The Story Behind the Story: A World Turned Upside Down

On May 19, 1780, during America's War for Independence, New England experienced what has become known as the Dark Day. The sky turned dark by noon and stayed that way until the stars returned around midnight. What had caused the darkness? Theories ran rampant. Some said it was divine punishment. Others said it was an eclipse. No one knew for sure.  Finally, in 2008, the mystery was solved. Historians and scientists determined that the darkness had been caused by smoke from a massive wildfire in southern Ontario, Canada.

I ran across the story of the Dark Day in 2008, when I saw an article about the mystery being solved. I knew then I wanted to write a story set on that day.

Six years later, I got around to writing it. I found the surname Fayreweather on a list of Mayflower passengers. (Could a name be more perfect for a story?) Through further research, I learned what a butter churn sounds like, how farm animals behave at night, that the nicknames "Ma" and "Pa" didn't come into common use until the 1800s, and how the sky changed color as it grew darker on that Dark Day. I remembered the story of Korach from the Torah portion I read at my Bat Mitzvah. The New Testament references I had to look up.

Prudence came to life quickly: a young girl whose nature was at odds with her family's and society's expectations of her. While she never told me what happened to her after this Dark Day, I'm fairly certain she grew up and joined the women's rights movement. It wouldn't surprise me if she signed the Seneca Falls Declaration. The seeds of that future are, I hope, clearly planted in this day-in-the-life story.

The title of the story comes from an account of the British surrender after the Battle of Yorktown. The surrender marked the end of the fighting in the War for Independence. During the surrender ceremony, the British military band played a song called "The World Turned Upside Down." To the British, the American Revolution had turned the world upside down. Years earlier, on May 19, 1780, the Dark Day did the same thing for the people of New England.

Click here to read "A World Turned Upside Down."

The Story Behind the Story: The Dinner

This is going to be a short "story behind the story." See, about a month ago I realized I didn't have a story stockpiled for my April Fiction First and, between working 50 hours a week and focusing my writing time on my new novel, I had no ideas for a new story.

Cue the panic.

Enter Twitter.

As if by Fate, a series of writing prompts appeared in my Twitter feed. One of them was about dinner and a divorce. I don't remember the exact words, just the premise that immediately popped into my head: a couple meet for dinner to finalize their divorce, one of them hoping for a last-minute reconciliation. By the end of the dinner, though, that one changes his or her mind. It didn't take me long to decide the hopeful half of the couple would be the husband.

After that, the story came quickly. The agony came during revisions, when I had to cut two of my "darlings," two of my most favorite descriptions I've ever written. (I do have them on sticky notes, though, so I can use them when I find the right time and story.) Without them, though, the story became stronger--much like the main character.

Click here to read "The Dinner."

Sweet 16

It's someone's birthday today. According to the calendar, he's 16. In dog years, he's 80.

Yes, Benji, you can have an extra treat. Happy Birthday, old man!

The Story Behind the Story: Missing

For Round 2 of the 2014 NYC Midnight Flash Fiction Challenge, I was assigned to write a mystery that took place on a mini-golf course and included a bullet.

I knew immediately I didn't want to write a murder mystery, which would be the logical choice for any story involving a bullet. But I didn't want to spend time and words on proper police procedure and crime scene investigation. Also, I'm not a big fan of blood and guts.

So what kind of mystery did that leave? I quickly settled on a missing child. The plot quickly took shape from there. The characters, though, were another story. Not the main characters--Kate and Randy and little Jeremy came to me almost fully formed. The supporting characters, though, were another story, especially Joe and Elliott.

In my first draft, Elliott was incompetent, being carried by the more capable Joe--who was gristly and disgruntled. But Elliott nagged at me. I heard him in my head telling me over and over that he was young but he was able. He had to be, to rise to the position of manager. So that was the first change: Elliott got good at his job. Joe, then, became less of a hard-ass. His job became much easier, much less stressful, now that didn't have to carry his boss.

I submitted Draft 2 as my official entry, and I admit to being fairly satisfied with the story. The judges generally liked it, too. But they felt it could be more suspenseful.

Enter my helpful group of Scribblers, who I tasked with ways to increase the suspense in the story. Voilà! The current version of "Missing" was born.

Click here to read "Missing."

The Story Behind the Story: A Friend in Need

NYC Midnight strikes again! This month's story, "A Friend in Need," comes from my first round assignment in NYC Midnight's 2014 Flash Fiction Challenge. For the second year in a row, my first round prompt was to write a romance. (I think it's a conspiracy.) This one had to be set in an emergency room and involve a mop.

I struggled mightily to get out a draft. Even as I typed, I knew what I was writing was crap. But I submitted it anyway. Then I brought the story to my writer's group, told them I hated it, and asked for ways to fix it.

The group--and the NYC Midnight judges--pointed out that the sensory details I had included were all visual, all about color. All that color distracted from the narrative. I needed to add other senses into the narrative, especially sound and smell, for balance and realism.

The group also pointed out errors in E.R. procedure and policy in that first draft, such as Anna's memory test Anna and Jake being allowed to accompany Anna into the exam room. In my revisions, I fixed the memory test but still allowed Jake to accompany Anna, even though that wouldn't be permitted in a real hospital. Call it artistic license.

I made other changes, too, based on their feedback and the feedback from the judges. It's not the best story I've ever written, but it's much improved now compared to that first draft.

Click here to read "A Friend in Need."