This week: The Power of Language Edited by: Shannon  
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Welcome to the Short Stories Newsletter. I am Shannon and I'm your editor this week.
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Of course words are magic.
That's why they call it spelling.
~ Brian Holguin
Have you ever walked through a bookstore and picked up a novel based solely on its title? What was it about the title or the blurb on the dust jacket that piqued your interest? Chances are they contained one of the tricks or techniques listed below.
 Alliteration: The repetition of initial consonant sounds in successive words. Think Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. Alliteration may speed up the pace of a scene or slow it down. It energizes action scenes and creates memorable titles (Peter Pan, Gone Girl, Black Beauty, Nicholas Nickleby, Angela's Ashes, Doctor Doolittle, etc.).
Onomatopoeia: Naming a thing or action by imitating the sound associated with it. Boing, buzz, bang, zip, boom, whomp, fizz, and zap are all examples of onomatopoeia.
Anaphora: The repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive phrases, clauses, or sentences. For example, the opening sentence in Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way.”
Here's an example of anaphora being used in a film to intensify the dramatic effect. Listen for the repetitive phrases.
Good Will Hunting
Epistrophe: The repetition of a word or phrase at the end of successive phrases, clauses, or sentences. For example, President Lincoln's Gettysburg Address: “... and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”
Symploce: A combination of anaphora and epistrophe, symploce is the repetition of words or phrases at the beginning and end of successive phrases, clauses, or sentences. For example, President Clinton's Oklahoma Bombing Memorial Prayer Service Address: “Let us let our own children know that we will stand against the forces of fear. When there is talk of hatred, let us stand up and talk against it. When there is talk of violence, let us stand up and talk against it.”
Antimetabole: The repetition of words or phrases in transposed/reverse grammatical order. For example, President Kennedy's Inaugural Address: “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.”
Are you seeing a pattern here? 
Anadiplosis: The repetition of a word(s) that end one clause, phrase, or sentence and begin the next clause, phrase, or sentence. For example, Shakespeare's Richard II: “The love of wicked men converts to fear; that fear to hate; and hate turns one, or both, to worthy danger, and deserved death.”
As writers, these are just a few of the tools at our disposal. Have you used any of these techniques in a story? Do you have a favorite film, book, or song that utilizes one of these tricks of the trade? Every registered author who shares their ideas and/or creative endeavors relating to or inspired by this week's topic will receive an exclusive "Words Are Magic" trinket. The image used to make this month's trinket was created by yours truly. I will retire this month's limited-edition trinket in September when my next short stories newsletter goes live.
Thank you for reading.
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I hope you enjoy this week's featured selections. I occasionally feature static items by members who are no longer with us; some have passed away while others simply aren't active members. Their absence doesn't render their work any less relevant, and if it fits the week's topic I will include it.
Thank you, and have a great week!
| |  | Ficus the Frog (E)
Flippy floppy Ficus the frog saves the day in Slurpy-Burpy Swamp with wisdom and whimsy.
#871239 by Terri  |
| | | Wishing Well (13+)
A parson and his wife find a well where wishes are granted, but every wish has a price.
#1534092 by Xylch |
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The following is in response to "Science Fact" :
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BIG BAD WOLF is hopping  writes: I get ideas everywhere.
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Jaeff | KBtW of the Free Folk  writes: Massive, self-contained urban structures have fascinated me ever since I played the game SimCity growing up. I think there are remarkable possibilities with the concept, and I'm definitely curious to see how The Line works out!
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dragonwoman  writes: I wrote a story of a young highwire artist who loses a limb through an accident. My time traveling magician, Marvelous Melnish, supplies him with a phantom limb.
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Mriana writes: I write Star Trek FanFic and have for several years. In the Star Trek Shippers fanfic groups and websites, we always had to a disclaimer. I've written fanfic from TOS, TNG, DS9, and VOY (Spock/Chapel, Uhura/Scotty, Sarek/Amanda, Imzadi, BonC, J/C, P/T, Doc/7, Odo/Kira, etc etc).
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Mara ♣ McBain  writes: WOW!  I had not heard about The Line. That is crazy awesome/terrifying!! Like you, I have so many questions and I would LOVE to see that. Wow...just wow. Thank you for sharing!!
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Lilith of House Martell  writes: I’ve been toying with writing fantasy and this newsletter helped me see things in a new way. Thank you!
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WakeUpAndLive️~🚬🚭2024  writes: Such a megastructure as The Line in Saudi Arabia? Is that only possible with a government like the absolute monarchy? What about crime, pollution, graffiti, and power shortage? Only when people are civil, but we all know they will likely not always be that. I don't think we are ready.
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Short Stories: July 05, 2023 Issue [#12049]
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