  Short Stories
This week: He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother 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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This is the first time in three years that all three of my children and both of my grandchildren were able to come home for Christmas, and it left me with one conclusion: I need a bigger house.
Actually, I came away from this wonderful weekend with a lot more than that to think about.
My eldest daughter, Moriah, has a five-year-old son with autism. Skyler still wears diapers, has frequent outbursts, has really just started to speak in the last six months, and is pretty much unintelligible to everyone except those of us who are used to how he talks. He's in special education classes at his preschool and spends the majority of his waking hours with tutors and aides. Moriah's entire life revolves around making sure Skyler gets what he needs to be as productive and independent as he can possibly be: they wake at 8:00 a.m. and eat breakfast (Skyler prefers pancakes). From 9:00-11:00 an aide comes to the house to work with Skyler on his alphabet, numbers, sign language (which is the primary way he communicates), potty training, or whatever the curriculum is that day. From 11:00-3:00 he has preschool which includes physical therapy on Tuesdays and speech therapy on Mondays and Wednesdays, then it's home for a quick snack before the aide comes back at 3:30 to work with him until 5:30. He also does speech with a therapist outside of school on Tuesdays while Thursdays and Fridays are extra busy with independent speech and occupational therapy appointments squeezed in for good measure. This is their routine five days a week, 52 weeks a year. Repetition. Persistence. Optimism. Skyler is a full-time job, and Moriah excels at it. Skyler can count to 40, say the alphabet, knows too many signs to count, and can recognize and spell his name aloud. Pretty impressive stuff for any five year old. And did I mention he's a little lovebug who just soaks up affection?
Noah, my other grandson, is twenty months old and seems to be advanced for his age. On Christmas day he climbed onto Skyler's kid-sized John Deere tractor, was able to turn himself around in the seat and sit properly behind the wheel, which he turned back and forth while making truck sounds. He sees toys and instinctively knows how to play with them, and it was this capability that was just too much for Moriah to bear.
Ashley, Noah's mom and my youngest daughter, bought Skyler a small remote-controlled car for Christmas. Skyler was indifferent and left it, unused and forgotten, on the living room floor. Noah walked over, picked up the remote, and proceeded to steer the car through the kitchen and dining room. He backed it up and advanced it forward ... he even picked it up and moved it onto the wood floor when it got stuck in the carpet. Moriah turned around, put on her coat, and walked outside. I followed and found her crying.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"Do you see how easy it is for him? He's so much more advanced than Skyler was at that age. He doesn't even have to work at it. It would take me hours, maybe even days to teach Skyler something like that. I'm not mad. It's not Noah's fault, but it just makes me sad. Skyler has to work so hard for everything."
I told her that there are no words to express what a blessing Skyler has been to our family, that Skyler couldn't have been born to a better mother because she is doing such an amazing job and I couldn't be more proud. I told her that I adore him and that he is perfect just the way he is.
What does your character have to overcome? What challenges him on a day-to-day basis? How does it affect the people who love him most? How do those who don't know him treat him because of it? Do family and friends rally around, or does he flounder aimlessly on his own?
Thank you for reading.
Skyler on his John Deere
December 23, 2011 |
I hope you enjoy this week's featured selections. Please remember to do the authors the courtesy of reviewing the ones you read. Thank you, and have a great week!
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And it's that time again ... time to nominate your favorites for the 2011 Quill Awards! Nominations will close mid-January, so don't procrastinate!
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The following is in response to "Short Stories Newsletter (December 6, 2011)" :
Morbid Ink of Fate.  says, "Hi Shannon. What a great newsletter! I liked using character profile worksheets too. I have been using them for my novel ... but also for my short stories. I agree it can be time consmuing...but it's definitely worth it. I doubt I'd know my characters as well as I do, without using a profile worksheet. I like the list of actions at the end, never done that before. Thanks for showing me another technique to use. Back to writing I go.  " You're welcome, and thank you. I hope you find is helpful.
bayo  says, "I must comment is very good for us students and good readers as well. I hope it will always continue to be good and professionally done. Thanks and God bless the writer and writing.com and its crew." Thank you. Good luck with your writing!
tanya says, "Hi Shannon. I loved your newsletter this week! I copied down the list, it's gotta be useful at some point  No, seriously, thanks for sharing this, it sounds like a great tool for creating a character." Thanks! I'm glad you liked it.
st.ifa says, "I have more than 100,000 GPs. How can I use that to enlarge my portfolio?" You can use your gift points to upgrade your membership, which will in turn increase your portfolio size. For instance, you can trade in 99,5000 of your gift points for a three-month basic membership which will increase your portfolio size from 10 to 50 items (if you start out with a free membership). Just visit "The Writing.Com Shop" [E] or click here to see a breakdown of what the different memberships offer.
NaNoNette  says, "Great list of things to think about when creating a character. I, for one, will use at least parts of it to get to know the people in my books and see if I can give them some depth. I hope it doesn't mean I end up with another 1000 pages of backstory. Then again, that might be just the ticket to another book." I hope you find it useful for all your writing endeavors. Thank you for your kind words of support.
bertiebrite hoping for peace says, "This outline came right on time. I am beginning a novel writing workshop that is tuned to outlines. I love outlines, they are the only way to take on any big project. You have helped me a great deal, thanks." Yay! Good luck with your workshop!
D.L. Fields says, "I write a personality sheet for each character, but not as in-depth as the one listed. (Really need to make a copy.)
True, we do put a bit of ourselves in our stories. For instance, my stories tend to mention food, family and sex quite a bit because these things are important in my life. One of my brothers used to be an EMT and he would complain about how busy it was going to be around the full moon. Been a while though, since I've heard the cat predicting a death." LOL Yeah, strange but true.
billwilcox says, "Wow, that's some list. I just wanted to create a character, not build one like Victor Frankensein. " Come on, Bill. You know you wanna.
StephBee  says, "Shannon, what a comprehensive list. I think you've covered everything. For me, this is perfect for fleshing out characters. Thanks so much for sharing." You're welcome! Thank YOU for commenting!
brom21  says, "I really learned alot about building characters. This is certainly going to help me build more solid characters. My characters tend to be shallow in my own opinion. What do you think?" [See submitted story below.] Thanks! Hopefully this bit of exposure will bring lots of traffic to your portfolio.
Serenity says, "I never realized there was so much to know about your character." Well, this may be more than you want to know, but you certainly don't have to use it in its entirety. Choose the bits and pieces that work best for you. Thank you for reading!
Blink says, "OMG! I freaked when I saw the guide to character traits. Am I ready to put that much detail into anything I write? Thank you for the thought-provoking questions. I have a long way to go, but you have given part of a secret map." LOL The list is a bit daunting and all-inclusive, but you don't have to use it. It's just a tool like any other. It will work for some but not others. Figuring out what does or doesn't work for you changes everything you write in the future.
gjfindley says, " Thank you for newsletter. I have never used a Character worksheet. What a great suggestion." Thanks! I hope it helps.
ChrisDaltro-Chasing Moonbeams says, "I simply loved your WDC Newsletter and how to build believable characters. It helped me soooo much! Thank you." Thank YOU! I appreciate you taking the time to respond.
bronxbishop says, "I have often reflected on how well I truly know the characters that I create and I always come to the same conclusions. I don't want to know my characters too well. It detracts from what I am able to do with them during the writing process. Maybe I am weird or maybe I am clueless, either way, the better I know the character, the less input the character seems to have on the outcome of the writing." I completely get that. Everyone is different. What works for me won't work for every other writer. I don't use a character profile sheet for everything I write either. I just wanted to make it available to those who might find it useful. Thank you for reading and commenting!
jennydecki says, "That list is fabulous! Thanks for sharing it. I'm sure it will be invaluable." Aw, you're very welcome. Thanks!
This comment is in response to "Short Stories Newsletter (November 29, 2011)" : LJPC - the tortoise says, "Hi Shannon! What a fabulous gift from your daughter -- even if it made you sneeze. You're right, old books are a wonderful way to get details about lifestyle and speech. Thanks for the great NL!  " You're welcome! Thank you for your encouragement and support week after week. I appreciate your kindness.
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Short Stories: December 27, 2011 Issue [#4787]
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