Tagline: Megan thought she was facing a lonely Christmas until a handsome stranger with a generous heart proved her wrong...
In a Nutshell: Megan's daughter goes to spend Christmas with her dad and Megan is feeling lonely. She goes to get her favorite coffee to cheer herself up and the friendly store owner doesn't seem upset to be working Christmas Eve. That's when Megan gets the idea to spread some Christmas cheer to people she knows who are also working. She delivers meals to them, complete with fruitcake, and when revisiting that store owner, garners an invitation to go view the Christmas lights with him.Observations: What I want you to notice with this story is the theme of good cheer throughout. Megan has good reason to feel down, being all alone on Christmas Eve, and yet...
No, Megan thought. I'm not going to feel sorry for myself.
Megan takes action against the sadness, something Woman's World likes. As I've said before, the entire magazine is devoted to improving women's lives--their health, their outlooks, their pocketbooks, everything, so featuring a heroine who embodies that is a no brainer. (The hero is a positive and caring guy, too.)
I also noticed that this story was light on the romance, heavy on the Christmas spirit, but I suppose that makes sense, considering it's a holiday themed story.
6 comments:
Kate, if I have learned anything from you, it is to keep the story upbeat and make the reader fall in love with the hero. This story may be "light on romance", but who wouldn't fall in love with this great guy? I think the Spirit is definitely with this story. For me, the only questionable part of it was whether some of the recipients would take food from a perfect stranger. Sorry, but in these days, that has to be a consideration.
You know, I had that same thought. I work in the service industry and a regular customer brought us some Christmas pastries last year. I didn't hesitate to eat some of them. However, if it had been some stranger, I wouldn't have touched it.
Being an east coast girl, I completely agree with you both. Saying that, if you keep in mind WW demegraphic audience then you know exactly why they purchased this story. It's one of the main reasons I get rejections. I have a difficult time writing those type of stories because I'd never thing of that type of idea.
Yeah, you kind of have to put yourself in an "It's a Wonderful Life" Norman Rockwell type frame of mind. :)
You have a way with words and hitting the nail on the head with the characters. I've tried to analyze these stories before but have never been successful when submitting to WW.
Thanks, Missy. Keep analyzing. Eventually, you'll absorb the tone of the stories and it'll show up in your writing. Keep trying!
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