I’m thirty-three, which means that by now a lot of my friends and acquaintances have popped out a baby or two, and I have to scramble every time I talk to one of them to remember the name and sex and approximate age of their offspring. Conversations typically go like this:
“And how is…. the little one?”
“Taylor’s great. Just starting pre-school.”
“Oh wow! It seems like he was only just born.”
“Taylor’s a girl.”
“Oh, of course.”
(And now I remember the birth announcement that was plastered to my fridge for a year: Taylor Grace. A chubby baby with a pink bow taped to her bald head. She was some amount of pounds and ounces, and I wonder why I’m supposed to care about the weight of a baby unless it’s abnormally small or large.)
I know I’m being a bit blasé, so I’ll clarify that I really am happy for my friends with babies, and I hope that one day I might have a baby, too. But for now, instead of procreating, I’ve been creating stories. Which, in a way, is quite similar.
Think about it. One day, you feel the seed of a story take root inside you. You carry it with you for months, and it grows, forming little details: ten fingers and toes and perhaps a mind of its own. Finally, you can’t wait any longer — you have to get this story out of you and onto the page! So you labor through it. Giving birth to a story isn’t easy. It can be painful and frustrating, and there might be complications. It can take a lot longer than expected, and you may feel like giving up, but in the end it’s such a joy to see this beautiful thing you’ve created come out into the world.
I’ve been through the process many times, but there’s never been much celebration amongst my family and friends over all my story-babies. Perhaps it’s because I need to be sending out birth announcements! So I started writing some (see below). You may want use these examples to write your own story birth announcements for friends and family. After all, creation of any kind deserves to be celebrated!
Eva’s Story Birth Announcements
Say hello to my new pride and joy:
“Silver Man”
This precious piece of flash fiction made his world debut on
May 20, 2013
at Compose Journal.
2.5 pages, 865 words
With a joyful heart I introduce
The Children of Hamelin
Last revision completed on
October 30, 2014 at 9:55 am.
Please welcome this YA novel into the world with love.
Weight: 20 Chapters
Length: 60,000 words
A precious gift from the Muse!
Proud parent Eva Langston announces the arrival of
A healthy and beautiful poem published on Burlesque Press’s Variety Show
November 18, 2013
28 lines. 135 words.
An angel fell down from heaven
And impregnated me with an idea.
Now I am thrilled to introduce my precious bundle of love:
“Four-Handed Dentistry,”
A slipstream short story published in Vagabond City Issue 2.
November 1, 2013
Please share in the joy of my sweet little miracle.
15 pages and 4,500 perfect words.
Those are a few of mine. I’m looking forward to seeing yours soon.
Burlesque Press 