Shutterstock / rawf8©Lots to think about in this week’s Story Starter: Thanksgiving.
A day of Thanksgiving was originally held in 1621 to celebrate the Pilgrims’ first successful corn harvest. Various days of thanksgiving were held throughout the years since, until President Lincoln founded a national celebration, to be held on the last Thursday of November.
(I didn’t know that to kick-start the economy during the Great Depression, President Roosevelt tried to bring Thanksgiving forward by a week. The plan was met with complete opposition at the time!)
How can this spur some writing this week?
Thanksgiving celebrations, in the US and across the world. Traditions, passed down from one generation to the next. The rhythm of the year.
Family get-togethers, changing through the years. Especially this year, with different tiers of coronavirus restrictions and social distancing.
Making the most of things, despite all the hurdles.
Remembering to say thank you.
How coronavirus has affected Thanksgiving, Christmas, and all our get-togethers. We’re open to stories featuring coronavirus, as long as the focus of the story remains the people affected by the virus and their stories, rather than the virus itself.
National days of celebration. Religious holidays, of all faiths. In the UK, and throughout the world.
Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade, held since 1924. As seen in “Miracle on 34th Street”.
The day after Thanksgiving, “Black Friday”, which kicks off the festive shopping season in the States (and traditionally sees retailers going “into the black”). Christmas shopping.
If you’re inspired to write a Thanksgiving or Christmas story, remember we look for these throughout the year for “The People’s Friend” Annual, or you can hang onto it for now and send it in anytime after March.
At the moment, we’re especially looking for 2000 and 3000 words stories from the end of February onwards for the weekly, and from mid- April for the Specials.
We have a healthy stock of 1200 word stories for now.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Are you looking for another Story Starter? Click here to take a look through Fiction Ed Lucy’s archive.
Lucy Crichton Better known as “Fiction Editor Lucy”, I am always on the look-out for the very best short stories, poems and pocket novels. As well as sourcing enjoyable content, I enjoy working with our established contributors, encouraging new talent, and celebrating 155 years of “Friend” fiction!
