This week: BEEP BEEP! Edited by: Legerdemain  
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 author hone their craft and improve their skills. Along with that I would like to inform, advocate, and create new, fresh ideas for the author. Write to me if you have an idea you would like presented.
|
| ASIN: B07N36MHWD |
Product Type: Kindle Store
|
Amazon's Price: $ 7.99
|
|
BEEP BEEP!
Action and adventure stories always bring a lot of emotions to your characters, don't they? In searching for good emotion-words, found a secret source. Driving.
What kind of a driver are you? Are you the type that hops from lane to lane, trying to get one more car length in front of everyone, only to end up next to them at the next light? Are you the honk-honk and finger-gesture type who is offended by everyone on their stretch of the road?
I've seen them all. I live in FL, home of slightly impaired older adults who like to take their time getting to their destination. Not everyone breathes deeply and uses patience to get home. And then there are the completely impaired individuals under the influence of who knows what. Then there's the tech driver that has their nose in their phone and weaves all over the road. Or never sees the light turn green because they have their face on the screen.
TikTok and all kinds of social platforms are playing scenes recorded by GoPro and other dashcams. It's astounding to see what people do in their cars. Bad driving and multi-tasking are the least of them.
Think about all the emotions that go along with the simple task of getting to your destination. Then decide what kind of driver your characters are, even if they don't drive in the story.
And as always, Write On!
This month's question: What kind of driver are you?
Answer below  Editors love feedback! 
|
WDC SITE CONTEST
Character Prompt for October 2023: Write a story about a classic horror villain (vampire, werewolf, invisible man, mummy, Frankenstein, etc.) who's not a villain at all ... just misunderstood.
Excerpt: “Close your eyes. Now, imagine you’re in pole position. Ahead of you is a clear track, filled with opportunity for success. Soon, the lights will go out. Are you ready?”
| |  | Invalid Item
This item number is not valid.
#2294760 by Not Available. |
Excerpt: Her car lurched in response to the engine sputtering. Madison slammed her hands against the steering wheel.
“No! No, not here.”
Excerpt: “I don’t believe four words have caused as much trouble as ‘I have a plan!’ Should you hear this phrase, run."
Excerpt: The enraged young giant snarled down at Sydney, "You a racista. ¡Racista!"
I glared down at the Victim Rights pamphlet and up the man. You're doing this now?
Excerpt: Grace Clark quickly turns her steering wheel to the left. Sending her car into the oncoming lane. Then she goes onto the curb on this side of the street. She travels along this curb erratically for about a hundred feet before her father, Warren Clark, grabs the steering wheel.
| | | Let's Drive (13+)
Mae holds onto hope as she and her son take a trip, searching for her long-lost daughter.
#2276080 by Cubby  |
Excerpt: "They closed the case," Mae told her only son on the phone. "Until further evidence comes in, there's no more they can do."
"Mom," Ryan's voice paused, "let it go. She's not coming back." They'd closed the case long ago. Why couldn't his mother accept that?
"She's not dead," Mae told him. "I can feel it. Clara's still alive!"
Excerpt: Fact: I was once a courier driver. I also helped drive a fleet of cars for an auto auction, from somewhere south of Los Angeles to the high desert.
Excerpt: An eighteen hour adventure on the rails across Kansas and dropping south into New Mexico proved to be anything but boring.
|
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!
https://www.Writing.Com/go/nl_form
Don't forget to support our sponsor!
| ASIN: B01IEVJVAG |
Product Type: Kindle Store
|
Amazon's Price: $ 9.99
|
|
This month's question: What kind of driver are you?
Answer below Editors love feedback!
Last month's question: Do you like reading or writing gritty stuff? What is it? How do you use that in your writing?
TheBusmanPoet  : The Good, The Bad and The Ugly = Some of my writings have this.
Blank : I like to write reality, so if reality is gritty? Im going to try and put every single grit and speck in the story I'm writing. Im not going to romanticize, if something has grit I'm capturing it. If someone in my story breaks down and gets comforted, it wont magically go away. There will be that sense of dread still, those ugly little details of sadness.
Reality is gritty, so grit is a necessity for really capturing a relatable and empathetic feel. Plus, I just really love writing reality. Because sometimes, the stories really do speak truth in reality no matter how impossible. It just depends on how much you want to use.
Amethyst Angel🌸📝🪽  : I have a dualistic approach to the nitty-gritty. On one hand I avoid exposure to it in media because I'm super sensitive and tend to internalize everything, which can be darkly overwhelming.
On the other hand, intense dramatic moments are the easiest parts of my own stories to come up with. (The in-between feels stiff, awkward and boring.)
And sometimes writing out an unnerving story can be a sort of exorcism, effectively getting something unpleasant out of my head.
So a fine balance is required.
D. Reed Whittaker : I've made it a point to leave out blood and the gore, and the distasteful characters. It's not Pollyanna, but it's not Steven King, either. I create characters I like. I try not to punish them too much, but life does have its ups and downs. The downs are more emotional, than physical. Few die, even with my deputy marshal in the 1880s. When I started, my avowed purpose was to shine a hopeful, positive light on modern maturity. I've tried to keep that promise.
Khola Mousethyme  : Define gritty. can't use something in my writing if I don't know what it is.
Elisa the Bunny Stik  : I don't mind reading gritty stuff but for some reason LOVE writing it. Maybe it stems from the overwhelming surplus of horror in my life over the last few years.
bryanmchunter: I once had an idea for a cowboy-themed story based on Toddlerhood. In a shout-out to The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show, I gave the story two titles; The Good, the Brad, and the Ugly or A Fistful of Diapers.
Sky D. White : Gritty, as in horror?
Bilal Latif : It's more about honest vs dishonest writing. You could have a gritty detective story whose grit rings false as it exists to titillate, with the story contorting itself to engineer grit for grit's sake, rather than allowing it to arise organically from the story itself. The opposite end of the spectrum is a sanitised, toothless piece. So best to aim for honesty, even in fiction.
Sky D. White : Bilal Latif, I get what you mean. I have read some gritty pieces I guess you could say that was a decent read, and I think I may have added some to a couple of pieces that I have written. I guess I never really thought of it, until someone mentioned it, it is good food for thought though...
Thanks to everyone for your replies L~ |
| ASIN: 1542722411 |
|
Amazon's Price: $ 12.99
|
|
To stop receiving this newsletter, click here for your newsletter subscription list. Simply uncheck the box next to any newsletter(s) you wish to cancel and then click to "Submit Changes". You can edit your subscriptions at any time.
|
Action/Adventure: October 25, 2023 Issue [#12242]
View Portfolio
Visit Notebook
Send Gift Points
Awards
Badges
Send Email
Community Newsfeed
General Discussion
Sponsored Items
Book of Trinkets
Static Items
Books
Groups
Interactive Stories
Audio
Campfire Creatives
Community Notes
Crossword Puzzles
Documents
Folders
Images
In & Outs
Madlibs
Photo Albums
Polls
Product Reviews
Quizzes
Survey Forms
Web Pages
Word Searches
