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Printed from https://writing.com/main/newsletters/action/archives/id/8466-Where-Are-They.html
Short Stories: August 23, 2017 Issue [#8466]

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Short Stories


 This week: Where Are They?
  Edited by: Leger~ Author IconMail Icon
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Table of Contents

1. About this Newsletter
2. A Word from our Sponsor
3. Letter from the Editor
4. Editor's Picks
5. A Word from Writing.Com
6. Ask & Answer
7. Removal instructions

About This Newsletter

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~ Author Icon



Word from our sponsor



Letter from the editor


Is It Short? Is It a Story?


I've run into this disturbing trend, and I'd like your opinion on it. I read. I read a lot. So when I go to my Kindle store, I type in my genre choice and "sort by price". It's not that I can't afford a book. But why pay for a book when there are ones out there for free? Plus, if the writing is horrible, the grammar ucky, or the plot isn't of interest, I don't feel bad about deleting it. I know you will all write saying I should pay for literature to keep writers writing, but free is free.

Often before I scoot off on a trip, I'll download a bunch of books to read, since hotel internet can be iffy and if I'm visiting my parents who like a quiet house, I'll need a few. In working my way through these books, I've noticed a trend. While the author presents the story as a "book", it's not - it is a first chapter, for free. If you want the rest of the story, you have to break open the piggy bank and obtain the rest. I get it, bait and switch.

So now, when I'm downloading, I look at the size of the "book" and skip the ones smaller in size. 24 pages isn't going to give me what I need for my literature fix. But in doing so, have I effectively eliminated any short stories out there in the offerings? I can't be the only person doing this. I like short stories, don't get me wrong. But my concern is if everyone skips shorts while searching the apps for stuff to read, have we effectively killed the short story? I know it is hard to get short stories published, but are they now dead even when offered for free?

I'd like to know your reaction / response. Please send it your comments below. *Down* And thanks for your feedback!


Editor's Picks


 Invalid Item Open in new Window.
This item number is not valid.
#2122256 by Not Available.

Excerpt: William slid a round into his rifle and smiled at him. "It could be worse, you know? It could be this cold and raining. At least the snow gives us a little time before we feel it."

 
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Finally a Fat Boyfriend Open in new Window. (18+)
A girl who loves big boys finally finds one who likes to eat
#1091037 by fat_hiker Author IconMail Icon

Excerpt: I was 18, a girl whose taste in guys was definitely not mainstream. While my classmates were hanging off the muscled arms of football meatheads, or idolizing the lean, cocky soccer stars, or drifting around after the skinny artistic types, I adored the big, the fat, the hungry guys. And my feelings came close to worship when it came to the biggest and hungriest, those citadels of avoirdupois, the supersized guys.

They got my devotion.


 Invalid Item Open in new Window.
This item number is not valid.
#2131911 by Not Available.

Excerpt: "Lizbeth is going to love you!" Brian, my maker, grinned in appreciation and pride at his newest creation, me, a unicorn carved from a chunk of sentang tree.

While Brian carved me into existance, I had gotten to know a lot about this Lizbeth, or rather how he imagined her to be. As he carved into the wood, he spoke his love for her into my fibers. I absorbed his words and grew to love her too, although neither of us had met her. Now that I was completed, I wondered when we would meet her.


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The Writer's Cramp Open in new Window. (13+)
Write the best poem or story in 24 hours or less and win 10K GPS!
#333655 by Sophurky Author IconMail Icon

Excerpt: A good writer WRITES until they have extracted every bit of juice from their creative selves. Only then, does a good writer stop to edit.

Jingle Jangle Open in new Window. (18+)
Why stare at a bare white wall?
#1793765 by Stuckintime Author IconMail Icon

Excerpt: I squeezed my eyes closed tighter than they already were. I tried not to move under my duvet and found myself holding my breath in the fear Michael would come in. I could hear him singing from my parents room at the bottom end of the landing.

“Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me…”


RORSCHACH AND THE REDNECK Open in new Window. (13+)
A psychiatrist has a shocking encounter with one of his patients.
#2035649 by Donkey Hoetay Author IconMail Icon

Excerpt: Her anxiety increased as a man emerged from a door halfway down the hall. He approached, putting his arms through the sleeves of his white coat and adjusting his tie. As he neared where she stood, he extended his hand. The metal buckles on her coat collided when she moved forward to greet the doctor. His hands were large and warm to touch and it seemed as if it ushered a thaw within her.

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WEIRD TALES CONTEST  Open in new Window. (18+)
A Contest Inspired by the Old Pulp Fiction Covers of Weird Tales Magazine
#2083492 by Beacon's Anchor Author IconMail Icon

Excerpt: You're probably not old enough to remember, but in the 1930's thru the 1950's pulp magazines were all the rage. Many of the great authors we hold dear today got their first paying jobs writing for pulps like Weird Tales, Astounding Tales, and True Detective, just to name a few. Speculative fiction writers like Ray Bradbury, Robert Bloch, H.P.Lovecraft, and Robert E. Howard all began submitting their stories and honing their skills.

 
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Word from Writing.Com

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Ask & Answer


I'd like to know your reaction / response. Please send it your comments below. *Down* And thanks for your feedback!

Last month's question: Send in your best cultural recipe! I'll share it in my next short story edition.


Azrael Tseng Author Icon sent: Do you mean like an actual food recipe? If so, here's a link to one of my favorite local hawker dishes nonya laksa http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2011/08/malacca-nyonya-laksa-malaysian-noodle...

If you mean like a method for writing about another culture, I almost always start by googling a list of travellers' must-sees/dos to get a sense of the best sights. Then I use Google Earth to get an on-the-ground view of the area, and some sense of the people and activities. Next I move on to research about the local foods and festivals, and finally I'll counter-check all the little tidbits of information I've gleaned on Wikipedia or another secondary source. That's how I go about crafting my Around the World in 52 Week's entries anyway!

Thanks for featuring my story in your newsletter.


Thanks for sharing! Leger~

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