  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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Pump Up The Volume
How many times in a row can you say your character has brown hair? You might want your reader to remember that particular aspect of your character, but writing brown fifty times can be boring! What should you do? Research! A brunette could be many different shades: auburn, mahogany, chestnut, roasted cinnamon, copper, walnut and ash brown. A blonde has many descriptions: honey, platinum, wheat, butterscotch, tawny, toast and beige.
What about the color of a man's slacks? His trousers could be black, khaki, beige, brown, tan, toblerone, or loden. The fabric might be herringbone, striped patterned, tweed, twill, gabardine, or worsted wool. His shoes? The styles are endless: oxford, horse-bit loafer, moccasin, chukka boot, kiltie tassel, or blucher. Who could forget the penny loafer?
Is your character wearing a skirt? Her legs could look trim in a number of skirts: pencil, mini, shirred-yoke, side-split or ballroom flare. Her shoes? Her tootsies could be in: pumps, loafers, sandals, ballet flats, wedges, platforms, block heel or stilettos.
I'm not asking you to become verbose, but instead to take a look at your writing. Perhaps you're using too many similes. A new word choice could cure those issues. Making your sentences concrete gives your reader better understanding of your meaning. So, do a little research and pump up the volume of your vocabulary.
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#1469939 by Not Available. |
Excerpt: Jennifer Dubois sold bread and cakes in her bakery in Dickens Square. Richard Nichols sold shoes in the next store but one. At first it seemed as simple as that.
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#1488019 by Not Available. |
Excerpt: King Gorgonzola wants the Golden Bowl of Cheese to cure his sickness. The Knight who brings him the Golden Bowl of Cheese gets Princess Bree's hand in marriage.
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#1476829 by Not Available. |
Excerpt: Genesis O' Reilly cringed when Kyle opened the heavy, wooden door. The subsequent squeal announced their intrusion. A dimly lit corridor revealed a crumpled stairwell, complete with uneven, ivory molding reminding her of a curved stairway to oblivion. She grasped his shoulder and whispered, “This doesn’t feel right.”
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#1468811 by Not Available. |
Excerpt: The more he thought about it, the less likely it seemed that his plan could actually work. After all, the laws of physics, unlike the laws of man, were not meant to be broken.
Excerpt: Madeleine kept her eyes shut. She didn't want to show her adopted mother, Marquessa Elizabeth Callahan, that she absolutely could not breathe in the corseted dress. The servants had cinched it so the two edges practically met and Madeleine feared what her chest looked like peaking over the lace trimming on the bodice. In fact, she wasn't sure what she feared most- not being able to breathe or knowing that she looked like a woman.
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#1487559 by Not Available. |
Excerpt: My mother was quite the character. She was always on the go, always trying something new. One week she'd take up painting by number and the next she'd make pottery. But the one thing that never changed was her love of plants.
| |  | Flashes (ASR)
This is a retold fairy tale inspired by an event I witnessed on a trip to Shanghai.
#1487089 by Wolf-Hunt  |
Excerpt: It may seem like chaos, but the maddening traffic in Shanghai works because everyone understands the unwritten rules and follows them. The rules are simple. Big trumps small. Pedestrians give way to bikes and scooters. Bikes and scooters give way to the hoards of taxis that dance through traffic, dodging and buffaloing each other. The only vehicles that win out to the bold taxis are the busses. The busses never give. Pedestrians don’t linger in Shanghai traffic so the tourists who ride in the taxis are startled when Liu Li rattles her can next to their open windows.
Excerpt: The castle’s walls were cold and hard. The stones offered no warmth, no comfort. Mila Stratham Nash stood in front of her husband and listened to him tell her he didn’t love her anymore.
| | | Tin Star (13+)
A robot detective has to bend the law, when all humans have left.
#1161230 by Kotaro  |
Excerpt: I know that we’re programmed to feel naked if we don’t have anything on. Yet, I was a little amused to see a robot with a tux, white silk shirt, black bow tie, and platinum cufflinks walking into the building. But, most of all, he had pseudo hair on his crown. That’s going a little too far. He’s got a screw loose in my opinion. Myself, I like to give an image of being ready for action: a brown leather jacket over a charcoal gray pullover, a pair of jeans, and a sandy fedora.
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#1444635 by Not Available. |
Excerpt: The land smelled rich after a fresh Spring rain and the boy inhaled the sweetness of wildflowers and grasses surrounding him. He savored the sensation. The leaves of the trees had their own scent and taste. Just past six winters old now, the boy was full of questions, and his grandmother did her best to answer them as quickly as he asked them.
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This month's question: What are some of your favorite terms for ordinary words?
Last month's question: What new genres would you like to try?
faithjourney replied: This year I branched out from my usual suspense and did some young adult, children's stories, and horror. I wouldn't mind trying science fiction next. I enjoy experimenting with different genres!
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Short Stories: October 29, 2008 Issue [#2684]
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