Family by Debra H. Goldstein
Family.
The Merriam Webster dictionary defines “family”as being: a group of one or more parents and their children living together as a
unit; all the descendants of a common ancestor; or a group of related things. I beg to
differ with the dictionary’s definition. The basis for my argument is clear if,
during the past eighteen days, you read the Writers Who Kill’s group
short story, Broken Hearted Killers.
The
twists and turns, which I won’t reveal here, demonstrated the interaction that
can be attributed to parents and children, but in a way that went beyond living
together as a unit. The story showed how blood relationships and interpersonal
relationships create different types of families. It also demonstrated the
shades of grey, greed, and misunderstandings that can muddy whether the
descendants of a common ancestor truly are family.
More
importantly, Broken Hearted Killers, highlighted another type of family
that the people behind Merriam Webster’s offerings never considered. It is the
family of writers – a group of humans not related things – who came together
behind the scenes to offer their talents, wisdom, criticism, and humor to
fashion what you had the opportunity to read. Most of us have never met in person.
We don’t break bread or regularly have a drink. What we normally do in terms of
our writing is done in isolation. Yet, through the Writers Who Kill blog,
we share thoughts and ideas with you and encourage each other. Writing the
story, we put aside our differences and worked to the goal of producing a
coherent piece of work.
It
was fun. We threw in red herrings, drove our editors nuts by veering in various
conflicting directions, and offered our own interpretation of what family meant
in Broken Hearted Killers. We proved what has often been said about
writers in general – that we are a supportive family even if we don’t meet any
standard definition. Do you have “family” versions in your life that don’t meet
the Merriam Webster dictionary’s definitions or is yours a model “family?”
