A REALLY COOL STORY, no matter what reading level it’s written for, is that type of story that grabs you by the collar and shakes you. A story you never forget. A story that after you’ve read it you can’t wait to tell others to read it too, and you start your recommendation by saying, “I just read this really cool story…”
The stories I read when I was young–and even during my college years–that I thought were really cool are what inspired me to become a writer. I’d say to myself, “I want to write stories like that!” Then I started writing short stories and poems during my junior year in high school.
But it was not until my mother discovered a particular paperback book in a used book store that I fell in love with the idea of writing really cool stories to make a living. That book was The Golden Apples of the Sun by Ray Bradbury. I was 19 at the time and I’d never heard of Ray Bradbury.
I took the book to college with me and one quiet Sunday I started reading the short stories inside.
The first story had a surprise ending that blew me away–I never knew, before this, that a story could have such a cool, surprise ending. So many of the stories teachers forced me to read in school were BORING; their endings weak and the stories easily forgotten. The second Bradbury story also had a really cool ending that left me breathless. And when I’d finished reading the third story in the book I suddenly had a fever and I fell instantly in love. Bradbury was like a great magician, conjuring the most amazing surprises in his stories.
I fell in love with what a really cool story can do to you… how it changes your life, even if just a little, and makes you forever able to see the world in a different, perhaps better way; stories that help you grow up to be a better person because your imagination is suddenly open to all the wonder and possibilities in life.
As a result, I’ve spent my life in search of other really cool stories by many different writers, and I also try to write them for readers to enjoy and say, “Wow, that was a really cool story!”
In this BLOG I will share my ideas about writing, let you peek in on my writing process, and share what inspires me and how I get my ideas for stories — and even some of the research I have to do before I can complete a story.
I’ll also let you know when a new story or article is completed and ready for publication as a Kindle Direct REALLY COOL STORY eBook so you can experience the final product.
For a FREE story, click on HERE to read “When the Rain Stops,” a sequel to one of Ray Bradbury’s most famous short stories “All Summer in a Day” — one of those really cool stories that changed my life for the better.
Onward!
JJM
ReallyCoolStory 