  Short Stories
This week: Being Upstaged 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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Being Upstaged
Hollywood has a saying "don't act with babies or animals". They're just so cute, no one will notice the actor. I can imagine it would be frustrating to deliver the perfect line and the audience not hearing it because they're all cooing over a baby raccoon. Babies can't help that they're cute; they're made that way so parents don't leave them in the woods someplace. Baby animals are too dang cute too...it's all the fluffiness.
When writing your stories, remember to keep your antagonist and protagonist as the main characters. It's good to have interesting peripheral characters, but don't let them upstage your main characters unless whatever they're doing is crucial to moving your plot along. A rich and diverse stage of characters makes for a good read, but if you're not sure whom the bad guy is, or who is going to save the day, it's not a good thing. Your reader still needs to understand what the main conflict is and at least have some inkling of what direction your plot is headed.
Even your most evil character, probably not so fluffy and a lot scarier, needs to be kept trim and secure in his evilness. If you let him grab hold of your plot, you might not get it back. And that my friends, means a whole lot of edit when you realize the plot took an unexpected turn. We know he eats maggoty meat, we created him, but the reader doesn't need to know if it isn't necessary to the story.
Keep an eye on your fluffies, they might go rabid and take over.
This month's question: Have you had a secondary character run off with your plot line?
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Excerpt: Many, if not all, of my neighbors know I love animals. Cats, dogs, possums, raccoons, I enjoy having them and others in my home and yard. One day last month, though, my pet Fluffy ran away and terrified everyone on my country road.
Excerpt: "Mom, Dad!"
"Melanie? You're supposed to be in bed!"
"F... F..."
"You're shaking! C'mere, did you have a nightmare?"
"F... Fluffy."
Excerpt: Only one sat silent. He stared straight ahead in awe, his eyes split wide open in sheer, unadulterated amazement as the animals performed their stunts. The seals were just finishing up their act, leaping simultaneously through hoops suspended far above the water. A ripple of applause ran through the crowd, and the announcer stepped onto stage, mike in hand.
Excerpt: "Well, he's a pretty puppy," the boy's mother conceded, "but he doesn't seem very lively." Her eyes traveled down the line of crates where dozens of puppies bounced, begging for attention, love, a new home. "Are you sure you wouldn't prefer one of those puppies, Billy?" She pointed a manicured finger towards a litter of perfectly playful Golden Retrievers.
The boy shook his head back and forth so fast that his mother thought it might fly right off his neck. "No way," Billy cried. "He's the one I want."
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Excerpt: "...Trichoplax is the Earth's simplest animal. We've been exploring it for several years. It's like a multicellular millimeter-sized amoeba, flattened shapeless sack, lacking any organs, tissues and even rudimentary nervous system. Sometimes you look at this misery and do not believe the life can be so primitive..."
Excerpt: Nathan scanned his surroundings with keen wolf senses. His golden eyes missed nothing as he peered through the underbrush where he was hiding, watching three human Hunters as they scoured the ground for any trace of his passing. They would find nothing. At least, nothing that would lead them to where he was.
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Excerpt: "Chad, you all ready to pull out?" Miriam asked just to be sure she wasn't hurrying him too much. Chad was on his first hike after recuperating from a broken ankle. He had been walking each day to get back in shape and felt he was ready. She was his older sister by two years. They have always had fun hiking and camping. The other hikers are raring to go, too. It's just a part of them.They've done it for so long Miriam couldn't help but take a deep breath, savoring the familiar pine scent she loved.
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#1702213 by Not Available. |
Excerpt: In the before times, when Ohwega's grandfather brought his family down through the ice sheets of the north, they met many types of animals they had never seen before. Tame and docile, with no fear of the hundreds of people emerging onto a great plain of grass, with far off mountains to the west. With this abundance there was no worry about food.
Excerpt: A sharp curse brought Tony's attention to the saddling area. He stiffened as a groom narrowly missed losing a piece of arm to the big horse he'd been saddling. The black stallion stamped his forefeet, angry his teeth had missed. He snorted loudly, trying to back away as the groom inched in with a bridle.
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This month's question: Have you had a secondary character run off with your plot line?
Last month's question: Have you entered a contest with your work? What were the results?
A.J. Barretts  replied: I have submitted to multiple contests. Unfortunately one I didn't finish, a million I got a pat on the back for entering, and one... Just once I took an honorary mention... That was awesome! That is one of my favorite stories still today that I am still trying to perfect. Honorary mention was better than the time I took third place in a track meet (there were only three of us running).
J. A. Buxton  sent: A couple years ago I entered a short story in a Writer's Digest contest. When I was notified I'd received an honorable mention, I was so proud until other WDC members said they had also won the same thing. Somehow, knowing that prize was handed out like Halloween candy diluted the thrill of the win.
Bikerider  responded: I have not submitted work to a contest yet, but I plan to do that soon. I don't know how someone might access this, but in the May/June 2010 issue of Poets and Writers, there is a list 42 credible contests. Most of them are poetry contests. A few have reading fees but many do not. I have heard about the writing contest scam from others, they're out there so we have to be vigilant.
miller.ck answered: The writing world is rife with scams and money-making schemes. This is partly because there are more writers than readers now. Even the word "publish" needs to be revisited. Anyone, with a few clicks of the mouse and zero investment may become a publisher. Actually there are probably more publishers than readers too.
billwilcox's feedback: It is always cool to know that there is somebody out there watching our backs, somebody warning us against the fraud that exists in this business of writing. We all want great reviews and 'pats on the back' for our efforts, but, like in Hollywood, there are vampires out there who are just dying to suck you dry. Thanks for sharing, -Bill
Lothmorwel asks: Hello. What abour rights to your work when you enter a contest? I know here on WDC, everyone's work is copyrighted to the creator, but if you send your beloved story into a competition - does it then become the property of the contest holders? I know it's still yours on WDC but what about in the 'real' world?
Always read the fine print. Most of the time, you keep your rights, but it's best to know for sure before you enter.
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Short Stories: August 03, 2011 Issue [#4539]
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