Galand Nuchols grew up on a farm in Southern Illinois before moving to Texas and attending college here. She 
taught for twenty-two years, ranging from second grade to high school. When she retired, she began writing. What a great move that was for young readers. Galand writes YA and middle reader books that are very interesting and always have a moral in them. And they appeal to boys as well as girls. She also is a strong proponent of the short story, as she will tell you now. And, she’s giving away a copy of Now Where Did That Come From? to someone who leaves a comment. Galand —
My grandmother had a reputation for having the last laugh when it came to getting even. Tricks and retaliation was a form of entertainment for people living in our rural community before television, laptops, handheld computers, and texting. Stories of Grandma’s escapades, as well as the outrageous doings of other family members, have been orally handed down generation after generation. Several years ago my sister and I decided to record the tales for future generations.
We filled notebooks with the anecdotes we remembered and those that family members and neighbors shared with us. We were fortunate to have some old pictures of great-grandparents and a picture of the home place from a hundred years ago. We organized it, printed it, and gave it to family members scattered throughout the United States. It was work but a satisfying endeavor. We ended the book with a challenge to future generations to continue recording their own stories.
Then the Northeast Texas Writers’ Organization (NETWO) compiled an anthology of short stories, A Treasure Box. A paragraph or two revealing information about the author and his or her thoughts about writing followed each story and made the work unique. I was caught up in the excitement of being a part of the creating process.
These two projects lead me, a retired teacher, to consider the possibility of enticing parents, grandparents, and students of all ages to begin writing short stories about their own families or about something that interested them. A picture or news item can be a seed that blossoms into a full-fledged fiction story. An article in the LongviewNewsJournal about a UFO over Stevensville, Texas tickled my imagination and “Strangers in our Midst” was born. A friend losing her dentures inspired “The Losing Place.” There is a tiny seed of truth buried somewhere in each story, but the tale is purely a creation of my imagination. Many of the settings for my fiction stories, however, are from the farm where I grew up or in our Southern Illinois community.
Would an anthology of stories with a paragraph or two after each 
explaining where the idea for the story came from be entertaining and encourage readers to begin writing their own stories? With that question mind, I began collecting my favorite stories, writing a paragraph or two describing the source of the idea or seed for the story. After much tweaking, Now Where Did That Come From? was published. When a reader contacted me and said she was going to write a story about an event in her childhood, I felt the thrill of success.
Some people express their feelings and ideas on canvas; some sculpt in stone, wood, and clay, some in music or poetry. I find satisfaction in creating characters who meet and overcome various challenges in their life.
JIM: Thanks, Galand. You’ve shown us where to find the ideas for short stories. Now, we can get busy, write a few, and enter the latest NETWO short story contest. For more information on the short story contest, visit www.netwo.org. And for a closer look at Now Where Did That Come From?, click here. And don’t forget to click on the “Like” button. And lastly, leave a comment and be entered into a drawing for a free copy of Galand’s book of short stories. Thanks.
I started with short stories, too, Galand. I still contract for 1 publishing company for short stories for adults & for teens. I love your anthology idea. You’re a wealth of good ideas. I would love to win.
Thank you, Janet, for your encouraging words. I enjoy starting with a little seed of an idea and letting it explode into a fiction story. What might happen ‘if’ can lead to all sorts of consequences. As you know, that is part of the fun of writing.
Thanks for commenting.
Take care,
Galand
What a great idea for an anthology! I love the idea of a short blurb telling the inspiration for the story.
Good evening Melanie,
I got the idea of a paragraph or two sharing the source of the story idea from our writer’s organization’s anthology, A Treasure Box. We included a couple of paragraphs after each story about the author and his or her writings. I hoped my stories and attached explanations of their source would encourage young writers to write their own stories. It happened with at least one reader. It made my day when she wrote me.
Thanks for commenting.
Have a great day
Galand, you’ve been such an encouragement to so many authors. Last year, when I decided to finish a book, I joined NETWO. I wanted to enter the short story contest, but had no idea what to write about. You mentioned what you’ve written in your interview. Write about a life event. I did, and I won one of the honorable mentions. How thrilling and encouraging. Today, a year and a hald later, I’m a three times best selling author of fiction novels. One drop of hope, and my cup runneth over.
I can’t wait to read this book. I’ve enjoyed your others so much.
Thank you Cyndi,
It makes me feel good to think I might have been part of the push to get you started writing. NETWO is such a great organization with everyone so willing to share ideas and encouragement. I’ve benefited from it in so many ways and made some real friends. Wish every author could be a part of such a group.
Thanks for writing, Cyndi. Have a great day and keep writing. I still want to know about that baby.
It’s great to hear that another short story writer creates stories the way I do, with a grain of truth usually taken from family events and embellished with my own creativity. Because there’s an element of my family in them, they mean so much more to me than those I concoct completely from my imagination.
Thank you Lesley for your comments. I too, feel a special attachment to stories that start with a family event. I’m in Illinois on family farm and visiting with long time neighbors. I’ve picked up a couple of ideas for an article and another short story. Can’t wait to get home and start work on them.
Have a great week and keep writing,
Galand
As a writer and a genealogist, I like the idea of getting inspiration from family stories. Enjoyed reading about your experience and inspiration.
Thanks for writing J.R. My sister and I wrote a collection of family stories that have been handed down for several generations. We had some old pictures of great, great grandparents and some wild tales of some of the things they did. We had it printed and gave them to our children and made them available to distant relatives. We got back lots of laughter and additional tales we never heard. It was a really worthwhile project.
Hope you have a great week.
Galand
I started with short stories too. Counted them up the other day. I have over 40, a number of which have been published in anthologies. Now I’ve moved on to novels. Your collection with a moral sounds great. Best wishes to you.
Thanks Elaine. I enjoy writing short stories using events or subjects I’m interested in. The research usually gives me even more ideas.
Thanks for your comment.
Thanks, Galand, for an informative, and interesting, post.
Thank you, Jim, for having me on your web site. I’m looking forward to hearing from others. I’ve always enjoyed reading about other’s writing projects and plans.
Jim, great blog about a great lady with wonderful talent. Galand has a knack for children’s stories. I love that she always includes a life lesson in them. Thanks for featuring her today.
Galand, best of luck with all your books!
~Ann
Thank you Ann, for the encouraging words. I love putting stories together with interesting characters. Hope you have a great weekend.
This Iowa girl is sure to enjoy this collection of farm/midwest inspired stories.
I really enjoyed writing the stories. Many of them are set on the farm or in the community where I grew up. Thanks for commenting. Have a great weekend.