Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Finding the Story by Sheila Pierson

Hello, my lovelies! In my quest to bring you the most quality people in the world, through guest posts, author interviews and book interviews, I have run into one of the coolest people in the world, Sheila Pierson! She is a blogger, a poet, and an author. And she is a good friend, so treat her well! Without further ado....Here's Sheila!



About Sheila:
Sheila Pierson is a writer of short stories and poetry. She currently has two special projects in the works.  One is a collection of flash fiction that she plans to publish this fall. The other is a creative collaboration with her mother, a talented photographer, whereby they are combining beautiful black and white pictures with stories inspired by the photos. Although she has been writing since childhood, she has only recently surrendered to her passion, and her writing journey is only beginning.






Finding the Story by Sheila R. Pierson

First, let me thank J. Scott Sharp – He is a friend, fellow blogger, so supportive and just an all-around super nice guy. When he asked me to guest blog, I was thrilled and humbled. After all, why on earth would he want me to write a post for him? What could I possibly offer his amazing followers? I decided I would write on ‘finding the story,’ and as you will see, sometimes the story finds the writer!

Living in a small rural area, as I do, nothing much changes. Familiar people and places are at every turn until you could probably find your way around blindfolded. Although I’m not from here, I’ve lived here long enough that it’s old hat by now. However, a blogger buddy asked me the other day if I ever get ideas from my little town. The first thought I had was, “Are you kidding? It’s socioeconomically depressed, the town voted years ago to destroy the original magnificent courthouse in favor of a 1960s boxstyle building with zero character, and the biggest news going right now is the protesting of a dump site.” That doesn’t scream inspiration to me, but I let the thought set in for while.




There have been some oddities around here, some strange occurrences. One incident, in particular, happened on our own property. A couple of years ago my husband was replacing a rotting floor in an old shed when he saw something under the floorboards. He continued to pull them back until an old shower curtain was revealed, obviously wrapped around something. He opened it to reveal an old shotgun and a small hatchet. This definitely got our attention. The authorities were called in and the gun was shipped off for testing. The last we heard, it was too old and decrepit to make any determinations but they didn’t think it had been used in any crimes. I’ll let my writer’s mind come up with a different scenario, thank you very much. It was a strange feeling, to say the least, knowing it was purposely placed under those boards years earlier and for what reason? Oh, the questions that need answers…And yes, I’m working on a story about it now.




The point I’m making is that sometimes we need to take a look at our surroundings with fresh eyes, pretend to be a visitor and really look at our community and towns – We may find a story hiding just around the corner, or under the floor, as it were.

What kind of stories have you found right under your nose? Any strange experiences with hidden weapons/treasures/bodies on your property? 

15 comments:

  1. A trip to a San Francisco museum prompted my idea for a short story, but your post reminded me that there may be no shortage of ideas in my own backyard. I just need to pay closer attention instead of my usual getting lost in my thoughts. :)

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    1. Well Carrie - we know you have interesting neighbors who post "no poop" signs so I'm sure you can do something with that one... :) No bodies, though, huh?

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  2. Not yet, but one never knows... ;)

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  3. Great post! I'll have to start looking around my little town for more inspiration! I promise I'll write any ideas down!

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    1. You better Jase! I'll be looking for those stories :)

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  4. I was inspired to write a short story titled "Widows' Corner" one day while making the same turnaround at the same corner on my street that I do almost every day. I realized that the three homes on the corner, my Mom's and two neighbor's, were all occupied by widows. Made for a cool little story about how these three women each killed their husbands, in different ways and for different reasons. Some was based on truth (I know these women well), but much (like the killing part) straight from my imagination.

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    1. That's great Julie! Love this... It's fun to be able to look at something you see all the time in a new way. Your story sound terrific!

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  5. Clearly the weapons were hidden there long ago in case of zombie apocalypse. The "In Case of Zombie Apocalypse" sign probably just fell off :)

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    1. I can always count on you Mike to come up with a plausible explanation - thanks for clearing that up for me :)

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  6. Hey Sheila thanks for coming to my blog and bringing a great post with you. Every story I have ever written has had a part of my life in it. There is a location in "Not Even There" that is a location that was part of my life when I was 17.
    Thanks for your post and for being a great friend. I am looking forward to more visits from you!

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    1. Thank you for allowing me to take over your blog :) I had fun with it!!

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  7. Small town life has a lot to offer the writer seeking ideas! Even if the idea isn't dependent on the story being set in a small town, you can often get interesting inspiration from those quirks that make small town life so unique.

    Great post! :-)

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    1. I only just saw this Brandon - thanks so much for your comment :) And you're absolutely right on the unique quirks!

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  8. Jason, thanks for having her on your blog! Just one thing to say - I heart Sheila. :)

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    1. Oh Sean, you know I heart you too! Thanks for all your support!

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