  Short Stories
This week: Breakdowns and Breakthroughs Edited by: Shannon  
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The only difference between a rut and a grave is their dimensions. ~ Ellen Glasgow
Welcome to the Short Stories Newsletter. I am Shannon and I'm your editor this week.
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I don't know about you, but if I don't like a story's main character, I won't continue to read. If I don't care about him, it stands to reason that I won't care about what happens to him, so finishing his story would be pointless because there's no emotional investment on my part.
I'm of the opinion that it's okay for the antagonist to be a miserable human being and someone the readers love to hate, but the protagonist must be someone they like--someone they empathize and identify with, someone who, despite all his trials and tribulations, all his weaknesses and shortcomings, has a few redeeming qualities and somehow finds the courage and stick-to-it-iveness to overcome.
"Change happens when the pain of holding on becomes greater than the fear of letting go." ~ Spencer Johnson
I love this quote!
In Eat Pray Love, Elizabeth Gilbert sums up her pivotal moment like this: "The only thing more unthinkable than leaving was staying; the only thing more impossible than staying was leaving." And M. Scott Peck, author of The Road Less Traveled, writes, "The truth is that our finest moments are most likely to occur when we are feeling deeply uncomfortable, unhappy, or unfulfilled. For it is only in such moments, propelled by our discomfort, that we are likely to step out of our ruts and start searching for different ways or truer answers."
Bookstore shelves (and bestseller lists) are filled with stories of people who experience epiphany through pain and use it to better themselves and enrich their lives. Unfinished Business: One Man's Extraordinary Year Of Trying To Do The Right Things by Lee Kravitz, And I Shall Have Some Peace There: trading in the fast lane for my own dirt road, by Margaret Roach, The Liars' Club by Mary Karr, A Child Called It: One Child's Courage to Survive by Dave Pelzer, and the aforementioned Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert are just a few examples.
What is your character experiencing? What will prompt her breakdown and facilitate a breakthrough? Will she be laid off? Divorced? Will there be a terminal diagnosis or death in the family? Abuse? What about a spiritual awakening, or will it simply be her absolute unwillingness to live her life for anyone other than herself for one moment longer? Whatever it is, she must endure and work through the pain in order to heal and grow and change.
Set the stage, pull back the curtain, and we will watch her evolution with bated breath.
All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy; for what we leave behind us is a part of ourselves; we must die to one life before we can enter another. ~ Anatole France
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Please enjoy this week's featured selections.
(Congratulations, Rixy, for having this piece recently published in A Long Stort Short ezine!)
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Who is the slapdash, foolish criminal behind a crime scene in a hotel?
#445131 by Joy  |
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#1527694 by Not Available. |
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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
Don't forget to support our sponsor!
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Last month I challenged you, dear reader, to "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.
Because the stories submitted were not newly written for this contest or exceeded the word limit, none of them qualified for the prize.  Thank you to everyone who participated, though. I enjoyed reading each and every entry.
Feedback
The following is in response to "Short Stories Newsletter (February 2, 2011)" :
BIG BAD WOLF is Howling  says, "Sometimes a story is just plain funny."
Doug Rainbow  says, "I believe that the artful concealment and well-timed disclosure of key facts lies at the core of most good short stories. That's what makes a twist at the end effective. That's what builds tension. That is what makes 'em interesting."
~*Arpita*~ says, "Hi Shannon! A very well-written newsletter! Indeed, it is possible to know only that much about a person as much he wants people to know. And including such 'real' characters in a story definitely makes the story more believable and easy to relate to. Looking forward to more such thought-provoking NLs from you. Best wishes."
Will Dee says, " I agree with the letter from the editor 'Perception is our reality.' I see how commerials use this technique everyday. However, it is not always done with our best interest in mind."
Sanchez says, "Yes there are people who rely solely on the perception of others. But there are people such as I, who rely on a person's actions and outlook on life, to find the real person. I was a police officer for twenty-two years and in that time sized up any anybody I met personality-wise. And, part of my Job I dealt with reality not perception. The exception was my first wife who deceived me with many love affairs, which made me realize I married the wrong person. "
rashma says, "I agree,there's a skeleton in every cupboard, and a writer needs to open as many cupboards as he can. Also there is the world of fantasy to explore, all those fantasies that make our real life seem banal."
Submitted Items
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Short Stories: March 02, 2011 Issue [#4258]
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