How to Share a Short Story

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“Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing.” – Benjamin Franklin

Back when my brother had his pilot’s license, I would occasionally fly with him when he needed to get time in practicing take-offs and landings. We’d go on days where the weather was nice and spend an hour or two flying to nearby airports to land and take-off again to meet the minimum requirement for flight hours necessary to maintain his license.

Taking off and landing is the hardest part of flying. And I think that’s the same with writing, isn’t it? It’s why I’m so impressed by short story writers. That’s a lot of take-offs and landings, so to speak.

So I loved this How to Share podcast conversation that award-winning playwright Jack Canfora and I had with author Maxine Rosaler. We delve into her recently released book, The Missing Kidney, a collection of short stories that explore the complexities of human relationships set against the backdrop of New York City in the 1970s and 80s. There are 14 short stories in this collection – and Maxine is an expert at take-offs and landings.

Maxine shares her journey as a writer, discussing her preference for short stories, the therapeutic nature of writing, and the importance of character development. We touch on the evolution of New York City, the themes of truth and denial in her work, and the challenges of navigating personal relationships in fiction. Throughout the conversation, Maxine emphasizes the significance of finding one’s voice and the role of encouragement in a writer’s journey.

Takeaways

  • Maxine’s stories are character-based and often autobiographical.
  • She prefers writing short stories over novels for their conciseness.
  • Writing can be therapeutic, helping to process emotions and experiences.
  • The city of New York serves as a character in her stories.
  • Maxine believes in the goodness of people and explores themes of denial.
  • She emphasizes the importance of finding one’s angle in writing.
  • The evolution of New York City influences her writing and themes.
  • The unconscious mind plays a crucial role in the creative process.

Here’s a short of Maxine’s introducing one of her stories and some of the themes she likes to explore:

Here are some ways you can watch this engaging episode with the “best short story writer you’ve never heard of” per Kirkus Reviews. Until now, of course…

Unleash Your Humanity: Courage, Resilience & Purpose with Yasmine Sherif – The Life of Try: Personal growth, one try at a time.

How can courage, resilience, and authentic leadershiptransform adversity into meaningful change? In this episode of The Life of Try, Wynne Leon talks with Yasmine Sherif—human rights lawyer, longtime United Nations humanitarian leader, and author of Unleash Your Humanity—about choosing humanity over fear and living with faith, joy, creativity, and purpose.Yasmine traces her journey from a multicultural childhoodand a life-changing promise to serve humanity to decades of humanitarian work in conflict zones. She shares how persistence opened the door to the United Nations, what she learned while helping refugees return home after the DaytonPeace Accords, and how trust and intuition helped her act courageously when lives were at risk.Together, Wynne and Yasmine explore how courage becomes a habit, why growth often begins outside the comfort zone, and how personal awakening can inspire collective change. Their conversation offers a hopeful perspective on resilience, human potential, service, empathy, and purpose-driven leadership—while reminding us that every person can help move the world toward greater humanity.Listen to discover:·       How to build courage through repeated choices·       Why adversity can become an opportunity for growth·       How authenticity and intuition support resilient leadership·       What it means to lead through service and shared humanity·       How joy, empathy, and creativity can fuel meaningful changeFollow The Life of Try for more inspiring conversations about courage, curiosity, personal growth, and what becomespossible when we keep trying. After this episode, listen to The Way Will Open: How to Trust Life’s Timing for more on faith, patience, and moving forward when the path is unclear.
  1. Unleash Your Humanity: Courage, Resilience & Purpose with Yasmine Sherif
  2. Stop Hustling For Your Worth: A Better Way to Grow
  3. Way Will Open: How To Trust Life's Timing
  4. How to Stop Procrastinating and Start: The 10-Minute Rule for Taking Action
  5. The Art of Meaningful Conversations: Lessons from 200 podcast episodes

How to Share Short Stories transcript

Links for this episode:

⁠The Missing Kidney⁠ website

The Missing Kidney on ⁠Barnes & Noble⁠ and ⁠Amazon⁠

From the Hosts:

⁠Jack Canfora’s website⁠

My book about my beloved father: ⁠Finding My Father’s Faith⁠;

61 thoughts on “How to Share a Short Story”

  4. Believing in truth, goodness, love, and a hate for evil and lying, etc. I imagine most people subscribe to those beliefs, at least publicly.

    Liked by 1 person

  6. Good interview. Loved when Maxine said this: “I’m in love with words and finding the right word and I write, and for me writing is very musical.”
    I love to read written words, and sometimes when I find the ‘music’ in them I wonder – did the author intend for this to happen, or did I luck out and find something unexpectedly beautiful here?

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Oh, I love the interplay between author and reader that you pulled out, Rose. That’s so precious! I wonder that too — and I guess in the case of Maxine, we can assume it is! Thanks for listening!

      Liked by 1 person

  8. I admire writers who are prolific in the stories they tell and how they’re able to create a world we immerse ourselves in and are sad to leave.

    Liked by 1 person

      1. Right.! I love reading, and appreciate how some writers create series after series.

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  15. I liked Maxine’s take on her years as a journalist for a community newspaper; she still sought out human interest stories and it helped her hone her writing, which well, was right up my alley. 😊I like her focus on quirkiness. That’s a good thing. Quirkiness is what makes a character, whether real or fiction, stand out. We all want stories that stand out. I like that she looks for humor and the absurditites in life (of which there are so many!) and her honest comment “I’m invested in doing the best work I can.” I felt that. Thanks, Wynne and Jack.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Right up your alley — yes! Love how Maxine’s experience overlaps with yours, Melanie. You are so right about quirkiness and absurdities. So much to mine! Thanks for tuning in, my friend!

      Liked by 1 person

  21. Great Takeaways!!! Thank you!!! Also, my husband and have a fear of flying – can’t even imagine going up for practice landings and take offs! YIKES! That’s braver than throwing yourself out there with books and stories! 😉

    Liked by 1 person

  22. I loved this conversation with Maxine and Jack! New York City is an amazing city and how rich the stories must’ve been in the 70s and 80s – and I say this as someone who loves the present day stories on Humans with New York.

    Listening to the podcast reminded me of when we did a unit on short stories in Grade 9 English and it is an art and a craft in itself to pack so much in a short space. I agree with Maxine the conciseness of the form has its charm and benefits.

    Reading other people’s works is one of the best ways to absorb and learn the craft of writing indeed, Maxine and Wynne!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. What a great comment, Ab. Thank you for listening. Love that you mention the Humans in NY stories – another captivating way to tell a story! You are so right – there is an art and a craft to short stories! Thanks for tuning in, my friend!

      Liked by 1 person

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