Reduce Stress in Your Marriage During the Holidays:

Hey Story Lovers,

It’s gift-giving season again. Do you love thinking about what’s special about your partner, kids, parents, nieces and nephews so you can present them with the perfect gifts? Or are you like, “Why do I have to buy my dad a present right now; what has he done for me?”

Do you love receiving gifts—the bigger the box the better? Or are you like my daughter who won’t open presents in front of people because they might suck and she can’t lie?

Do you think all this spending is good for the economy or bad for the environment?

Exchanging gifts can create strong feelings. So in a recent writing class Allison Langer gave the prompt: Worst Gift. I wrote a story about how my wife, Vicky, is the worst gift-giver, but never fear—I’ve come to rectify the situation by buying my own gifts.

My story will be out In Newsweek this Sunday, December 21, 2025. I’ll send you the link.

In the meantime, I got to thinking about what works in a story. Sometimes the alternative take is a little more interesting than what you might expect. Consider these potential story ideas:

When I was in college, my parents lived on opposite coasts. I thought they would get divorced. Now that my kids are in college, bi-coastal living seems like a good idea.

Or

My mom and my college-aged kid live with my husband and me, which is killing our sex life—yay!

Or

I was the other woman.

Or

I was set up on a date with a man I thought was so ugly, I tried to ruin it by wearing a potato-sack frock. We’ve been married 60 years.

Wouldn’t you rather read a story by the woman who cheated, than the woman who was cheated on? Or the story about the woman who was herself the terrible date?

YESSS!

Come write with me this Saturday. We’ll be talking about finding the alternative take on a story. Beginners welcome.

TIPS CLINIC
SATURDAY, December 20, 2025
12 to 1 p.m. ET
Zoom

We’ll write and (if you want) you can share what you wrote for feedback.

Tips Clinic is $15.

If money is an object, please use this FREE Tips Clinic Zoom link.

All Patreon members, please use the free link.

As always, and throughout the holidays, because we need our writing group, we have two First Draft weekly writing groups where you write to a prompt and share if you want.

Click here to join Allison Langer Tuesdays 12-1 ET.

Click here to join Margery Berger on Mondays 12-1 ET. The first session is always FREE.

Thanks for reading. And thanks for listening to Writing Class Radio.

Happy Holidays,

Andrea Askowitz

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