  Short Stories
This week: Do You Have a Sweet Tooth? 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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Do You Have a Sweet Tooth?
A fun way of thinking about the structure of a short story is like baking a birthday cake. It's sweet, it's delicious...but you have to remember to not get carried away.
The main layers of the cake is the story structure. Having solid characters, a steady story arc and a reliable world in which they operate is essential. But like a cake, a short story can't have too many layers or it will topple. Layers upon layers atop one another or stacked next to each other means you've gone too wordy and built a novel wedding cake. While that's fine, it's not a short story. Go with a few simple layers and build from there.
Next is the filling between the layers. Those are the interesting idiosyncrasies of the characters or the luscious setting. Too many flavors in the layers and it turns into rainbow tutti-frutti and your reader will become distracted and confused. Keep it unique and uncomplicated.
Last is the icing. This is your wonderful hook at the beginning of the story and your fantastic ending. It doesn't always have to be a happy ending but it has to satisfy your reader. Leaving a little for the reader to imagine is always a delicious treat. Too much icing, glitter, candles and sparklers will have everyone jumping back and walking away dazed and confused. Trimming to the best parts of the story is recommended.
Work toward making your story simple, delicious and elegant. I guarantee your readers will be back for another taste. Write on!
This month's question: What tips can you offer others for keeping your story simple?
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Some sweet reads...
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#1870296 by Not Available. |
Excerpt: "Why are you not eating?" she demanded, slamming her palm down on the table. I didn't answer. It was painfully obvious to me; I wasn't eating because I physically couldn't. My eyes flicked to my wrists where they were bound with thick cord, the skin pressed white with pressure.
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#1829801 by Not Available. |
Excerpt: I wish I could say, I have no idea what I was thinking last year, but it wouldn’t be true. I know exactly what went through my mind at the first taste of fruitcake at my friend’s Holiday Dinner Party, because I thought out loud and my friend heard:
Excerpt: Adults are always trying to lay a proverb on us kids, as if they were the greatest pieces of advice you could get. You've probably heard most of these chestnuts.
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#1325348 by Not Available. |
Excerpt: I looked around. I was in my nightgown and standing by my kitchen counter frosting a cake. Oh no, I’ve been sleep walking again and this time I've baked a cake.
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#1244863 by Not Available. |
Excerpt: It seemed to Marisa and me that Mama had always just been. We were positive that Mama was like Venus; hatched from a blue robins' egg, moments before the stork had brought us. And we were sure our father was a pirate lost at sea. Someday, we would find a treasure map, which would lead us to our inheritance, buried deep hard underground, tree roots clutching to it. A true pirate heart would be needed to release its secrets.
Excerpt: On Thursday, Jared found a bump on the inside of his left arm just above the elbow. His fingers detected it during an exhausting board meeting. It didn’t hurt, but it was annoying. He couldn’t keep from touching it or twisting his arm around to look at it. His concentration was off and he wasn’t productive at work.
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#1683055 by Not Available. |
Excerpt: "That does it!", he murmured to himself, " If God's gonna rain cupcakes down on me, who am I to resist?"
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#1848696 by Not Available. |
Excerpt: Creativity--very important! I like stories that show originality --a fresh idea -- a clever way to look at something that has been seen forever –vision!
Excerpt: YOU HAVE ENTERED A HAZARDOUS ZONE / USE OF ALL APPROPRIATE SAFETY / EQUIPMENT IS REQUIRED!
This round's prompts are songs!
Enter to win some huge prizes!
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This month's question: This month's question: What tips can you offer others for keeping your story simple?
Last month's question: Have you published any short stories? Have you found any shorts authors you enjoy?
Quick-Quill  answered: Three of my short stories have been published one in Shadow express and one in a now defunct e-zine.
I must write better shorts than novels, they don't seem to get finished. The shorts are on WDC. "A Wise Father" , "Detective's Secret" and "The Unguarded Truth" .
johnny1209 replied: I host and judge a short story contest "Invalid Item" with entries by the cream of the crop here at WDC. I've found the best length is about 2,000 - 3,000 words because it allows for great character development, the driving force of the good short story, without too much 'wordage.' Enjoyed this letter, especially the links.
Jeff  submits: One of my favorite short story authors is Lawrence Block. He has amazing short stories that, if I'm being honest, rival or even surpass his novels, IMO. The Enough Rope anthology is excellent.
missyP  tells us: I wrote a story about 25 years ago and the main character was using an encyclopedia to look up something. When I rewrote it 3 yrs ago, I had to change it to a computer. It was entered in a contest. I got Honorable Mention in 2010. So, I guess that was good to change it.
J. A. Buxton  confirms: Yes, a collection of 52 entries written for The Writer's Cramp are in my 1,000 Words Or Less Kindle e-book available on Amazon.com. Entering this contest helped me edit my rambling style of writing. Well, a little bit! http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0074B57EW
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Short Stories: October 24, 2012 Issue [#5331]
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