THE JOY
OF STORY
John M.
Daniel’s Blog
January
10, 2017
Note about our schedule: Because of important
family business, I will be away from my office next weekend and the weekend
following that. So I will not be posting on my blog January14th or 21st.
Instead, I am posting the January 14th blog early, on Tuesday, January 10, and
it will remain at the top of the blog until January 28, when I'll be back. This
means the 99-word stories will be showcased for a long, happy stretch.
§§§
On this second post for the month of
January 2017, I am presenting stories submitted by friends of The Joy of Story.
The prompt I assigned was “I took a trip on a train.” I was inspired by an
earworm that was haunting my brain at the time. (For those who don’t know, an earworm is a song that plays over and over in the Muzak of your mind, a snatch
of a song you can’t get rid of.) The song was “I Thought About You,” with music
by Jimmy Van Heusen and lyrics by Johnny Mercer. I like the song a lot, but I
was getting sick of hearing it by the time it moved on, only to be replaced by
another earworm.
The first line of the song is “I
took a trip on a train,” which makes it qualify as a train song. The
singer/narrator is on a train, having left a loved one at home. There is a
suggested element of regret that the lovers parted, and the outbound traveler has a
strong wish to return and patch thing up. The story has conflict, choice, and
change, not to mention scene and plot and characters. The plot is more hinted
at than told, and the choice and change are forecasted not shown, but that’s
okay. Call this minimalist fiction. By the way, other train songs from the
Great American Songbook are “Sentimental Journey” and “Chattanooga Choo Choo.”
Remarkably, these songs both tell a similar story, but in these stories the
travelers have bought their tickets and are ready to board the train home.
Well, this week’s 99-ers took this
reader for a number or train rides, and some describe good scenery and others
have believable characters. Some of them, though, lack plot, conflict, choice,
and change. I hope I’ll see more of these essentials in next month’s stories.
The prompt for next month is “I can’t give you anything but love.” That should suggest
some conflict, I think!
One of the stories this month stands
out for having all the necessary ingredients of a good story. That one is
“Round Trip,” by Marilyn London. This story has the same plot as “I Thought
About You,” with an extra twist at the end. Good work, Marilyn!
§§§
TRAIN TRIP STORIES
told in 99 words
ROUND TRIP
by Marilyn London
We were arguing a lot. I needed to get away. I
took a trip on a train.
It was fun to be alone, to enjoy the peace and
quiet. The countryside was beautiful. I finished my book. The car was almost
empty. There was no one to talk to.
Someone walked down the aisle checking the
seats. That must be the conductor, I
thought.
Without looking up, I asked, “What time is it?
When will we be there?”
“Depends on where we’re going,” said a familiar
voice. He took my hand, kissed me and sat down.
We went home.
•••
WINDOW SEAT
by Tom Donovan
I took a trip
on a train with a youngster.
We were almost
at Penn station so he was glued to the window. Five minutes from the station we
would pass the alcoves, caves, and caverns.
Tracks led off
into dark recesses where the people of the NYC underground lived. Sleeping
bags, plastic, and paper remains of hastily prepared food.
The remnants of barely serviceable clothing
drying wherever a bit of sunlight could find them.
Later came an understanding that life
takes different turns for everyone.
•••
FANTASY AND REALITY
by Jerry Giammatteo
The Jungfrau railway headed up the Bernese Alps, framed in snow, and
passed lovely little Alpine villages on its way. I marveled at the beauty.
We made a stop to admire a Volkswagen Beetle carved out of ice. Life was
good for a twenty-three-year old.
As the train headed for the summit, I closed my eyes for a brief rest.
Then I felt a light tap on my arm and awakened to a Long Island Railroad
conductor. She was saying, “All tickets, please?”
I then heard the announcement, “Train to Penn Station.” Damn. I was
sixty-one and tired again.
•••
A DESTINATION
NOT YET REACHED
by June Kosier
At thirteen, I took a trip on a train. A
train unable, so far, to reach its destination. The train was called “Creativity.”
I boarded forty-three years ago, heading
for a writing career. There were stops along the way. High school, college, a
career in nursing, marriage, motherhood, grandparenting, cancer were the stops.
I have enjoyed all these stations and each has taught me well.
I have paid the toll, but, now retired, I
have decided to board the train again. Hopefully, this time there will be no
stops and I will get to my desired destination, called “Published.”
•••
ONCE, ON A
TRAIN
by Cathy
Mayrides
I don’t often
take trains, but I remember a train trip to Washington, D.C. At the time, I was
a teenager, and I dabbled in Tarot cards and Ouija boards. But my own
metaphysical experiences were nil.
As we sped
toward Union Station, I suddenly realized that I was speeding over tunnels and
trees and could see the top of the train from this vantage point. I didn’t
panic, but rather wondered in a dream state if I would be able to get back into
the train.
I did. We
arrived. Welcome to my first out of body experience.
•••
TRAVELS WITH
BRAD
by Christine
Viscuso
“Where’ve you
been, Brad? You haven’t been to work in days.”
“I took a trip
on a train, Greg.”
“You’re an Uber
driver; what’re you doing traveling the rails?”
“I dropped off the most gorgeous,
ethereal girl at the train four days ago. I wanted to know her better so I
parked the car and hopped the train. Followed her to Manhattan and then to
Amtrack; destination, Washington D.C.”
“Ethereal, huh?”
“A beauty. But I lost her. I tripped.
Fell on my head as I got off the train. Ended up in a hospital.”
“You’ve had some train trip!”
•••
LIMBO
INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
by
D. F. Saunders
My
flight arrived at Houston on time. I pushed up the aisle to deplane fast. I had
to catch another flight, on a different airline.
I
took a train from one airline to the other, boarded another airplane, and flew
to DFW, where I took yet another train to catch my flight home, on yet another
airline.
When
my DFW train ride stopped at the end of the line, I found myself back in
Houston Airport. I retraced my steps, and it happened again.
I
said to a ticket agent, “I’m lost.”
She shrugged. “I know. We’re all
lost.”
•••
Note: The following story was inadvertently left out of last
month’s harvest of 99-word stories, for which the prompt was “A fine romance
this turned out to be.” With apologies to Diane Morelli, the author, I am
presenting it here:
METAMORPHOSIS
by
Diane Morelli
Laura
and Glen met in high school. They dated for six months before they got engaged.
Glen’s dad cautioned his son, “Take a good look at your
future mother-in-law now; you’re looking at your wife in twenty years.”
Glen
realized that his fiancée’s mom was unkempt, overbearing, and neurotic. Just
like his mother. He ignored Dad’s warning and married Laura without
reservation.
Twenty-five years passed. Laura and Glen
were still together and seemed happy. Glen’s dad finally apologized for his
unsolicited premarital advice.
“I should have been the one who took a good
look at my mother-in-law,” said
Laura.
§§§
Call for submissions: Your 99-Word Stories
The deadline for February’s
99-word story submissions is February
1, 2017. The stories will appear on my blog post for February 11, and
will stay posted for a week.
note: this 99-word story feature is a game, not a
contest. Obey the rules and I’ll include your story. I may edit the story to make
it stronger, and it’s understood that you will submit to my editing willingly.
That’s an unwritten rule.
Rules for the 99-word story feature are as follows:
1. Your story must be 99 words long, exactly.
2. One story per writer, per month.
3. The story must be a story. That means it needs plot
(something or somebody has to change), characters, and conflict.
4. The story must be inspired by the prompt I assign.
5. The deadline: the first of the month. Stories will appear
on this blog the second Saturday of the month.
6. I will copy edit the story. The author of the story
retains all rights.
7. Email me your story
(in the body of your email, or as a Word attachment) to: jmd@danielpublishing.com
THIS MONTH’S PROMPT FOR
NEXT MONTH’S 99-WORD STORY: Write a story inspired by the following
sentence (in honor of Valentine’s Day): I
Can’t Give You Anything But Love.
§§§
Calling
all published authors—
I try to feature a guest author the third Saturday (and week
following) of each month. If you’re interested in posting an essay on my
blog—it’s also a chance to promote a published book—email me directly at jmd@danielpublishing.com.
§§§
Thank you for visiting. Please drop by next week!
John, these were great. Another year, huh!
ReplyDeleteTHanks, Augie. Yep, here we go for another year. 2016 was a tornado. I wonder what this next year will bring. More craziness? I hope not!
ReplyDelete