This week: The Good, the Bad and the UGLY Edited by: Legerdemain  
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The Good, the Bad and the UGLY
Recently, a transgender friend of mine related an incident that happened to her. She was going into a store and held the door open for a woman coming out. Mind you, she wasn't dressed outlandishly or acted flamboyant. Just a woman going in to purchase something. Apparently, the woman coming out didn't like what she saw, and as the friend held the door, she walked out and spit on her.
My friend was shocked, but not surprised. The flabbergasted cashier didn't know what to say, she saw it happen. My friend went on to do her business and as she left the store, karma did its thing and a bunch of kids rolled up in a big truck and parked next to the spitter. So close neither car could open their doors. Then the kids crawled out the window, stamped across the spitter's hood, and went into the shop.
When writing your stories, remember it doesn't always have to be pretty. Life isn't all glitter and tinsel. Sometimes shocking and weird things happen. Sometimes that twist to your contest entry is what makes it stand out above the rest. Editors will notice the grit if you submit something different for publication. It's okay to keep it twisted and gritty. But as always, Write On!
This month's question: Do you like reading or writing gritty stuff? What is it?
How do you use that in your writing?
Answer below  Editors love feedback! 
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Excerpt: Lightning bugs had returned to warm the cool evenings with their intermittent flashing of coded signals out in the yard and across the garden. The ceaseless symphonies of grasshoppers had also made their way back into the world. They entertained during the daylight hours and only yielded the stage at night to the rude and determined insistence of the katydids and frogs. The year was 1966.
Excerpt: "Where is it?” Justin whined, rummaging through swollen piles of pastel and greasy-slick sequins. He threw a thin red dress over his shoulder and spread the pile open with his shaking hands. His heart reverberated through his collarbone, and, gulping air in short breaths, he felt a wave of dizziness bleed through him. “Jesus, is anyone listening to me?”
Excerpt: It was 1:00 a.m. Jimi had just left the tiny bar saying, “Well, I’ll come back another night soon.”
The time and the words he made sure never to vary.
Tonight, the Mama-san had answered, “Don’t play around anywhere else,” which had given him hope. Sometimes, she gave another reply which meant he had made some crucial mistake. Once, she had said, “It’s raining. Do you want to borrow an umbrella?” and things had turned out terribly. Tonight, she gave her usual which was a good omen.
| |  | Into the Dark (13+)
A dark tale of a girl trying to escape and find the one person who can save her.
#1961504 by Megz  |
Excerpt: The cold seeps into my bones, making me shiver and ache. I bite my lip to keep from crying, but it doesn’t work. My body betrays me and a few tears leak out, dripping down my face. I quickly wipe them away, willing sleep to overcome me and take me away. The bed under me is itchy and the blanket thin. I hug myself to try and get warm, but the minute I do, the memory comes flooding back to me.
Excerpt: "Joshua, what are you doing?"
"Sayin my prayers, Mama."
| | | Orb (18+)
You divide yourself into pieces, then arm each one with weapons, wander around as if lost.
#2287687 by Kåre Enga in Montana  |
Excerpt: "What's with the orb?"
Naga had heard that question for over 200 years and always wondered... how many more times could they safely ignore it... before...
The orb protected their soul. It had guided them through darkness and light, danger and safety. To Naga it was never clear which was which.
But the orb knew.
Excerpt: Lightning split the night sky as the rain came down in sheets, obscuring the two lane black top. Jerry Harris strained to see the road ahead, the wipers of his Dodge Ram pickup struggling vainly to keep the windshield clear. He was down to a mere twenty miles an hour and still could hardly see the road. The empty horse trailer he was hauling behind the truck was not making things any easier.
Excerpt: Enraptured by the spicy perfume of death, Hatch climbed up and down the endless tunnel.
It stretched before him like an immeasurable ribbon of stairway, dark and unwavering, about seven feet across and curving upward to where it met and formed a ceiling. Behind him was a dazzling fire of red light, and always before, the white brightness that was too blinding to behold. It was as if he were trapped within a black, stench-filled tunnel that burned fiercely at both ends, neither of which he could reach.
Excerpt: The phone was ringing as we walked in the door. I picked it up and heard my sister’s impatient tone before I even said hello. “It’s about time! Where have you been? I’ve been calling you for hours!”
“Well, we stopped for dinner after picking up mom from the airport and then she needed …” I started to explain, but she interrupted.
“Shush! Don’t let her know it’s me on the phone!” She shouted at me in a panicky voice. “Can you go somewhere private to talk?”
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This month's question: Do you like reading or writing gritty stuff? What is it?
How do you use that in your writing?
Answer below Editors love feedback!
Last month's "Action/Adventure Newsletter (August 30, 2023)" question: Does the author in you learn from other's story structures?
Where do you use that in your writing??
Monty  : Yes, even in poetry and at times in Newsletters.
s  : When I started to take my writing 'seriously', I was accused of writing Stephen King pastiches, so I guess I learnt and adopted too much from "the master". I like the way Robert E Howard structures his fight scenes, and have adopted some of that in my own work. I find Edgar Allen Poe's sense of tension is amazing, and so I try to structure stories in that vein.
It did take me a long time to not just copy, but adopt these aspects into my own writing. I hope I've learned from them and have stopped merely aping them.
I will also say that i have learned from some writers what NOT to do when I write... but that is another discussion for another day.
StaiNed-House Targaryen : I think I've learned, others give me ideas, and help me learn what I actually enjoy. I'm a big video game person but enjoy the classic jrpgs and being so oversaturated platformer and rogue-like, reading different stories is a great experience and I learn from them, and I often write what I experience
tj ~ endeavors to persevere!  : Of course, I've learned from others both what works and what doesn't. Where do I use it in my writing? Everywhere!
jackson : I grew up reading books as my primary means of entertainment, mainly detective stories and westerns. And a lot of classics. I have been influenced by Mark Twain, Louis L'Amour and others. I have noticed in my writing that my sentence structure is not of the usual sort. I try to say things differently.
Kotaro : Maybe subconsciously, I do. I don’t know where my writing style comes from. I put a lot of thought into the plot especially how it ends, but hardly think at all about style except how it fits the plot.
Maybe subconsciously, I do. I don’t know where my writing style comes from. I put a lot of thought into the plot especially how it ends, but hardly think at all about style except how it fits the plot.
Fernando : I learn from video games and from my own life experiences.
TheBusmanPoet : No certain structure. Just writing. 😊
H. M. Marie : Of course. If I find a treasure in someone else's writing that resonates with me, I absolutely will have to try it out. I'll not only feel inspired, but I see it as a challenge to myself. And I'm so stubborn that I will write and write until I've conquered the challenge. It motivates me to keep writing, keep trying new things. Poetry is the easiest place to see it; there are so many styles and forms. I like the challenge of finding a form that appeals to me before I write a new poem. Maybe that's why I've never finished a long piece of work; I just enjoy trying out all the various things I could do before settling into something.
keyisfake : I learn from other writers and movies. Well for instance I read the Bourne Identity books to understand how to write a fight scene back when I was teaching myself how to write.
Thank you for your responses, it is much appreciated! L~ |
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Action/Adventure: September 27, 2023 Issue [#12191]
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