Editor’s Note

EACH ISSUE, under the banner “My Story” we publish a short piece by a reader. We invite submissions. We purposely give no guidance on what to write about. Write about anything. Anything at all. It just has to be from your own experience. And not too long. Oh, and something that other people will want to read, of course. The style, the topic, the mood… that’s all up to you.

A wide range of stories come in, by email and post. Many are touching or amusing. But invariably the most memorable are the ones told simply and from the heart. You don’t need to be an accomplished writer to contribute or to have completed a creative writing course. In fact, frequently the freshest and the most delightful are submitted by readers who have never had any sort of writing published anywhere before. They just have an experience that they cherish, and they set about sharing it as if they are retelling it to a group of dear friends.

This issue’s “My Story: Evenings With Dad” made an impression on us from the first reading. If I told you it is about a young girl and a father and an evening ritual washing his hair comb, you’d be forgiven for thinking that’s weird or mundane. But like many of the most engaging stories, it’s not about the ordinary surface detail.

It’s about something much more powerful. It’s about family and relationships. Security and enduring love. A lot to tackle in 600 words.

Great stories don’t have to be long or complicated. What’s yours?