Happy Thanksgiving!

As I write this, I’m on a bus headed home for the Thanksgiving holiday. It’s always nice to be home for a time, however brief, and catch up with my parents and sister. The night is dark and portentous outside my window and I can only think of home. I want to wish all of my readers a happy thanksgiving, hopefully with their families and with plenty to be thankful for, but Thanksgiving is more than an opportunity to be with family; it’s a great opportunity for writing.

You might be surprised how many short stories, novels and movies have a Thanksgiving bent. It’s a great, non-artificial way to gather people together who have very close interactions and intermingling pasts, so sparks may fly. Just like Christmas is a very emotionally charged time for people and often stressful because of family clashes, Thanksgiving is a time when people who might hate each other have to sit at the same table. What will happen at your Thanksgiving table, and more to the point, what will happen at the table of your story?

There’s a wellspring of interesting takes on the holiday that can enrich your story. Is the Thanksgiving of your story a traditional one, with Dad cutting the turkey and an aproned Mother presenting the apple pie? Is it traditional on the surface with darkness lurking underneath? Or is it a “wacky” Thanksgiving where everything is turned upside down? As always, avoid cliche family types, like the rebellious teenager, the kooky aunt, or the shellshocked grandfather. If you can make characters like this unique and not a cardboard cutout, however, then by all means go for it.

Happy Thanksgiving, readers, if you celebrate it! If you don’t, have a good day anyway, and there’s no harm in devoting a little thought to the good things happening in your life and being grateful for them.