SEPTEMBER 1, 2021

ATTENTION PARTICIPATES: 

Overall, your story should be clean of offensive material, including profanity, vulgarity, excessive violence, or sexually explicit or suggestive scenes. Elements in your story should focus on romance, not on sex, which should be kept “behind closed doors.”
The overall plot should lead to a positive and uplifting outcome, also known as “happily ever after.”
Absolutely no erotica or pornography.

THIS IS THE BASIC DEFINITION OF ROMANCE FROM RWA (ROMANCE WRITER’S OF AMERICA):

Definition: Two basic elements comprise every romance novel: a central love story and an emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending. A Central Love Story: The main plot centers around individuals falling in love and struggling to make the relationship work. A writer can include as many subplots as he/she wants as long as the love story is the primary focus of the novel (or Short Story). An Emotionally Satisfying and Optimistic Ending: In a romance, the lovers who risk and struggle for each other and their relationship are rewarded with emotional justice and unconditional love. 

This is from IWSG August Newsletter:
Stories have been rolling in, but there’s still time to polish up your best Sweet (CLEAN) romance and send it in! If you can’t decide what constitutes a sweet, clean romance, here is a great article by K. Anthony Wilson that might help.
No time for another link? In a nutshell, think G-rated, relationship-focused, love-to-the-rescue kind of stories. 

Guidelines and rules:

Word count: 5000-6000

Genre: Sweet Romance

Theme: First Love

Submissions accepted: May 7 – September 1, 2021

How to enter: Send your polished, formatted (double-spaced, no footers or headers), previously unpublished story to admin @ insecurewriterssupportgroup.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. You must belong to at least one aspect of the IWSG to enter.

* A short reminder on the characteristics of a sweet romance.

Overall, your story should be clean of offensive material, including profanity, vulgarity, excessive violence, or sexually explicit or suggestive scenes. 

Elements in your story should focus on romance, not on sex, which should be kept “behind closed doors.”

The overall plot should lead to a positive and uplifting outcome, also known as “happily ever after.”

Absolutely no erotica or pornography.Judging: The IWSG admins will create a shortlist of the best stories. The shortlist will then be sent to our official judges.

Our official judges:

Author Nancy Gideon
Nancy Gideon is the award-winning bestseller of over 70 romances ranging from historical, Regency, and series contemporary suspense to dark paranormal and horror, with a couple of produced screenplays and non-fiction writing books tossed into the mix. She’s also written under the pseudonyms Dana Ransom, Rosalyn West, and Lauren Giddings.

Agent Caitlin Blasdell, Liza Dawson Associates
Caitlin Blasdell has been a literary agent with Liza Dawson Associates since 2002 with a focus on commercial fiction. Before becoming an agent, she was a senior editor at HarperCollins Publishers.

Author Susan Gourley
Susan Gourley is traditionally published in fantasy and science fiction romance using the name Susan Kelley. She is currently serving as the President of the Pennwriters writing group renowned for the annual conference.

Author Meka James
Meka James is a writer of adult contemporary and erotic romance. A born and raised Georgia Peach, she still resides in the southern state with her hubby of 16 years and counting. Mom to four kids of the two legged variety, she also has four fur-babies of the canine variety. When not writing or reading, Meka can be found playing The Sims 3, sometimes Sims 4, and making up fun stories to go with the pixelated people whose world she controls.

Agent Melissa Gaines, Victress Literary

Melissa Gaines is part of the dynamic trio that makes up Victress Literary. Together with Shannon Orso and Lizz Nagle and their combined experience in literary sales, publishing, marketing, multimedia and writing equips them to go to battle for every client. Together, they are a well of creativity and cultivate relationships in what has become a rapidly-changing industry.

Author Jennifer Lane
Jennifer Lane writes sports romance and romantic suspense with a psychological twist. She has published nine novels and two short stories, including Behind the Catcher’s Mask as part of the IWSG Masquerade Anthology.

Agent Rachel Beck, Liza Dawson Associates
Rachel Beck joined Liza Dawson Associates in January 2020 after working at a boutique literary agency for four years. She has been in the publishing industry since 2009 and worked at Harlequin editing romance novels for nearly six years before transitioning her skills to the agent world in order to be an advocate and champion for authors.

Author Loni Townsend
By day, she writes code. By predawn darkness, she writes fantasies. All other times, she writes in her head. People call her peculiar with a twisted sense of fashion, but don’t let those understatements fool you. Her behavior is perfectly normal for a squirrel disguised as a human.

Prizes: The winning stories will be edited and published by Dancing Lemur Press’ imprint, Freedom Fox Press, next year in the IWSG anthology. (Please see their site for general submission guidelines.) Authors will receive royalties on books sold, both print and eBook. The top story will have the honor of giving the anthology its title.

This is our seventh anthology contest! Previous titles include Dark Matter: Artificial, Voyagers: The Third Ghost, Masquerade: Oddly Suited, Tick Tock: A Stitch in Crime, Hero Lost, The Mysteries of Death and Life, and Parallels: Felix Was Here.

MORE ON THE IWSG BLOG!

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Atlantis Lost, Atlantis Rising: Emergence Origin Story Novella Magic Born or Magic Cursed? Series—Coming 2020-2022
Follow Smoak Below:

Do You Believe In Magic? — Smoak is Magic.

I am a Fae spirit entity. My element is fire. My name is Smoak. I’ve been mistaken for an angel. As a spirit entity, I have many forms — I shape-shift, but my core form is Dragon.

I am a master at using shadow magic for illusion, but I can’t live alone. To survive, spirit entities must bond with another whose element is the same as theirs.

Elemental fire magic connected me to Remi at her birth. But, our magic was never used.

To keep her safe, her mother suppressed Remi’s magic at age three to hide them from the monster that chased them. On Remi’s sixteenth birthday, the spell will break and reunite us.

Let’s hope everything doesn’t burn down around us.

Want to follow Smoak?

PROGRESS METER: Coming December 2021

You can view this brief story on Medium too. I wrote it as short form fiction–150 words or fewer for a friend’s Short Form Publication on Medium The Daily Cuppa.