Foreword

Sean Ryan

Words are things … Someday we’ll be able to measure the power of words. I think they are things. They get on the walls. They get in your wallpaper. They get in your rugs, in your upholstery, and your clothes, and finally in to you Maya Angelou

You can, you should, and if you’re brave enough to start, you will Stephen King

Nothing is quite as contagious as passion. Being in the company of a group of people who share a collective passion for something is nearly magical. There is an extraordinary energy in a room full of writers when you can hear nothing but the sound of computer keys typing furiously or pens scratching the page. The thoughts, ideas and images hang like rain clouds above the writer, ready to burst with love, loss, death, life, happiness, and hilarity.

That pensive moment when a student bares their soul on paper yet finds the courage to read aloud in front of others is so often more than just reading to the class; it can be a defining moment, a release. Letting go of a secret, finding your courage or finally being able to find the words and phrases that perfectly capture the emotions that you are feeling … is freedom.

Writing free is a privilege; it is also an obligation. What words are we sending out to the world? What effect will they have on those who read them and hear them? Words are things; they have the power to make us laugh, to cry, to divide or unite. Words can make us feel needed, a part of something bigger. Words remind us of our place in the world when we gather to read and to hear.

The Writing Free anthology includes memoir, sci-fi/space fiction, dark fantasy, urban fantasy/horror, and historical fiction. Words that will make us feel, make us connect, and make us think. Some words will get to you more than others.

Let them.

Sit back, relax, invite the words in, and enjoy, Writing Free.