Story

I have a very short story included in volume 16 of Delmarva Review. The title of the story is “Story”.

I have never taught creative writing, but if I did, and if a student brought in a story titled “Story”, I imagine I’d give that student a bit of a talking to. It’s in the same league as “Untitled” or whatever. (Yes, when I was younger, I titled things “Untitled” all the time.)

Still, I chose that title, admittedly with trepidation, because the theme of stories and how we relate to them is the jumping-off point for the piece.

My story, “Story”, is a story about a writer who writes a story about a writer.

And… you just clicked away from this blog post. So now I‘m talking to myself here. Fine.

Granted, few people outside of the bizarre cult of showoff-hermits who call themselves “writers” give a hoot about the struggles and tribulations of word-story-makers. That said, stories are everywhere. There are stories we want to tell and stories we’d rather keep untold. There are even stories we are obliged to tell—think, for example, of “family lore” stories which we are expected to tell and re-tell, at weddings, at funerals, at holiday gatherings.

In this sense, we can owe something to our stories, just as we owe things to other people. It isn’t always pleasant to feel oneself beholden to a person, nor to a story.

If the klutzy title doesn’t put you off, or conversely if you are curious why any literary magazine would publish a story guilty of such a titular faux pas, consider getting your hands on a copy of Delmarva Review №16.