This week: For the Love of Writing Edited by: Shannon  
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3. Letter from the Editor
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7. Removal instructions
Welcome to the Short Stories Newsletter. I am Shannon and I'm your editor this week.
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"We write to taste life twice, in the moment and in retrospect." ~ Anaïs Nin
I'm baffled by writers who dread writing as if it's a chore, a punishment, a task imposed upon them against their will. Of course, at times it can be challenging, but when I contemplate the things that bring me joy writing is always near the top of the list.
There is nothing quite so satisfying as composing intelligible sentences and paragraphs that manifest my characters' lives, ideas, and feelings--stories people relate to. And if the finished product elicits a visceral response in those who read it ... well, that's just icing.
I think my love for the written word started with my grandma. When we were little kids our grandmother wrote letters to my brothers and me. Mine would be addressed to Miss Shannon Cramé, my brothers' to Master Sean, Shane, or Shad Cramé. At the time the old-fashioned terminology was weird to me, but I loved the letters anyway. What I wouldn't give to have those letters now.
As an introvert, writing is my preferred way of expressing myself. Several years ago I wrote my dad a letter for his birthday. I thanked him for the myriad ways his presence influenced my life, detailing each one individually. It was a long, heartfelt letter, and Mom said Dad cried as he read it. The handwritten letter took weeks to perfect, but I'm so glad I took the time to write it because Dad passed away on December 29th and all I have to remember him by is a jar full of ashes.
Last year I continued the tradition by writing birthday letters to my adult children. I told stories about their great grandparents, my childhood, their childhoods, and the memorable things they did or said that have stuck with me throughout my life. I told them how they've impacted my life, the lives of those around them, how proud I am of them, and how much they mean to me.
From FDR's "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself" to JFK's "Ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country" to Martin Luther King Junior's "I have a dream" to Reagan's "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!" we understand the power words wield. Words can build up or tear down; words can change the course of lives and nations.
"A writer is someone who has written today. If you want to be a writer,
ask yourself if you’ve written today. That’s the first mark of a true writer." ~ J.A. Jance
Have you written today? Whether your specialty is poetry, flash fiction, short stories, or novels, do you set aside a few minutes each and every day to write? If not, why not? If so, do you have something you'd like to share with the writing.com community? Respond with the link to your favorite piece and I will share it in my next newsletter.
Thank you for reading.
"A book is made from a tree. It is an assemblage of flat, flexible parts (still called 'leaves') imprinted with dark pigmented squiggles. One glance at it and you hear the voice of another person, perhaps someone dead for thousands of years. Across the millennia, the author is speaking, clearly and silently, inside your head, directly to you. Writing is perhaps the greatest of human inventions, binding together people, citizens of distant epochs, who never knew one another. Books break the shackles of time--proof that humans can work magic."
~ Carl Sagan
P.S. Every registered author who shares their ideas and/or creative endeavors relating to or inspired by this week's topic will receive an exclusive trinket. I will retire this month's limited-edition trinket at 11:59 p.m. WDC time on Tuesday, April 14, 2020, when my next short stories newsletter goes live.
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I hope you enjoy this week's featured selections. I occasionally feature static items by members who are no longer with us; some have passed away while others simply aren't active members. Their absence doesn't render their work any less relevant, and if it fits the week's topic I will include it.
Thank you, and have a great week!
|  | Gray House (13+)
Suffering from writer's block, Aaron experiences a bizarre trip into truth and fiction.
#1723954 by Kris D'Amato  |
| | | The Hollow Keys (18+)
Lief is sent to a monastery by his writing group to find the key to his writer's block.
#1824064 by Early |
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Have an opinion on what you've read here today? Then send the Editor feedback! Find an item that you think would be perfect for showcasing here? Submit it for consideration in the newsletter!
https://www.Writing.Com/go/nl_form
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The following is in response to "Random Acts of Kindness" :
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BIG BAD WOLF Feeling Thankful  writes: An act of kindness can go a long way.
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dragonwoman  writes: Random acts of kindness are like second nature to me. Both my parents did them and my siblings and I saw and learned from them.
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Turkey DrumStik  writes: Now I want to write a story about how random acts of kindness are motivated by a sinister agenda. For me, I have seen kindness corroded by people who want to be recognized for doing something great. They make it about themselves. This is partly informed by social media and how kindness there often degrades into toxic positivity. If I do something kind, I prefer that I be invisible. I also prefer to use the phrase random acts of generosity, because that's what it truly is most of the time.
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Bikerider  writes: Shannon, I always enjoy your newsletters. This one is one of the best.
I asked a reporter friend of mine why only bad news made it to the newspaper. He said that when nothing happens during his bus ride home from work he doesn’t tell his wife that nothing happened during his commute. “But,” he continued, “if a man gets on the bus and sits on another man’s hat, I’m sure to tell my wife as soon as I get home. It’s the same with the news,” he said. “If it bleeds, it leads, because the ‘news’ is just another network product.”
Christmas does bring out the best in people, but what do we see on the evening news? After spending hours, if not days, outside a store, hordes of people rush into a store the minute the doors open, trampling each other, snatching items out of each other’s hands, and the inevitable fights.
But there are random acts of kindness all around us. The officers on the police department where I worked pitched in every year to buy bags of groceries, sold to us at wholesale prices, for needy families. Local businesses donated cash cards to be placed in the bags, and a local nursery donated, usually around 20, Christmas trees for needy families. This went on for nearly all the years I worked there. And it’s still going on.
There are many, many acts of kindness out there if we just look for them.
All the best to you for the coming new year.
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Jeff  writes: What a great, positive newsletter topic! I really enjoyed all the videos and I too tend to believe in the overall goodness of people, that all the awful things in our world are more of an exception to the rule rather than the rule itself. Thanks for sharing such an affirming newsletter with us!
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~Brian K Compton~ writes: We have to be in a good place in our life to be truly selfless. Unfortunate that we must look out for number one than extend a hand. Conditions in our lives shape out outwardness. Not all become villains on purpose but have the mantle projected on them. We can't control the narrative, the ugly people who judgmentally whisper. So, ignorance plays a part, too.
Charity from a child is simple and easy, provided innocence about the world we live in is not lost. I did write a story about a charitable person I knew very well. "Invalid Item"
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Lilli 🧿 ☕  writes: Not sure how I missed this NL, but I'm so glad you posted in the newsfeed. I love random acts of kindness and these are wonderful videos! Thanks for an awesome newsletter!
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eyestar~* writes: Oh wow! This is a heart warming selection. I loved how you began with the quote by Anne Frank. Perfect for a Christmas edition. You found some really cool reads too. I don't write many stories and I tend to write uplifting themes. We need to hear more of the good stuff to raise the vibration of people. Even watching acts of kindness raises the happy hormones in others!
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sindbad  writes: Hi
Shanon
This is one subject that leaves a deep impression and overall faith on humanity. The thing that makes us human is so beautifully expressed here...sindbad
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Short Stories: February 19, 2020 Issue [#10021]
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