The Secret of My Playboy-Winning Short Story
Sometimes, you need THIS to write a story.
A check signed by Hugh Hefner
The most “popular” short story I’ve ever written is “Clicker.” It won third place in the now-defunct Playboy Fiction Contest, and though only first place was published in the magazine, I did get a check for $500, rubber-stamp-signed by Hugh Hefner. About a year later, “Clicker” was published in The Normal School, a California-based literary magazine.
What do people like about “Clicker”? It’s not sexy, if you’re getting thrown off by the Playboy win. It’s a little weird, a little funny, a little sad. It’s about a girl in the hospital, trying to figure out what happened the night she severely injured herself falling off a balcony. So there’s a mystery she’s trying to solve – that usually keeps people turning pages.
Where do ideas come from?
The inspiration for “Clicker” came from the three weeks I spent the hospital in my mid-twenties when I had to have emergency lung surgery. My collapsed lung happened in a much less dramatic way than in the story, but I knew I wanted to use my hospital experience as fodder for fiction. Bored and in pain, ripped away from my regular life, dependent on strangers to help me pee… such things turn you into the very worst version of yourself, or at least that was the case for me.
I sat down many times in the next year or two, attempting to write a story about a girl in the hospital, but every time I’d get overwhelmed as I remembered all too well what it had been like to lie in that hospital bed, greasy- haired and grumpy, doped-up and depressed, being told my lung might never fully-inflate. (Spoiler alert: it did).
But then, one day, several years after my hospital stay, I was ready to write about it. By then enough time had passed, and I could view the events from a helpful distance. It wasn’t as depressing to remember, and it was also easier to fictionalize.
Sometimes, when we’re writing from real experiences, there’s a tendency to stick too closely to the facts instead of using them as a jumping off point into what will make the most engaging story.
Sometimes, you need the distance and perspective time provides to write the very best version of an inspired-by-real-life story.
To be clear, “Clicker” is not about me at all. I took my hospital experience as inspiration and crafted a much more interesting and dramatic tale about a girl much more intense and damaged than myself.
Have you written any inspired-by-real-life stories? I’d love to hear about it!
Want to read my Playboy-winning short story?
The short story “Clicker” is available to paid subscribers of my newsletter. This is a new thing! For only $5 a month, paid subscribers receive:
a new short story every month
access to my writing courses (for April the course will be Cultivating a Regular Writing Practice)
access to The Writing Room, a private online community where you can connect with other writers
the same writing updates and resources as always
There’s no commitment. If you decide the paid subscription is not for you, it’s easy to cancel or go back to the free version. This is all very exciting and new, so if you have questions, please reach out to me.
And click here to learn more about Cultivating a Regular Practice. The first lesson will be emailed to paid subscribers on April 2, but it’s a totally do-it-on-your-own-time course, so the course will be waiting for you in your inbox whenever you’re ready to start.
Writing News:
#1 I really love this publishing “hack” from Catherine Baa-Muguira: How to Get a Book Deal When You’re Not Famous.
#2 Check out this FREE virtual craft talk on March 31 with novelist Matt Bell. He’s also the author of the much-anticipated book, Refuse to Be Done: How to Write and Rewrite a Novel in Three Drafts. I’m reading it right now with my writing group and digging it so far.
#3 Lauren Davila and Jo Wu are still looking for BIPOC fairytales for their BIPOC Fairytale Anthology. Find out more about what they’re looking for here; submissions are due by March 31.
#4 NYC Midnight’s 100-word Microfiction Challenge kicks off on April 22. You’ll be randomly assigned a genre, action, and word with which to write a micro-short-story in 24 hours. Winners in each group advance to the next round and write another story. It’s a lot of fun, and you’ll be surprised with what you can come up with when the pressure’s on. The final day to register is April 21.
#5 Are you a querying writer? Then mark your calendar for these upcoming April Twitter pitch parties. And be sure to read my article 13 Things to Know About Twitter Pitch Events.
April 7 (8 am—8 pm EST): #MoodPitch — BRAND NEW Twitter pitch for all un-agented authors of all genres and age categories, with a mood board image added
April 14 (8 am—8 pm EST): #LGBTNPit — annual twitter pitch event for queer, trans, and nonbinary authors with a special focus on trans and nonbinary people
#6 Black Mountain Institute (an international literary center based in Nevada) is hosting Wave In, an in-person art and music festival in Vegas May 5-7, and the line-up looks awesome. Plus, for the first time there will be free programming aimed at young readers.
#7 This year the Writing Day Workshop “How to Get Published” Conferences will be held virtually. I attended one of these conferences in person a few years ago in Philadelphia, and I thought it was fantastic. I can’t vouch for the virtual version, but there are some benefits: recorded classes, no travel expenses, attend in your comfy pants. Plus, you can sign up for Zoom pitch sessions with agents for $29 a piece. Check out the upcoming conferences (and remember, anyone can attend from anywhere; just keep the time zone in mind).
Seattle Writing Workshop: April 1-2, 2022
Philadelphia Writing Workshop: May 6-7, 2022
Chicago Writing Workshop: June 10-11, 2022
That’s all for now. Hope you’re all doing well!
Sincerely,
Eva