This week: What If? Edited by: Shannon  
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Welcome to the Short Stories Newsletter. I am Shannon and I'm your editor this week.
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"Random events often come like the raisins in a box of cereal--in groups, streaks, and clusters. And although fortune is fair in potentialities, she is not fair in outcomes." ~ Leonard Mlodinow
Today I'm going to discuss "What if" events--ordinary people who find themselves in extraordinary situations and how they respond, adapt, or not. Imagining things like this is a great way to generate story ideas, and I like to keep a notebook full of "What if...." questions as they occur to me.
Last year I rewatched the entire The Twilight Zone series with Rod Serling. I loved the show when I was a kid and couldn't get enough of strange, creepy, What If stories: The Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits, Land of the Lost. As I got older my tastes turned to Tales from the Crypt, The Hitchhiker, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Tales from the Dark Side, and 1985's Amazing Stories. We've become jaded as a society with so many entertainment choices just one click away, but back then the viewing options were few and far between, and some of the old episodes still resonate today.
What if a UFO landed in a field near your home? How would you feel? What would you do? Would your instincts tell you they're friendlies or would you find somewhere to hide? Would you pack your car and leave town or wait to see what happens?
The townsfolk in season 3 episode 24 of The Twilight Zone titled "To Serve Man" were faced with this dilemma. Turns out ... well, see for yourself.
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What if a foreign country decided to target North America with a nuclear EMP? Would vehicles traveling down the freeway at 80 MPH suddenly shut down? Would airplanes plummet from the skies? Would the electric grid stop working? Scientists, National Geographic, and Dr. Peter Pry , Executive Director of the EMP Task Force on National and Homeland Security, say yes.
What would you do? How would you refrigerate your fresh food? How would you cool your home in summer and heat your home in winter? How would you feed yourself and your family? They say America's stockpile of food is only enough to feed the country for 30 days in the event of a nationwide emergency; would the lives of people who have access to food (gardens, plentiful food storage, chickens, cattle) be at risk? How would they protect themselves and their families? Would the world devolve into a Mad Max-type scenario? I believe it would, and I don't think it would take very long.
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What if there was something wrong with your child? A mental illness or some kind of psychosis? What if they were capable of hurting others? What if they did hurt others? Would your instinct be to protect the child, get him/her help, or tell someone before something bad happened? All of the above? I don't think any of us really know what we'd do unless and until we're in that situation. Is it nature or nurture? Are some people just born evil, or is their behavior the result of severe childhood trauma?
In 1990, HBO aired Child of Rage, a documentary about 6-year-old Beth Thomas. Beth's mother died when she was one year old, so she and her younger brother, Jonathan, were taken in by a minister and his wife at the ages of 19 and 7 months respectively. The couple soon noticed Beth exhibiting strange and dangerous behavior. This short film shows clips from actual treatment sessions conducted by Dr. Ken Magid, a clinical psychologist who specialized in the treatment of severely abused children. Unfortunately, Dr. Magid died in a plane crash in 2005.
WARNING: This documentary contains explicit descriptions of abuse.
I'm happy to report that all the love, patience, and time to heal resulted in a remarkable recovery. Beth now works as a NICU nurse caring for the tiniest and most vulnerable among us.
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What if you saw a ghost ... not just any ghost, but one that literally paralyzes you with fear, leaving you unable to move as it approaches your bed in the middle of the night? Would you think you were seeing things? Would you scream for help? Would you lie quietly, hoping the apparition leaves you alone?
John B. Allen, an ex-Navy Seal who became famous by sharing other people's stories with 6 million subscribers on his Mr. Ballen YouTube channel, experienced exactly this at the age of 16 when he visited a friend's secluded cabin in the woods.
Many of us, myself included, love scary movies, but what Mr. Ballen experienced and watching what you know to be fake on television from the comfort and security of your own living room are two completely different things. What would you do? How would you deal?
Have you written a story about any of these topics? Do you believe in aliens? Are you worried about an EMP attack? Have you seen a ghost or met someone traumatized by child abuse? 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, August 2, 2022, when my next short stories newsletter goes live.
"People see stories everywhere. We take random events and we put them together in a pattern so we can comfort ourselves with a story, no matter how much it obviously isn't true. We have to lie to ourselves to live. Otherwise, we'd go crazy."
~ Patrick Ness
Until next time, thank you for reading.
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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!
| |  | Jake (18+)
A boy suspects that there's something very wrong with his friend.
#1186197 by Mike R.  |
| |  | Invalid Item
This item number is not valid.
#1649946 by Not Available. |
| | Possession (18+)
In an asylum for the criminally insane, a young orderly discovers true possession...
#1028269 by W.D.Wilcox  |
I want to share one more item today. Written by a 17-year veteran of WDC, this one absolutely broke my heart. Although it is not a short story per se, it is a true story written in narrative poem format.
| | Time (18+)
Possible trigger warning ... been angry about this for a while now.
#2247354 by Fyn  |
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The following is in response to "Anamnesis" :
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Pumpkin Spice Sox  writes: I have written about my mom's illness and losing her, but I haven't been able to write about the last night I saw her. Or about the dream I had the night before.
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Beacon's Anchor  writes: I like your Newsletter and that was a scary time for you when you were younger. I'm glad you're doing good but things do happen like that all the time now. Until next time, I look forward to read your next newsletter. Great article.
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Turkey DrumStik  writes: Lately much of my writing has been about traumatizing experiences. As it is, I'm still processing the Minneapolis riots. The timing of them happened to be right before my birthday, so all my feelings around it are amplified. I suspect it will be a little while before I can get enough separation between my birthday and seeing the smoke outside my window. Until then, I'll probably keep finding ways to share my story. I worry that people have already forgotten about them. That worries me since there's a good chance this type of domestic terrorism will happen again, and people won't realize that there is a point of reference for them to consult should it happen to them.
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BIG BAD WOLF is Howling  writes: Got more than a few things.
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Jeff  writes: I've written about formative experiences and specific memories for sure. As far as traumatizing experiences, it usually takes me a while to find the right thing I want to say with stories about those times in my life. My mom passed away suddenly and unexpectedly in November 2020 and I still haven't been able to process that in writing. Not for fear of addressing it, but because I haven't figured out what I have to say about it yet.
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Elfin Dragon-finally published  writes: You talking about stories lost reminds me of the poems I have from my grandfather and the stories which are behind them. I currently have many of the poems posted on my port because I feel that sharing them is important. I would like to publish them in a book though, with some of his stories. I think we often forget what happened in past generations when we focus only on our own.
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Mara ♣ McBain  writes: As you said, it is impossible for little bits of yourself not to creep into your writing. I have shared personal events, family, dreams, and nightmares in my tales.
Happy belated WDC birthday.  You have led an exciting and crazy life. Here's to many more adventures!
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s writes: I find that 75% of my stories come from a "What if...?" question. So, the book that was released in January (Patch of Green) started with, "What if Day Of The Triffids happened in Australia?"
I have to admit, I haven't struggled to write something in more than 20 years. But when I am asked I give these 5 ideas:
1. Use a song. Take a song with lyrics let the song suggest a story. It doesn’t have to relate to the song as it was written – the story can be literally anything. For example: the song ‘This Ole House’ by Shakin’ Stevens (1981) led me to a zombie apocalypse story.
2. Write some dialogue. Sit down somewhere public and listen to what people are saying. I mean, don’t look like you’re listening, pretend to read or write or something, because people get funny when you lean over their shoulder and take notes. Take a few of these snippets of dialogue and write a conversation. Just the words they say, no descriptors or tags.
3. Fill a page with words Throw the computer away – this is something you need to do by hand. Using a pen and blank piece of not lined paper, write words at random. In any direction, change fonts or writing styles. Nothing needs to make sense – it’s better if it doesn’t, really – and just fill the page with whatever you want. But they need to be words – real words, not made up words. They can be from any language, but they must be actual wordy words. Then let the randomness lead to something more concrete subconsciously.
4. Link the pictures. Take any three pictures, from anywhere, randomly selected and don’t have anyone you know in them. What I recommend is putting about two dozen pictures of different things into an envelope, then pick 3 at random. Don’t put any back, just pull three out and try to write something, no matter how long or short, that links them all together.
5. Dictionary roulette. Place a dictionary in front of you. A real one, not one of those new-fangled electronic website ones. One made of paper with a cover and pages. Next, close your eyes, then open the book at random and poke your finger down. Whatever the word is of the entry you are touching, write it down. Do this again and again until you have five words. Now link them all in a writing of some description. It doesn’t have to be a novel, but even a paragraph or four lines of poetry or something like that – that’s all you need to do.
Anyway, that's enough from me!
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BIG BAD WOLF is Howling writes: There's always something.
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Princess Megan Snow Rose   writes: I hung out with a woman who shot her ex-husband and I almost moved in with her before that happened. I hope my friend who married a biker is still alive. He had threatened to murder her and I was afraid to interfer. He told me he didn't like me. Feelings were mutual. A former guy I dated years ago was found dead in a lake and he had been murdered. Murder and hate crimes bother me. I hope the world will be at peace someday.
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Pumpkin Spice Sox writes: I have a lot of memories I should write about but a lot of them hurt to much to approach. I am waiting for age to numb the pain some. So, the stories probably will never get written.
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sindbad  writes: Hi, Shannon. This is indeed a very interesting read. You have recited the past experience in such a succinct and interesting manner. All these did bring back my old memories, wherein we used to live in an army cantonment with acres of land to explore. Excellent and rather simple article with a lot of depth and learning.
Sindbad
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Jeannie  writes: My dad, I believe, would have stories to tell while serving in the Army during wartime. Whenever we asked him, he shook his head no. This made me wonder how many friends he saw get killed. That must have been devastating! I don't think I would want to talk about the war either. The only thing he told us was he got pneumonia and was sent to a foreign hospital - which was confusing - he couldn't understand what the doctors and nurses were saying. They treated him well, he recovered, and was sent back to fight again.
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eyestar~* writes: Oh wow! This was a riveting trip down your memory lane. I was fascinated and thought how sad it must have been to have seen the things you experienced, yet it happens all the time. I could see where tv dramas and books get ideas from real life!! The babysitter tale was too awful and I agree. Not something anyone should want to write about! Gives other potentially harmful people ideas.  It is so cool you have some stories from your dad. I remember my grandad telling me about his life and wish now we had written stuff down especially as the elders passed on. I don't recall any major traumatic tales you saw. I heard about life in a mud hut and life of a lumberjack, etc. LOL
Thanks for sharing your story. A great read.
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Short Stories: June 08, 2022 Issue [#11395]
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