  Short Stories
This week: Born Free 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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"No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment."
~ Article 5 of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
I remember learning to write and my teacher saying, "No, you're doing it wrong. Write with this hand," as she switched the pencil from my left hand to my right. This went on for what seemed like weeks. My classmates laughed at and shunned me, called me stupid. I was embarrassed and wondered why no one else was using their "wrong" hand. As a kid you just do what you're told, but when I finally came home crying about it my mom wasn't so accommodating. She marched right down to the elementary school and set that teacher straight, by God! It was the last time she or anyone else said anything to me about writing with my left hand. That's when I fell in love with words ... writing them as well as reading them.
Harriet Tubman, Irena Sendler, Sojourner Truth, Jim Zwerg, Sarah Grimké, Oskar Schindler. I was obsessed with people who not only stood up for themselves, but for others they'd never even met. I watched movies like The Diary of Anne Frank and miniseries like Roots. I fell in love with stories about the human struggle to overcome adversity, and that love followed me into adulthood.
I recently watched a documentary titled Steal a Pencil for Me. The film tells the story of Jack and Ina who met for the first time in 1943 Amsterdam, one month before Jack was deported to Westerbork transit camp. Ina followed two months later. Their friendship quickly morphed into love after Jack wrote Ina a letter, setting in motion a two-year back-and-forth secret letter writing campaign. By May of 1944 they'd both been transferred to Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, where their notes to each other continued until they were liberated in 1945.
It's stunning to me that they were able to find something beautiful, love, under the most heinous of circumstances. They encouraged each other, supported each other, and literally kept each other alive with the power of their words.
Another favorite of mine is The Help. In addition to the human spirit's need for justice, the novel highlights the power of compassion, love, courage, sacrifice, and friendship. It's also a great example of the power of words, especially when those words are used to expose a terrible truth.
When I think about all the great literary works that revolve around people being denied their basic human rights, many personal favorites come to mind: To Kill a Mockingbird, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, The Diary of a Young Girl, Schindler’s List, The Pianist: The Extraordinary True Story of One Man's Survival in Warsaw, 1939-1945, The Help, Roots:The Saga of an American Family, The Kitchen House: A Novel, The Color Purple, and Night just to name a few.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is an excellent resource and potential story prompt generator. How have your character's rights been violated? Has she violated the rights of others? How has the denial of his basic human rights changed him and the people around him? Do any story ideas pop into your head as you peruse the list? Have you personally witnessed any human rights violations, and if so, can you write about them?
Thank you for reading.
P.S. No, I'm not comparing my left-handedness and the way I was treated by my kindergarten teacher to people discriminated against for their race, sex, age, religion, nationality, and/or sexual orientation, but my experience and the experiences of others taught me something: Never again will I allow someone else to make me feel less than. |
Although I try to feature items by current and active WDC authors, occasionally I include items by people who haven't been on the site for a while. I've been criticized for this in the past, but I don't correlate someone's frequency of site participation with the relevance or merit of their work.
I hope you enjoy this week's featured selections. Some of you may find one or two of them controversial and/or offensive, so please be aware that they received their 18+ ratings for a reason. Please do the authors the courtesy of reviewing the ones you read. Thank you, and have a great week!
| |  | Ginger's Dream (E)
Ginger dreams of being on the basketball team, but she only has one working arm.
#1403002 by Catmagic  |
| | The Promise (13+)
The distinct clickety-clack of an approaching train heralded the arrival of our destiny
#1226992 by Shannon |
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The following is in response to "Short Stories Newsletter (January 1, 2013)" :
Doug Rainbow says, "I write appeal briefs, trial court level legal memoranda, and contracts. This disciplined work is on a deadline. The payoff is a check--not creativity or personal fulfillment. When I have tried to discipline my creative writing by imposing quantity-based or time-based requirements I have found that my creativity is sapped and my enjoyment is gone. My writing goals for 2013 are to meet my deadlines when they are imposed from outside and to follow my fancy when writing creatively." If I "followed my fancy when writing creatively" I'd never get anything done!  Sometimes my fancy would much rather be watching a movie or reading a book or riding my bike along the river--anything BUT writing. I know some of the most successful writers treat their writing like a job. It IS their job. They lock themselves away for six, eight hours a day, every day. As I age I realize this works for me, too. I must be disciplined to be productive, but I know not everyone can or wants to do this. It's all about what works best for you and what you want to gain from your writing. Thanks, Doug!  
DRSmith  says, "I'm going to DO NOT A DANG THING and stop MAKING SILLY FIRST OF THE YEAR LISTS. That way, I can't miss, and, if I do manage to accomplish anything at all of a useful nature, it's a PLUS I can brag about in December." I find when I set my expectations low I achieve them every time. 
Quick-Quill  says, "I love your list. I don't make resolutions because one must then be shackled to them or feel discouraged when one fails to achieve. I look at your list and say to myself, 'I will pick two or three and see how long I can maintain it.' My goal this year is to get my new novel ready to submit to publish!" That's great! I don't beat myself up if I don't meet these goals every month. On the contrary. They provide me with a structure--something to work toward. Even if I only achieve half of them, it's half more than I would have achieved without them. Onward! 
NaNoNette  says, "Thank you for mentioning "Invalid Item" And also many thanks for the beautiful ribbon you gave to the forum. I really like your list of attainable goals and will use all/most of it. Luckily, I'm already a gym member, so that one's taking care of itself. Best wishes to you for all of your goals. Remember, a walk in a park is better than no exercise if a gym is too expensive/cumbersome/otherwise annoying. Any minute not spent sitting down counts." Yes! I already do a lot of walking and bike riding in the summer, but now that it's so darn cold (I don't think it's been above freezing for over a month here) it's not likely I'll be out riding my bike so I wanted to make sure I stay active during the colder months. I DID join a gym just down the road from my house and I tend to spend 45-60 minutes there at least four days every week. Oh, and you're very welcome for featuring Write a Novel in 90 Days. It was my pleasure. 
Cynaemon says, "Hi, Thank you so much for featuring my story "The Chinese New Year Cat" in the newsletter. That is a great way to start the year. You have some impressive resolutions. Good luck with all of them. Ummm, I think I can do the 'join a gym' one. LOL. Honestly, first task this year is to edit my first ever NaNoWriMo novel. Okay, I know I am blowing my own horn a bit here, but I am so proud of myself. I still can't believe I did it. I will be talking to the local high school principle about the NaNo Young Writer's Program sometime in the next few months. And I plan to expand a couple of my short stories into chapter books, if I can figure out how to do it. Oh, yes, if I can't find a gym there is no reason I can't walk everyday. Last, but not least is to write a haiku or other short poem everyday this year. Best wishes, Cynaemon." Good on you! I love the idea about the NaNo Young Writer's Program, and you SHOULD toot your own horn! Writing 50k words in a month is quite an achievement and you have every right to be proud of yourself. 
blunderbuss says, "Hi Shannon! Your realistic, attainable goals made me whimper! I think you've set yourself a lot there but the attitude is right, no doubt about it." Thank you, Diane! As I told Quick-Quill , I don't beat myself up if I don't meet my goals every month. Even if I only achieve half of them it's half more than I would have achieved without them. 
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Short Stories: January 29, 2013 Issue [#5483]
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