  Short Stories
This week: Edited by: Legerdemain  
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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.
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Conflict
What to do when you realize your conflict is weak when editing? Examine why it is not working.
Is it hard to believe? Check that all your actions leading to conflict are believable. Truer characters and their actions lead to acceptance by readers.
Too much narration? Too little? Let your narration be driven by the characters. Pair physical movement with emotions.
Is the setting accurate? Don't overload your reader with description. Do research your setting or timeline. Make sure your Victorian lady doesn't pull out a cell phone to make a call.
Is your conflict strong? Strong conflict creates strong suspense. Suspense drives your reader along the story. Be sure to use aggressive, strong words. An important factor to inner conflict is that your character has to make choices. If your conflict inside a character isn't strong enough, you may need to change the scene, the character's relationships, or take out a paragraph of weak work.
Timing is everything. Does your conflict occur too late? Don't ask your reader to "try and figure it out". Your character should state their issue/intention early or at least imply it with flashes to former events. Conflict should be like a ski hill, not a straight down hell-bent drive, but series of bumps rising and falling.
Everyone is too "nice". Great chemistry arises from conflict and contrast. Put your character in a situation in which they are not competent. All your characters cannot be vanilla ice cream. Someone has to be the rocky road.
Denouement? Is your conflict resolved? After the climax, keep it short, to the point. Leave no loose ends fluttering in your plot-breeze.
I hope these suggestion help strengthen your conflict.
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Excerpt: Twilight came with a cool breeze that caressed Ezzie’s wet body and lifted her damp curls. She slowed her pace and used one hand to scrape the hair from her neck. That was what running did to you, made you all sticky, stinky and sweaty. It didn’t do a damn bit of good either. It was just stupid. It was stupid for two reasons, one, he had a car so he’d have no trouble in catching her and two, you couldn’t run away from your life. You needed to deal with it, the choices you’d made. She didn’t want to though. Too hard.
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#1398041 by Not Available. |
Excerpt: I was 18 when Tim and I began to date; he was 22. Shy and quiet, I’d met his parents once before but hadn’t ventured to say more than ‘Hello’, worried I’d say the wrong thing. This particular evening, however, we were taking them out to dinner for their anniversary and I wanted to make a good impression. I chose my favorite dress, a business-like two-piece outfit that looked like a skirt and top with a gingham jacket and a tiny red hankie in the pocket for a splash of color. I tamed my unruly red curls and applied a dab of make up in case I suddenly went pale. Well, that’s as good as it’s going to get I sighed, checking my reflection in the mirror.
Excerpt: He was, as his name suggests, a rather mixed up dog; looking like no breed I had ever seen-and I’ve seen quite a few. He was big and burly with an every-color long coat and a long snout. He loved to wander down the street, tongue hanging out and tail wagging, looking for a pat on the head or at my house, treats. On a bored and lazy day, I’d stare across the street at Mix-up and imagine how many purebreds that dog had in its lineage.
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#1328020 by Not Available. |
Excerpt: Gaithlin looked out over the trees of his forest. From his lofty perch on the mountainside, he could see almost all of Treuble displayed below him. The forest looked much different from above, and much larger than he had remembered. Even the far river that marked the boundary of his home was visible in the distance. How he wished he was that far away from here, floating down the river as it wound its way into the unknown lands beyond.
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#1382412 by Not Available. |
Excerpt: Miss Lizzy Beatley stood in her full sized backyard garden, arms crossed, foot tapping against the dirt in between the carrot row and the lettuce row. A gopher mound sat square at her feet. One of the biggest she had ever seen. With years of her perfect backyard, this perfect garden, and in her minds eye this perfect life, she had seen gopher holes many times before. But never anything like this.
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#1399894 by Not Available. |
Excerpt: I remember the morning my father taught me to fish. I was seven that year. The lake lay below a fog so dense that I couldn't see the docks from the cabin we had rented. My father had risen before we children and left the house. In my eagerness I asked, "Is dad already at the docks?"
| | | BREAD (13+)
A World War II Orphan returns to her Jewish roots
#466185 by Joy  |
Excerpt: What a fragrance to wake up to! Thank you, Florence. That was your name, wasn’t it? My mind comes and goes. I think you are from the foundation. True? Yes, in that case, my brain must be having a good day. Thank you for bringing me this. There is nothing quite as satisfying as a slice of hot bread.
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This item number is not valid.
#1399703 by Not Available. |
Excerpt: “Jessie, yank on the reins!” Jim hollered. “No! don’t go down there, you’ll get…” Too late.
Excerpt: The heels of his boots clanked against the metal companionway of the British submarine, the HMS Mountbatten. The ship was close to the surface, rocking gently from side to side under the waves as the storm rolled over the south Baltic Sea. The autumn chill made him shiver.
Excerpt: I have killed without emotion.
The first was my father. Oh, how, I loved him! Yet I killed him. I have murdered many since then. The strong and weak, the young and old, the beautiful and ugly; from all have I drunk blood.
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This month's question: How do you keep your conflict strong?
Last month's question: Where do you find your inspiration?
Replies
Vivian  : Leger, my inspiration may come in a dream, from a newspaper article, watching people, overhearing some dialogue, or something from my life or past. ~~ Viv
Douglas returning  :vvTwo of my most popular pieces "Ascension" [13+] and "Melancholy Kate" [ASR] were inspired by an artist I met on another journaling website. (The inspiring pictures are included by links at the top of each story.) But another source of inspiration I've started using are songs and pictures while randomly hopping around the internet.
AliceNgoreland : I think all writers should have a place to jot down ideas, whatever they maybe.
Everybody walks past a thousand story ideas every day. The good writers are the ones who see five or six of them. Most people don't see any.
- Orson Scott Card
Jaye P. Marshall  : have also sometimes found newspaper articles, especially the small "filler" types, to be inspiration for stories. (They're usually oddities.)
Would suggest a small tape recorder for the car instead of a pen and pad. Much safer.
Shelly Quade  : Inspiration is, for me, somewhat random. Ideas can come from anywhere. Often, though, I'll get an idea from my reading. I'm a Classical Civilizations major, and reading the primary sources, and sometimes the history books, is really fascinating, and leads to ideas. The seminar I'm currently in, for example, has lead to my thinking about the myth of Adonis in detail, and I am now writing a story about him.
Zeke  : Great insight on making an idea sheet. I do the same thing with my dreams. I keep a cassette recorder on my nightstand and when I wake up I record what I'd been dreaming of. A lot of it is useless, but every now and then a great idea captures me and I'm off. I will start keeping an idea sheet too. Thanks.
Zeke
Lauriemariepea : for inspiration, i have to admit i don't go seeking, and i don't have a constant flow of ideas rattling around in my head. but i'll come across the occasional glimmer from some random thought, or news story, or conversation, and it'll stew until a half-formed idea bubbles to the surface. Informative and entertaining newsletter, legerdemain--thanks!
bookwyrm41: Okay,Now for inspiration my creative writing course in HS and after both suggested I take a memory from my past,one that really MEANS something,triggers an emotion,and write about it..I did a story exerpt about the old dog I had growing up,how it made me feel when I had to have her put down after 14 years of loving her for her own good(She was 18 in people years) and how hard it was to have the vet give her a second shot to put her under.
Hannah : I get my inspiration from the corners of my crazy imagination, from other writers, from history...from random stuff I see every day. It's all compiled in a crazy jumble in my brain. When I need inspiration, I just sit down and free write and see what comes out. I like your idea for the inspiration page, though, and I think I'm going to have to try it. Thanks for a great inspirational newsletter.
Mavis Moog : I write when I have an idea.
I don't understand trying to have an idea, in order to write. Isn't that like trying to think of something to say, or something to feel?
It's not always convenient to write when I have an idea, so I'd like to keep notes, but If I had pen and paper on me, I'd write the whole thing. So keeping notes is a nice idea but...
If the idea is good enough, I'll remember it. My memory is a fair filter.
Pen Name : I get my inspiration from WDC contest prompts where a list of title choices is presented. Title prompts really get my creativity going. And those contests give plenty of time to write the poems. Almost every published, awarded poem was originally entered in a WDC contest. Just yesterday, I received news that two such items, "Invalid Item" and "Invalid Item" , won 2nd AND 3rd prize in the Fictional Essay category for my university's yearly writing contest! Too bad only first prize gets a cash award, but at least it is more publishing credits.
mlarsen05: Everyone should definitely have their own idea notebook. One problem I had was I'd get an idea and use up a few pages and when I got a different idea I'd skip a few pages and start writing down that one. But then I go back to work some more on the first story and run out of room before hitting the next idea. Soon I had loose pages and cross-references all over the place. The moral of the story: One idea per notebook, please.
Suze the Rock Chic : What a fantastic idea the Inspiration Page is. A great tool for generating ideas and making use of them. I frequently have ideas or lines that pop into my head. On some days I can't even look at the pavement without getting a flood of ideas. I love the fact that you include pictures and music as well. I will be starting my own, it will be great for those deadly quiet moments at work! Thanks for sharing. I defy myself to get Writer's Block now!
Thanks to everyone sending a comment. Not only do you help me improve, you help your fellow writers. |
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Short Stories: March 19, 2008 Issue [#2283]
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