  Short Stories
This week: What Is Courage? 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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"The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step." ~ Lao Tzu
What is courage? If you look up the definition of the word on dictionary.com you get a generic response: "The quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty, danger, pain, etc., without fear; bravery."  Does that definition do courage justice?
According to Dr. Melanie Greenberg, there are Six Attributes of Courage:
 Feeling Fear Yet Choosing to Act
Following Your Heart
Persevering in the Face of Adversity
Standing Up For What Is Right
Expanding Your Horizons; Letting Go of the Familiar
Facing Suffering With Dignity or Faith
Though this is a more comprehensive definition, I still find it lacking. Let me tell you a story.
I know a woman who has been married for thirty years. She and her husband have three adult children and three grandchildren. Their eldest daughter lives over a thousand miles away and was experiencing a mental breakdown. The daughter, separated from her husband and unable to work due to a broken ankle, sank into a deep depression and began drinking to numb the pain. The children were basically caring for themselves as their lives imploded. Every dish in the house was dirty, toys and clothes littered the floor to the point that the children couldn't walk to their beds because of the knee-deep clutter.
The woman's husband took some time off work and drove to his daughter's house to help. He washed dishes every day and cooked their meals. He washed load after load of laundry. He took over thirty bags of garbage out of the home and repaired things (holes in the walls, a broken dryer, doors that wouldn't close) that needed to be fixed. He planned to stay for one month and get his daughter the mental health assistance she needed.
After being gone for a week he called his wife to say he wasn't sure he wanted to be married anymore. He thought he wanted a divorce--that this wasn't a spur of the moment decision. Rather, he said he'd thought about it for months, and though he wasn't 100% sure he wanted a divorce, he was leaning in that direction. He said he felt his life slipping away, he hadn't accomplished the things he'd planned to do, he wanted to know whether or not other women found him attractive, he wanted adventure. Then he said their daughter needed her mother. "I'm concerned for her life right now," he said. "We can put aside our issues for a few days. She needs you here. You should come up on your next days off."
The woman struggled with the decision for a few days but knew the right thing to do would be to visit her daughter and help any way she could. Her next concern was how to interact with her husband. She wanted to protect herself from any further heartache, so she thought, If he tries to hug me I'm going to say he doesn't have that privilege anymore--that only a man who loves and cherishes me gets to touch me. She wanted to reinforce the wall between them.
She told me that as she made the long journey to her daughter's house she had a lot of time to think, and her focus turned from fear, betrayal, and pain to If he does leave me, how do I want him to remember me? This shift made her realize that she wanted him to remember her with love, and so she made the decision to love him. Rather than closing off her heart she opened it wider. She became even more vulnerable. She wrote him a four-page letter thanking him for specific things he'd done for her and their children throughout their marriage. She expressed her love, respect for, and admiration of him. She ended the letter by saying, "I wanted to write this letter so that, regardless of how you want to proceed, you will have something tangible from me—something you can keep that states clearly and unambiguously how I feel and have always felt about you, for although the thought of losing you breaks my heart, it hurts just as much to think I never adequately expressed how I feel. I love you."
Many people see vulnerability as weakness, but it took much more courage for her to open herself up than it would have to close herself off. She wasn't focused on the outcome; she was focused on the pure intention of expressing love, gratitude, and acceptance for her husband. She surrendered ... and it worked. He came home and says he feels more secure in their relationship than he has in years.
How do you define courage? How have you acted courageously? How does your protagonist overcome the obstacles in his path? Is he vulnerable and open or closed off and guarded?
"I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear." ~ Nelson Mandela
Thank you for reading.
P.S. Every registered author who shares their thoughts and/or creative endeavors relating to or inspired by this week's topic will receive an exclusive trinket. I will retire this month's limited-edition trinket at 11:59 p.m. WDC time on Tuesday, May 15, 2018, when my next short stories newsletter goes live.
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I hope you enjoy this week's featured selections. I occasionally feature static items by members who are no longer with us; some have passed away while others simply aren't active members. Their absence doesn't render their work any less relevant, and if it fits the week's topic I will include it.
Thank you, and have a great week!
| | Homage (13+)
1st Place Winner of Short Shots 7/09; published in Literary Foray anthology 2010
#1583786 by NickiD89  |
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The following is in response to "Start with Why" :
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David the Dark one!  writes: I loved your newsletter this one really hit home, as i am trying to get my work to stand out...and that will make all the difference.
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Happy Earth Day 2024!  writes: Suppose no one wrote about their life? We'd all be starting from scratch.
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Quick-Quill  writes: The genius behind marketing. When movies came out in cassettes, there were 2 choices Beta and VHS. Beta was by far the better quality. They, however thought their word for it would be enough. Views couldn't really tell the difference off hand. VHS launched an all out marketing plan that overshadowed Beta and won the $ of the consumers. Beta stuck to the tech side of the market. Its the vision of ISO qualification. They don't care if you make dog poop. As long as you follow the same procedure every time and the result is the same you can say your ISO. This is the same for books. There are form writers that fill out the form and sell the book. Some are good at it others not.
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LegendaryMask❤️  writes: When your market strategy doesn't work, then you need a different approach to your consumers. I worked retail 40+ years. It's amazing what a few words can do to sell something. Playing with words, can entice the consumer to buy just about anything. Ninety five percent of the time they don't really need it. The charm of marketing strategy. Great article this week, brings back some fond memories. 💲💰🤗💖
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ChrisDaltro-Chasing Moonbeams writes: My dear Shannon,
Thank you for featuring my short story The Umbral in your March 21, 2018 WDC newsletter - Short Stories: Start with Why. Amazing! Thank you!
By the way, I am very much around but not writing much ... after my husband passed away - but my "dark side" inspiration will restart soon! Again, thank you.
Christina Daltro
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Princess Megan Rose GOT Fox  writes: This video is like philosophy and learning about computers and things about life. I do love Stephen King. This newsletter is informative and helpful. I am inspired!
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BIG BAD WOLF is hopping  writes: We always want to do something. Why we do it is another matter.
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Lilith of House Martell  writes: Great NL, thought-provoking! I really enjoyed the YouTube video you shared about working in reverse!
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dragonwoman writes: There is a why to everything, even authorship! I think you need to explore why your character or characters do what they do in every piece of writing. The more relatable you can make the answer to that question, the more successful your writing becomes.
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Jaeff | KBtW of the Free Folk  writes: I loved this newsletter! I'm always fascinated by people who can show you the world in a new way, and this TED talk definitely accomplished that. It's amazing how a slightly different perspective can change everything. 
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Rhoswen - Relentless Victory writes: I love your piece about leadership - and so much of this can be used by writers! Great job and thanks for the input!
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Short Stories: April 18, 2018 Issue [#8815]
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