 Short Stories: December 31, 2008 Issue [#2805] |
  Short Stories
This week: A Few of my Favorite Things Edited by: KimChi  
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3. Letter from the Editor
4. Editor's Picks
5. A Word from Writing.Com
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"If writers stopped writing about what happened to them, then there would be a lot of empty pages."
~Elaine Liner
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| A Few of my Favorite Things
A recent guest editor mentioned qualifications for editing the short stories newsletter. While we have quite a few English teachers and published novelists on this site, I'm not one of them. I am a "domestic goddess" and mother who loves to write. I might be qualified to teach phonics. 
But I am an expert--on me. For the most part, I know who I am, what I love and loathe, what gets me going in the morning. I don't know how to write; I just do it. I pull out a favorite impression, stretch or condense to fit, research if needed, and edit until I can bear to look at the result. That's the sum total of my "expertise".
"Thus, in a real sense, I am constantly writing autobiography, but I have to turn it into fiction in order to give it credibility."
~Katherine Paterson
Isn't "real life" enough? Why can't we cherish our personal experiences? Each snippet of memory is a truth no one can refute. Research adds depth to a work; knowledge of the mechanics of writing makes the process smoother and faster. But the ability to know yourself, to harvest your insights and emotions and bravely set them on the page, is the only skill required to write. Write what you know. What do you know better than your own life?
"How vain it is to sit down to write when you have not stood up to live."
~Henry David Thoreau
What burns like lava through your veins? What makes you dance and sing for joy? Stand and shout, then sit and write. One insanely inspirational phrase breaks open worlds of understanding in the hands of a writer. We can disagree with the premise and see the truth and beauty of the human condition reflected in the words. Honesty and intensity always find an audience. We're enthralled with big ideas, grand gestures, deep faith.
"Be yourself. Above all, let who you are, what you are, what you believe, shine through every sentence you write, every piece you finish."
~John Jakes
Pour your self into your writing. Laugh at the irony, weep for your losses, celebrate your strengths. Your life is important. Sanitize it, satirize it, or fictionalize it. But use it. Teacher and muse lie no further away than your own experiences.
What are you waiting for? Snuggle into ancient memories, pull out a cherished belief, and hand the pen to your passions. I promise your short stories will shine with realism and emotion. It's your life; you're the expert! Write on!
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 A Few of My Favorite Reads:
I found each of these stories from my "favorites" list memorable, whether in theme, plot, or writing style. If you choose to read them, please send the author a few lines of feedback.
Excerpt: She answered in a surprisingly youthful voice, "Certainly." She took out a key from a drawer, slid open the window, and laid the camera gently on the counter. "Please, look. But surely, be careful not to touch shutter, honorable guest."
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Excerpt: A lot's changed since then. No trick-or-treaters, no candy, no giggling. Pam's still here-she was just calling for me-but she's changed, too. Halloween's a day of mourning now. Hell, every day is a day of mourning, but October 31 marks the anniversary of when it began.
Excerpt: Crashing thunder followed the sizzle of the lightning flashing through the midnight sky. The strobe-light effect caused the man to stagger as he tried to fight his way through the trees whipping in the frantic wind. The sting of bits of bark and branches pelted his arms and face while he strained to see.
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Excerpt: She stood in the centre of the room and turned through three hundred and sixty degrees, scanning each of the four walls for the way out - nothing. That can't be, there must be an exit!
Excerpt: Bobby looked down at his stomach through the sheet of water cascading off his auburn, shoulder length hair. "Soon there will be a new life growing in here," he thought.
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Excerpt: A raven perched upon an old Elm tree branch, gazes down upon the procession with suspicious, red, beady eyes cawing emphatically. The raven's persistent calls shatter the fragile silence, further tainting the blasphemous scene that is unfolding.
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Excerpt: He let the smell of stale coffee and dog-damp rain-macs tickle his nose. They mingled with the damp, swollen woodwork of the window frame. As usual, he mulled over the nature of the universe and drew the inevitable conclusion he always came to: slow, painful, achingly mundane, doom.
Excerpt: She dropped the gun and stumbled aimlessly backwards. Staring blankly at his motionless body she still feels the fear he has instilled in her. Her mind is racing, clicking through pictures of all those horror movies she had watched. Those movies that need six sequels to finally kill the monster. It appears to be dead and then suddenly comes back to life just as the hero bends down over the beast.
Submitted Items:
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#1494814 by Not Available. |
Excerpt: This siblings thing hit the fan and came to a head for me one Saturday morning before daybreak. Will burst into my room and loudly proclaimed, to no one in particular, that he had lost his slinky. Aside from nearly scaring me into peeing all over myself, he proceeded to 'look' for his slinky by flinging everything he touched, every which way, all over my room.
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Excerpt: Engineers and divers worked non-stop to raise fallen cars and the bridge from the Ohio River. Effects of seeing Silver Bridge, itself, laid flat, reassembled like a highway to heaven, never deserts one's memory.
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#1506979 by Not Available. |
Excerpt: It is the moment before you are pushed from the edge of a cliff, when you are in the mindset that debates between survival and a release from the earthly prison of sin and turmoil, it is this moment that you come to terms with yourself.
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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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 This month's question:
How do you pour yourself into your work? Are you ready to tell the stories of your life, to write with nothing more than honor, zeal, and clarity? If not, what is holding you back?
 Feedback on setting:
Devil's Delight-Cherry
I really enjoyed this newsletter. I found it interesting and informative. I will certainly try the exercises, and hopefully, it will spark a story. Thanks so much.
Thank you. I hope you find a story, also.
nomlet 
Thanks for the thoughtful newsletter. I especially liked the Sense and the Sensibility writing exercise ideas.
I appreciate your feedback.
Acme
Thanks for another ace newsletter! Those are some great exercises, Kimchi 
Thanks for the ace comments!
spidey 
I think the sense of sight can be overused, as writers often describe a scene from a character's point of view - it's always what the character sees. I'd be interested to read more of what the character smells & touches, for a contrast to the norm.
An excellent newsletter! You've given me quite a lot to think about! Thanks! 
Thank you! I agree we use the sense of sight more than the other senses. I find it much harder to describe smell and touch, as they require more nuanced description than the color or shape of an object.
Coolhand
This is an extraordinary effort on description and setting the scene. Writers would do well to mark your sound advice; although, I must confess that sometimes I yearn for the days of old.
Sometimes I get nostalgic for the olden days too. I appreciate your kind comments.
Adriana Noir
Great newsletter! As the times change so do the wants of the masses. I find stories one dimensional and boring without details. Yet if they have too many, I feel overwhelmed and want to skim to the next bit of emotion or action. You did a great job showing how to whittle the setting down while giving it a fresh, intense feel.
Bless your heart! I agree--the right mix of showing and telling is crucial. Luckily each story has its own balance.
April Sunday
What a tie-in for a Nov Blog, I posted! In my mind's eye is where the story starts. A scene. This nl straddles the fence RE: setting. Two sides, school's not over yet. No matter if presented briefly, sporadically SETTING remains an important part of LIT. Of: "modern readers" or "readers" implied to be the same. Sorry? We probably aim our stories or chapters by genre. Thus perhaps one sample for aligning with reader expectations.
Great point. Victorian novels as a genre are still written and read today.
Red Writing Hood <3 
Excellent newsletter, Kimchi
Thank you!
sleepy
See this is why I am a member of this site! I need this kind of lesson, or reminder when I am writing. I tend to go overboard with surroundings sometimes because of reading so much of the types of writing you described. (eg Shakespeare, Dickens and other school mandated items) Thanks for the lesson!
Thanks for the feedback! I go overboard with description too. Thankfully, the editing process gives us an opportunity to whittle our ideas down to the exact words needed, and no more.
Happy New Year!
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