  Short Stories
This week: Objects Telling Your Story 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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Objects Telling Your Story
While the grammar police tell us to keep our adjectives under control, you might want to keep a few in your pocket to help your inanimate objects help tell your story. When your character is banging on a door to get access to the wizard, the door is more interesting if it is rusted and scarred. Your reader can envision your character when his shoes are splattered with what looks like blood. We'll travel along effortlessly with the policeman as he runs, following the bloody footprints in the snow.
The problem is when a writer gets carried away. We all want our readers to see the scene as we imagine it, so we start tossing in adjectives like croutons on a salad and what we end up with is a whole basket of bread. Your character doesn't need to bang on the mahogany, rusted and scarred door with the bent iron handle, unless all those details are crucial to forwarding the story. You might need those details if you're trying to create a suspenseful moment or slow the tempo. I'm guilty of frippering up a perfectly good sentence with a bunch of adjectives. I'm learning to cut down to the lean and mean. Okay, maybe not lean and mean but not so tubby and roly-poly. I go through my paragraphs and highlight the adjectives, then decide if they're meaningful or enriching to the story. If not, I delete them and read the result. If the result doesn't change the story, we're good to go.
So remember, adjectives can be like makeup on a woman, a little can enhance her features but too much makes her look like a clown.
This month's question: What tips do you have for trimming adjectives from writing?
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Excerpt: But now, none but a few of the Egyptians remember or care about the ancient gods! This was what Ra was talking about when he shouted, "No one cares! No one worships! They barely even remember!" He raged and fumed. The other Egyptian gods and goddesses tried unsuccessfully to calm him down.
Excerpt: “You were in an accident. Don’t try to talk. They had to put a breathing tube in. Now that you’re awake, I’m sure the doctor will be in shortly to explain it all. For now, just rest.”
Excerpt: I still don’t understand this “other side” of my house and often wonder about this in the stillness of the nights. I listen to the wind crying outside and even hear when the leaves are furiously blown away from the skinny, naked trees. Sometimes horror doesn’t have to be seen, or felt or to be in color, sometimes monsters aren’t to be sensed or understood at all.
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Excerpt: "The Tinkerer's Ball? How positively delightful! You will attend, won't you?"
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Excerpt: They would be on planet in three hours, and he was starting to get excited. Their plan was dangerous and illegal, but they had prepared for every contingency. They would succeed where others had failed.
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Excerpt: The wrinkles reappeared on her mother’s forehead as she looked out the window, away from Madison’s gaze. “Nothing bad is going on. I just got home from work. You must have seen somebody that looked like me.”
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This month's question: What tips do you have for trimming adjectives from writing?
Last month's question: Give us your brainstorming tips!
Al  responded: I learned something very interesting when doing my graduate work for my teaching certification. I had a professor talk to us about lesson planning - talk about writers block potential. Here was his suggestion - start from the end. Decide what your lesson should accomplish then work backwards to see how to get there. I have applied this to my writing. Sometimes I can "see" the ending and I wonder what circumstances would have to be to get to that point. It has helped a lot. Hope this helps you.
glynisj answered: I use the Internet for my brainstorming. I have a folder in my list of bookmarks labeled writing ideas. I also have a folder for my email called the same thing. Wherever I come across something that may be a good idea for a writing project, I just place it in the folder.
dragonwoman  replied: Brainstorming tip: I start by doing what I call a What if?" based on something totally off the wall or in outer space. For example: What if my MC decided to change his name/personality just for a day? I also like the write for 10 minutes without stopping and see what comes up.
miller.ck sent: My best brainstorming tip is, patience. Maybe I have a cool setting idea or image. Maybe an interesting character or theme. Sure I could probably sit down and in 4 or 5 hours spew our a few thousand words to house or support it. But in my experience it's best not to rush it. Dream on it. Think about it for a week, a month, even a year. The world has enough half-baked stories.
BIG BAD WOLF is hopping  said: I daydream- got a few things going on.
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Short Stories: July 31, 2013 Issue [#5813]
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