  Short Stories
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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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The Fear of Writing
I see a lot of new member posts saying they're nervous about posting their work. Why?
If you get anxious, please realize that there's nothing wrong with you. It just shows that you care about writing. ~ Angela Booth
Confronting the fear of other people reading your work can be hard to overcome. The thought of someone else reading a story that so far, has only been read by you and your cat, can be intimidating. That fear can be dissolved if you look at success one step at a time.
Accept that you've worked hard on your story and it's ready for outside help. You've read your work hundreds of times. The edit process has turned your brain into swiss cheese. New eyes roaming over your story can help spot grammar and plot errors.
Topophobia ~ Stage Fright
Now come some reviews, lurking in your inbox, daring you to read them. Open them! Hopefully, if it's a well-written review, you'll get the good news and the bad news. Good reviewers will tell you what they liked about your story and what needs some TLC. Sometimes it takes a little detective work on the author's part to separate the good from the bad.
Papyrophobia ~ Fear of Paper
When I'm ready to edit a story, I print out the reviews I've received and then I find a good pair of scissors. I cut out all the extra print and separate the complimentary comments from the constructive criticism. I read all the change suggestions and examine the story to see if I agree. Some suggestions can be personal opinion about the story and some point out mistakes in plot and construction. I edit and save it as a new draft, I don't throw out the old until drafting is completed. Then I reread the story to see if the changes work.
Ataxophobia ~ Fear of Disorder
Writing is hard work. Not all of us have the time to sit and write eight hours a day. Not all of us have that attention span. But every day you can learn to write more effectively, use your time wisely, and improve yourself.
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Excerpt: As Julia sat at the little desk in her room to write her Mother's obituary, she felt inadequate to the task. How, in a short obituary could she summarize her feelings and a life almost legendary in their hometown?
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Excerpt: Kelly had always been brave; the kind of brave that is more heart than smart. She wasn't exactly reckless, but she wasn't prone to over thinking her options. Tonight was no different. She looked around the deserted park. The moon was full, casting a silver glow over the surrounding landscape. The wind danced through the trees to low sonorous tones, while moonlight painted eerie patterns of shadow through the night skies.
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Excerpt: It was just me and Papa before this happened, which felt awkward at times. There was much that needed to be said yet we found it difficult to talk. His aging eyes warned that he would soon be moving forward with his life.
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Excerpt: I was fifteen years old when I really discovered the range of my potential, when I realized that I was quite a bit smarter than the people around me. I know that most teenagers come to this same conclusion, and most teenagers find out just how wrong they were on or before the day they turn twenty-five, but I think I confirmed that I was, in fact, quite a genius when I found out that none of my classmates had written letters to the editors of their physics textbooks, pointing out their blatant errors. I never did get any return correspondence, but I suppose it doesn't really matter since they'll all be dead tomorrow morning.
Excerpt: I followed him back into the subway. His movements deliberate, his eyes cold and calculating. The first time I saw him, a bomb exploded at Times Square.
Excerpt: She reminded him of a wet cat, sheltering under the overhang of the Ferry Building from the driving rain, blowing off Charlotte Amalie bay. She protected the child with her arms, but they were drenched by the monsoon-like rains that come to the Virgin Islands every summer.
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Excerpt: It was shortly after dawn when the enemy found me. I had just begun my day with a morning drink from the cold, clear, spring that bubbles up from the ground close by a stand of acorn trees when I heard their excited cries.
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Excerpt: "This is why I always drive alone," Kyle muttered as the orange Z-27 jerked to a stop. The fence he'd careened through lay in pieces around him, strewn all over the front lawn of Micro Custom Inc. He turned to his passenger. "Rosco. Rosco, hey are you all right?"
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Excerpt: I was patrolling the left bank of New California. My beat was the bar scenes between Sacramento and San Francisco Streets. Schizoid, my canine partner, and I had entered four of the quasi-restaurants, checking for ID's, licenses, and individuals on the wanted list, while monitoring for disturbances, when we came upon the following situation.
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Excerpt: Lightning Kate ran a hand through her curly dark-brown hair as she watched the darkening horizon for a sign of movement. When the the red orange sky finally turned to a dark navy blue she heard the first faint sound of the train. The sound grew louder in the silent evening as she pulled a brown hairtie out of the breast pocket of the large but lightweight black jacket she had borrowed off a man in the last town.
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This month's question: How did you conquer your fears?
Last month's question: How do you make time to write?
Replies
Mahai  : I presently teach conversational English in China. I don't have a lot of time during the day. However, I try to squeeze in a few moments between classes. I need to try to write more and hope to find time to schedule a real writing time.
faithjourney: Thanks for the great suggestions. It can be a challenge. While I was working on the rough draft of my novel, I used lunch hours, breaks, nights, weekends, and any other time. I was determined and kept telling myself that I will NOT let anything take this writing away from me! Sometimes you have to dig in your heels to do it.
Comments
Lauriemariepea  : Thanks for your time management newsletter--I know I found some useful tips.  I'm a bit different from many other writers struggling to find time for writing. I have time, I just don't use it very well.  Hopefully, your newsletter will help me change that!
kim_ : Thank you so much for this newsletter, 'not time to write' is exactly my problem because I end up mailing friends or surfing during my writing time. I knew these things but to have someone stress them again is a help.
ashraf_letters: Those tips you've suggested are very thoughtful. 
Stephanie : Great ideas for making time to write. It seems like I have all these great story ideas, but no time to finish any of them. Maybe some of these tips will help me.
Maria Mize  : ...another encouraging newsletter. Let's not waste our talents. Keep writing!
Sweet Musings : Great newsletter and we all do it but we should follow your advice and make the time to write.
Thanks to everyone who replied to the newsletter, your feedback is appreciated!
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Short Stories: May 14, 2008 Issue [#2387]
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