  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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Trying New Genres
As writers, sometimes we get a little comfortable. It's like that leather armchair in the den. When you first bought it, the cushion was firm and the leather smooth and taut. Then as you began to use it, the seat became more comfortable and the leather nice and soft. Pretty soon the cushion is shaped just how you like it and the ottoman is positioned right where rest your feet. When you sit down, you feel right at home.
It's like that with your favorite genre. If it's romance, you know just the right formula to get that man and woman together for a happy ending. If it's a western, your cowboy saves the day. If it is a dark write, you know just how to pull the reader in and draw out those dark feelings. It could be a vampire story...eek, where's my garlic?
Sometimes you run across a pothole in the road and your story just won't gel. Your tried and true methods fail to move your work along. Could it be your methods are getting a little boring? Could it be that the same old formula won't work for Calamity Jack?
Try crossing some genres or a whole new one. Perhaps that cowboy on the range is a vampire. Maybe your fantasy ends up being a computer game. The sci-fi story you've been fiddling with could become a romance. Think about changing direction when your story bogs down. Take a look at the genre list and imagine what new adventure your characters could have. |
Excerpt: A shudder from a chill night breeze nudges her from sleep. She peers through half closed eyes still forgetting their mementos of death. A slim finger, pale as snow cuts the darkness and fumbles for recognizable plastic. The small clock flashes its somber red numbers of one and two followed by two zeros. She curses, mad, at the power failure that sometime in the night rendered her timepiece useless.
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Excerpt: Ruby, fuchsia, peach, and gold streamed in ribbons of light across the azure evening sky. The sheriff resisted the temptation to pause his unit at the drop off from New Mexico State Highway 130 between Weed and Mayhill, and enjoy the crisp mountain air and the too brief sunset. He glanced at his reflection in the rearview mirror, his black hair was streaked with silver now, and the laugh lines didn’t fade with his smiles. The lawman shrugged his lean shoulders and steered the four-wheel drive onto Willowtree Ranch Road.
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Excerpt: Candy was the prettiest dancing girl at the Golden Nugget. Men from across the state came to watch her, and she enjoyed the stardom. She made plenty of mistakes in her life, but last night with Jake gave her hope for the future. She could see a house and children, and turning old while rocking in a chair next to the man she loved. But first there was Floyd; did he understand when she told him a week ago they were through?
Excerpt: A late summer breeze stirs, carrying her intoxicating smell across the room. Hints of orchid and vanilla infiltrate my senses. Vibrant and seductive, it stirs something within me. She moves to her dresser and turns on the radio. Haunting, melodic notes waft through the night, a serenade for the dead. My eyes drift shut for a brief moment as the music speaks to me.
Excerpt: Relieved to have his 50th birthday celebration behind him, Timothy Lynch poured a generous amount of brandy into a snifter, took a sip, nodded his approval and headed for the library. Birthdays were for those that had friends or family with whom they wished to make merry. He cared for no one and nothing other than his work and his collection of rare books and antiquities.
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Excerpt: She held the microphone with one hand; the other hand held the cord so that it kept a slack line to the feed. Her voice was sultry, making love to the torch song and reminding Spam of soft Southern nights and cool satin sheets. She was made for these songs. Long auburn hair cascaded together in waves when she tossed her head; there wasn’t a wayward curl out of place.
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Excerpt: She woke up screaming again, her light brown hair darkened by sweat, tears streaming down her flushed cheeks. She lay trembling as the echoes of her screams faded into the night. When will these dreams ever stop? Dawn asked herself for the thousandth time.
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Excerpt: David opened his eyes and sighed. He had an important appointment in the morning and needed to get some sleep. He tried to calm down, telling himself he would straighten out the whole mess and everything would be fine... He just needed some sleep. He glanced at the glowing red numbers of the alarm clock hovering in the darkness; they were still flashing 12:00 over and over again. He hadn't reset it since the blackout a few weeks ago.
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Excerpt: About twenty feet in front of me, along scenic West Beach, she jogs in a comfortable rhythm. As the distance between us lengthens, I contemplate the 10 best ways to kill her without being caught.
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Excerpt: "Hup cattle," cried Slim McCall as he slapped his leather saddle with a coil of rope. he chided the herd to keep it moving as they wandered out among the stars. The thing he like best about droving in space was he could look down at the feet of the cows and see the emptiness they walked upon. He could see all the deep silent stars shining bright in the ebony dark that surrounded them. It was vast. A vastness that beat out the empty rolling plains of north Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas.
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This month's question: What new genres would you like to try? Send in your answer! 
Last month's question: What are some common mistakes you see?
Responses:
jjlee: Your comment that alright was not a word sent me scurrying to the dictionary. Webster says the word was not all right four hundred years ago, but common useage in the past 200 years, especially in commerce and business makes it acceptable to use alright now. The farther/further thing always gets me. Thanks for a great newsletter.
Zeke  : See, you learn something every day. Until reading your newsletter, I didn't realize that alright wasn't a real word.
mlarsen05: Don't forget "who" and "whom," "its" and "it's" and "effect" and "affect" -- there's a tricky one!
silverfeathers : Hi! Thank you for featuring my story in this month's newsletter! A very nice surprise to start the day with!
Common mistakes that I see, besides what you highlighted, mostly deal with punctuation and grammar. Misused commas holding together run-ons or verbs that switch tense half-way through the story (or in the middle of a sentence!). I'll even admit to doing all of the above a few times myself, although my own particular pitfall is with some of the trickier verb tenses (Progressive? Perfect? What?). Well, it's been a while since those high school grammar classes. 
Oh, and I never knew that "alright" wasn't a word! I use it all the time... 
Thanks!
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Short Stories: October 01, 2008 Issue [#2635]
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