  Short Stories
This week: Once Upon a Time Edited by: Shannon  
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Welcome to the Short Stories Newsletter. I am Shannon and I'm your editor this week.
Read on for your chance to win a 25k awardicon and merit badge of your choice! |
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"There was never yet an uninteresting life.
Such a thing is an impossibility.
Inside the dullest exterior there is a drama, a comedy, a tragedy." ~ Mark Twain
I've come to realize that everyone ... everyone has a story to tell. We writers are compelled to get them out, get them on paper, but most people carry their stories around with them throughout their lives. They'd like to share, but don't know how or where to begin.
My dad is in his 70s. He is electronically challenged and has never (to my knowledge, anyway) turned on a computer let alone used a word processing program. He's getting older, his health is declining, and he knows that many of the stories he carries around with him will go with him to his grave. He wants to share them before it's too late.
Mom suggested he use those miniature cassette tapes because they're easy and inexpensive. Dad, on the other hand, saw a commercial for Dragon NaturallySpeaking software and expressed interest in it. Mom and I were skeptical, but Dad insisted. I reasoned Mom could help him with the basics (she's pretty good at navigating her way around a PC), so I bought him the program.
"You didn't have to do that!" Dad said. "I'd've gotten it eventually."
"I wanted to, Dad," I said. "Besides, I have an ulterior motive: I want the stories."
Dad's lead an interesting life. He worked in Disneyland back when you used to be able to buy guns there. He dropped everything and moved to Alaska when he was in his early 20s. He worked on the Alaska Pipeline throughout my entire childhood. He claims to have seen Bigfoot tracks.  I've heard many of his stories several times, but there are things I don't know and would very much like to. I want to hear about his first winter in Alaska. I want to hear the story about one of his friends being murdered. I want to know how he felt about working away from home nine weeks at a time (and only home for two) while my brothers and I were growing up. I want to learn about his biological father--a Cherokee Indian who Dad doesn't really remember, and the time Dad found one of his friends barely clinging to life after having tried to commit suicide. Dad's just a regular guy and few people would buy his biography, but his stories (or my edited version of them) could be incorporated into stories of my own or expanded into a historical fiction novel. I only wish I'd thought of this before my 89-year-old grandmother passed away several years ago.
In contrast to someone like my dad who is practically overflowing with interesting stories, what are writers to do when the well runs dry? We pick through newspapers and magazines, we observe people and places around us, we read and watch the news, we dig deeper into our community's history ... and we play cards.
Once Upon a Time is a storytelling card game originally published in 1994. I have the second edition that was released in 1995. A third edition came out late last year. The game consists of 110 storytelling cards (items, characters, places, events, aspects) and 55 "Happy Ever After" ending cards. Each player is dealt 5-10 storytelling cards (how many depends on how many people are playing) and one ending card. The object of the game is to tell a story based on the cards you hold in your hand, setting each of them down as you use them in your tale. The first person to play all his cards wins. It is an excellent game to play with children (recommended for ages 8 and up), for it encourages them to use their imaginations while it instills a love of storytelling. Adults love to play, too, and often stay for round after round. It's also another way for writers to get inspired.
If you're not into fairy tales or fantasy, you can always make your own card game (blank recipe cards in various colors work well for this purpose) filled with items, characters, places, events, aspects, and endings of your choosing. Color code them: green for items, yellow for characters, orange for places, purple for events, blue for aspects, and pink for endings. And you can make the deck as thick as you want. Every time you think of something new, make another card and add it to the deck. Over time you could literally have hundreds of cards. Shuffle the deck four or five times and deal yourself 10 storytelling cards. Don't forget to deal yourself 1 ending card, too. What can you come up with? Is there a story there?
Here's your chance to win a 25k awardicon and merit badge of your choice. I thought we'd try a virtual card game, so I looked through the deck and chose 10 storytelling cards and five ending cards, just to give you a little variety. Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to write a story based on the cards below.
 Storytelling cards: witch, old man (character cards); book, gift (item cards); kitchen, cave (place cards); disguised, secret (aspect cards); journey, contest (event cards). You must use all 10 storytelling cards in your story.
Endings cards to choose from: 1) He picked up his weapon and went on his way. 2) But it had vanished as mysteriously as it had appeared. 3) And so the prophecy had been fulfilled. 4) And for all I know they may be dancing still. 5) Which is how the kingdom got its name. Choose just 1 ending for your story.
Contest Rules:
Your story must be:
 Newly-written for this contest.
Rated 18+ or below.
A minimum of 1,500 and no more than 2,000 words. Word count must be provided at the bottom of the item.
Received by me no later than 11:59 p.m. WDC time on October 30, 2013. Create your entry as a Static Item and keep it in your portfolio. Email me the item ID number in bitem format and write "Contest Entry" in the email's subject line. For help using the bitem format, please refer to "Newbie Hyperlinking 101 - Bitem Format" [E].
Edited only until the deadline.
Any entry not following these rules will be disqualified.
Only one entry per person, please.
 A minimum of 10 entries is required before a winner will be chosen to receive the merit badge and awardicon. If fewer than 10 entries are received, each author who submitted a story will instead be given 5,000 gift points for their time and effort. If 10 or more entries are received, a winner will be chosen, the author awarded a 25k awardicon and merit badge of his/her choice, and the story featured in the November 6, 2013 issue of the Short Stories Newsletter.
This will be my last short story contest of 2013, so don't miss out.
Good luck!
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In last month's newsletter I challenged readers to write an alternate ending for William Golding's Lord of the Flies. I was hoping for a significant turnout, which didn't happen, but I did have some participation.
So without further ado, please join me in congratulating Molinari, the winner of last month's Alternate Ending Short Story Contest!
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I hope you enjoy this week's featured selections. Please do the authors the courtesy of reviewing the ones you read. Thank you, and have a great week!
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The following is in response to "Short Stories Newsletter (September 11, 2013)" :
Shanachie  says, "I'm probably not going to participate (not because I don't find the idea intriguing, but because I'm in the middle of working on things for Christmas and birthdays and a big move), but I found it interesting that you picked LotF. All of the students in my local high school had to read it for their summer reading this year. I'll have to ask my brother what he thought of it. (I haven't read it myself since I was in high school!)" Wow, you're already working on things for Christmas? You're prepared, girl!  I'm curious to know what your brother thought of the book.
Voodoo Shampoo  says, "An interesting topic related to this one would be how to implement alternative endings into a story and make the story still look in one piece, as in to prevent a messy ending by adding alternative ending scenarios. One such solution would be (as I have seen once) to have a dream sequence before the ending with the alternative ending, but this way only one extra ending was added to the story. Who knows, there might be many more ways to add alternative endings into a story." I suppose one could write a book and have the last few chapters be alternate endings, allowing the reader to pick his or her personal favorite. Do you (or anyone else reading this week's newsletter) know if such a book exists (other than A Farewell to Arms: The Hemingway Library Edition, of course)?
Jacqueline says, "I was disappointed in Jodie Picoult novel The Pact but have loved others she wrote" Picoult is an exceptional writer. I've read and enjoyed several of her novels. I've never read The Pact, however. I guess every writer is entitled to one work that misses the mark.  Thank you for reading and commenting!
brom21 says, "I never read Lord of The Flies and I was too young to watch the movie. But, I of course know the premise. I like endings that are nostalgic and leave you staring at the page entranced and at a loss for reaction. I hope many people will take part in you contest. I would too but as I stated earlier, I don’t know the ending. Anyway I am glad I read this! Thanks!" Thank you! I was hoping for a large turnout, which didn't happen, but I did have some participation. 
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Short Stories: October 09, 2013 Issue [#5932]
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