Looking for Nifty Stories?
03/19/09
When I was a kid, I often heard the word "nifty" in reference to things like fancy cars and outrageous fashion. It was a word that meant a variety of things, all of them good and attractive. As I grew older I heard the word being used in a wider range of topics: a nifty song, a nifty concert, a nifty evening out. Later still, it cropped up in conversations about more "cultural" experiences: nifty books, nifty poems, and nifty stories.
Whenever I heard the word I assumed it meant something good, something attractive. However, it was only when I found myself using the word in my own description of my stories that I needed to define it. Actually, it was a listener who called my material "nifty stories," and that comment sent me to the books. The Merriam/Webster Dictionary definition states: "very good, very attractive," etymology unknown, originally used in 1865. A thesaurus gives synonyms such as "peachy, smashing, dandy, great, keen, and groovy," all of which strike me as exchanging one jargon term for another!"
What's so nifty about my stories? The stories I choose to tell are, indeed, particularly good and rather effective at making a point, a lesson, a message, a bit of perspective. You could say that my idea of stories that are nifty are ones that entertain as well as enlighten. I look for stories with certain underlying values that help the listener to set their internal compass when sailing through life.
Nifty stories are stories that teach. Nifty stories are memorable. Nifty stories travel beyond the culture from which they originate. Nifty stories are always "stylish," regardless of the era that spawned them. Stories such as these hold the listener's attention long enough to send their message effectively. Nifty stories are a treasure! Check out my website at www.JayStetzer.com for some nifty stories! Short stories
