Theme explained:

The theme for spring 2025 PSPP is:

“Foiled”  

Thoughts on the theme:

Personal stories of great expectations gone awry by surprise, shortsightedness, or trickery.

“It was a no-brainer.” • “Didn’t see that coming.” • “This was my dream—for years.” • ”Hey, I was a kid. What’d I know. • Seemed like a good idea at the time. •
“I fell for it hook, line, and sinker.” •
“The jerk saw me coming from a mile away.” •
“That is not what I thought we were doing. I wasn’t, anyway.”

Life is the choices we make. It is what happens while we are making other plans. To some a road block is just a detour. To others a dead end to a dream,
even, perhaps, a convenient excuse. Didn’t really want to go there anyway. Whether you decided on the sideroad or the sideline, a new start, a do-over,
or to throw in the towel,
you made a choice, and behind it is a story.

Tell us yours.

On the chance that you would prefer a theme with a more positive outcome for your storytelling, we are adding a dimension to the theme. Call it: “Foiled—or not.” Please consider sharing a story when you might have worked diligently or hurriedly, if that was necessary, to foil fate or “the gods” or perhaps the circumstances and actions of others aligned against you Think of the theme as incorporating the phrases “turning the tide” and “in the nick of time.”  

We all like to be the heroes of our stories, so perhaps you have a story such as this you would rather share. If that tweak in the theme sparks a story in you, then please share it with us. We can accept submissions through the end of December, but if you are planning to submit something after December 15, please email us at PersonalStoryPP@gmail.com before that date that you are writing something.

Here are some thoughts that might spark your own discovery of ideas. These are not prescriptive, not intended to circumscribe the notion of what you might write. Have fun with it.

Was I hoodwinked, bamboozled, misled? Did I fall for the con, or was I just not paying attention?

We change as we learn more. What seemed like a good idea at 20 changed for me as I reached 30.

Kids change everything. And all of us are just wounded children masquerading as adults.

We get what we settle for.

Who could have seen that coming?

Yeah, like you woulda done something different.

Who did they think they were dealing with?

That was the job I always wanted until I got it. Be careful what you ask for.

If you want to make God laugh, tell God your plans.

Nothing is so certain as change.

When did that seem like a good idea?

What were you thinking?

That’s not what the brochure said.

I thought you knew how to get there.

My daddy did that for 40 years.

Easier to get forgiveness than permission.

She looked like someone I knew from high school.

Looked just like by uncle.

Remember, “If it’s not one thing, it’s the mother.”

We are often asked what our theme is “about.” We happily reply that we will know when our writers tell us. And, so now it is your turn. Tell us your story of “Foiled.” Then we’ll all learn together what it means.

Be safe. Spread kindness. Keep writing.

Write your story. Surprise us. Surprise yourself.