Sonder: the realization that each random passerby has a life as vivid as complex as your own.
As a lover of language, I really appreciate being introduced to new and interesting words, especially the kind that capture something that we need a host of other words to do. When my daughter recently introduced me to the word sonder, my first thought was that a common, everyday word had somehow slipped past me for decades without notice.
But then I googled it.
While sonder is not currently listed in the online Miriam Webster Dictionary, I did find definitions in both Wiktionary and The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows (what a great title!), and therefore it appears to be a more recently invented word in our world of ever-changing diction.
That said, it's a great word!
As someone with a background in psychology, and as both a reader and a writer of fiction, I was immediately intrigued by the concept of sonder. At first glance, it seems quite obvious. Of course other people have complex lives with their own dreams and thoughts and ambitions! But when you stop and really reflect on this idea, how well do we really understand this? Knowing something is true, and feeling the truth of it are two very different things. For me, that's where fiction comes in.
When I read fiction, I seek stories that allow me to fully occupy the minds and souls of the characters. I don’t want to simply read about them, I want to live as them. I want to think their thoughts and feel their feelings in a way that goes much deeper than a straightforward comprehension of the events that make up their lives. I want to experience that moment of sonder, then submerge myself in their inner lives. Sometimes those lives have elements that directly mirror my own, like womanhood or motherhood or a Canadian prairie childhood, and sometimes they transport me to an entirely different place. Perhaps it's another culture, or an age I have not yet reached, or a class experience that has differed drastically from my own.
Whether we see ourselves directly or indirectly in characters, I believe that reading and experiencing another inner life can truly magnify what it means to be human. It can sew seeds of empathy and the kind of understanding that lives in bones and rotates through veins. It's why I read.
And it's why I write.
As a writer, it seems that I'm struck by a sense of sonder on a regular basis. My imagination is often ignited by those moments of human connection, even with strangers, when any number of varying life circumstances bump up against my consciousness and make me ask what if? I feel very blessed to have the opportunity to turn those thoughts and reflections into works of fiction or poetry, that others might connect this way too.
With the celebration of Canadian Thanksgiving this weekend, I've been thinking about how many things I have to be thankful for as a writer this year.
I've made many wonderful connections with other writers, as well as editors,
publishers, and a host of new readers. I’ve had some publishing wins (more on
that below!), as well as the requisite cycle of rejection that is an everyday
part of the writing journey. I’m thankful that both wins and losses help me to
foster and develop my craft, pushing me to learn and experiment and try again. And
I’m so very thankful for all of you who have reached out with encouragement,
congratulations, or to let me know that you’ve connected with something I
wrote. Those moments mean so much, and I can’t thank you enough for your
support.
I hope you all feel a sense of sonder with your next read and allow yourself the opportunity to visit another inner world. Happy reading! And for those of you celebrating this weekend, Happy Thanksgiving!
Publication News!
Vine Leaves Press
On September 24th, my microfiction entitled Delivering, was published for subscribers of '50 Give or Take' from Vine Leaves Press. It will also appear in the annual anthology, 50 Word Stories of 2024, releasing on November 26th. If you’d like to preorder the anthology or subscribe to receive future 50-word stories to be delivered directly to your inbox, you can do that here!
New Year's Eve Anthology
As many of you know from my social media posts, a longer piece of writing, RIGHTING MY WORLD, will be also be published along with eight other short stories in Another Chance to Get it Right: A New Year’s Eve Anthology by Nicole Frail Books (expected release date: November 12th). A winter anthology from the same publisher, As The Snow Drifts, will be released a few days earlier on November 7th. I’m very excited to be part of this collaboration and I hope you’ll get a chance to check it out!
One additional piece of news I haven’t yet shared is that my story will also be
published as a stand-alone E-book at a later date (TBD)! I will be providing
more details of that as soon as I know more from the publisher. In the
meantime, here are some ordering details:
E-book: ANOTHER CHANCE TO GET IT RIGHT can be preordered here
E-book: AS THE SNOW DRIFTS can be preordered here
As a perk of authoring one of the stories, I will also have the opportunity to purchase a bulk order of paperbacks at a significantly reduced price. I would love to offer this back to you as a huge thank you for all your love and support! My goal is only to
recoup my costs, so although I can’t give you an exact price yet (still waiting
on that detail from the publisher), the final cost will be substantially
reduced off the retail price. There will be some shipping costs if I’m mailing
outside of Winnipeg, but if you’re local I’m happy to deliver it!
If you’re interested in this opportunity, please send me an email or add a comment below and I’ll keep a list (absolutely no commitment!). From there, I’ll follow up with more specific details as soon as I know more.
Challenge
50 Books for 50 Years
This November marks fifty trips around the sun for me. I want to celebrate this milestone by challenging myself to read 50 books over the next 12 months. While I already do have an impressive TBR (to-be-read) pile, I'd love to hear some of your suggestions to round it out.
Below are a few genres that I would love to read. Since some of these genres I read less regularly than others, having your input would be wonderful. I've starred the categories that I currently do not have on my TBR pile. Although I'm currently only looking for fiction (other than memoir), feel free to throw me any titles that you think fit and I'm happy to check them out!
- Literary Fiction
- Contemporary Fiction
- Young Adult**
- Historical Fiction
- Memoir**
- Mystery**
If your math is as good as mine(!), you'll know I need to read about four books per month to meet this challenge. I'll let you know what I'm reading, and I'd love to have some of you reading alongside me! At the end of each month, I plan to pick one of those four books and post a review of it on social media and my website.
Thank you again for all of your support and love during my writing journey, and especially over these past few months. I'm so grateful for you all.
Love & Best Wishes
Shirley