 Short Stories: September 15, 2010 Issue [#3929] |
  Short Stories
This week: Never Forget 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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A few days ago the world honored the innocent lives lost on September 11, 2001. I'm sure each one of us remembers exactly where we were and what we were doing when we first learned about the attacks. I sat in stunned silence on my living room floor and watched it play out on live television. I gasped in horror as people dove head first from shattered windows, and I cried in disbelief when the first tower crumpled like a house of cards.
On Saturday, September 11, 2010, we were reminded of the atrocities that brought the country and the world together. Every news channel aired 9/11 specials. Survivors were interviewed. Family members sobbed as they paid tribute to their loved ones from ground zero. You'd never know by looking at their faces that it's been almost a decade since that fateful day, and it occurred to me that once a year we rip the scab from a festering wound ... but sometimes that's necessary to heal.
Like you, your characters should experience lows as well as highs; tears as well as laughter. Nobody's life is rainbows and butterflies all day long. Your characters probably have friends diagnosed with cancer or a spouse killed by a drunk driver. Maybe they lost a child in childbirth. Maybe they were the victim of a violent crime. Whatever their personal tragedy is, it's probably what made them into the person they are today.
In 1969, On Death and Dying was published, and Elisabeth Kübler-Ross introduced the world to her Five Stages of Grief. Since then, others have added a stage here and a stage there (I saw one list that included seven stages), but I prefer the original to the sequels. These stages not only apply to a terminal diagnosis, they apply to any kind of bad news that impacts one's life in a sudden and crippling way (loss of employment, divorce, natural disaster, etc.):
Denial: When we hear unexpected, tragic news, it takes us a while to wrap our minds around it. Denial is a temporary, perfectly normal defense mechanism we employ in order to cope. It allows us time to process the information before moving on to the next stage.
Anger: "Why me?" is very common during this phase. The person feels cheated and angry about the unfairness of it all. He may be difficult to live with and/or care for.
Bargaining: "Just let me live long enough to see my kids grow up, Lord." "Just let me live long enough to walk my daughter down the aisle." "God, please let me live long enough to see my grandchild born, and I promise I won't ask for anything else. I'll even give all my money to charity." Bargaining is one's desperate willingness to do anything in his power to change his fate.
Depression: The individual may become withdrawn and spend much of his time grieving. Wikipedia suggests, "It is not recommended to attempt to cheer up an individual who is in this stage. It is an important time for grieving that must be processed."
Acceptance: Coming to terms with one's fate.
Not everyone will experience every step, nor will everyone experience the steps in order, but in my experience as a registered nurse, everyone experiences at least two (usually denial and depression). Some may switch between two or more stages, flip-flopping from one to another. This is a personal journey, and each individual should be allowed to work through it in his/her own way.
Share this journey with your readers. Bring them along for the ride. Nothing connects people like shared experiences ... an "I've been there, brother," reaction. If your readers empathize with your characters, they will remember them and come back for more.
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Feedback
The following is in response to "Short Stories Newsletter (August 18, 2010)" :
A thinker never sleeps  says, "Great newsletter. Lots of useful advice. Writing.com also has a submission tracker, which is very useful, but I do agree in backing up everything both on your PC, your flash drives/USBs and with hard copies. Thanks for all the advice!"
NickiD89  says, "What a fantastic newsletter! I've been submitting my work for a year now, and I really appreciate your organizational tips. Thanks for sharing, Shannon!"
Mara ♣ McBain  says, "Inspiring NL!  Submitting is something that scares the bejesus out of me.  I've submitted three times to on-line mags, been accepted once, and entered a contest at Writer's Digest with no joy.  Your NL at least gives me a direction to go in as far as how to find out WHERE to submit. Now if I can just get up the guts! lol Thank you so much for sharing and for the shout out to "Second Chance" . Fan-Fic or not, it was a tale I really enjoyed!"
saraiv says, "DUDE! or DUDETTE! I so needed this newsletter. I have no idea how anything works. Right now in the Newbie Paper Doll Gang we are working on learning how to submit items to a magazine. My first assignment is who is your target audience. I can't wait to tackle that with this newfound information that will certainly keep me going. And why do adverbs kill? I don't know. That's why I'm asking...=) Again, awesome newsletter!"
nishia says, "Shannon, thank you so much for this newsletter . I can't tell you how much I learned by reading through it. The proofreading mark link is a very nice touch. You really put great effort into writing this and it is much appreciated."
StephBee  says, "Very inspirational! Thanks so much for sharing. Great tips - editing is a must! Learning how to edit or even self-edit, takes time and patience. If you have an editing tips for the future, love to see them."
billwilcox says, "Thank you for sharing your conquests and failures, Shannon. It is always interesting to know who has run up against the same walls. What amazed me about your letter was how detailed you are about where you submitted your work. I do not do that. I don't keep a running track of my rejections nor my sucesses. I couldn't tell you where I've been published and where I've been rejected. Your spreadsheet idea is not new, but it is something we all should do. Again, thanks for sharing. ~ Disorganized Bill"
atwhatcost says, ">>Even Stephen King's been rejected (I think).<< Oh yeah. It's a story every writer needs to know. His first four novels were rejected. His fifth rejected 20 times before it was taken as a large risk. The publisher was laughed at by others in the company, but only 1000 books were printed in that run. After all, it wasn't going to be big. His fifth book? Carrie!
Joy  says, "Great newsletter, wonderful tips. Very encouraging. I couldn't believe, in the beginning, your stories got rejected, Shannon, but then, you must know I am an admirer of your work, even at its beginning stages.  "
rashma says, "Good piece of advice Shanon, but piggies will have to keep going to the market to sell their wares. At least they have imperishable goods in the bag. Even if they don't find a customer, they'll find a friend or an idea for the next story, who knows."
Joshiahis says, "HA! You guys changed the newsletter format in our in-boxes. I almost deleted this as spam!"
aah  says, "This newsletter gave alot of info."
NanoWriMo2018 Into the Earth  says, "Superb topic and awesome delivery. Thanks for your NL."
An apple a day....  says, "You've given me some timely advice, Shannon. I've worked up the nerve to submit something for short stories, and I checked out a copy of the book by Alice Pope from my local library. It is daunting at first glance, but looks like exactly what I need. I downloaded the proofreader's marks. Here's hoping, and thanks, again. I'll keep thinking about Stephen King being rejected and try to get as organized as you are."
Lorien says, "Thanks for the excellent newsletter, Shannon! As a writer trudging through the often-disheartening field of short story publishing, I've found it's easy to get discouraged when, like happened this morning, three rejections come in one day. But when I get an acceptance, the ordeal of writing, revising, submitting, waiting, being rejected, revising again, submitting again ... seems 100% worthwhile. Hearing your story about the road to publication made me smile. Thanks for sharing, and for encouraging us to keep submitting!"
Helen McNicol says, "Great comments. The beauty about submitting on to WDC is that it's not personal. Nobody knows who you are and you don't know that person giving you feedback. Sometimes that makes it easier to accept, use and learn from. Once you take that first step...you'll never look back."
bookgraham says, "Well I'm definitely the hobbyist, but I persevere anyway, wherever that leaves me. I'm writing a novel, and constantly updating it. I dive in and out of W.D.C and other sites to improve my writing. I make and publish my books myself, all of them fiction -(sci fi, fantasy). I'm a hobbyist, and would have it no other way, so reviews, and letters such as this are invaluable to me. Thank you for them."
flowerstar says, "Thank you! I was looking in on making some stories.But I cant get them right! I need feedback on this linked story. Im re doing it a little so.. I'll post at another time! ~Flowerstar"
Cassie Kat says, "Shannon, thanks for once again writing a helpful and well-written newsletter. While I myself have never submitted anything I've written to be published (I'm still in the writing stage), I did want to recommend a book I read this summer that has helped me feel better about the harsh realities of the publishing world. How I Got Published is a book of compiled essays edited by Ray White and Duane Lindsay. The essays are written now successful authors (like Clive Cussler, Greg Bear, and Christopher Moore to name a few), many of whom started their writing careers by collecting rejection slip after rejection slip. While most of the authors write novels (I'm aware this is the short story newsletter ), reading about their experiences in their own words is a reminder that, with some serious determination (and solid writing), anyone can get their work published if they stick to it."
chopipay says, "Nice one, learned a lot from this issue. Thanks more power!"
Thank you all so much for taking the time to read and comment! You are wonderful, and I'm glad you found the edition helpful.
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