This week: What Scares You? Edited by: Shannon  
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3. Letter from the Editor
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Welcome to the Short Stories Newsletter. I am Shannon and I'm your editor this week.
Keep reading for your chance to claim an exclusive trinket! |
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There is no such thing as paranoia.
Your worst fears can come true at any moment.
~ Hunter S. Thompson
What scares you? If you're anything like me, the answer to that question changes on the daily. Thirty years ago when I was a young mother everything scared me: watching my kids rush downhill, jump on a trampoline, put too much food in their mouths, walk to the bus stop. As they got older my fears changed. When they started dating, driving, drinking--everything had the potential to end badly, and just when I thought I could finally take a breather, that the majority of my worrying days were behind me, the grandchildren came along.
What scares you? I would answer that question differently today than I would have thirty, twenty, or even five years ago. After watching my father wither away from a combination of Alzheimer's Disease, heart attacks, and strokes, nowadays I fear losing my faculties and the ability to express myself. Reading, writing, and speech capacity are things most of us take for granted. We rarely think about losing those capabilities, but I've seen it happen and it's heartbreaking. It's like being trapped--held prisoner inside your own head as the walls inexorably close in on you. There is no escape.
Dementia isn't something I worry about often, but every once in a while the thought of it creeps in to remind me that no one escapes this world alive.
In my last newsletter, I talked about what conflict is. I believe internal conflict is the beating heart of every good story, and it makes your protagonist a relatable, sympathetic character.
"Desires can seem distant,
but fears are what keep us awake at night." ~ Annie Cardi
What scares you? Death, rejection, failure? What do your characters fear? What keeps them awake at night? Every registered author who shares their ideas and/or creative endeavors relating to or inspired by this week's topic will receive an exclusive trinket. I will retire this month's limited-edition trinket at 11:59 p.m. WDC time on Tuesday, August 31, 2021, when my next short stories newsletter goes live.
Until next time, thank you for reading.
We fear violence less than our own feelings.
Personal, private, solitary pain is more
terrifying than what anyone else can inflict.
~ Jim Morrison
Further Reading/Viewing:
 Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid: Fear as Motivator in Fiction
What Fear Can Teach Us
9 Fundamental Fears That Motivate Your Characters
32 Ways To Write About Fear
The Clues to a Great Story |
I hope you enjoy this week's featured selections. I occasionally feature static items by members who are no longer with us; some have passed away while others simply aren't active members. Their absence doesn't render their work any less relevant, and if it fits the week's topic I will include it.
Thank you, and have a great week!
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Have an opinion on what you've read here today? Then send the Editor feedback! Find an item that you think would be perfect for showcasing here? Submit it for consideration in the newsletter!
https://www.Writing.Com/go/nl_form
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The following is in response to "Odds and Ends" :
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Elfin Dragon-finally published  writes: Whew! ok, stories vs. novels. Yes, I believe short stories should be told by one person's POV; otherwise, it could get far too confusing. I've read a few novels, however, where the POV changes and I can easily keep the story going. The one which comes to mind at the moment is Battlefield Earth.
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Mary Ann MCPhedran  writes: This is a very interesting news letter. I have written a few self published books, but long time since publishing. I write fiction my book tittles are usually different from the story for instance 'No Hiding Place.' this is on the cover, but inside I have four short stories of the same character called EAGLE'S WAY An ex police detective setting up his new career as A PI. I hope this makes sense.
Mary Ann MCPhedran.
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Quick-Quill  writes: I love this format. You did a great job and the review was enlightening. Just a different perspective on age-old questions we've all asked ourselves and searched out the answers.
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Burning Thoughts writes: Re: multiple POV characters in a novel. I would never attempt it, but I enjoy reading them sometimes.
Currently, I'm reading Olivia Goldsmith's The Bestseller. She has five POV characters, each attempting to write the bestseller. It's a lesson to see how she not only gives different backgrounds but develops separate diction and style for each.
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BIG BAD WOLF is Merry  writes: There's always something from another story.
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Lilli  writes: Thank you for another wonderfully useful and informative newsletter!
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dragonwoman writes: I really enjoyed that Youtube video about how to write a short story with no experience. It seems to amount to being fearless about writing.
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Jeff  writes: One of the things I love most about short stories is how versatile they are. Liked you mentioned, they can be entryways into larger narratives like novels or complete one-offs. They can be consistent with the rest of your body of work, or experiments with a new genre, style, point of view, or subject matter. And best of all they're short, so you know really quickly whether they're working or not! 
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Lilli writes: Wow, this NL is packed with excellent information and I inspiration! A keeper for sure. THANK YOU!
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BIG BAD WOLF is Merry writes: There's always something.
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Vaishali writes: So informative. I am into such stuffs lately. Nicely engulfed all the details.
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Princess Megan Snow Rose  writes: In real life, we don't love everyone so it is the same in stories we read and write. More than once, I wrote a character and changed my mind about what to do with him or her. We can write a happy ending or a sad ending. We can want readers to feel their pain and we feel their pain as we write. We make a short story our own along with the characters we created and love.
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sindbad  writes: Hi, Shannon. This is a unique view with some excellent examples. I am indeed a fan and a regular follower of all your newsletter. Such unique perspective and refreshing and rare indeed.. sindbad
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Legendary❤️Mask  writes: Odds and Ends, there is nothing like them hanging out with you waiting to be created, discarded, or to be the best poem, short story, or novel that you've ever written. Who knows what you will make of them. I know that I have quite a few hanging around waiting to be the best thing I have ever written. Who knows it could be the next Steven King or Mark Twain novel. I would love to be ranked with my late relative Mark and be as renowned as he is. It's like being a composer and having a piece of unfinished music or symphony hanging around taunting you to pick it back up and complete it. Great newsletter this month. I have a question, "Do you think that writing is in your blood or is it a dream some want but can never truly obtain?"
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Angelica Weatherby-Happy 2025  writes: My first novels were way too short, but then I succeeded in writing a novel in 2009 to my record of 110k words in a month in a novel. I write during Nanowrimo and it works for me.
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PiriPica writes: Thank you for answering the questions, I definitely agree that they're still relevant!
I especially appreciate the useful reminders about POV and conflict, and the idea that we should have a specific reader in mind when we write. It's easy to be so focused on getting out the story we envision in our head, that we forget who we are communicating that story to.
I also appreciate the comment about hating a 'bad' character. I think stories that take the antagonists seriously are much better to read than the ones that try to 'force' the reader to see them as bad.
This is an inteteresting topic to see in connection with POV. What if your POV character sees another character as bad, and doesn't understand why they are the way they are? I think it can shine through whether it's the POV character or the author who has someone labeled as one-dimensional and bad, and I think it matters.
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CheerFairy Dutchessbarbie.  writes: Shannon, using only OTWWSII(the 7 huge letters in your article) I made a sentence. WOW! I sit. The anagram puzzle was fun. I wonder if anybody else noticed?
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Mary Ann MCPhedran writes: Jimmy Carrol, a business student and the son of a shipbuilder in Glasgow. Jimmy was an alter boy and had good recognition in his home district Pollock Shaws. He served as an altar boy every morning before college, but there was a sinister side to him, and liked to play the gangster. Jimmy mimicked the movie stars and dressed like them. but only when he was out of his own district. to be continued.
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Short Stories: July 07, 2021 Issue [#10864]
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