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Author: Janet Gershen-Siegel

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Self-Review – ComplicationsShort Stories, Road, My Aliens, Last Patient, interview, Surprises, Props, shipwrecked, child, Killing Us Softly, Ditte, Band, three minutes, Longest Night Watch, Nothing Good Ever Happens, Complications, Your Call, Darkness into Light, canaries, gentrification, Cynthia, True Believer, Short Stories, Wilder Bloom, Dish, Gentrification, Mitalisque, kitten, Last Try, Minnesota Wish, Dominick and Angela, Alix, Alix’s Apocalypse, A Chance Encounter in Time, A Crime in Time, A Show for the Galaxy, Aenor the Wanted, Alien Justice, And the Band Played the Apocalypse, Babel 2.0, Back, Front, and Side Pages, Camp, Courier to the Soviets, Frozen Assets, Julie's Dollar, Mandy Goes to Aspen, Martin's Choice, Mike’s Grades, Out of the Work Camp Frying Pan, Saddle Up, Bank Teller, Sarah’s Invention, Small Acts of Defiance, The Future Has No Foundation, The Ides of the Secretarial Pool, Unexpected Help, You Will Drink Your Coffee and Like It, Unreliable, East Side of the Universe, Eros vs Thanatos, Dust Between Our Stars, A Show for the Galaxy, A Fairy Tale for Skeptical Adults, A School for Scavengers, Frozen Assets, Out of the Work Camp Frying Pan, 1960s Temporal Crimes, Lizzie Borden is Vital to the Timeline, Walls Came Tumbling Down Again, The End,

Self-Review – Complications

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on March 14, 2024

It’s Time to Review Complications

So Complications is one of those stories where it takes me a moment to remember – oh, yeah, it’s that one. And that never bodes well for readers.

Background

So this was originally a het fan fiction story. But with a few changes, it could go in another direction. And both of the characters were wholly original. But in the published version, it’s two different characters anyway. Essentially, the only thing I used was the scenario and some of the dialogue.

So it shows. This was, unfortunately, not exactly a big effort on my part. If I was to do it again, I would have worked harder on this. But when I needed to hand it in, I was pressed for time.

The Plot of Complications

The truth is, this story has very nearly no plot. Basically, it is a vignette with little plot, only sketches of characters, and no crisis or conflicts at all. Hell, it is barely even a scene.

Characters

The characters are the narrator, Suzanne, and her lesbian lover, Tellina. Tellina is not a human.

Memorable Quotes from Complications

“And you’ve never done this with a human before?”

“I’ve never done this with anyone before, Suzanne.” They kissed.

“And,” Suzanne asked, “When does it all, er, end?”

“I’m uncertain. I don’t know how much precedence there is for such things. What do you generally do after, uh, afterwards?”

“Get a snack, watch the viewer, go to sleep, hell, I’ve left on occasion.”

“Most of those are out of the question right now. Could you sleep, perhaps?”

Rating

The story has a K+ rating. While the action occurs “off screen”, there are certainly some allusions to it.

Upshot

So while it was great for Queer Sci Fi to publish it, Complications really did not deserve to be published anywhere. Because it is just not that good a story. I have written far, far better, both before and since. So be it. They can’t all be gems.

Complications could have been better. Ah, well.

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Getting Inspiration from FilmsInspiration, names, physical world, news, literature, aging, speculating, Military, Myths, friendship, Childhood, Eavesdropping, pets, Religion, life events, medical care, Music, sexism, Getting story ideas, Children, visual artists, Senses, Education, Employment, Ideas jar, marriage, politics, films, TV shows, science, exercise, Writing about Technology, mental energy, Inspiration videos, Character Questionnaire, Tropes, Make Characters, Writing POC, Main Characters, snowflake,

Getting Inspiration from Films

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on March 12, 2024

Can You Get Inspiration From Films?

Films can be rather obvious sources of inspiration. However, as always, take care not to get into copyright infringement issues. Hence you will need to tread lightly. And you should pretty much assume any movie you see is not in the public domain. Because the vast majority of them are not.

I will use The Wizard of Oz as an example, because most of us know the film.

The New Prequel

So when we first meet Dorothy Gale, she is a teenager living on her aunt and uncle’s farm in Kansas. And everything is eerily gray in color. Furthermore, the song, Somewhere Over the Rainbow, hints at dissatisfaction. Dorothy yearns to understand and see a lot more of the world.

But why is Dorothy living with her aunt and uncle, and not her parents? The absence of both parents begs a few possible questions. Maybe Dorothy became an orphan in some horrible accident which took both of her parents. Or maybe her father abandoned her mother, or they perhaps never married. Still another possibility: they are alive but gone for some reason, such as work, or missionary work, or even prison.

Because Dorothy is a good person, and Auntie Em and Uncle Henry are as well. Yet that does not guarantee that her parents were good people at all.

The Side Character Gets Center Stage

So this has already been done. It happened when the Syfy Channel reimagined the story and came up with Tin Man. And it was kind of an odd idea, but that is one way to change a film. So let’s imagine a life for the Cowardly Lion. He might have been bullied, or maybe was under stress before he met Dorothy and the others. And what happens after the story ends?

Does he return as King of the Forest, the undisputed? Or does he have to fight some usurper for the title?

Flipping the Ending of Films

So what happens if Dorothy loses Toto for good in Oz? Or how about if she and Toto get away in the balloon with the Wizard? Another possibility is of both of them staying behind, either voluntarily or not. And yet another scenario is if she returns home but someone comes with her, say, the Scarecrow.

Consider the Art of Filmmaking Itself

Yet another thing to think about concerns the making of films. When films open, they are huge collaborative efforts which include not only the writers, actors, makeup and set people, special effects, the director, and the producer. They are also a product of budgets, and of timing.

When a tragedy occurs, a film might be delayed, or even shelved indefinitely. And the same thing can happen if the star dies or becomes embroiled in a scandal. Furthermore, some films would benefit from an update in special effects technology. And others would change with our current social sensibilities regarding feminism, LGBTQ rights, and other issues.

Takeaways

I am not suggesting you copy any intellectual property. So please don’t misunderstand me. However, what I am suggesting is to think about basic plots and try to reinvent and reimagine them. Because if you make enough changes, they become your own.

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Self-Review – Nothing Good Ever Happens at 3 AMShort Stories, Road, My Aliens, Last Patient, interview, Surprises, Props, shipwrecked, child, Killing Us Softly, Ditte, Band, three minutes, Longest Night Watch, Nothing Good Ever Happens, Complications, Your Call, Darkness into Light, canaries, gentrification, Cynthia, True Believer, Short Stories, Wilder Bloom, Dish, Gentrification, Mitalisque, kitten, Last Try, Minnesota Wish, Dominick and Angela, Alix, Alix’s Apocalypse, A Chance Encounter in Time, A Crime in Time, A Show for the Galaxy, Aenor the Wanted, Alien Justice, And the Band Played the Apocalypse, Babel 2.0, Back, Front, and Side Pages, Camp, Courier to the Soviets, Frozen Assets, Julie's Dollar, Mandy Goes to Aspen, Martin's Choice, Mike’s Grades, Out of the Work Camp Frying Pan, Saddle Up, Bank Teller, Sarah’s Invention, Small Acts of Defiance, The Future Has No Foundation, The Ides of the Secretarial Pool, Unexpected Help, You Will Drink Your Coffee and Like It, Unreliable, East Side of the Universe, Eros vs Thanatos, Dust Between Our Stars, A Show for the Galaxy, A Fairy Tale for Skeptical Adults, A School for Scavengers, Frozen Assets, Out of the Work Camp Frying Pan, 1960s Temporal Crimes, Lizzie Borden is Vital to the Timeline, Walls Came Tumbling Down Again, The End,

Self-Review – Nothing Good Ever Happens at 3 AM

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on March 7, 2024

Review – Nothing Good Ever Happens at 3 AM

So Nothing Good Ever Happens at 3 AM was the kind of strange story which I often love to write but equally often can’t find an audience. Yet this one did.

So thank you to Unfading Daydream for publishing it!

Background

So my main idea with Nothing Good Ever Happens at 3 AM was to create a First Contact story that would be totally and utterly off the wall. Because, so far as I am concerned, there is just no way in hell that aliens are ever going to behave like us. They won’t think like us. I mean, we don’t think like pigeons—and they’re actually from here. Aliens have got to be different from us.

Whatever we think is logical, they might find wacky. Hence, wacky aliens.

Plot

Insomnia has our narrator in its nasty grip. So instead of trying to sleep, she gets up, in an effort to make the most of it. Until one day, she learns how – and why – she can’t sleep. And it’s got nothing to do with caffeine intake, exercise, or worry.

Characters

The characters are the unnamed narrator and the ‘people’ she meets. Some are human. Others? Not so much.

Memorable Quotes from Nothing Good Ever Happens at 3 AM

For the past year, I have woken up, without fail, at 2:58 AM and then not gotten back to sleep. It isn’t even that I’m so troubled or busy. I stopped using caffeine and all of that. I even – horrors – gave up chocolate. But it’s no use. I am destined to get up at that ungodly hour, even if I just got to bed not fifteen minutes previously.

Rating

The story has a K rating.

Nothing Good Ever Happens at 3 AM: Upshot

The notion of aliens doing something strange and, perhaps, the antithesis of what we would expect, was irresistible. Where we would see an enemy as wanting to decimate the numbers of its rivals, these aliens do the opposite.

Or maybe they just want to eat us. The truth is, I never really worked out exactly why they were there in the first place.

Oops.

Nothing good ever happens at 3 AM in reality. But what if that was the time when the aliens come out to play?

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Getting Inspiration From Marriage

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on March 5, 2024

A Look at Getting Inspiration From Marriage

Marriage is more than weddings. And when you consider the entire experience, it can spawn any number of plot bunnies.

Courtship

So, how did you two meet? It’s a standard question and can be a terrific ice breaker.

Dating

Furthermore, dating rituals differ through time, so adjust what you write accordingly. In the 1950s, your young lovers might go to a hop or to play miniature golf.

In the 1970s, they might go to a roller disco—or a place to pick up people. Yes, there are folks who marry a person they met at a bar.

And in Victorian times, they might visit in the sitting room of her parents’ home, or stroll in the garden. With a chaperone, of course.

The Marriage Proposal

These days, anyone can do the proposing. However, of course, this was traditionally the realm of a man. Hence if you’re writing historical fiction, make sure to include that. Or, if you want to subvert tradition, make sure you can show a good reason why that happened.

And another tradition can be asking a parent’s (or maybe just the woman’s father’s) permission before marriage or even before courting.

And there’s also the current “ritual” of a very public proposal. What happens when the proposal goes on the Jumbotron? Or TikTok?

Here’s another question: if your couple is same sex, who does the proposing?

Wedding

Because weddings have a ton of variables, this can take you in any number of directions. A large wedding can be an occasion for drama. Who is feeling left out?

Does the cake topple over? And what happens if one of the parties is jilted or left at the altar? What if someone objects?

And how does religion factor into how the day unfolds?

Day to Day

Married life can bring with it a raft of responsibilities, and I’m not even getting into parenthood here. Because combining households means, among other things, deciding whose couch to keep.

Issues

Money is probably the #1 issue between couples and it can be a doozy of a problem. And the couple do not have to be poor in order for this to be a problem. So, what happens if one person saves and the other can’t stop spending?

Other conflicts can include one person becoming an addict or mentally ill, or having to care for elderly parents or take in (or otherwise financially assist) siblings.

Divorce

The messy end of some marriages can create fallout and harm everything it touches. What if there was cheating? Or maybe the parties simply stopped trying.

And don’t forget the kids, if any. Young teenagers and tweens are hit particularly hard by divorce. Furthermore, there is a very real economic component to divorce.

There are, after all, couples who claim to be staying together “for the sake of the children”. But the reality is they may be staying in a bad marriage because they fear that a divorce will cause such a dramatic change in economic circumstances.

And what happens if either of the parties remarries?

Stepfamilies can have their own issues, of course. Family blending in the real world usually isn’t as seamless as it is on The Brady Bunch.

Marriage Till Death

For some couples, death is the end. But that doesn’t necessarily mean they were happy 24/7 or even most of the time. However, for couples who are happy, the death of a spouse is devastating.

Widowhood

Widows and widowers may, consciously or unconsciously (and not necessarily fairly) compare their dearly departed with any potential new lovers to come down the pike.

And conflicts can arise from everything from putting old pictures away—and taking them off the walls—to taking off the wedding ring.

Plus widowhood can happen at any time. What if your widowed character is in their twenties?

Marriage and Inspiration: Takeaways

Marriage is one of the most important relationships in society. And if your characters marry, or if they are already married when your story starts, then it should be important to them as well.

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Self-Review – The DishAdventures in Career Changing | Janet Gershen-Siegel | The Dish

Self-Review – The Dish

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on February 29, 2024

A Review of My Short Story – The Dish

The Dish came from a dirty plate in our kitchen sink. Therefore, it proves you can get writing inspiration from just about anywhere.

Background

Also, without a doubt, it serves as an utterly passive-aggressive study of human nature. Essentially, you first. No, you. I insist. I’m not gonna until you do it first. Etc., you get the idea.

Plot

The main concept behind this plot serves to almost warn couples but also provide a bit of a primer on how to really be passive-aggressive. The narrator is never named and is only barely described as being female but there is nothing else.

Hence she remains a cypher, as does the cause of whatever the argument was initially all about. Also, the husband remains a cypher.

A plate is an odd place for inspiration, but the truth is that a plate had been sitting in our sink and I was getting annoyed by that. However, I didn’t make any moves to take care of this tiny mess. Neither did my husband.

We are only talking about a few days here. The plot, of course, takes some liberties with the time, as this is fiction and not reportage.

Characters

The only character is the unnamed narrator although she does refer to her husband, who I didn’t name, either.

Memorable Quotes

I am, despite my flaws, what they used to refer to in the old days as a ‘good woman’. And I am! But then there’s that dish again.

Story Postings

This story is only available as The Dish on Wattpad.

Rating for The Dish

The story is Rated K.

The Dish: Upshot

As I noted previously, inspiration can come from nearly anywhere. And while this little story could perhaps stand some improvement, people tend to like it wherever I have posted it. For I did use it as a sample of my non-scholastic writing for a course when I was getting my Master’s.

By the way, yes, that’s really one of our dishes. And I think I was the one to rinse it off and put it into the dishwasher.

Can a dirty dish inspire writing? Why yes, it can!

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Getting Inspiration from ReligionInspiration, names, physical world, news, literature, aging, speculating, Military, Myths, friendship, Childhood, Eavesdropping, pets, Religion, life events, medical care, Music, sexism, Getting story ideas, Children, visual artists, Senses, Education, Employment, Ideas jar, marriage, politics, films, TV shows, science, exercise, Writing about Technology, mental energy, Inspiration videos, Character Questionnaire, Tropes, Make Characters, Writing POC, Main Characters, snowflake,

Getting Inspiration from Religion

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on February 27, 2024

Let’s look at getting writing inspiration from religion.

Religion

Oh religion. It is one of those topics which nearly everyone tells you not to talk about. However, it can be a great source of inspiration for writing.

No Faith? No Problem!

First of all, I am not suggesting anyone run out and convert. If you do not believe in God, then that doesn’t bother me in the slightest. Faith can still provide inspiration.

You can observe it in others. Or you might want to document people’s reactions to your declarations of atheism or agnosticism.

Since the percentage of agnostics and atheists is still fairly low (at least that’s the case in America), minority status by itself can be an inspiration.

Perhaps you can write about living within a more spiritual majority. Another idea is to write about discrimination you may have faced.

Your Own Faith

Personally, I am Jewish. However, that doesn’t matter to my point. I can write about rituals. Or about what happens when rituals are absent. Furthermore, I can write about discrimination.

Since I am in a minority, that is also on the table. Because religious clashes are a fact of life, that’s also writing fodder. By changing subtle details or leaving some out, I can come up with a whole new story line.

Others’ Faiths

Almost all of us know someone of some other faith (or lack thereof). Have you ever discussed the differences? And did the discussion stay civil? Or did it fall into a shouting match? Because that is all too common.

Studying Religion

Because the Old and New Testaments, the Koran, the teachings of Buddha, etc. are all in the public domain, how about mining them for writing ideas? This has been done before.

In fact, the biblical story of Noah and the flood is pretty much the same as the epic of Gilgamesh. Hence you’d be in pretty good company.

Religion and Rituals

For everything from marriage to how to welcome children into the world, to how to help the aged and even mourn the dead, rituals are a large part of many faiths.

These rituals might inspire. Or, they may help you to transition your characters from one stage of life to the next.

Takeaways

Faith is an extremely personal experience. For many people, these stories are the word of God. However, a flood story is not necessarily blasphemous. And you don’t have to believe a thing in order to use the drama as a template for your own works.

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Self-Review – The Boy in the BandShort Stories, Road, My Aliens, Last Patient, interview, Surprises, Props, shipwrecked, child, Killing Us Softly, Ditte, Band, three minutes, Longest Night Watch, Nothing Good Ever Happens, Complications, Your Call, Darkness into Light, canaries, gentrification, Cynthia, True Believer, Short Stories, Wilder Bloom, Dish, Gentrification, Mitalisque, kitten, Last Try, Minnesota Wish, Dominick and Angela, Alix, Alix’s Apocalypse, A Chance Encounter in Time, A Crime in Time, A Show for the Galaxy, Aenor the Wanted, Alien Justice, And the Band Played the Apocalypse, Babel 2.0, Back, Front, and Side Pages, Camp, Courier to the Soviets, Frozen Assets, Julie's Dollar, Mandy Goes to Aspen, Martin's Choice, Mike’s Grades, Out of the Work Camp Frying Pan, Saddle Up, Bank Teller, Sarah’s Invention, Small Acts of Defiance, The Future Has No Foundation, The Ides of the Secretarial Pool, Unexpected Help, You Will Drink Your Coffee and Like It, Unreliable, East Side of the Universe, Eros vs Thanatos, Dust Between Our Stars, A Show for the Galaxy, A Fairy Tale for Skeptical Adults, A School for Scavengers, Frozen Assets, Out of the Work Camp Frying Pan, 1960s Temporal Crimes, Lizzie Borden is Vital to the Timeline, Walls Came Tumbling Down Again, The End,

Self-Review – The Boy in the Band

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on February 22, 2024

Review – The Boy in the Band

The Boy in the Band came about because I wanted to write something special for an LGBTQ+ anthology.

So the first person I thought of, immediately, was Richard Holmstrom.

Background

So at the time I wrote the story, I had no idea what had happened to Rich. As it turned out, a mutual friend did some sleuthing. And so, I learned the truth. It was what I had been afraid of; he was dead.

Rich was the first gay man who ever came out to me. And I consider that to be one hell of an honor.

The Plot for The Boy in the Band

So the story is more or less accurate. Hence it wrote itself. And I was merely there to take mental dictation. And the title, of course, comes from the film.

In 1981 or 1982, my friend Rich asked me to the movies. And I had a crush on him and thought – this is great! He chose the films: Cabaret and The Boys in the Band. So I had no idea what I was in for. My innocent nineteen or twenty year old soul thought we were going to see a pair of musicals.

I swear to God this is true.

Characters

The characters are the narrator, Rich, and Paul. He was Rich’s boyfriend at the time. But unfortunately, I have no idea if they stayed together. Since I do not know Paul’s last name, I can’t even look him up.

Memorable Quotes

I gamely watched with Richard. Maybe he meant for it to be artsy? I had no idea, but then the Cowboy character showed up – a male prostitute. And so Richard asked, “What do you think of him?”

I replied, “He reminds me a bit of Rocky from The Rocky Horror Picture Show.”

“Which do you think is cuter?”

“Rocky.”

“So we will agree to disagree.”

And then I knew.

Rating

The story has a K rating.

Upshot for The Boy in the Band

So this one was highly emotional for me. And then when I learned, later, that I had been right, it all hit me rather hard. See, because of when we knew each other, it was the dawn of the age of AIDS. And I knew he was, let’s just say, a bit loose. Since no one really had any idea what was in store, and AIDS was a 100% painful death sentence at the time, being ‘loose’ was being foolish.

Yet it apparently did not kill him. At least, I can tell myself this. I think I’m right. I hope I’m right. But there is only so much the internet can tell me.

He did not even live long enough to see 9/11, President Obama, or even the Red Sox win the World Series (:)). So he is frozen in time, at age 39. And before I knew this much, he was frozen at age 21. Forever young.

The Boy in the Band — this one’s for you, Richard.

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Getting Inspiration from Pets

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on February 20, 2024

Are you getting inspiration from pets?

Pets are our constant companions. For a lot of people, their animal friends are their sole contact on some days. And they can inspire.

Do You Speak Dog?

Humans first domesticated dogs back when we still lived in caves. They probably saved our species and certainly love us unconditionally. Dogs are incredibly observant and usually act to please us, although they have their own personalities and quirks.

However, dog bites are fairly common; there are a few million per year in the United States alone. From 2005 to 2015, dogs killed 360 Americans. As a result, some people are deathly afraid of them.

Feline Follies

Cats can seem aloof, but they also bond well to humans. A cat is often a great companion for people who live in apartments. This is because they are small and often quiet, and their non-hairball messes are well confined. However, a lot of us (myself included) are allergic to them.

Furthermore, strays and outdoor cats differ. If your furry friend wanders, you might want to do a thought experiment and try to figure out where they go, and what they do, and why.

The Reptilian World of Pets

Lots of people love snakes and turtles. During my childhood, my brother had an iguana. Maybe a dinosaur-like creature can inspire some interesting tales.

Polly Wanna Write? What if Your Pets Can Talk?

Parrots are extremely intelligent and can live a long time. Furthermore, a lot of birds are extremely beautiful. Plus there’s the very concept of flight – and they’re so casual about it! So how would we humans be if we could fly, too?

How Ya Gonna Keep ’em Down on the Farm?

While farm animals aren’t often seen as companion animals, per se, people do sometimes see them that way. The most obvious are horses, but this includes chickens and potbellied pigs, for example. Maybe consider what it’s like to befriend a creature which a lot of other people only see as food.

Or, what happens if a famine strikes and the only meal out there is from a creature your characters love?

Big Inspiration from the Very Small

So, for the purposes of this kind of catch-all section, let’s look at not only smaller critters like mice and hamsters, but also fish, insects and spiders, and others like rats and ferrets. Your animal friend might be lively and playful, or sedate. Maybe the wheel gets a lot of use. And what are they thinking? Is it just about food, or is there more to them?

Pets and Inspiration: Takeaways

When we get into others’ heads, we see the world differently. Animals are almost aliens on our world, so considering how they think might prove very helpful when writing science fiction. And whenever we make first contact with an alien species, we may find they don’t want to talk to us at all—but are happy to chat up Fido, Fluffy, and Polly.

Hug your pets today!

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Self-Review – Three Minutes Back in TimeShort Stories, Road, My Aliens, Last Patient, interview, Surprises, Props, shipwrecked, child, Killing Us Softly, Ditte, Band, three minutes, Longest Night Watch, Nothing Good Ever Happens, Complications, Your Call, Darkness into Light, canaries, gentrification, Cynthia, True Believer, Short Stories, Wilder Bloom, Dish, Gentrification, Mitalisque, kitten, Last Try, Minnesota Wish, Dominick and Angela, Alix, Alix’s Apocalypse, A Chance Encounter in Time, A Crime in Time, A Show for the Galaxy, Aenor the Wanted, Alien Justice, And the Band Played the Apocalypse, Babel 2.0, Back, Front, and Side Pages, Camp, Courier to the Soviets, Frozen Assets, Julie's Dollar, Mandy Goes to Aspen, Martin's Choice, Mike’s Grades, Out of the Work Camp Frying Pan, Saddle Up, Bank Teller, Sarah’s Invention, Small Acts of Defiance, The Future Has No Foundation, The Ides of the Secretarial Pool, Unexpected Help, You Will Drink Your Coffee and Like It, Unreliable, East Side of the Universe, Eros vs Thanatos, Dust Between Our Stars, A Show for the Galaxy, A Fairy Tale for Skeptical Adults, A School for Scavengers, Frozen Assets, Out of the Work Camp Frying Pan, 1960s Temporal Crimes, Lizzie Borden is Vital to the Timeline, Walls Came Tumbling Down Again, The End,

Self-Review – Three Minutes Back in Time

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on February 15, 2024

Time to Review the Short Story, Three Minutes Back in Time

Three Minutes Back in Time is a sequel of sorts to a fanfiction story I wrote called Crackerjack. It is also a bit of a sequel for a second fan fiction story, Concord. But for this particular short story, I took out all of the fan fiction elements, except for the names of the characters. So it is essentially a wholly original piece.

Background for Three Minutes Back in Time

Science fiction often seems to be in the realm of today or the future. As I was also writing Real Hub of the Universe, the idea of setting sci fi in an unexpected time period became irresistible.

Hence the story takes place in the very beginning of the American involvement in the Second World War.

Plot

When Rosemary Parker and James Warren go to a fair outside Washington, DC, they do not expect to find a time machine. And they really don’t expect it to work.

But it can only work for three minutes at a time. So Rosemary decides to go to the one place and date and time she has ever wanted to – just before the death of her beloved brother, Freddie.

Characters

The characters are Rosemary Parker, James Warren, and Freddie Parker. Plus there is a carnival ticket taker, who doesn’t get a lot of “screen time”.

Memorable Quotes from Three Minutes Back in Time

At least the fair wasn’t segregated, like so many other places were. Its grounds were open to all, including James and Rosemary. And once they had determined the fair had little to offer, they had sat down on a bench and talked. He had wanted to discuss W.E.B. Du Bois and the recent allied raid on Rome. But Rosemary had wanted to talk about the upcoming premiere of Stormy Weather with Lena Horne and Fats Waller. He didn’t even want to discuss the recent All-Star game.

Rating

The story has a K rating.

Upshot

I think this one stands alone rather well. And I was so happy Three Minutes Back in Time was published by Mythic Magazine.

In particular, I think it evokes something of the mood of the time, not just through music, but also how Rosemary behaves. She’s a woman of color, and she has a decent education, but this is also way before Rosa Parks, who I swear I wasn’t thinking of when I wrote the piece. In fact, it’s even before Jackie Robinson.

As for what originally happened to Freddie, unfortunately, that is all too common these days.

Three minutes is just enough to change the world. Or, at least, a piece of it.

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Eavesdropping for Fun and Inspiration

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on February 13, 2024

It’s Time to Start Eavesdropping… For Fun and Inspiration!

So, Eavesdropping? Seriously?

Eavesdropping really works, and it is probably a writer‘s best tool. Once you start listening in on conversations, you will open up a whole new world. Because real dialogue, interspersed with your created dialogue, adds realism. And it’s the kind of realism you may not have been able to pull off by yourself.

Subtlety

First of all, you have got to be subtle. This means maybe you pretend to play with your phone. Or you look out a window or stare into space. Because you should not be obvious about such things.

Furthermore, conversations are often layered. While you are perhaps listening to one person talk to three other people, there is a give and take between that person and the others. However, there are also words passed among the others in the group. Then they might even break off and begin their own conversations.

This doesn’t even get into what happens when you’re in a crowded room. Since it is hard to follow a lot of conversations, concentrate on only one or two. You won’t hear it all, anyway. Furthermore, if you split your focus, you won’t get anything good.

Nosiness

I am not saying you need to be nosy. Furthermore, this is not for gossip. You’re not some latter day Gladys Kravitz. Rather, you are a writer and you are doing research. And do yourself a favor and mix up what you hear. Don’t copy paragraphs outright. Instead, grab a sentence here and there. Write them down and put them away for later. Since you will presumably be writing for years, a sentence might work a decade from now. You never know.

The Names Have Been Changed to Protect the Innocent

Have you ever heard that? Make sure to change names. Or eliminate them altogether. You can also swap gender. Hence if a friend is complaining about her boyfriend, why not change the friend to a man? Or slip the complaint into something else. The complaint could be about your protagonist’s coworker.

Eavesdropping: Takeaways

Be subtle. Don’t use what you hear in order to gossip. Change the details. Finally, don’t repeat truly personal information (bank account numbers and balances, divorce proceedings, fatal disease diagnoses, etc.) unless you change nearly all of the verbiage. Be your usual pleasant, polite, and caring self. Yes, even as you gather some writing fodder.

And by the way, if someone notices you’re using their words, and they don’t want you to, be a sport and change your manuscript. That is, if you care about maintaining any sort of a relationship with them.

If not, then bombs away, I guess.

Eavesdropping — all the cool writers are doin’ it! 😉

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