  Short Stories
This week: Inspiration From Music 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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Inspiration From Music
I've been on the road a lot lately and I switch from one music station to the next as I drive from state to state. While I'm not a big country music fan, I don't mind listening when that's the station I land on. I always think about what's behind the lyrics and how the songwriter must have been feeling when they wrote the song. What I find really interesting is if you read the lyrics without hearing the music, you can get a totally different impression of the song. Are they reminiscing or looking back in anger? Are the words personal or just about someone they know?
It's just like conversing online in chat or IM. You can't hear tone of voice or see the other person's facial expressions so you are denied those clues to mood. Was the person just kidding around or did they mean what they say? Sometimes it's hard to tell.
When writing your story, remember your reader is blind to your personal history. You have to give your characters enough of their own background to influence their actions in the story. Your character can't hate dogs without reason. They can't run from spiders without a history of fear. Remember that characters can have some of your traits, but you have to complete the picture for the reader.
Then kill the spider. Write on!
This month's question: Do you find stories have too much or not enough character background?
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#1821911 by Not Available. |
Excerpt: I grabbed a plate of chocolate coated noodle spiders, jelly frogs and other assorted treats and wondered over to join them in the pretext of offering them something from the platter.
Excerpt: She concealed herself ten feet above the little patch of bare dirt and settled in to watch and wait.
Excerpt: "Espresso. Much better than ze sock juice you Americans drink." He cocked his head. "Show me your money."
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#1896978 by Not Available. |
Excerpt: The clicking grew louder—closer. Nick gnashed his teeth and pushed his hands into the earth. The clay gave no purchase--only oozed between his fingers.
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#1642204 by Not Available. |
Excerpt: Angela needed money; her credit card was maxed-out. Her eyes flittered from unopened bags containing clothes she bought last week, to a crumpled British Airways ticket, a remnant of a four-week trip to Europe three months ago. Six boxes of shoes laid open by the bathroom, the white tissue peeking out like cerements trying to escape. And how was she going to pay for all the shoes? I'll ask Spider.
Excerpt: My momma used to tell me that if I wanted me a man, it wasn’t enough to be pretty or to be good in the bedroom. I also had to know my way around a kitchen.
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This month's question: Do you find stories have too much or not enough character background?
Send in your reply below! Editors love feedback!
Last month's question: What do you have in your toolbox and are you willing to try something new?
Writer_Mike  responded: I really enjoyed this month's newsletter, Leger; it has some great tips. My toolbar - I mean, toolbox - includes links to a couple of online dictionaries / thesauruses, a word counter and, naturally, everyone's buddy: Google's search box. The last one helps me try out tools, with which I am unfamiliar (various poetry forms, for example), details I can drop into a story, and so on. BTW - thank you so much for featuring one my stories. 
Quick-Quill  answered: I am packing again and came across a box of books I left in storage. As I pulled them out, they were all on writing styles. I was intrigued all over again to see what new technique I might try.
Zeke  replied: The tool I'm searching for is how to think younger.
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Short Stories: April 10, 2013 Issue [#5618]
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