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 Short Stories: September 29, 2010 Issue [#3991] |
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  Short Stories This week: Titles Edited by: Leger~   More Newsletters By This Editor   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  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.    Titles If one of your characters has a title, you should know how your other characters should greet him / her. Knowing how to refer to an official or dignitary can show respect, or lack of respect and lend credibility to your story. If your character is greeting an Earl, he shouldn't say "Hey, Mr. Chuck!" He should say "Hi, Lord Charles." I found a chart on a website that proves to be helpful. Title --- Spoken Greeting President of the United States --- Mr. (or Madam) President Former President --- Mr. or Mrs. Jones Vice President --- Mr. (or Madam) Vice President Cabinet Members --- Mr. (or Madam) Secretary United States Senator --- Senator Jones Ambassador --- Mr. (or Madam) Embassador Foreign Embassador --- Excellency; or Mr. Embassador Judges --- Justice, Madam Justice or Judge Jones (m or f) Dalai Lama --- Your Holiness The Pope --- Your Holiness or Most Holy Father Cardinals --- Your Eminence or Cardinal Jones Bishops --- Your Excellency or Bishop Jones Dukes / Duchess --- Your Grace or Duke / Duchess Jones Marquess / Marchioness --- Lord / Lady Jones Earl --- Lord / Lady Jones Countess (wife of an earl) --- Lady Jones Viscount / Viscountess --- Lord / Lady Jones Baronet --- Sir John Jones Wife of Baronet --- Lady Jones Knight --- Sir John Wife of Knight --- Lady Jones Military Personnel --- (Rank) Jones, such as General Jones Research your characters, however minor and be sure your language and emotion matches their station. This will always lend authenticity to your story. Even if your genre is fantasy, if there is a heirarchy, you need to use titles and ranking. This way we know who is the boss!  This month's question: What fun titles have you given your characters? Send in your reply below!  Editors love feedback!
Excerpt: "Well, your majesty, I have just laid with your wife - the queen." The man proclaimed quite confidently. The king however looked very confused and almost angry.
Excerpt: She was called Geria, and she had been queen for a hundred days. She had battled the Tescquens for Earth, and she had won, but the crown held little victory for her. She was lonely. Being the conquered and then the conqueror left no time for personal matters.
Excerpt: Kiitz'zt sprinted though the foliage as fast as his four injured legs could carry them. He had the odd creature tucked under his arm and pressed tightly to his side. The creature clung to him and panted for breath, but made no other sounds. How strange. He had caught them before and they had always struggled and made lots of noise. In fact they usually squealed and thrashed like dying tree gliders, but not this one. It seemed to trust him. And stranger still, he trusted it.
Excerpt: Grouchy looked up at the knight standing before him. He looked like all the other knights that had been lining up all day to apply for the job. Grouchy sighed, wondering what this one's complaint would be. He had never known a whinier lot than the arrogant, obnoxious knights he'd had the displeasure of interviewing today. He was beginning to wonder if they would ever find one that could get the job done.
Excerpt: Sitting in front of a sacked mosque, the watcher strained weary eyes against the rising sun obscuring the Temple of Solomon. A new day in the Holy Land did little to stave off the chill. The beggar-in-disguise pressed his rags, newly acquired from a deceased contributor, tighter around his slim frame.
Excerpt: "But it rises over the heel stone." Her voice was shrill with some combination of excitement and pleading. "On the equinox!" I hated it when she got that way. This was definitely not how I was hoping to spend my last Spring Break. We should have stayed in London.
Excerpt: "I told her to expect me," he muttered. He turned to the beautiful young woman sitting next to him, half hidden by shadows, half illuminated by the full moon. "Please don't be angry, my queen. This should only take a few minutes."
Excerpt: Mr. Edmund Dwyer, QC, shook my hand as I left his office telling me not to fret. That was very kind, but then he was not looking forward to spending the next eight years in jail! "Behave, and you'll be out in six years!" he added, to encourage me!
Excerpt: Long, long ago in a place far, far away there was an age of chivalry, a time of royalty, of gallant knights and fair ladies who were always getting themselves in distress and needing to be saved (seems like a clever dating technique to me, but whatever), of wizards and magic, and, of course, of dragons needing to be slain. It was a land of castles, fine clothing and jewels, great feasts, and live dinner entertainment with much dancing and music making...but not for Bob. Submit an item for consideration in this newsletter! http://www.Writing.Com/main/newsletters.php?action=nli_form  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! http://www.Writing.Com/main/newsletters.php?action=nli_form Don't forget to support our sponsor! InstantPublisher.Com: Self publishing made easy and affordable. All file types accepted with many options. Starting at $100 for 25 copies in 7-10 days! Visit us today!  This month's question: What fun titles have you given your characters? Last month's question: What phrases did you use as a teen? pinkbows  replied: I am an Eighties child and Nineties teen so we had awesome, nerd, geek, rad, totally rad, tubular, cool beans, Chucks (Converse shoes), no offense to anyone but Keds were called "white girls" from where I am from. Ahhhh that was a fun time down memory lane. Lynn - Goal - 2012 publication answered: I've been working, reworking, and reworking the same short story for over a year now. It will be published, some day, but not ready yet. Now I know when it's set - from spring to winter of 1965 - I'm going bonkers with the proper slang. Peachy keen!"Hey, Man!" was in then. Groovy was never hip (nor heap), even if it was used then. 1965 was beatniks. The Beats were on their way out, and hippies had yet to arrive. Bummer, which, for the record, wasn't quite cool to use for a few more years. Dig it? ;) HappinessRedefined  responds: When I was in College, we were a gang of 5 girls. We use to talk anything and everything below the sky. And we use to say ," Don't Picturise", purposely after each statement. This would compulsively send the other one on a virtual fantasy ride..  :DJasmyn Scape says: I'm 16 and I live in a fairly urban area, so I'm guilty of using all kinds of slang. In my area, "thaniel" means stupid, and "ping" means that you disagree with something.LJPC - the tortoise  comments: Hi Leger! You're so right about using time-appropriate idioms to lend authenticity to stories. Writing historical fiction is quite difficult due to this facet. It takes time to do the research, but the results are well worth it. I'm amazed by some of my friends on WDC who write great historical fiction. I grin whenever I see words and expressions I don't know and think about all the work that went into finding the information.  -- LauraThanks Laura, and thanks to everyone who responded to the newsletter. Editors LOVE feedback!  To stop receiving this newsletter, go into your account and remove the check from the box beside the specific topic. Be sure to click "Complete Edit" or it will not save your changes. |
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