Hi, it’s Jackie in the Little Writing Corner in Scotland and today I am breaking down one of my short stories to share the magical elements that helped it towards publication.
Let’s break down the very first story I had published in a women’s weekly magazine, The People’s Friend.
This wasn’t my first acceptance with People’s Friend either. The first acceptance, The Special Ingredient, was a very poignant story about a mother finding her feet again after her daughter had moved away to university. That story had to wait its time in the publishing calendar to fit around the university term times.
BEFORE WE GET INTO BREAKING DOWN THE STORY:
Caveat for creative writers. There are many ways to come at your writing. Mine is only one of them. You will find your own way. Even if you already have, sometimes hearing how someone else tackles it, can refresh your skills. I hope so! I know I am always learning. Always.
Caveat number two: I write commercial stories for womens magazines. Other markets will have different constraints and unique expectations.
If you expect to be published, heed those rules. Research them. Read voraciously in the genre and type of magazine you hope to submit to. Absorb the rhythm of those tales. Then do it your way. But stick to their rules - if you want to be published!
This isn’t the first story I ever had published, because that one was a long, long time ago……
It really was a long time ago! I was first published, and paid for it, back when I was fifteen years old. I submitted a True Life Story to a teenage magazine. I had no idea what I was doing. I think it may even have been handwritten. None of it was true.
It appeared in a teen magazine called My Guy. Remember that stuff we just said about absorbing the stories in your intended market. I had done that well. I was a teenager in the days before social media. Magazines were our weekly entertainment.
Incidentally, I rejigged that story (from memory) decades later and sold it all over again to another teenage magazine, this time one that my daughter was reading. That magazine was Shout.
So, back to the first story published in People’s Friend. I’m told it’s a hard nut to crack. My first attempt with a story was rejected. My first attempt with a poem was rejected. But, I carried on! My second submitted story became my first published story with them. A Spring In My Step became my debut story with People’s Friend because it was set in Spring time and featured Spring bulbs. It was all about the timing!
Top Tip: This story was submitted in November, i.e. winter. You always have to write/submit ahead for a magazine schedule. Sometimes as far as six months ahead!
However, for me, this happened almost by accident because the Spring bulbs did not enter the story until after I had finished writing it (or so I thought!) Find out more below!
How on earth did that happen?
Let’s break down that story:
A SPRING IN MY STEP (People’s Friend, Weekly)
Like many of my stories, this one started with an idea. I wasn’t yet sure how to handle the story but I knew I wanted it to feature an older character who had made a series of mistakes with online ordering on her computer.
Important: Bear in mind that People’s Friend don’t particularly want stories only about old people!!! My first accepted story featured a younger woman going through a moment of change in her life when her only child, her daughter, left home to attend university.
However, for A Spring In My Step, this older person’s story had humour, and a great message to share!
I immediately was aware I’d have to work hard to ensure this story about an older lady was not cliche. I did not want to insult my elders. Goodness, my own mum was in her eighties at the time and had learned every type of new technology as it came along - and, she had done online grocery shopping since the days of lockdown. She had made some funny errors though. So I had I! We couldn’t be the only ones, surely?!
I wanted the story to have a light touch, to be funny, and not poke fun at the older person. Crikey, I chose quite a difficult topic for my very first story. The magic was still well out of sight!
I wrangled with a series of mistakes my character could make and made her relatable. I mean, as I said, who hasn’t made a rookie error with online grocery shopping?
I knew the story had to be more than this. Much more. Before I knew it, I had the element that would lead to the magic.
After a series of errors: ordering two pairs of cashmere gloves instead of one, she ends up wearing with the same gloves as the pair she gifts her daughter; after getting her grandkids all mucky in the back garden, she cleans her daughter’s bathroom with the extra cleaning spray in her shopping delivery; and so a catalogue of errors builds.
Then there is one shopping error that brings joy to everyone. Instead of ordering 30 Spring bulbs for her tiny garden, she’d ordered 300 Spring bulbs.
I instantly knew this would bring a smile and I wanted it to be tongue-in-cheek, cheerful, and funny, so I made sure the family characters played their parts in discovering lots of Spring bulbs appearing in their gardens, even though they hadn’t planted any.
Now at this point, the story was good enough. It really was passable.
Again, I wanted more for this character. I wanted there to be no doubt at all that her errors were in no way down to forgetfulness, or heaven forbid, dementia or something awful like that. I knew that would never pass with the readership. Or the editor.
I decided to turn every expectation on its head.
I had a bit of back-writing to do but that was ok. I created another character. An older man she’d met at the bus-stop, who lived in another part of the estate she’d moved to.
Long story short (hahaha!) the character’s forgetfulness had been due to falling head over heels in love with a gorgeous man.
She was giddy with excitement, could only think about the next time they might meet, and was anxious about how to introduce him to her family. Remember those heady days of first love, first crushes - even if it was decades ago when we were young (or maybe you are actually young?!) It was as if I’d returned to the teenage magazines I’d originally written for!
This brought a beautiful joyful, light-hearted note to the story, and when threaded through ever so carefully, the reader barely noticed until after the mid-way point, starting to realise there was something else going on in the background.
In the final paragraphs, the lady had a hair restyle, fresh makeup, bought herself a new dress, and was wearing her special birthday earrings. Her family noticed how she was sparkling and loved seeing her this way once more. They all went to a local hotel to celebrate her special “big” birthday. The new man in her life was to be introduced to the family. They all noticed she had a spring in her step.
And so, the first element that helped the story along was the passage of time with the Spring bulbs: this allowed several “errors” to happen and gave space for us to meet her family. The second, surprise element was the new man in her life. It was the turning point and resolution that made the story sing.
She wasn’t old, she wasn’t forgetful, she was simply in love!
And why shouldn’t an older couple get their place in the spotlight? Have a little love story all to themselves?
I hoped it was a story that would resonate with the readership.
The acceptance came very quickly with my editor saying just that. I’d done it.
From there, I went from strength to strength and my journey continues.
Here’s my “Debut Author” story in print!
I hadn’t even noticed, but this is one of the few stories that I’ve written from a First Person Point Of View - but it worked for keeping the secretive element to it!
(You can read about another one in a previous post when I rejigged a story to meet a special requirement and got the most astonishing turnaround rate with a 24 hour acceptance!)
WRITING SHORT STORIES THAT PAY
Hi, It’s Jackie in the Little Writing Corner in Scotland, thanks for being here. My last Post was long-form but I’ve heard that people enjoyed it!!
If I’ve learned anything in the past year, it’s that practice really does make perfect (unless you’re my husband and you play golf!). The more you get into the rhythm of putting these stories together, the more you will start to recognise the elements required to transform it into something wonderful: like the icing on the carrot cake (that’s my favourite bit).
I’m putting together a Starter Sheet with elements of short story writing. This would highlight issues related to the beginning, middle and end in detail. Do sign up to be sure of finding out more about that in due course.
Everyone is different in how they work. Rest assured, if you get the draft of your story down, you will work out the best way of working…for you and your story. And I bet the more you do it, the more the magic will show up.
I am planning a Post that will delve further into the things we can do to ensure our reader engages with our main character - the empathy and connection required. Let me know if this is something you are interested in. It’s coming soon - with examples!
You’re ready for the magic! Good luck!
Well, I have another story I’m working with - it’s another one that sprung a magical element on me after I had written the bones of it. I will update you later if this one is accepted! Fingers crossed!
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I appreciate you!
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