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This week: Meeting your Word Count 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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Meeting your Word Count
Have you ever had a reviewer tell you they want to know more of your story? That they liked the character and wanted to get to know them?
Many times, I've sat down to write a story for a contest with a limited word count. Happily typing away, I reach the end of what I wanted to write, only to find I'm nowhere near the word count limit. Obviously, I want to use as much of the word count as possible, to engage the reader as much as possible, but what do I add?
I find I add in the same places almost every time. I add a bit more to the dialogue, to engage the reader's feelings and provide more pace. I also add a bit to the scene description if I only wrote the bare bones in the scene to start. I also add some to the description of the characters. While a pointed beard might not be essential to the story, it can add a bit of enhancement to the reader's image of the character.
I'm not recommending purple fluff, but sometimes when writing, we skip some details for the sake of making word count, and when you have the luxury of adding a few at the end, you can. Obviously, this theory can be reversed, when needing to cut a few details to make word count. If the reader doesn't need to know the character has a pointed beard, so you can trim there.
So why not take advantage of every word allowed in a contest, to enhance your scene, enrich your character, or spice up your dialogue. Think about it next time you're editing for a contest or if a reviewer has made comments about wanting to know more. Write on!
This month's question: Do you have trouble reaching word count or trimming to meet word count?
Send in your reply below!  Editors love feedback!
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This month's site contest: Genre of the Month: Horror
Excerpt: This forum is designed to get your creative juices flowing. 10,000 gps will be given away every 24 hours!
Excerpt: Do you really think I'm stupid enough to believe that?
Excerpt: You are an evil person, thought Dasiel, as he watched his foe, his sword raised.
Excerpt: "Give me the tooth," she said.
Excerpt: "No need to make a scene," he said. "Follow me to the security office so we can discuss your activities."
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This item number is not valid.
#1945956 by Not Available. |
Excerpt: After she has taken up the soup to Mr Cook, she looks out the window and sees William in the garden chair, his pocket sketchbook on his lap and pencil in hand. He likes to draw in between passing trains—sometimes little doodles of the things he can see from his position, sometimes sketches from memory. Mrs Cook has seen some of his work and always marvels at their intricate beauty and how true to life they are. He has a talent that takes her breath away.
Excerpt: They say inside every person is the potential to do what every other person does.
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This month's question: Do you have trouble reaching word count or trimming to meet word count?
Last month's question: Send some clever examples of onomatopoeia!
brom21  : One thing I am trying to incorporate into my writing are what one person said was a power word. I don't think it is necessarily connotes an onomatopoeia, but I think it stresses the same idea. I think onomatopoeias can be good hooks for the reader. I like jabberwocky because it is so fun to say the catchy nonsensical words that paint a good picture or playful sound. Thanks for the read! Thanks for replying!
Joy  : Great NL, Leger.
Who says onomatopoeia is for poetry only? Surely, a well-written story can use all kinds of sound effects. Words set to music, such as the alphabet song and the counting songs for children, help them remember the concepts. So should the sound effects in fiction.  Agreed!
dragonwoman : flap, sizzle, tinker, Great ones!
Happy April 2024!  : Thanks for the "sound list". It's in my favorites! Thanks for reading!
chopstixd: Sometimes, it's fun to take a word's pronunciation(sound) and connotation and use them to emphasize something else. I offer an excerpt from "Invalid Item" . The story did not turn out very good, no need to highlight it, but you might enjoy the passage, so to speak.
"Bilge," more than any other word, best described my North Atlantic crossing. The word's pronunciation accurately described my reaction: "B," the mouth closes attempting to suppress and contain an irrepressible bile surge; "il," abdominal muscles constrict, pumping gastronomy unnaturally against both gravity and God's design; "ge," lips peel over teeth, widening accommodation for a vomitous volley.
Thanks for sharing!
Pepper : We can learn a lot about onomatopoeia from children; Listen sometime to the way they describe things. For example, my four-year-old son once told me something went "Kapoosh." It had exploded. Great sound!
PatrickB  : Hi Leger! I loved your newsletter! I've been a fan of onomatopoeia since my professor in American Literature about fifteen years-ago exposed me to this gem by Stephen Crane in his short story, "The Open Boat:" "In the meantime the oiler and the correspondent rowed. And also they rowed. They sat together in the same seat, and each rowed an oar. Then the oiler took both oars; then the correspondent took both oars; then the oiler; then the correspondent. They rowed and they rowed." How can a reader not feel the motion of the boat reading that? Until that exposure, I never realized that language could be used in this way structurally to evoke meaning. In my own writing, I'm always searching for ways to convey meaning with the sounds of the words I choose. In my poem "Serpent's Bargain," I tried my hand at creating a stanza so sibilant that it seemed to slither with snakes: "The snake offers honey -- a forked tongue gift -- singing sweet and soft the corrupter's hiss. Scaly skin scalds, hungry fangs, venom-spits, and blood pumps the fee for the lover's kiss." Thank you for this excellent discussion! Thanks for sharing this excerpt!
Replies from September's question - I missed them in the listing somehow!  I thought I would share them this week, thanks everyone!
Do you have any grammar horror stories to tell?
JACE - House Targaryen  : Wow! What deja vu! I was just talking with The StoryMistress  today about how technology has changed the way we relate to folks. Oh, and by the way, you said: ... there were less ways to communicate with one another. It should be fewer ways.  I couldn't resist.  Yep, my grammar stinks!
dragonwoman : I find all grammar to have some sort of element of horror to it. I understand I have improved greatly from some of my usual nitpickers like arakun and Ken. But still grammar is a bugbear for me (I named him thatswrong) It's great to have help from your friends!
Elle - on hiatus : You asked for grammar horror stories. This is an email I had from a bride, wanting me to photograph her wedding:
'n e ways d8 of da wedding is da 14th aug, vowels @ goverment lawns or goverment house @ auck varsity n recption @ da fale @ varsity.. stil a while but u knw tyme flys, cnt w8 tho xcitd. let me knw n e ways, hpe ur well wil hea frm u soon. '
*Cringe* Wow!
CREEK : I too am old, so I totally agree with you! Sometimes I find it difficult to understand what others say when they use acronyms. I am making that mistake; using lot of adjectives in my writing. I use the word 'very' frequently. Your letter helped me to learn some, important things on writing. Thank you. Hope to read your newsletters in the future too. Thank you!
StarGazer : Nice suggestions. Very important. I was just wondering what constitutes old and when does it become ancient. I just turned 59 and I'm not real happy about that. I'm I old. Well since I learned about grammar in school maybe I am. I think the definition of old changes with age...lol
brom21 : When it comes to grammar, I always miss my errors. Even if I go over my work, people point out typos and such. If you ask for a particular example well, that would be the majority of my writings. Its' good that you can emphasize with my little problem. All in the boat together!
 Thanks to Elle - on hiatus for letting me know she sent a reply, I found them! |
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Short Stories: October 23, 2013 Issue [#5959]
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