The Story Underneath

Regardless of where you live, in a big city, in a small town, or out in the country, there’s a story to be discovered everywhere. Even as a kid I was always fascinated by the backstory, the story underneath. A few miles from my hometown there was this busy truck stop that most people called Service Town. When I was sixteen I wrote a poem about a girl named Shelly who survived off the travelers and truckers at Service Town. Through the years, more characters were added, Shelly had a backstory and the poem became a short novel that won the 14th Annual Quarter Finals Prize at the Writers Network Fiction Competition. Over the years I’ve experienced a lot, both negative and positive, and through it all creating stories has been my saving grace. We all have a backstory. There’s more to you than what’s seen on the surface. Maybe the main story is you, and it’ll be interesting to discover the story underneath. – Randolph Randy Camp