  Short Stories
This week: Christmahanukwanzaakah 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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"My idea of Christmas, whether old-fashioned or modern, is very simple: loving others." ~ Bob Hope
This is a wonderful time of year. People are kinder, more generous, and everyday activities like Christmas shopping and hunting for that perfect tree become story fodder.
Case in point, my husband decided to go shopping on Black Friday. I tried to talk him out of it; I believe my exact words were "Are you nuts?" There was something he wanted and it was marked down $100, so off Del went with our twenty-six-year-old son Kyle in tow.
Bins piled high with $3 DVDs were strategically placed adjacent to the register lines and a 30-ish woman was digging through them, so my husband and son didn't think she was in line. They sidled around her.
"Oh, sure! Cut in line, baldy!" she screamed. "Fat bastard, unbelievable!"
A guy in the next line over glared at her. "Wow!" he said, and the woman's face flushed red.
Del, gobsmacked, was too stunned to respond. Kyle put his hands up placatingly, palms out. "Easy, easy," he pleaded.
Del gestured for her to move forward. "Go ahead," he said. "I'm in no hurry. Please, be my guest."
The moral of the story is this: writers are looking for an opportunity to include what they see and hear in their next story. Ensure you make the cut for something worth writing about. No one wants to go down in history for being a jackass.
"He who has not Christmas in his heart will never find it under a tree." ~ Roy L. Smith
On the other hand, for the past twelve years my Facebook friend Neil Kramer has encouraged friends and family to submit holiday videos for his annual "Christmahanukwanzaakah" celebration. Neil's blog, Citizen of the Month, posts the videos for all to enjoy. Just watching them makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. It's things like this that are worth writing about and epitomize the spirit of the season.
Have you written a holiday story you'd like to share? Were you inspired by something you witnessed or overheard? Share your thoughts, comments, and/or writing endeavors and I will include them in next month's newsletter.
From Poland comes my favorite Christmas commercial: English for Beginners.
WARNING: the f-word is spoken once.
I wish you peace, blessings, and a very Happy New Year.
P.S. Every registered author who shares their thoughts and/or creative endeavors relating to or inspired by this week's topic will receive an exclusive trinket. I will retire this month's limited-edition trinket at 11:59 p.m. WDC time on January 23, 2018, when my next short stories newsletter goes live.
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I hope you enjoy this week's featured selections. I occasionally feature static items by members who are no longer with us; some have passed away while others simply aren't active members. Their absence doesn't render their work any less relevant, and if it fits the week's topic I will include it.
Thank you, and have a great week!
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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!
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The following is in response to "About a Guy" :
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Princess Megan Snow Rose  writes: As a fan of soaps and romance, problems in my life, I have learned a lot about love, marriage and relationships. I have a good, loving husband and I like this newsletter and video. Criticism can be helpful or hurtful but I accept advice and I can criticize with affection. My husband and I are mature and arguing is a type of affection. Like Ethel said to Lucy about her and Fred fighting, "That's how we make love." I love it. I am spoiled and get love, gifts and affections from my husband and we help each other. I am there for my friends as well and this newsletter makes me reflect on these things.
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BIG BAD WOLF Feeling Thankful  writes: Things get crazy at times.
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FrankieB  writes: I am currently working on a project in which my character is dealing with the lasting effects of domestic abuse. While some look at her and think that she has it all together, the truth is that the abuse effects her every thought, movement, and choice in her life. Even years later, she still must coach herself on how to be "normal" and fit in with a world that shames victims and does not understand the world in which she has escaped. It is complex and heartbreaking. The highlighted item contains snippets of this project.
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Dartagnan writes: I was engaged 5 times before meeting my wife. These engagements were short-term and ended relatively on a good note. The worst one was when I introduced my second fiance to my first. I was not a very liked boyfriend at that time. I did not take life too seriously in my younger days.
When I finally met the girl I would marry, I knew she was the one for me. I was a singer who was performing on the street for a town festival. When we were done she came up and kissed me. We were married a year later and are getting ready to celebrate our 35th wedding anniversary. She is my whole world. We have three children and eight grandchildren.
I can't imagine needing a relationship therapist. If you do need one I think you might be in the wrong relationship.
I still love my wife so much after all these years. We are both disabled. She was diagnosed with MS in 2009 and suffers from migraine headaches. I had to retire due to health problems too numerous to name.
If a relationship is not working, it's a good possibility that the right one has not come along. Call it quits and try again. Life is to short to live miserable. Everyone deserves to be happy.
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Quick-Quill  writes: I'm finishing reading the third book in the All Souls Triolgy by Deborah Harkness. I suggest reading this series for character development as well as plot development. Even if your not into Vampires or Witches, this book is about people. I believe if she keeps true to her writing style she could be a JK Rawlings or any great serial soap opera style writer. The reader gets hooked on her characters and what obstacles they face along with a host of conflicts that rival any saga driven story. Don't be put off by the fantasy genre. Knowing how people react to each other and situations is key to a good story. I don't love her main character, Diana. At times she doesn't act in a consistent way. Maybe neither do we and just don't realize it. FYI They are making a TV series in the UK based on her books, I'm sad we can't watch them here. Maybe the BBC America will pick it up.
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dragonwoman  writes: I wrote a story about a reporter interviewing Satan. I'm not sure if its a character study of the Evil One or my thoughts about him.
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ruwth  writes: Well, what brings me to Shannon 's Newsletters? I will admit it is her TRINKETS! (Everyone knows I love trinkets, right?) So, I come here and read her Newsletters (wouldn't be fair otherwise, right?) Then, to "earn" the trinket, I need to post a comment before the most recent trinket is retired -- so I do. I try to post a comment related to what I have read. This comment is posted after reading about the subject of character studies with references to writing and videos by Esther Perel. Did y'all know that I would like to do what Perel does? As I was looking through my post today, I stumbled upon an unrelated article -- unrelated to the subject but related to Newsletters. Because I appreciate both Shannon's Trinkets and her Newsletters, I am giving her my item to highlight next time. I do want to say ONE thing about character studies: I write mainly non-fiction. Nano 2016, I wrote some memoir kind of stuff. Guess how I prepared for it? Character Studies of some of my family members! 
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Jeff  writes: I have a hard time reading and writing dramatic character pieces. I always feel like there's so much conflict surrounding interpersonal relationships in the real world that I don't really get a lot of enjoyment out of reading about them for fun. That's not to say I don't enjoy a good bit of character development and drama within the context of another story... but, man, I have a real hard time getting invested in stories that are only about that character dynamic.
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Angus  writes: Hi, Shannon! Great informational Newsletter! I've never written a true character study, unless you count what a typical day in my own life is (that's more biographical I believe), nor have I written anything about infidelity. But after reading this you've inspired me to try to come up with something. After a few years of writing mostly horror, I think it's about time I stepped out of my normal genre and tried something different! Thank you!
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Joy  writes: Thanks for this NL,  Shannon!
Your favorite books are my favorite books, too, because character creates everything else, and in my humble opinion, a good understanding of human psychology or the study of it can be very helpful to writers. It is also a good idea to do character studies separately before we put down the first sentence of a story.
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K8 writes: I really enjoyed this. Being single and working my way back into relationships, this was something I needed to see. Thank you.
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eyestar~* writes: I really like how you use the real time/topic therapist information as contribution to the development of character. The link and video are also a contribution for reader's own lives if there are useful ideas for life, as you have found. Cool! Your specific questions for writers to consider are useful too. Thanks for expanding our world. 
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GeminiGem🐾  writes: Character studies, yes! That is what I had in mind when I created "Zodiac Contest/CONTEST CLOSED" . When I introduced the contest last spring, there was a lot of interest in it. There haven't been entries to back up that initial enthusiasm. I wonder...is it harder to do than people thought?
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Lilli 🧿 ☕  writes: Another great newsletter with a serving of “food for thought”.
Thank you Shannon!
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Beacon's Anchor  writes: I like your Newsletter every time I get it. You give so much ideas that I always have to write what I need. Please keep it up, and you are a great writer.
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the prodigal son returns 2024. writes: Vice-president Mike Pence mentioned a while back how he avoids dining with a woman other than his wife, if they'd be doing so alone. His reasoning is two-fold: avoiding any appearance of impropriety and/or averting personal temptation. Assuming a given man is not a sociopath, then, similar to our involuntary bodily responses to a polygraph test, few unfaithful men can disguise their emotions such that their behavior remains unaffected and/or undetectable. Setting aside these same issues with regard to women who cheat, suffice it to say that, just as some women tend to shirk or dismiss changes in their spouse's attitudes or behaviors, it is too often the case that a woman will assume their husband's disaffection (or overly affectionate attention) is due to some change in her own behavior i.e. taking the blame herself. To think otherwise would be an unthinkable acceptance that the relationship itself has grown strained, had somehow lost its prior feelings of intimacy. Worth repeating is the idea that a sudden "increase" of attentions, both intimate and otherwise i.e. an unexpected gift, can also be an indicator that hubby is failing his own, self-imposed lie-detector test.
Abrupt, sometimes subtle changes in a person's behavior are rarely insignificant, and are almost always indicative of some hidden, underlying cause. Any and all behavioral changes ought to trigger the proverbial "red-flag" that alerts us to question, despite our benefit-of-the-doubt reservations, what deeper truths might be at work. The onus, of course, is on our knowing the difference between paranoia and genuine fluctuations in a spouse's demeanor.
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Short Stories: December 27, 2017 Issue [#8631]
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