  Short Stories
This week: Edited by: Leger~  
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The purpose of this newsletter is to help the Writing.com short story author hone their craft and improve their skills. Along with that I would like to inform, advocate, and create new, fresh ideas for the short story author. Write to me if you have an idea you would like presented.
This week's Short Story Editor
Leger~
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Medical Maladies
The middle of your story can be like the middle of summer - slow, dry and lethargic. One way of starting some rising action could be a medical malady. Perhaps it could be a car crash, or someone falling ill. But before your character drops over from periodontitis, do some research.
What are the symptoms? Create a list of symptoms to work into the story. Many illnesses and diseases appear slowly, rather than dropping onto their victims. Heart disease doesn't always present suddenly as a chest pain, a person may merely feel fatigued, dizzy or short of breath. Then later your character can feel chest pains and drop over unconscious.
Understanding that migraines can not only cause visual auras and pain in the head, but also impair a person's speech or comprehension of speech could a depth to a character's actions. A minor amount of research can reveal some interesting tidbits to add twists to your story. Accuracy lends credibility to your character and your story.
There are numerous medical information sites on the web. A few symptoms typed in or disease research can go far in helping you understand what is happening to your character. It's also important not to overdo your release of information in the story; you don't want to sound like a medical textbook. You'll know if you've overdone it when your editor appears to be afflicted with narcolepsy and falls asleep at his desk. 
Research and write on!
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Excerpt: She had mingled with the shoppers all day and now stood on the elevated platform waiting for the northbound train to deliver her to the end of the line; then possibly a bowl of hot soup at the all night diner that wouldn’t satisfy her into the wee hours of the next morning.
Excerpt: We sat in the nursing unit's drab brown kitchen, I had strong coffee and made herbal tea for her. It had been a quiet night for me and Pam couldn't sleep. She had crept painfully down the hall, refusing a wheelchair, not ever wanting to give in.
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Excerpt: My brother Jacob looked to me a lot like Jesus. At eight years old I had never attended a church service and had only a vague idea of who Jesus is. But I had seen pictures of Jesus and that was who Jacob looked like to me, with his long flowing brown hair and his intense green eyes and his worn, frayed, faded clothes. I even thought that his round wire-rimmed glasses made him look like Jesus, probably because they made him look a little like John Lennon, and I thought John Lennon looked like Jesus too.
Excerpt: "This is one treat I am not going to share with anyone!"
I looked at Natasha, or Natie for short, and gave her a broad smile.
"Have as much as you want, my dear," I said between guffaws. I laid my notebook aside and got off my seat. Approaching this angelic girl, I placed my hand on her shoulder and pressed it reassuringly.
Excerpt: “Lady, show me a list of all persons with the last name Crowe, released from quarantine in the region” I commanded. The list filled the entire wall-screen.
I sighed, “How many are there?”
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Excerpt: Staring out into the ominous swell of the mountains, I feel an oppressive weight settle across my heart. The sketchy outline of pines fills the horizon. They cast shadows over the dark mounds, much like the uncertain one Katie’s health casts over our future.
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Excerpt: It was like her stomach was dipped in an ice bucket because she couldn't stop shaking. She stepped inside the Woman's Center, and knocked urgently to get the curly-haired woman's attention inside the sliding window. The secretary walked around a desk and opened it.
Excerpt: His mother, her brain slightly addled by the incessant West Texas wind, was overly fond of flowers. When she first glimpsed the tiny face of her new-born son with its delicate creases, it reminded her of daffodil petals. So she named him "Jonquil." His father did not object to this sissified name because he did not know what a jonquil was. Besides he left such matters up to his wife.
Comment: A great reference article. Do give it a read.
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This month's question: Does research help or confuse your plot?
Last month's question: Do you feel it is easy to write a children's story? Why?
No replies.
Comments:
StephBee  : Great tips for children's story!
emerin-liseli  : Great to see that you highlighted the YA Novel Workshop - really THE place to be if you're interested in YA/Middle Grade writing.  Awesome newsletter, with some great reads. Thanks!
Cheers, Em
Wybo : I've never written anything for children before and didn't set out to write this for children. Since finishing it though it strikes me that it may be suitable for this market. I'd be very grateful for your feedback. "Bradley and the Team" [E]
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Short Stories: August 05, 2009 Issue [#3160]
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