The other day a voice/character came to me and I wrote the following rough draft:
Sister in law
I been calling Ann sister in law since 1981. That’s when her and my brother went to the justice of the peace and got married. Even though they got divorced 5 years later, I still address her the same way. My brother has remarried and had children by another, woman, whom I call Karen. She’s my real sister-in-law but ain’t nothing like that first one. I didn’t have to grow to love Ann, something instantly clicked with us. She was sweet but no pushover and for some reason she tolerated my brother even though he was an asshole and a cheater. God knows she could’ve done better. She could have married a man with money cause brother surely didn’t have any. But she hung in there with him as long as any woman should. Five years was long enough. Most people not meant to stay with one person forever, unless you’re like my Aunt Penny and Uncle Frank. They were lived in the same house for around 50 years before health took them in different directions.
Most of the time this is how it starts. Sometimes this is where it ends. But each time, there are voices that come to me which propel me to put pen to paper. Also, I can be inspired to write from a place of experimentation when given prompts or when I see, hear, or read a piece that sparks my curiosity. Either way, the raw forms of what I start with normally look dramatically different as an end product or published piece.
My short story Last Sermon is an example of a published piece where readers from Deep South Magazine liked the foundation of my piece but asked me to go deeper with the story.
Although it’s been over a decade since I published that piece, I’ll never forget the patience and faith the magazine had with me. I submitted a second draft and again the readers said there’s more I should explore with my characters.
For my final submission which was published, I put everything I had into telling the story in the most complete and compelling way. It was such a freeing experience. I wrote from a place of openness, acceptance, and allowed the characters to tell the story.
As I embark on revising the next draft of my novel, I want to honor my rituals and intuition while growing and evolving in my writing.
Thank You to everyone who has and continues to believe in my work! - JNS
Find Jennifer at writerjns on IG and FB or visit jennifernshannon.com.
Two Micros on Love
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Jun 30
“Love is an action, a participatory emotion. Whether we are engaged in a process of self-love or of loving others we must move beyond the realm of feeling to actualize love. This is why it is useful to see love as a practice.” - bell hooks, All About Love: New Visions
Grounded
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Jun 23
I grew up in a small town in South Carolina and it was nothing for me to walk outside without any shoes on. I would push open the screen door, hop down our steps, and sink my feel into the grass and dirt. No shoes and no thought of the safety of my feet. I didn’t realize until recently how grounded I felt in those moments of my toes digging into lush gr…
Surrender
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Jun 9
Sometimes you have to surrender to the will of God or the Universe or whatever you believe in, so you can get where you need to be.”
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