Describe your very first story in a sentence or two and tell us the genre.
Mine was a children’s book.
Bull-headed squirrel learns the importance of family after a lightning storm traps him inside a fallen tree.
32 thoughts on “Reader Friday: What’s Your Very First Story About?”
Mine is a slice of life story involving the changing family dynamics of two guys who move to a small town in Vermont from Chicago when one of them becomes an overnight success. Quirky characters, homesickness, and financial misunderstandings work to drive the two apart.
Well done, Joe! Sounds like a great story.
Wow. The essence of storytelling, right there. “Bull-headed squirrel learns the importance of family after a lightning storm traps him inside a fallen tree.” Character, setting, conflict, resolution. See what you did there? (grin)
Mine: An elderly wife goes about her early morning routine, setting two places at the table, cooking and serving breakfast, occasionally peering out the window at the waiting fields, etc., all the while calling for her husband to get up—having forgotten he passed during the night.
Thanks, Harvey. 🙂
Love your story. I can picture how it might unfold. Nicely done, my friend.
Sounds interesting. I would read that.
My first was a short-short, more of an exercise in POV.
“What does it take for a man to say, “I love you” out loud? Certainly the woman he loves can tell from his actions. And if she can tell, why must he initiate those words?”
Sounds like a thought-provoking story, Terry. Thanks for playing.
King Paprika’s lust for Hungarian Goulash leads him into paths of wickedness until Chef Nathan renders appropriate justice. I told it to my kids when they were little and we were camping on the bank of the Mosel, in Trier, and I later wrote it up.
Haha! King Paprika — Sounds like a fun story, Eric. I love the story behind it, too.
I can’t remember the subject 60+ years back! But I do remember stapling together pages of three-hole notebook papers to make a “book” illustrated with crayon drawings. Self-publishing circa 1950s.
TO TKZ READERS: Last Tuesday’s post offered my three-book series for $.99 each. I just learned Stalking Midas (#2) cannot be sold at that price right now. My apologies for not reading the fine print better!
Self-publishing circa 1950s. Haha! Love it, Debbie.
So many stories–unremembered.
I can’t tell you what my first story was about. It was probably about something from the days of World War II.
My first published story was about a young woman in her early 20s who fell in love with an older guy in his mid-30s, who had to deal with his family of young teenagers as if they were her brother and sister, and who had to beat back the criticism of her classmates and peers about her marrying an older man. (The teenagers supported her and loved her because they had undergone the very painful and devastating illness and death of their mom–an experience that taught them what love for parents is really about.) I loved my scene in which she publicly drops a very large glass of iced tea into the lap of the president of her high school senior class who lets her know at that moment what he thinks of her senior class fiance, Jack. Mr. Old, he called Jack.
I really do miss the confession magazine market.
Sounds like a great story, Jim. What’s the title? Shameless plugs allowed today. 😉
HS senior accuses her English teacher of raping her. Story is written two years later (with flashbacks to the trial) when he’s been released on parole and starts stalking her. Very first story I ever wrote (in two days) and is was accepted in an anthrology and published.
Well done, Maggie! Sounds like a gripping story.
I love how some stories just pour out of us. No better feeling.
Mine (unpublished, circa 2002) was about a man who discovers the importance of family and tradition. He is the MC. Antagonist is an oak tree that has stood on his grandfather’s farm for generations. Women’s fiction. (I sorely wish I could find the manuscript.)
Sounds like a great story, Deb. Aw, you lost the manuscript? Though I rarely, if ever, read my past work, at least I could if I felt the need. In the trunk they shall stay. 😉
Now three years in and about half ready for a first proofreading. I have been a pizza driver for 30 years. There are a lot of stories of what happens on the road. Several people said you should write these down. So I started.
Good for you, Alan! I can only imagine the crazy stories that have unfolded in front of you.
My first story was published by Woman’s World and was the very first thing I ever wrote. It was about a woman who didn’t believe the hit and run that caused her husband’s death was accidental. My third story for Woman’s World is an O’Henry type and can be read on my blog: https://ptbradley.com/bloodkin/
The premise sounds rife with conflict — always a good thing. Love it, Patricia!
Internationally famous illusionist Daniel Demaris is introduced to the world of the power—a psychic Darwinian struggle of predator and prey—when a killer stalks him with a psychic demon.
Sadly, the “Power” series was never published, but the characters still play around in my imagination because I enjoyed them so much.
This question leads to possible topics here. Log lines and elevator pitches.
Sounds suspenseful, Marilynn. Maybe you could still use the characters.
We haven’t done a post on log lines or elevator pitches in a while. Great idea.
There’s nothing wrong with the series, but it was too far ahead of its time. I “invented” supernatural suspense thirty years before the first one was published. I also tried to sell a vampire romance and was told “vampires aren’t sexy and will never be romance heroes.” Sigh.
Oy. I can relate to the frustration of those type of comments.
Mine? A 60-page children’s book about Ronald and his family who get a solar installation for the family swimming pool. A science lesson, and a bit of drama–the panels look like Darth Vader’s mask and the delivery truck runs over Mr Babcock’s petunias. He threatens to put the cabash on the whole thing until Ronald talks him into swimming — for his arthritis. Written in the Jimmy Carter era, and here we still linger…..
When I first read your comment, I thought you wrote: “…put the cabbage on the whole thing…” and was like, Huh? Makes much more sense with “cabash.” 🙂
Oh, I have my obligatory books in the virtual trunk, never to see the light of day. I have pulled a few worthwhile snippets and well-turned phrases for my current works. The first was a turgid overblown spy story.
Mine, too, with strict instructions to my husband, “In the event of my death NEVER release the trunk novels.” 🙂
My first book was a children’s story I wrote and illustrated at the age of twelve, titled, Twiddlywinks, Lollipop, and Jasper, three baby rabbits. My first published book deals with child kidnappings and pedophiles. My heroine rescues the former and gets the latter arrested. 🙂
Describe your very first story in a sentence or two and tell us the genre.
Mine is a slice of life story involving the changing family dynamics of two guys who move to a small town in Vermont from Chicago when one of them becomes an overnight success. Quirky characters, homesickness, and financial misunderstandings work to drive the two apart.
Well done, Joe! Sounds like a great story.
Wow. The essence of storytelling, right there. “Bull-headed squirrel learns the importance of family after a lightning storm traps him inside a fallen tree.” Character, setting, conflict, resolution. See what you did there? (grin)
Mine: An elderly wife goes about her early morning routine, setting two places at the table, cooking and serving breakfast, occasionally peering out the window at the waiting fields, etc., all the while calling for her husband to get up—having forgotten he passed during the night.
Thanks, Harvey. 🙂
Love your story. I can picture how it might unfold. Nicely done, my friend.
Sounds interesting. I would read that.
My first was a short-short, more of an exercise in POV.
“What does it take for a man to say, “I love you” out loud? Certainly the woman he loves can tell from his actions. And if she can tell, why must he initiate those words?”
Sounds like a thought-provoking story, Terry. Thanks for playing.
King Paprika’s lust for Hungarian Goulash leads him into paths of wickedness until Chef Nathan renders appropriate justice. I told it to my kids when they were little and we were camping on the bank of the Mosel, in Trier, and I later wrote it up.
Haha! King Paprika — Sounds like a fun story, Eric. I love the story behind it, too.
Shameless plug: https://medium.com/misplaced-identities/chef-nathan-and-wicked-king-paprika-cd56ecef56e3
Atta boy! 🙂
I can’t remember the subject 60+ years back! But I do remember stapling together pages of three-hole notebook papers to make a “book” illustrated with crayon drawings. Self-publishing circa 1950s.
TO TKZ READERS: Last Tuesday’s post offered my three-book series for $.99 each. I just learned Stalking Midas (#2) cannot be sold at that price right now. My apologies for not reading the fine print better!
Self-publishing circa 1950s. Haha! Love it, Debbie.
So many stories–unremembered.
I can’t tell you what my first story was about. It was probably about something from the days of World War II.
My first published story was about a young woman in her early 20s who fell in love with an older guy in his mid-30s, who had to deal with his family of young teenagers as if they were her brother and sister, and who had to beat back the criticism of her classmates and peers about her marrying an older man. (The teenagers supported her and loved her because they had undergone the very painful and devastating illness and death of their mom–an experience that taught them what love for parents is really about.) I loved my scene in which she publicly drops a very large glass of iced tea into the lap of the president of her high school senior class who lets her know at that moment what he thinks of her senior class fiance, Jack. Mr. Old, he called Jack.
I really do miss the confession magazine market.
Sounds like a great story, Jim. What’s the title? Shameless plugs allowed today. 😉
HS senior accuses her English teacher of raping her. Story is written two years later (with flashbacks to the trial) when he’s been released on parole and starts stalking her. Very first story I ever wrote (in two days) and is was accepted in an anthrology and published.
Well done, Maggie! Sounds like a gripping story.
I love how some stories just pour out of us. No better feeling.
Mine (unpublished, circa 2002) was about a man who discovers the importance of family and tradition. He is the MC. Antagonist is an oak tree that has stood on his grandfather’s farm for generations. Women’s fiction. (I sorely wish I could find the manuscript.)
Sounds like a great story, Deb. Aw, you lost the manuscript? Though I rarely, if ever, read my past work, at least I could if I felt the need. In the trunk they shall stay. 😉
Now three years in and about half ready for a first proofreading. I have been a pizza driver for 30 years. There are a lot of stories of what happens on the road. Several people said you should write these down. So I started.
Good for you, Alan! I can only imagine the crazy stories that have unfolded in front of you.
My first story was published by Woman’s World and was the very first thing I ever wrote. It was about a woman who didn’t believe the hit and run that caused her husband’s death was accidental. My third story for Woman’s World is an O’Henry type and can be read on my blog: https://ptbradley.com/bloodkin/
The premise sounds rife with conflict — always a good thing. Love it, Patricia!
Internationally famous illusionist Daniel Demaris is introduced to the world of the power—a psychic Darwinian struggle of predator and prey—when a killer stalks him with a psychic demon.
Sadly, the “Power” series was never published, but the characters still play around in my imagination because I enjoyed them so much.
This question leads to possible topics here. Log lines and elevator pitches.
Sounds suspenseful, Marilynn. Maybe you could still use the characters.
We haven’t done a post on log lines or elevator pitches in a while. Great idea.
There’s nothing wrong with the series, but it was too far ahead of its time. I “invented” supernatural suspense thirty years before the first one was published. I also tried to sell a vampire romance and was told “vampires aren’t sexy and will never be romance heroes.” Sigh.
Oy. I can relate to the frustration of those type of comments.
Mine? A 60-page children’s book about Ronald and his family who get a solar installation for the family swimming pool. A science lesson, and a bit of drama–the panels look like Darth Vader’s mask and the delivery truck runs over Mr Babcock’s petunias. He threatens to put the cabash on the whole thing until Ronald talks him into swimming — for his arthritis. Written in the Jimmy Carter era, and here we still linger…..
When I first read your comment, I thought you wrote: “…put the cabbage on the whole thing…” and was like, Huh? Makes much more sense with “cabash.” 🙂
Oh, I have my obligatory books in the virtual trunk, never to see the light of day. I have pulled a few worthwhile snippets and well-turned phrases for my current works. The first was a turgid overblown spy story.
Mine, too, with strict instructions to my husband, “In the event of my death NEVER release the trunk novels.” 🙂
My first book was a children’s story I wrote and illustrated at the age of twelve, titled, Twiddlywinks, Lollipop, and Jasper, three baby rabbits. My first published book deals with child kidnappings and pedophiles. My heroine rescues the former and gets the latter arrested. 🙂