 Short Stories: October 17, 2018 Issue [#9171] |
This week: Is It Too Much? 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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How Much Is Too Much?
It's Horror Scary month at Writing.com. A time when all the ghoulies and goblins come knocking at your door. It's a time of haunting robot puzzles in our WDC Messenger (gift points, yay!), ghosties popping up on our screens and spooky contests and forums.
It's time to get your tome of descriptive phrases and find horrible horror words. How many can you think up?
blood-soaked, bloodstained, gory, grisly, crimson, gaping, imbrued, open, wounded, blood-spattered, ensanguined, hematic, hemic, raw, sanguinary, sanguine, unstaunched, unstopped, apprehension, awe, consternation, disgust, dismay, dread, fright, hatred, panic, terror, abhorrence, abomination, alarm, antipathy, aversion, chiller, detestation, dislike, hate, loathing, consternation, dismay, horror, panic, trepidation, alarm, dread, fear, quaking, scare, shiver, shock, terror, cold sweat, trepidity, gore, carnage, slaughter, annihilation, bloodbath, bloodshed, butchery, carnage, destruction, extermination, liquidation, massacre, murder, slaying
I'm sure I missed a few. The question I have for you is how much is too much? Decades ago, many "horror" films really didn't have a whole lot of gore. There was darkness...there was suspense, maybe even a loud scream but the actual act of violence didn't happen on screen. You might have seen a splatter hit the floor and you added the rest with your imagination.
Films now can be quite graphic, almost to the point where you become used to the scare and end up immune to the horror. Can that happen with stories? Can we be too graphic? Can there be too many details? Do we let our readers imagine their very worst, or do we give finite details?
It's food for thought, I'd like to hear your opinion. Write On!
This month's question: Can details be too graphic in your short story? Send in your answer below!  Editors love feedback!
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#2165640 by Not Available. |
Excerpt: Now I know there is no reason to even try to go back to sleep. When I wake up at three am, I sit in my chair in the dark, waiting on morning to come.
Excerpt: A circular beam of light gleamed through Kara’s vision. She fought to muster a groan. The gruff sound she managed to squeeze from her raw throat sounded off louder than she expected. Her dehydrated, sweat-drenched body protested in pain at the slightest movement. She lost count of how long she lay in the attic, praying, hoping, and waiting.
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#2135362 by Not Available. |
Excerpt: Why am I sitting down? He thought. It’s not like she can see me watching her. Nervous energy thrummed through his body at the prospect of what he had planned. He’d spent years lurking in the shadows of the dark web, plucking luscious images of children, never brave enough to plop down the money for a porn membership, but never strong enough to refuse a tantalizing peek.
|  | BENT (13+)
Something is wrong at the Caldwell's Farm this Halloween, something very, very wrong...
#2100252 by Angus  |
Excerpt: Jake knew he was backed into a corner, and there was only one way to get out.
“Darlin’, look…
Abby’s eyebrows lowered, and Jake knew the ‘Darlin’’ approach wasn’t going to cut it. Best to just come right out and say it.
Excerpt: The thump came again like the fleshy part of a balled fist—insistent and demanding. This time, through the window by the door, he saw something jerk and move out in the stormy dark, followed by the sound of wailing wind in the chimney.
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#2170968 by Not Available. |
Excerpt: "Cuckoo, I see you," the feathered yellow bird bellowed from the hall
Alex turned his head towards the clock on the wall. He was instantly filled with the same hatred for the ornate box on the wall as the day they had purchased it. He had told Betty the clock was an eyesore.
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#2093812 by Not Available. |
Excerpt: As far as Isabel knew, her trigger was the first time she met her aunt on Thanksgiving. Auntie Ann was fascinating because she got around in a metal wheelchair with shiny spokes, and people helped her with almost everything. She was paralyzed from the waist down after a car accident.
He walked along the train tracks with his person casting a shadow that reached high into the trees. The image was an odd and out of place shape because of the guitar strung around the man's neck. To people with pareidolia, it was a picture of a creature tall and ominous lurking in the trees ready to pounce. The mind can play strange tricks In truth, it was Simon, a man with a single possession who now walked alone in the night. He had visited with the shadows in his lifetime. It was not a return destination of his choosing. Greed had taught the life lesson, so he walked alone avoiding the creature that stalked.
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#2165184 by Not Available. |
Excerpt: Rianne Brewster harboured a healthy hatred and fear of cockroaches. As a toddler, she had brandished a tight newspaper roll Daddy put into her hands and stalked a two-inch specimen crawling along the kitchen counter edge. A dread fascination and bubbling desire to impress her parents possessed her. Mommy armed herself with a heavy iron skillet and stood as far away as possible while remaining in view, since Rianne insisted on an attentive audience for her big exploit. |
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This month's question: Can details be too graphic in your short story? Send in your answer below! Editors love feedback!
Last month's question: What do you do when you don't feel like writing?
dogpack saving 4premium  confesses: When I don't feel like writing I do not write. Usually there are extenuating circumstances like medical issues, life challenges, other people or things demanding my attention, and sometimes it is losing a great family member/friend/service animal/and wonderful helper like my Bella. Not having Bella has taken quite a bit out of me. It's been a challenge to spend time here at WDC because she was always near me while I was here. Members have gifted to me their support and although it is wonderful it also is difficult. Fortunately I have written a small chapter for hum... whatever it is called. This is a start. I am also able to spend a little more time here. Fortunately i'm not writing for a living or for some employer so am able to have the time I need to adjust. If I were writing professionally, I would find a way to cope and continue moving forward. When serious stuff happens we humans need time to adjust so if you are challenged remember it is a matter of time and giving you what time you need to get back on track. Safe travels and many blessings.
brom21  admits: In my experience, the times I don't feel like writing, is when I need to do it the most. I do find music breaks me into writing. Five Christians tunes is all it takes. Nevertheless, there are times when I fail in this area. Practice makes perfect though. Thanks for the NL.
QPdoll is Grateful responds: When I don't feel like writing I try to do some editing of something I've already written. Maybe I haven't read in a while, so I'll find something to read. I do try to write something every day even if it's nothing I'll keep. I will write nonsense and then delete it, so long as I've written.
the Wordy Jay  reveals: When I don't feel like writing, I read. Eventually, I'll come across something that inspires me to write again. It's called "tapping into someone else's muse when yours goes on vacation"! 
Josephh says: My passion is the same as my anxiety, it pops out of nowhere! Putting my issues aside my passion for writing comes from real life experiences that come from myself/or someone else. If inspired by their story and I want to express their story to the world, my fingers get itchy. Just the idea of basically creating something from nothing and then sharing it, that feeling is awesome.
Elfin Dragon-finally published sends: When I don't feel like writing I turn to one of my other hobbies. And there are many. Art, reading, quilting, Counted Cross-stitch, video games, music. Did I leave something out? 
Osirantinous  submits: Thank you so much for including my short story, Leger. It's one of my favourites, and tears me up now and then. As for what I do when I don't feel like writing - I generally edit, and often that involves some writing anyway. I like editing and get enthused, and eventually that pulls me back to actually writing.
Thanks to everyone who sent a response, your words are much appreciated!
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