Inspiration is something that comes unexpectedly. There is a feeling of stillness before inspiration strikes. Like lightning. It hits hard, shakes you and suddenly you are compelled to create. That is the only way I can describe what happens inside of my mind and my heart when an idea pops in my head filling my entire body with an energy so uncontrollable that the only thing left for me to do is write. This is how, in one of those complicated stages in life, feeling burnt out and consumed by the routine and the desire for something to change, an idea for a bilingual short story came to my head.
Yes, it was more than 3 years ago when I wrote a story intended to be a simple tweet. Then I though, how amazing would it be if I could accompany this little story with some cute drawing. The problem was that drawing is not at all one of my talents. In fact, I think my kids draw better than I do. So I called the one and only person I knew that could create exactly what I wanted. Tania and I have been friends for years and we have worked together in the past. She created the illustration for my first book and is one of the best artists I know. I told her my idea. She helped me, also because she was feeling exactly how I was feeling. We were both looking for a strike of inspiration to save us from negative feelings that were taking over our lives. This is how #Thebrokenheart was born. The story of a heart in pain that melted his way out to happiness. Little did we know that this simple collaboration would be the beginning of an extraordinary journey of creativity in which both of us discovered that even when you are in the middle of a dark storm, it’s precisely that ray of light that can put your life back on track.
#ShortyTales #TheBrokenHeart #Microstorytelling by @paobsur illustration by Tatiana Williams @Blubellfuzz pic.twitter.com/ALZjx341Rn
— Paola B. Sur (@paobsur) February 14, 2016
Week after week we found ourselves talking about another idea to create another short story. We started calling them Shorty Tales. We felt like those stories were our fuel. An incredible positive energy started to grow inside of us every time we developed one of our ideas. And in times were the negative feelings were trying to come back, it was the creation of Shorty Tales that seemed to be our great escape. Also, our friends started to like our posts, and the ideas developed into a series of micro stories for children on social media. Our kids liked our stories as well and we received a lot of positive comments about them. However, after a while, we stopped. I don’t need to explain the reasons. Creativity storms also tend to come and go. But in that period of time when we stopped creating our little stories I always felt a void.
I went to publish my second book (the translation of my first novel) and I got preoccupied with that project. Tania also worked on her own projects as well. But Shorty Tales was like a stone in my shoe. I was not done with it and I tried to ignore the feeling for as much as I could. Until one day it occurred to me. Shorty Tales could become a book. Not only that. I started dreaming on having much more things done with those stories. And I knew exactly the person I could talk to and I was eager to tell her about my crazy ideas. Claudia has also been my friend for years, and has also worked with me in the past. She is not only a savvy and talented UX designer, she is also the friend I always go to for career and tech advise, from “how much money should I ask for this job” to “why my iPhone is not working properly” kind of questions. We started talking about the possibility of making a brand from Shorty Tales, a platform that could serve in so many ways to promote multiculturalism and reading.
Long story short, about a year and a half ago we decided we were going to do it. The three of us. We know that to be able to create the project that we have in our heads will take time. But we had to start somehow and this is how we decided to begin with a collection of bilingual stories in a book. A few days ago I received my copy in the mail. I was so happy with the results. The book is absolutely beautiful and full of love. I took some pictures of my niece and nephew with the book and I was again certain about the mission behind all of this. We live in a world that needs to break those language and cultural barriers. Not for us, but for them. Our children need to inherit a world that embraces differences, that welcomes learning from each other. This first book is only the beginning of much more to come. We want to get our stories translated in other languages, create more collections, products around them, be able to enhance the storytelling experience with technologies creating a platform for kids so they can learn other languages and be inspired in a personal level and motivated to learn.
As you can see Shorty Tales is way more than a ray of light. We want to make it a great thunderstorm of possibilities. For now I want to invite you to take a look and learn more about us at www.myshortytales.com and ask you to support our idea by buying our first book on Amazon or Barnes & Noble. Please tell us what do you think and reach us! Follow us in Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Thank you and I hope you like our first collection!
