  Short Stories
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Welcome to the Short Stories Newsletter. I am Shannon , and I'm your editor this week.
Make sure you read all of this week's edition for your chance to win one of five merit badges! |
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Question:
If someone asked you about memorable television characters, which ones would come to mind?
This was the topic of conversation at work the other night, and I said my favorites were George Jefferson, Samantha Stephens, Mulder & Scully, and Frank Black. I also like Jerry Seinfeld, Lenny & Squiggy, Archie Bunker, and Roseanne (in very small doses) but was never much of a Lucille Ball fan (horror of horrors!). After I grew up and all these shows were taken off the air, I stopped watching television on a regular basis. It just wasn't that good anymore.
Several months ago my twenty-one-year-old daughter moved back in with us. She began DVR-ing reruns of her favorite sitcom and asked me to watch them with her. Now, I'm not much for serial television (although I do make an exception for Dexter)--I'm more of a reading/writing/news/documentary/indie film kinda girl, but I eventually gave in and agreed to watch "one episode."
The following scene takes place during a Moroccan Christmas party when the staff of The Office (led by their ever-inept and eternally inappropriate boss, Michael, who is convinced that Meredith is an alcoholic) decide to do an intervention:
Meredith: "I don't mind telling you that I have an addiction. I do ... to porn." (This is followed by a collective groan from her coworkers.)
Michael: "All right. No, no, no, no. That is--you lit your hair on fire today. What about tomorrow? What is going to happen when you come in to work and you're dead?"
Dwight: "I stab her in the brain with a wooden stick. There are several ways to kill a zombie, but the most satisfying one is to stab it in the brain with a wooden stick."
I was so caught off guard that I laughed out loud. "What did he just say?" I asked, rewinding. That scene (and my not-so-secret crush on Jim, played by John Krasinski) was the genesis of my addiction to The Office. Right now I have eight episodes recorded, and tonight when my daughter gets home we'll watch a few of them together.
Dwight Schrute is, in my humble opinion, one of the best television characters of all time. He's a beet farmer who lives with his cousin Mose (a suspender-wearing, Amish-looking, disturbingly childlike man who runs alongside cars, racing them up their long gravel driveway). Dwight has multiple quirks: his shirts are all various shades of yellow, he boasts that he can skin a deer in less than ten minutes, and he professes to know everything there is to know about bears. He also has weapons (throwing stars, nunchucks, pepper spray, etc.) hidden throughout the office "for safety purposes" and has been known to use them ... on his coworkers. Dwight Schrute. Even his name is perfect!
The Office has somewhat restored my faith in modern society's ability to produce consistently entertaining television. The writing is brilliant, and I often find myself saying, "Damn, I wish I'd written that!"
That's our job in a nutshell: create characters the readers love (or love to hate), characters the readers sympathize with, and characters that keep the readers coming back for more. Sometimes the writing comes effortlessly; other times it's hard as hell and you have to keep pounding away at it until you're satisfied (That's what she said!), but when it's right ... ah, when it's right, it makes the countless hours of literary bloodletting worthwhile.
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Please enjoy these stories that either have to do with working in an office or a character named Dwight.
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The following is in response to "Short Stories Newsletter (March 31, 2010)" :
Zeke  says, "I agree that giving your characters an opinion makes them more believable, but I think one has to be careful not to let the opinion destroy the character. Only my opinion." Yep, there are some vile characters out there, in stories and in real life--but people like that really do exist. I prefer to focus on redemption, but sometimes there is no redemption. Sometimes there is no happy ending, just like real life.
Doug Rainbow  says, "One of the most recurring devices in writing is the 'turn-around' where, in the end, things are not what they seemed to be. This is often true of characters. The noble knight shows cowardice while the lowly peasant turns out to be the real hero. The 'Mr. Right' perfect lover turns out to be a no-good cheat while the humble little-noticed friend stands loyal and true. Turn-abouts are worth mastering." Yep, and a story the reader won't likely put down till the end.
LJPC - the tortoise says, "Hi Shannon! Your newsletter made very good points about characterization. I enjoyed the items that you picked to highlight. Thanks!" Thank YOU, Laura! And thank you for taking the time to read and comment.
atwhatcost says, "Oh, I so love characters with convictions! Another thing I love to do is to have my characters react to something small, after something horrible happens. In one of my stories (not published on here) my character attacks one of her bushes (with mildew problems) after losing her home. Quite often we go after something unrelated, so we don't have to deal with the big problem. Much more fun to do in fiction than real life." Yes, it's much more fun to write about fictitious trials and tribulations than it is to experience them. 
bronxbishop says, "Hi Shannon. Whomever said that opinion falls short of conviction hasn't met my mother-in-law. Congrats on the Quill! I agree with them!" And thank you!
Lorien says, "Congrats on your Quills award, Shannon! Today's newsletter was quite insightful. I've written stories before with characters whose political views get in the way, and I personally love the dynamics such subplots can create--but boy, can you get the hate mail! I've received many a review lecturing me about politics in my stories, and I always have to write back, 'It's just the character's opinion.' " That makes it even more fun. Just view it as a job well done. Apparently your writing was so convincing that your readers took time out of their busy schedules to comment on it. Great job!
embe says, "HI Shannon,
Your newsletter really screamed at me.
Time to try and write a story as you have suggested.
Poetry flows easy, but I have failed to grasp the complexity of writing short stories.
embe, in appreciation."
Aw, thank you, embe! (((hugs)))
Christine Cassello says, "This is very helpful information. I will seriously consider it when creating my next character or revising a story I will be working on and it will add to the conflict which I always have problems with when I write." I hope it helps, Christine. Thank you!
 Merit Badge Giveaway!
As promised, here is your chance to win one of five merit badges! Choose ONE challenge below and respond as quickly as possible. If you are the first to reply correctly, you will receive a MB (only one response/MB per person. No secondary accounts, please).
 The first person to respond with 10 of The Office employees' character names (first and last) will win a JOB WELL DONE merit badge.
The first person to respond with two not-so-obvious but often used examples of Office phraseology (hidden in plain sight within this newsletter) will win an ATTENTION TO DETAIL merit badge.
The first person to respond with Andy's nickname for Jim and its origin will receive a DETECTIVE merit badge.
The first person to respond with the name of the company The Office employees work for and where it's located (city and state) will win a TRAVEL merit badge.
And the first person to respond with the title of Dwight Schrute's favorite television program will receive a SCIENCE FICTION merit badge (the badge itself is a clue).
Good luck, everyone! |
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Short Stories: April 28, 2010 Issue [#3679]
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