The Insecure Writer’s Support Group and Envy

The awesome co-hosts for this March 1 posting of the IWSG are Diedre Knight, Tonya Drecker, Bish Denham, Olga Godim (hi Olga!), and JQ Rose!

And the (optional) question for today – Have you ever read a line in novel or a clever plot twist that caused you to have author envy?

The answer to this is, of course, YES. In fact, saying ‘a’ line or ‘a’ clever plot twist is rank untruth. It’s more like ‘so many’ amazing, emotional, or evocative lines and ‘multiple’ plot twists which have smacked me over my oblivious head.

To be honest that feeling of author envy is one of the reasons I am such a bibliophile. I am a devoted bookworm for the feelings that reading gives me. I am always surprised and delighted when an author can provoke those feelings. It’s one of the best reasons to read! That feeling when you have to sit back, let the book fall slightly closed, and just stare into space . . . in awe of the moment the author just inflicted on you. It could be happy, or heart-wrenching, or cathartic, or infuriating. But whatever it is, that feeling is total and it’s something that author’s writing gave you. That’s a good instant in your life, a minute most definitely not wasted.

To answer the question more thoroughly, here are a few of the authors that have given me a moment of pure author envy and thus earned a spot for their books on my 5 Star Favorites shelf.

Sir Terry Pratchett, The Discworld Series

“Humans need fantasy to be human. To be the place where the falling angel meets the rising ape.” -Hogfather, Terry Pratchett

“I meant,” said Ipslore bitterly, “what is there in this world that truly makes living worthwhile?” Death thought about it. CATS, he said eventually. CATS ARE NICE.” -Sourcery, Terry Pratchett

“Some humans would do anything to see if it was possible to do it. If you put a large switch in some cave somewhere, with a sign on it saying ‘End-of-the-World Switch. PLEASE DO NOT TOUCH’, the paint wouldn’t even have time to dry.” -Thief of Time, Terry Pratchett

Robin McKinley Fantasy

“Roses are for love. Not silly sweet-hearts’ love but the love that makes you and keeps you whole, love that gets you through the worst your life’ll give you and that pours out of you when you’re given the best instead.” -Rose Daughter, Robin McKinley

“Cats were the easiest of the beasts for humans to talk to, if you could call it talking, and most fairies could carry on some kind of colloquy with a cat. But conversations with cats were always more or less riddle games, and if you were getting the answer too quickly, the cat merely changed the ground on you. Katriona’s theory was that cats were one of the few members of the animal kingdom who had a strong artistic sense, and that aggravated chaos was the chief feline art form, but she had never coaxed a straight enough answer out of a cat to be sure.” -Spindle’s End, Robin McKinley

Stephen King, Horror

“When you’re twenty-one, life is a roadmap. It’s only when you get to be twenty-five or so that you begin to suspect that you’ve been looking at the map upside down, and not until you’re forty are you entirely sure. By the time you’re sixty, take it from me, you’re fucking lost.” -Joyland, Stephen King

“The sun loses its thin grip on the air first, turning it cold, making it remember that winter is coming and winter will be long. Thin clouds form, and the shadows lengthen out. They have no breadth, as summer shadows have; there are no leaves on the trees or fat clouds in the sky to make them thick. They are gaunt, mean shadows that bite the ground like teeth.” -Salem’s Lot, Stephen King