  Short Stories
This week: Edited by: Ben Langhinrichs  
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My joke about college is that everything I wrote had a single theme: My parents got divorced, and it hurt.
Jennifer Weiner, the guy not taken, on writing what you know
Greetings! I am one of the editors for the Short Stories Newsletter, and I hope to share some of my thoughts on writing short stories, and perhaps about writing in general. I suggest you treat these not as pearls of wisdom dropped from on high, but rather musings of a fellow writer, written to inspire, provoke or stimulate your personal muse. I welcome your thoughts, feedback and suggestions. Ben Langhinrichs
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Freshman year: My parents got divorced, and it hurt. Sophomore year: My parents got divorced, and it really hurt. Junior year: Did I mention that my parents got divorced? Senior year: No, I'm not over it yet!
Jennifer Weiner, the guy not taken, on writing what you know
Start with what you know; end with what you dream
There may not be any advice given more frequently and relentlessly to aspiring writers: write what you know! Of course it is good advice, but it doesn't go far enough. Jennifer Weiner got out of college eventually, and her short stories (and, later, novels) grew up with her. The key to writing what you know is to start there, and then unleash your dreams.
I grew up spending my summer vacations on an island off the beautiful, rocky and untamed coast of Nova Scotia, I suppose I could write short stories set on that island, and write about the adventures my cousins and brothers, but I can use that experience in many ways. I use my memory of the sea and the wild coast and the fishermen with their wonderful tales to infuse color into my stories. If I am writing a science fiction story, it might start with a child on a beach, looking for driftwood. If I am writing a horror story, I might base my character on a particularly surly and scary fisherman I grew up fearing, even if my tale is set in New York City. If I am writing a romance, I would try to capture the wild passion of ...
But that isn't what Jennifer Weiner is talking about. She isn't talking about scene or setting, character or dialogue, pace or metaphor. She is talking about raw experience and emotional intensity.
My parents got divorced, and it hurt.
Ouch! We may not have all had parents divorce (mine are still married after fifty years), but we have all suffered loss and pain, and all experienced great joys as well. Unfortunately, just recounting the experience for five thousand words, or four years, doesn't help your readers. It may not do you much good either. I have to admit a deep sense of sympathy for Ms. Weiner's college professors who had to read through the pain to see if they could find the writer.
They found her, or she found herself. Jennifer Weiner's short stories don't exude pain, as I imagine they once did, but they don't dodge it either. In her collection of short stories, she has a marvelous story called Just Desserts which deals with divorce, but entirely by focusing on the sister of the protagonist looking for, and finding a job. The sister is grumpy and antisocial, but gets a job at Friendly's, a restaurant chain that is especially known for its ice cream. As the sister gets creative and gruesome with the sundaes, we see a family dealing, coping and moving on from the divorce. It is there in every action and reaction, and yet the story is filled with humor as well. Without the emotional intensity of the divorce, the story would be far less powerful, but by dealing with the effects and not the event, a much more interesting story emerges.
As you look at your own triumphs and tragedies, remember that the Pulitzer prize winning stories after major catastrophes usually don't dwell on the actual event, but find heroism, humor and humility in the spaces before and after the plane hitting the towers or the bridge falling. Your short stories can harness the emotional energy of your personal experience of divorce, loss, illness, Gold medal or starring role. Just see how you can start with that event, and get through, over it, under it or around it to capture more universal truths that will make your reader smile or cry with you.
Of course, it doesn't hurt to use that rocky coast of Nova Scotia either.
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Short and sweet. Brings back happy memories.
Memories can be unpleasant, but still compelling.
This was submitted by Sarah~goodbye writing.com  , but so perfectly fit the topic that I included it as an Editor's Pick
What you know, and beyond what you know.
Sometimes there is more than just what can be seen.
What we dream of and wish for can change in an instant.
Experience leads to understanding.
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Feedback
NickiD89  : Hi Ben! Great newsletter discussing the differences between a short story and a vignette. I've come across many vignettes while reviewing, and if the writer chose "Short Story" in their genre description, I always make the comment that it lacked one or more elements of a short story. Your NL helps shed light on the two genres, so when writers recognize their work as a vignette, they will be able to choose "Other" as a genre, or work to develop the scene into a short story. Thanks!
Interesting point. Even better might be to suggest adding 'Vignette' as a category to the Story Master, since 'Other' always makes me think that a writer just hasn't bothered to decide.
Zeke  : I think that sometimes a vignette may be only a opening and an ending twist with no character development or plot.
Zeke
Sometimes that is true, although sometimes there is no ending intended and it is all character development.
Coolhand : Hey Ben,nice newsletter. i agree your example is certainly a very, very short story, but a short story. Keep up the great work.
Thanks!
sarahreed: Thanks for going over the differences between a short story and a vignette. It was very enlightening. 
Thanks!
Catherine Hall : Very valid. I didn't know what a vignette was but I now realise I have enjoyed reading them, and later pondering about how, for instance, the conflict resolved. Thank you.
There certainly are times when a vignette is used intentionally to allow the reader to ponder how it ends, or even how it began. Thanks for your insight.
Submitted stories
"I see why you defended the Short Story. I did not get an explanation to what a vignette was, or a defined difference between the two. What is a vignette? I agree that the definition of a SS requires a goal, motivation, conflict and resolution. Is a vignette one of these only? Would the above submitted story be a SS or a vignette?"
I'd have to say that it's a vignette. Very clever and compelling, but there is no real arc of a story. What has happened, has happened. If you were to show her frustration with Little David, searching for a resolution, the finally finding it, you would have a short story. Nonetheless, this is fun as it is.
"Good advice. The story above was edited, re-edited, reviewed with TextAloud, then edited again and I could still edit it everytime I look at it. Eventually, you reach the point of diminishing returns and go fish for a publisher."
I always find it hard to know when to say 'when!' Best of luck as you look for a publisher.
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Short Stories: November 04, 2009 Issue [#3370]
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