First, I’d like to wish you all
health and success in 2020. Happy New Year, Everyone! I am honored to co-host
this month’s question. My gracious co-hosts are T. Powell Coltrin @Journaling Woman, ReneeScattergood, J.H. Moncrieff, and Stephen Tremp.
Insecure Writers Support Group offers an
excellent opportunity to pitch your stories, if you are ready. You can find
details about the #IWSGPit, which is January 15th, here. Good luck, everyone!
You can also find details about IWSG’s new
anthology Voyagers: The Third Ghost here. Congratulations to all the writers included in
the anthology! Writers helping other writers. That’s what Insecure Writers Support
Group is all about.
Now about our January question, I
have always been a storyteller, like my father before me. I love adventure and
romance, and I always envisioned myself in the story I read or watched. I was
the protagonist, the main character who saves the day and wins her man. And I
always did it with style. But getting it all on the page and hoping others
would like the story? Well let’s just say this is why I’m part of Insecure
Writers Support Group.
When I was growing up, my father would tell
wild tales of adventure in our patio to me and my siblings and any neighborhood
kid who hung around. We’d wait until dusk. He’d light a candle on the picnic
table and begin his fanciful tale. The characters were whoever came to listen
to the story. It didn’t need to make sense. His baritone voice kept us rapt on
his every word wondering what would happen next.
Because of my father, I took to
telling my own children stories, but my stories would be based on anecdotes. It
started when we went camping as a family. You can find many of our adventures
on Camping with Five Kids.
In the evening, sitting around
the campfire, I’d tell the children stories. And they would ask for the same
stories based on the same anecdotes. Then I started the “what if” stories. These
were not actual happenings. These were pure fiction. My children liked those as
well, and I started to think maybe I should try my hand at actually publishing
these stories.
As you know, many of my short
stories are based on adventures my family and I have had camping around this
beautiful country of ours. But to make them worthwhile for others—and to keep
within word count—I had to ditch the parents and any extraneous character and
cut the time frame.
Right now I’m working on an
adventure in the Adirondack Mountains where a teen and his younger sister are
taking their first hike without their father who died in a car accident. It’s a
familiar hike, but they’re both grieving. *Internal struggle* One external
struggle is the younger sister keeps comparing her older brother [protagonist]
with their father. Then I include a flash thunderstorm at the peak of the
mountain, a flooded trail that takes them off course. Now there’s a swift river
they need to cross on huge narrow boulders. And their mother is waiting for
them at the foot of the trail. No cell service in the forest. I’m trying to get
the pacing right, so feel free to offer comments or ask any questions on this.
Thanks!
I’m at the beginning of another
short story that deals with an allergic reaction and the use of an EpiPen.
Does anyone have information as
to what truly happens in an allergic reaction to a bee sting?
Does anyone have any experience
with using EpiPens?
Do you know of a reputable site
to reference to help me learn about allergic reactions or EpiPens?
I’ll be interested to see how
you’ve tackled this month’s question. It’s great having a topic to share our
thoughts on each month. I am extremely thankful for all of you for being my
sounding board and advisors in this writing and publishing game.
Thanks so much for visiting!
Please follow Adventures in Writing if you haven’t already and connect with me
online. Leave your blog link in your
comment so I can be sure to do the same for you.
This post was written for the
Insecure Writer’s Support Group. We post on the first Wednesday of every month.
To join us, or learn more about the group, click HERE.
