  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.
This week's Short Story Editor
Leger~
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Wrap Wrap Wrap...Wrap it up.
Tying up loose ends.
One of my biggest pet peeves when I'm reading a story is discovering a loose end. Halfway through a story the author leaves Aunt Betty, standing in the river, wringing her hands.
I read on, hoping poor Aunt Betty's feet haven't frozen off, wondering when the plot line is going to wander back and explain why Betty's getting pneumonia out there.
Four chapters later, Betty's not even in the story and I'm thinking she must have died of exposure. Maybe the author will come back and have a nice funeral for her. But alas, as I near the end of my book, the last chapter coming to a close, I realize my dear author had forgotten poor Betty out there in the cold. *moment of silence for Betty*
While I admit, there is a need to bring in exterior minor characters into a story to add interest and intrigue in a story, it's also necessary to have them exit.
I like to think of these characters like extras in a movie. The car blows up...the camera pans right to a gaping shocked bystander...then pans back to the action. Peripherally, you see the extra run, frightened, from the scene. The extra doesn't stand there and lounge around, that's too distracting. He exits! He packs up, collects his pay and heads for home.
Secondary characters are handy for a variety of things: Divulging secrets, revealing hidden plot elements and help set the tone of emotion in the scenes. By indicating with body language, your secondary characters can enrich the plot and clue your reader to mood.
To conclude, and save Aunt Betty from the elements, I would like to suggest a simple tool. Write an outline for your secondary characters, define the points you wish them to achieve and give them an exit. When editing your story, make sure your characters have achieved their goal.
Aunt Betty and I thank you. 
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Excerpt: Through tired eyes Shaway took a last look around at the land where he had been born and flexed. A dull pain tugged at his shoulder, but he ignored it for the moment. The world was still and silent under the cover of white, and tiny crystals were starting to grow on the surface of the pond. He thought back to the bounty of late summer, the children who grew this year and had splashed playfully in the warm waters. “Changes”, he thought, “life is change… but the changes are cycles which recur ever and ever again….”
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Excerpt: You’re a beaut, aren’t you,’ he said to the mirror. ‘Look at that workmanship, the corners of the frame – very nicely done. Bet you’re worth a few bob; quite old too, as old as this house - maybe more?’
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Excerpt: Holly had always considered herself a busy person, and as such, excused herself from such trivial matters as punctuality. It was a trait Martin found endlessly frustrating, though he would never divulge his discontent. Anger and frustration, Martin thought, were the antithesis of reason, and reason was the basis of sanity. There was nothing Martin cherished more than his sanity.
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Excerpt: Jules gave a sigh of relief when the office clock chimed 5:00 P.M. Stifling the urge to dash from the office, he took a moment to tidy up his desk and empty his trash can. Organization was the key to success, or so his boss claimed. And while Mr. Dithers might not always be right, he was always the boss.
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This month's question: What method do you use to tie up loose ends in your plot?
Last month's question: Do you find it difficult or easy to share your real life experiences with your readers?
Beauregard Vine  responds:
Easy or difficult to share? It depends on the life experiences, Legerdemain (sorry for the lawyerly response). By nature, I am a mostly private person, so I generally don't like people knowing my business. On the other hand, being a writer, I also feel the need to entertain and be read, and sometimes real-life can provide the best storylines. It can create quite a conondrum. 
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That said, every now and then, I do write something autobiographical that I'm pleased with and proud of, and the highlighted piece above is one such item. I hope you'll enjoy it!
Thanks for your submission Ed, it's a great read!
TigersEye responds:
Personally I find it easy. Many of my stories are based on anecdotes I tell people. I dont mind sharing a silly little anecdote but you're right, many people dont find them interesting or amusing but it is nice to record them for yourself and children definately are the best for them.
My next door neighbour is great for anecdotes. He can keep you laughing for days with them.
Thanks for the great newsletter and take care.
I agree, the people around us provide plenty to laugh about.
billwilcox responds:
So that's what an anecdote is  . What an interesting article. Thank you for sharing your wit and wisdom. Perhaps this would qualify as an anecdote,
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Great submission Bill!
tamara responds:
To answer this month's question: It is easy for me. The challenge is the form of the writing. Fictionalizing an event in one's life, or telling the poetry of your life are two different things. Using the event to launch a non-fiction/creative essay is another altogether. It comes down to what is appropriate for the piece and how to judge what is necessary to establish intimacy with the reader. And whether the experience is a story that needs to be told. Some things just get written, no matter how much we cringe at the thought of it!
And submits an anecdote:
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Yes they do!
Elisa: Snowman Stik  responds:
Hey, Leger! To answer your question, I find myself sometimes fretting over sharing my life experiences with other readers. My main fear, though, is turning an intriguing anecdote into literary Sominex. I've never been able to figure out what exactly I need to change in my tone to effectively communicate my life experiences to capture the reader's attention. Needless to say, this fear has me agonizing over my convention story!
That's what the review process here at Writing.com is for!
cinderqueen responds:
What's hard is finding something from real life that's interesting and conclusive enough to make readers want to read it.
Many people love personal stories, that's what makes blogs so popular. 
outlander responds:
Even when a real life experience is taken out of context and bracketed by fiction I have found it difficult to write when I am "re-experiencing" the negative emotions the real life event elicited. That hasn't stopped me from using those experiences so far. It has merely slow my writing down when I get to that part of the story.
I agree, sometimes in trying to recreate the incident in type, we authors get bogged in trying to make it exactly how it happened.
schipperke responds:
I love to share real life experiences with other readers. That is why I love blogs! They are full of anecdotes. Great newsletter, by the way!
Thanks Schip! There are some great blogs on Writing.com!
karabu responds:
I just finished posting | | | Invalid Item
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to "Invalid Item" , and I called it a short story (very short - only 99 words), but now I know it's an anecdote!
In answer to this month's question - Sometimes it's too easy. I usually find myself writing about my real life experiences when I'm in a creative drought. It keeps me writing though, and sometimes I find I have an interesting life after all!
Wonderful!
Meg: Writes Daily in 2006 responds:
Yes and no. Some of the short stories I have written include scenes taken from my real life. As for writing non-fiction, I think there is value is recording the important stuff and I've done that, but not posted it specifically on writing.com. I have posted personal real life experiences in my blog online.
It's good to have it recorded.
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Short Stories: August 24, 2005 Issue [#567]
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