{"id":594,"date":"2015-05-02T22:22:47","date_gmt":"2015-05-02T22:22:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/robertmangeot.com\/?p=594"},"modified":"2016-03-25T02:44:58","modified_gmt":"2016-03-25T02:44:58","slug":"behind-the-short-story-first-rodeo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/robertmangeot.com\/?p=594","title":{"rendered":"Behind: “First Rodeo”"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you were around a century or so ago, and you\u00a0knew him well, you might call him Bill. On a legal document, William Sidney Porter. If you read any of his 300+ published stories, you knew him by his pen name:\u00a0O. Henry<\/a>.\u00a0The name now commands a prestigious\u00a0short story\u00a0award, but more than anything, his\u00a0work effectively trademarked a\u00a0device: The twist ending, the literary tie that binds. When you or I try it, the reader calls it\u00a0an O. Henry twist.<\/p>\n

I don’t\u00a0set out\u00a0to write twist endings, although it is known to\u00a0happen<\/a>. I go for resonance,\u00a0a\u00a0finish\u00a0that hopefully keep the reader’s creative chords humming.\u00a0With “First Rodeo”<\/a> I\u00a0started with\u00a0a big switcheroo finish and worked backward from there. It’d be\u00a0a flash piece, zippy and sharp, right to the twisty point.<\/p>\n

Living in Nashville, now and again you come across guys and ladies in Western Wear, like any moment might be their chance to tread the boards at the Opry.\u00a0I had such an image, somebody in full faux cowboy get-up, and as my mind will do, it sought humor. A rodeo. Someone’s first, because the old\u00a0saying is pretty emphatic that “it\u00a0ain’t mine.” Well, somewhere, sometime, we all had that first figurative one.<\/p>\n

I ran with that idea, taking it literally.\u00a0To set the trap, enter\u00a0Little Caleb and the rodeo he was busting to attend.\u00a0A crime story wouldn’t work through Caleb’s wondering eyes, or at least would be damned\u00a0hard to\u00a0pull off the twist. Flash fiction is\u00a0already like stitching microscopic fiber\u00a0as it is.\u00a0Enter Dad and his\u00a0more jaundiced voice. He let me build tension and foreshadowing while still keeping\u00a0true to\u00a0his fatherly pride.<\/p>\n

I hope O. Henry would say I played fair. There are\u00a0breadcrumbs to the truth\u00a0throughout, and\u00a0astute readers\u00a0likely\u00a0roped and\u00a0trussed up the twist faster\u00a0 than a rider at the rodeo.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you were around a century or so ago, and you\u00a0knew him well, you might call him Bill. On a legal document, William Sidney Porter. If you read any of his 300+ published stories, you knew him by his pen name:\u00a0O. Henry.\u00a0The name now commands a prestigious\u00a0short story\u00a0award, but more than anything, his\u00a0work effectively trademarked… Continue reading Behind: “First Rodeo”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[92,93,6],"tags":[65,86,85,5],"class_list":["post-594","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-short-stories","category-southern-fiction","category-this-whole-writing-thing","tag-behind-the-story","tag-rodeos","tag-twist-endings","tag-writing","entry"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3CG0W-9A","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":635,"url":"https:\/\/robertmangeot.com\/?p=635","url_meta":{"origin":594,"position":0},"title":"Caught on Podcast! Methodically Musing","author":"rtmcontrol","date":"June 17, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"It was my great honor last night to talk fiction with the wonderful Sherry Welton Wilds as she debuts her new show The Method and the Muse. What a great (and short!) session, and I hope those who listen get value for their time. If I remember correctly, and this\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Appearances"","block_context":{"text":"Appearances","link":"https:\/\/robertmangeot.com\/?cat=78"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":245,"url":"https:\/\/robertmangeot.com\/?p=245","url_meta":{"origin":594,"position":1},"title":"Behind the Short Story: “Whorling”","author":"rtmcontrol","date":"February 14, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Albert Einstein--you know,\u00a0he of\u00a0the supercomputer brain--once dished out this observation on the universe: \"Gravitation is not responsible for people falling in love.\" Well said, but only half said.\u00a0Sure, gravity doesn't make people weak-kneed in love, but some force does, internal or external.\u00a0Einstein didn't\u00a0name the cause\u00a0because he didn't know it. No\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Cathcart"","block_context":{"text":"Cathcart","link":"https:\/\/robertmangeot.com\/?cat=99"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":383,"url":"https:\/\/robertmangeot.com\/?p=383","url_meta":{"origin":594,"position":2},"title":"Behind The Short Story: “Aix to Grind”","author":"rtmcontrol","date":"June 7, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Yes, I was in Aix-en-Provence, and sure, I was studying a\u00a0Picasso in\u00a0a museum's\u00a0first room, only a token velvet rope between me and it, and okay, I even thought, \u201cman, this is how many million euro hanging how many steps from the door?\u201d But no, I wasn\u2019t casing the joint. 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And I liked it.\u00a0In\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Crime, Mystery & Suspense"","block_context":{"text":"Crime, Mystery & Suspense","link":"https:\/\/robertmangeot.com\/?cat=10"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2378,"url":"https:\/\/robertmangeot.com\/?p=2378","url_meta":{"origin":594,"position":4},"title":"Snack and Snack Again: Behind “Vinny Two Snacks”","author":"rtmcontrol","date":"April 13, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"I eat lunch early. That started as a work necessity that became a habit that became a daily rule. Eat lunch early and you're secure against or at least fed for mid-day surprises. Of course, if you eat lunch early, there might come a major afternoon fade. One such two\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Awards and Honors"","block_context":{"text":"Awards and Honors","link":"https:\/\/robertmangeot.com\/?cat=14"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/robertmangeot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/P1011897-1024x768.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":36,"url":"https:\/\/robertmangeot.com\/?p=36","url_meta":{"origin":594,"position":5},"title":"Behind the Short Story: “First of a Fine Spectacle”","author":"rtmcontrol","date":"October 8, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"I'm honored\u00a0that my\u00a0short story\u00a0\/ high farce\u00a0\"First of a Fine Spectacle\" was selected for Pure Slush No. 7, Catherine refracted. I'm a history buff. But I've not had much interest writing historical fiction. Or flash fiction. So\u00a0historical flash? What drew me was the collection's theme: Catherine the Great. A canvas rife\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Humor"","block_context":{"text":"Humor","link":"https:\/\/robertmangeot.com\/?cat=8"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/robertmangeot.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/594","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/robertmangeot.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/robertmangeot.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robertmangeot.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robertmangeot.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=594"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/robertmangeot.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/594\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":770,"href":"https:\/\/robertmangeot.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/594\/revisions\/770"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/robertmangeot.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=594"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robertmangeot.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=594"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robertmangeot.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=594"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}