ESCAPED ELF: STATUS OF MAGIC UNKNOWN
 Last year, our Elf on the Shelf disappeared in Florida while we were on a pre-Christmas trip with my dad. I now have a flash fiction piece about an elf named Patrick Henry who is desperate to escape his life of indentured-scout-elf-servitude. He plots an escape plan consisting of giving up his magic and hitchhiking to Florida.
Don’t all stories bear traces of our real-life adventures?
Something about this time of year and an inevitable sense of urgency – make the most of the holidays, finish out the year strong, get all that shopping done, those cookies baked, those words on the page. And beyond the urgency is the instant-nostalgia – make memories you’ll keep, have good times you’ll remember, take photos, send cards, attend parties, tell stories, spread cheer.
Why do we expect so much from ourselves during the holidays? Why can’t my Spotify Wrapped just be quiet Christmas music instead of Taylor Swift’s example of what the achievement of totally awesome actually looks like?
As our organization looks toward 2023, using your membership survey input as our guide, we are mindful of the ambitions, expectations and obligations of our writing family. We have BIG ideas for 2023 we can’t wait to share, and we’ll be voting in new board members we can’t wait for you to meet.
But, before all that, on Dec. 8, the Pat Conroy Literary Center will co-host with SCWA its last Virtual Open Mic of the year with author Juan Eugenio Ramirez, author of The Man with Wolves for Hands, winner of the Nilsen Prize for First Novel. Learn more here.
Then, on Dec. 14, our radio show, Write On SC, will host its first Holiday Party at The Aristocrat on Washington Street in Columbia. You’re all welcome to come and hear eight short stories, including the one about Patrick Henry’s Florida fantasies. Learn more about that here.
In the midst of the holiday crush, I imagine a little escape is welcome. Just don’t give up your magic to get it.
Kasie Whitener
President, SCWA Board of Directors |
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