  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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Amazon's Price: $ 9.99
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Death of the Short Story
I've been thinking about one of the responses to my last newsletter. It was from SmokeyMtn  . He said, "I feel sometimes like I'm witnessing the death of the short story. However, I console myself with all of the successful writers who emerged at the death of the pulp magazine era." The question comes to mind, what is the successor of pulp fiction, the penny dreadful...the dime novel?
Unless an author writes an anthology or novel, is he doomed to never have his words reach print? I hesitate to say yes. I'm of the opinion that the short story is going through a morphism. Fiction has gone digital. Eventually the pleasure of holding a book in your hands will be gone. Instead you'll be holding a digital story in your hand. Be that a handheld reader or a touchscreen cellphone, the content will be digital. While the ebook is still going through technical improvements and upgrades, we can see the horizon where everyone will have access to digital content.
This is where the exciting part comes in. Why just download novels? You wouldn't have to. Short stories can be the fast food popcorn chicken of the digital reader. Pay a small amount and pick up a story to read on the train. Already there are numerous ebook sites to choose from. There are even stories for children. http://www.icdlbooks.org/ Look at the music industry, where has all the money gone? Digital.
So perhaps the short story hasn't died, Daddio, maybe it's just moved on to the next generation. We as authors, have to adjust and adapt...then submit. Write on!
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#1504048 by Not Available. |
Excerpt: Roscoe Raccoon had a terrible problem, nobody trusted him. Why? Because he wore a mask. As we all know that’s just a raccoons coloring, but when some folks see a mask they think of bandits and trouble makers. And that’s how the tiny town of Cherry Creek saw Roscoe.
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#1503335 by Not Available. |
Excerpt: Hambone trembled with anticipation. Time to sit on Santa's lap. Oh jolly day!
"Hambone!" his mother said. "You sit up straight and don't pee on Santa!"
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#1504067 by Not Available. |
Excerpt: Overwhelmed by all this elation, Pierre St.Barnard almost fell backwards in the snow, barely managing to keep them both upright, planting his feet firmly into the ground. He had expected the girl to be pleased, though this was all a bit much.
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#1503447 by Not Available. |
Excerpt: Whoever heard of a reindeer named Blitzen? To say it aloud made a sound like a war movie or a noise from a video game, at least. When children named Santa’s reindeer they usually couldn’t even think of the name unless prompted by an adult. All of Blitzen’s thoughts today were negative, to say the least.
| |  | Tea Leaves (13+)
A story about a man and a woman who loved more than they should have.
#1380137 by Laurel |
Excerpt: She slowly stirred her tea, I remembered she never drank coffee.
She looked up, a small smile playing across her face, making her look younger. Like the day I met her.
"I guess you didn't expect to hear from me again."
It had been years since we last spoke, lovers parted on the road of life, each of us going our own way. It had been her choice, but I always understood.
Excerpt: Joe Hardin rushed through the kitchen heading for the back door. Rebecca, his seven-year-old, ambushed his leg, and then clutched it tightly with her little arms, holding on like a fireman sliding down a pole.
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#1498031 by Not Available. |
Excerpt: The day before Christmas Eve is always the busiest time for Santa and his elves. Santa’s little helpers are very excited, rushing around making sure the toys and the decorations were all wrapped neat and tidy, ready to be delivered on Christmas Eve
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#1503240 by Not Available. |
Excerpt: I was standing in the gym, feet aching, waiting for instructions of the next group game. My face felt tired and heavy from smiling, yet I was still bemused by the children running free, careless and ignorant to the burdens they are destined to carry in the future. I guess ignorance truly is bliss.
Excerpt: “He just might,” Sid thought. “That young whippersnapper just might pay ten million for my business.” He had been in the car sales game for almost 60 years and admitted he wasn’t as sharp as he used to be. He had what he called "senior moments," now and again, and needed to get out while he still had the chance to make a bundle. It was a senior moment and a strange tingling sensation that had convinced him to take the highway exit. He was lost, as lost as he could ever remember being and he couldn’t figure out how it had happened.
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This month's question: Who are the new Kurt Vonneguts? What short story authors do you read?
Send in your response and tell me what you think!
Last month's question: What did you write on your lists?
Zeke  : Great idea list! It really gets your imagination in gear. We all get stuck from time to time, and I've found that taking an entirely new track helps.
SmokeyMtn : Thanks for a very helpful newsletter. I feel sometimes like I'm witnessing the death of the short story. However, I console myself with all of the successful writers who emerged at the death of the pulp magazine era.
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Short Stories: December 24, 2008 Issue [#2773]
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