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Short Stories: July 01, 2020 Issue [#10244]




 This week: Songs Tell Stories
  Edited by: NaNoNette Author IconMail Icon
                             More Newsletters By This Editor  Open in new Window.

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

Hello readers and writers of short stories, I am NaNoNette Author Icon and I will be your guest host for today's issue of the Short Stories newsletter.


Word from our sponsor

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Letter from the editor

Songs Tell Stories


A lot of people think of the lyrics in songs to be closer to poetry than short stories. That feels like a simple enough and true enough way to look at the words in a song.

Of course, there are always those songs that don't actually say anything at all. One of my uncles called those "Yogurt." Yogurt is not the title or even the subject of any existing song. Or at least there is no particular song that he was referring to. What he was talking about was the emerging French rap music of the 1990s. Instead of attempting to create any type of musical or story telling effect through lyrics, those French rappers would literally (ha!) sing words in non-sensical strings of words for the sound of those words alone. What each word meant or the next was completely irrelevant. If those songs had a story in them, it's that some stories are too weird for words. Maybe. Or those words just sounded fun when put in a long line of words.

Of those songs that have actual lyrics, many of those tell a story. This is where it gets interesting for the short story writer. Songs are limited in the amount of time and lyrics they can fit in. There are thousands of love songs that tell the eternal story of boy meets girl. Building on that, there are songs that tell love stories of other types of love and love fails. The point is that all of those love songs tell a story of meeting someone, falling for them, and then either spending a great time with them or whining about unrequited love.

Country is famous (infamous) or known for telling stories that go something like, "My truck broke down, my girl ran away, and my dog died."

Heavy Metal's stories go all the way from yelling about love to telling you that there is a monster under your bed.

Short story writers on Writing.Com have taken some of those musical influences and taken them to turn them into short stories. Those short stories may be a fictionalisation with exageration of what's going on in a particular song. Or those songs provided the imagery and creative kick in the ears to get a short story going.

Writing short stories as a reaction to music is not some byzantine concept that is unheard of (ha!). You can do it right here by checking out the contests and short stories linked in the Editor's Picks.



Editor's Picks

SURVEY
Musicology Anthology Open in new Window. (13+)
An annual challenge to write a short story collection based on an album! Runs April-June.
#1377819 by Jeff Author IconMail Icon

 Ronnie Open in new Window. (18+)
A strange execution takes place in a small suburban town.
#2222770 by C.E.Wilder Author IconMail Icon

 Invalid Item Open in new Window.
This item number is not valid.
#2219025 by Not Available.

STATIC
Letting Go of Ghosts Open in new Window. (13+)
Sydney DuPree discovers a way to live the remainder of her life as she chooses.
#2196751 by Cubby Author IconMail Icon

 Invalid Item Open in new Window.
This item number is not valid.
#2223950 by Not Available.

STATIC
Leaving it all Behind Open in new Window. (18+)
Paralyzed by fear & heart shredded by loss, a one-hit-wonder looks for a rebirth.~2nd PL!
#2197099 by Mara ♣ McBain Author IconMail Icon

 Uncertain Paths Open in new Window. (E)
Neolithic young man struggles to fulfill a dream.
#2196730 by debmiller1 Author IconMail Icon

 Invalid Item Open in new Window.
This item number is not valid.
#2195572 by Not Available.

STATIC
Ready to Fall Open in new Window. (E)
A Hymn to Old Age. First Runner Up in Senior Forum Contest, October 2019.
#2195575 by Beholden Author IconMail Icon

 
STATIC
Falling Open in new Window. (18+)
Contest entry. Loose interpretation of the song lyrics. It is history which never happened
#2195710 by D. Reed Whittaker Author IconMail Icon

 Almost Ready to Fall Open in new Window. (18+)
Six friends are playing tag in an old house when something bad happens to two of them.
#2197012 by PureSciFi Author IconMail Icon

BOOK
Blindfaller Open in new Window. (18+)
Short stories for the Musicology Anthology Challenge 2019
#2188679 by IceSkatingSugarCube Author IconMail Icon

 
SURVEY
Rhythms & Writing: Official WDC Contest Open in new Window. (E)
Use the music provided to inspire your writing!
#2002964 by Writing.Com Support Author IconMail Icon

 
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Word from Writing.Com

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!
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Ask & Answer

I received the following replies to my second to last short stories newsletter "Golden Silence" Open in new Window.

kranand Author Icon wrote: Yes silence is not always golden.
While I was curious about the implication of being silent I bumped across the GOLDEN WORDS YOU HAVE WRITTEN AS ADVISE HOW TO WRITE SHORT STORIES.
Actually personally these are very helpful for a writer!

dragonwoman Author Icon wrote: Silence can be golden, but if you are too silent, most people take it for weakness or worse yet, agreement with something they said. It's not whether you speak out, but how you do.

brom21 Author Icon wrote: Thanks for this NL. Your tidbit on open-ended conclusions for novels really helped. Cutting of the climax in attempt to hook people for sequels must not happen. It is hard to avoid climax omission though. lol. Thanks again.

hullabaloo22 Author Icon wrote: An interesting piece, and I can definitely see what you mean. I have written a few dialogue free stories, but I guess they generally have inner thoughts. Mostly I use dialogue sparingly, perhaps because I'm worried about how authentic it sounds. Having entered the Dialogue 500 a couple of times now it is something that I've been working on.
Thanks for an interesting newsletter.

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