 Short Stories: February 02, 2011 Issue [#4217] |
  Short Stories
This week: Perception Is Reality Edited by: Shannon  
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Welcome to the Short Stories Newsletter. I am Shannon and I'm your editor this week.
Be sure to read all of this week's edition for your chance to win a merit badge AND 25,000 gift points! |
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While others are overflowing with love and affection this February, I want to play Devil's advocate and examine the darker side of human nature.
It's not easy to create believable characters--characters your readers sympathize and identify with. Real people are multidimensional, complex beings. We view the world through the lens of our own past and present experiences, and this view affects our relationships and interactions with others. Our perception may or may not make sense to those around us, but our perception is our reality.
Consider the homemaker next door. She's in her fifties. She's been a faithful wife and mother for over thirty years. She's dedicated her life to taking care of her family. Her house is spotless, and her husband has a hot meal waiting for him when he gets home from work. Every evening he kisses her on the cheek, thanks her for the wonderful dinner, and falls asleep with his arm around her. She is content. Her life is perfect ... or at least that's her perception. She doesn't know that her husband didn't really get that promotion last year, that he isn't really working late every night, and that he's really spending time with his thirty-five-year-old mistress and plotting his wife's demise. After all, a life on the Côte d'Azur isn't cheap, but $500,000.00-worth of life insurance is a damn good start.
Yes, two people with completely different realities can (and often do) coexist, completely oblivious to the other's motives. Kind of depressing, isn't it? So is it possible to ever really know another human being? Well, it's possible to know someone as much as they want to be known. You will only see what they want you to see. Everyone has secrets, and everyone has something they will never share with another living soul.
The truth is that we manipulate, use, and abuse each other for our own personal gain. We may not do it intentionally, and we may not even be aware that we're doing it at all, but we do it nonetheless. It's how we are. It's in our nature; and the writers of some of the best books (The Collector, The Catcher in the Rye) and most intriguing television shows (Breaking Bad, Dexter) know and exploit this fact. Nothing is as simple as it seems.
Do your characters reflect reality? Do they have good as well as bad traits? What are their motives? Do they have secrets? Their friends and spouses may not know these things, but make sure your readers do. It'll keep 'em turning the page, I promise.
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Please enjoy this week's featured selections.
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And one more, just for a good giggle.
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*Merit Badge Challenge*
Can you write believable characters--characters that I will sympathize and identify with?
Write me a story of 1,000 words or less about false perceptions and how they negatively affect the characters involved. Stories must be newly written for this contest and submitted to me via email by February 22 in order to qualify. Entries may be copied and pasted into the body of the email or saved as a static item. The one I like the most will receive a Short Stories merit badge AND 25,000 gift points.
Good luck! |
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