The Story of an Hour by Kate Choplin

I read "The Story of an Hour" by Kate Choplin.

Here is a link:   http://shortstoryclassics.50megs.com/chopinstory.htm

I loved the development of Mrs. Mallard's character during her hour of reflection over her husbands death. The positivity she took from his death was refreshing to read about, since usually death is a terribly sad topic. I loved the role of the window and the nature outside the window had during her digestion of her husbands death. The connection between the far reaches of the blue sky and her realization that she has no commitment to another human being (limitless) was fitting. The ending took me by surprise completely, and it really brought the story full circle. I love when a story mentions a detail early on that you forget about, and it ends up being a really important piece later on. It keeps the reader on their toes.

Evaluating Your Published Story

Research your author: do they have books (a book) out with a reputable publishing house? Do they have an author website? A Wikipedia page? They don’t need every one of these things, but they do need to “look” like a real writer.

The following applies only for online or literary magazine sources: Who runs the magazine? Is it affiliated with a university, or does Bob run the thing out of his parent’s basement? Go onto duotrope.com or Poets and Writers and determine what percentage of submissions they publish, make sure it’s a really small number (less than ten percent. More like 2 or 3.) Does the literary magazine where the story is published run competitions? Check out bios of other people submitters—do they seem like “real” writers—do they teach writing, hold a degree in it, have books or other reputable publications, have they won grants or awards? Does the website “look” good? If it were an academic source, would you feel confident citing it as a source for the most important paper you will ever write?

Where to look for writers:

Best American Short Stories
A complied anthology
Amazon.com suggestions (People who ordered this, also bought…)
Ask Garth at Shakespeare and company, look in the “short story” section
Ask anyone in the English department what they are reading/what they have liked
Post about it on facebook/tweet
What is the Rumpus reviewing? Jezebel? Slate? The New York Review of Books?
Find out who is blurbing your favorite authors? Find out who your favorite authors are best friends with/teach with/who is also represented by the same agents
Go to Fact and Fiction at the UC bookstore and browse/Barns and Noble/Fact and Fiction downtown/go to the Mansfield library and ask if Shawn Haggerty is working, and get a recommendation from her.
Anything in the New Yorker, Harper’s, The Atlantic, Narrative, The Believer, McSweeney’s, The Iowa Review, The India Review, Glimmer Train, The Missouri Review, The Paris Review, Barcelona Review, Black Warrior Review

Choosing Shoes, Helen Bourne

This little story was a completely random find.... I googled "short story", clicked the "I'm Feeling Lucky" button, and then hit the random story button on the eastofweb website.  It's definitely a first person account, though I don't know exactly what genre it would go into.  The main reason for my hanging on in this story and finishing it is the want to figure out what she did on those Thursday nights.  I took a guess early on, and was waaaay off.  Basically, for a swift recap, the main character is a cleaner everyday but Thursday, in her mind.  She has a simple life that goes on undeterred, even with the happenings with her relative on Thursday (and oh, she likes shoes a lot... just not in quite the same way as the stereotypical shoe lover does).  The writer is good at painting a picture, but doesn't quite tell me as much as I wanted about why she is so damn fascinated with shoes, or whether her hubby actually knows exactly what she does.  Because I don't get this information, it's hard to decide whether this woman is moral or not, and, therefore, whether I like her all that much.  I would recommend this to no one in particular, possible people that like slow reveals in stories, or for those that are interested in what... er... happens later on.

Link:  http://www.eastoftheweb.com/short-stories/UBooks/ChooShoe.shtml

That should bring you straight there.

I Knew You'd Be Lovely, Alethea Black

Alethea Black is the partner of my teacher and thesis advisor David Gates, and when her collection of short stories I Knew You'd Be Lovely came out, my best friend Emma Emma Emma read it and raved about it, and I didn't take her suggestion to read it until the other day. Very rarely do I find a collection of stories I read from cover to cover, (and in order.) Alethea writes happy endings! I think there is an idea that if something is literary it can't be happy or hopeful, it has to end grim, and dark, and it has to suck your soul while you're reading it. But Alethea's stories aren't just happy, and hopeful, they are also complex and her characters are, often times, really struggling.

I was particularly obsessed with the first three: "That Of Which We Cannot Speak" (New Years party, romance,) "The Only Way Out Is Through" (Father takes troubled son on camping trip,) "Good in a Crisis" (Former student tracks down high school english teacher, romance) and the title story "I Knew You'd Be Lovely" (too good to summarize.)

She has excerpts for all of them online at her website.

"Overexposed" by Josh Wagner

http://www.snmhorrormag.com/snmfebruaryissue2.htm - (scroll to the bottom of the page, it is the last story posted)

I originally found out about Missoula author Josh Wagner when I read his novel, "Smashing Laptops", over winter break. I loved the grittiness and familiarity of this book (it is set in Missoula), and hoped to find some of the same kind of writing in his other works. I was definitely thrown for a loop when I found "Overexposed" on his website. Wagner clearly demonstrates here the versatility and unpredictability of his writing by tackling the horror genre with this piece. He capitalizes on the creepy factor without being grotesque, and utilizes oddity to give the read that just uncomfortable enough feeling. While he creates an incredibly suspenseful build, I was disappointed by the reveal at the end of the story mostly for the fact that I'm not completely sure what he is trying to convey here. While there the character development is minimal, physicality is the main focus here and emotional investment is not a primary concern in this genre, so he can get away with it. Wagner is an extremely talented writer, but I didn't find exactly what I was looking for with this story. I would recommend "Overexposed" to fans of oddity who are somewhat familiar with medical terms (he uses quite a few of them here), but who don't desire to get too emotional attached to a character.

Welcome Class!

More to come!