Do you like my new website design changes? I tried to make it easier to read.
My post today is about a short story that's not published yet, so I will not be giving you too many details, but what I wanted to do was describe why the content and topic is important and relevant. It is a very simple idea, which I wanted to do well and intricately. The entire story happens over a short span on time and the character is in one place taking in the world around her.
When I look at the kinds of debates that I see happening in the writing community about culture or history, it becomes apparent to me that there seems to be a large swatch of ignorance. I saw one argument recently where white people started saying a complaint from a group about another group was justified because white people started the other group, without using google to verify that a member of the original group had been the point of origin, not "white people." This fall when I wrote an original style Maerchen, not changing the setting but using the innate setting to draw on elements people want to see in stories now, always having to change them, I was told there was no interest in original culture pov.
All of the language being used about colonisation and appropriation of other cultures not telling their own lived experiences has resonated in Germany, for example. The mother in an East German family close to me said she can't watch films about Germany anymore because Germany is always the enemy. Then you still have Nazi romanticism. In a contest I entered this fall, there was another story about a character with a Nazi in a past life, because the person from that non-European culture was just so interested in the history surrounding the Third Reich. Meanwhile, I believe I have shared how some German storytellers like the director Florian Henckel von Donnersmark have actually been delving into the emotional and mental journey of the German people in the aftermath of the twentieth century.
This is what inspired my new short story, and that is why it is significant. When I discussed it with a local writing group, the organizer, a German woman, had to explain to the non-Germans in the group the dynamic I was describing in my story. The main character is based on my cousin. Her father was part of the Hitler Youth generation, but she never knew him. Her mother moved with her to Canada. My cousin was so angry about her father's affiliation, she cancelled her German citizenship. All she has of her father is a box of memorabilia, and two surviving uncles. One was in the resistance and will not talk about her father to answer any of her questions. She has been struggling with writing his story for several years. She said when she approaches publishers they insiste she calls him a Nazi, but that does not provide her any answers for herself.
The recent documentary "The Final Account" demonstrated a spectrum of sympathies of that generation, and my cousin cannot understand where her father fell in that spectrum. The 100s of hours of interviews in that documentary are archived in California, and I wrote to the contact person there. I was actually looking for one of the interviewees who was from a town near where my great-grandmother was born, hoping to get more history of the region.
My cousin beta read this short story and said "at least you gave your character help." The premise of the story, however, only uses her family history as context for the broader theme of the emotional burden imbalance, as well as the mental stigma around women's mental health. To understand that, you should so what you can to make sure the story is published for you to read! However, it is set in a near future. I do get to throw shade at Elon Musk - do you know someone told me this week he was throwing a tantrum about paying taxes? (I thought this was rich since he has never made his own money, and gets paid only from the money other people give him running a business model that has never bene revenue positive) So if you want to see my story throw shade at Elon Musk - Make sure it gets published!
I should also mention that Ursual Le Guin beat George R.R. Martin for the Hugo Award the year he wrote a story called "Mist in the Morning," and he did not have mist which was meteorologically correct. I was not aware of this story when I wrote mine, but the mist at the start of my story happens according to correct weather science.
The story is about a relationship where the woman does not get back the same emotional support she puts in. Because that seems to be the trend in modern times. Her family dynamic demonstrates what every German family has experienced, being told to be guilty without being able to ask any questions - only to find the generation resposible is now dead and no answers can be found. However, she does have the link to the time 100 years ago when women were diagnosed with "hysteria" because men create toxic demands and take no responsibility. The opening of the story starts with imagery of the gas chambers women with these kinds of mental health issues were sent to. This was inspired by Henckel von Donnersmark's 2018 film.
In conclusion, this story delves into the real emotional experience of German families in the past 100 years. While set in a near future, where as a society we want to look at exploring other celestial bodies in our galaxy, we are trying to move forward with remnants of the mental health stigmas and emotional imbalances for women. That is the ultimate point of the story. Hopefully it will be recognised by places it has been sent, and the kinds of ignorance I see taking place in some of these debates makes me very reluctant to expect this story to be recognised for this message.
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