  Short Stories
This week: Stories are like Bananas 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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Stories are like Bananas
Only fit for monkeys to read?
Uhm, no. What I mean is they can be time-sensitive. I buy bananas at the store, all the time. But it seems like my family either gobbles them up right away or they just sit on the counter, looking all lonely in their peels, turning brown. A good baker knows brown bananas are the best for baking. Black bananas, not so much.
When you get a story idea, it's like a banana, it hangs out with it's friends (other story ideas), and begins to grow. Now some of the party banana friends (crazy ideas) fall off the tree and some get consumed by monkeys (forgetfulness, lack of interest). But some hang on, growing longer and more delicious. Soon the stem is heavy with tiers of bananas, waiting to be picked. This is when you decide to write a story.
Stories can be time-sensitive like bananas. If you don't stick with them, they'll turn black and rot. It's best to get your bananas to market so people can consume them. If you bananas start to darken, bake them into banana bread and put it into the freezer (store them on your hard drive). Someday you'll have a hankering for banana bread and take that moist delicious bread out. Perhaps then you'll have an idea on how to fix up your story so it is consumable.
The point is, when you have a great story idea, run with it. I've found that sitting on an idea too long muddles the original intent and gets mixed up with a bunch of other crazy ideas and gets spoiled. If you can't finish the story, store until a fresh idea comes along to fix it.
Write on, and watch out for monkeys!
This month's question: What do you with your unfinished work?
Send in your reply below, thanks!  |
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#1974359 by Not Available. |
Excerpt: "Aren't identical twins supposed to look the same? You know, identical?" She turned both bananas this way and that, examining the many differences. She put the smaller of the two back, content to eat rather than continue the silly argument with her absurd coworker.
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#1970833 by Not Available. |
Excerpt: “It’s a Phil Collins monkey,” replied Maddie, as she twirled at the pink bow in her thick black hair.
“You mean it’s a monkey called Phil Collins?”
“No, Daddy. It’s a monkey AND it’s Phil Collins. Look at his little face.”
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#1917103 by Not Available. |
Excerpt: “Why can’t we buy the land dad? Then we could give it to Mr. Ainright.”
“I’ve told you Abby, Its crown land and that means it isn’t for sale. That is why Mr. Ainright hasn’t been able to buy it. The land belongs to the government. Now they want it back.”
“But they let Mr. Ainright use it before. Why did they take it away? It’s not fair dad. They can’t just get rid of the monkeys!”
Excerpt: Deep within the verdant lush forests of India lived a She-monkey; insignificant, just like any other of her tribe, except that she is the heroine of this tale. She grew up playing the usual monkey tricks – what was unusual in her was a desire to see what was in the next tree, then the next and the next.
| |  | A Witch's Scorn (E)
Oh, a woman scorned? That's bad. But that has nothing on a witch's scorn. (SS NL 4/9/14)
#1826973 by BScholl  |
Excerpt: Measma stirred the contents of the cauldron. She grabbed a bottle from a nearby shelf, examined the ‘camel hair’ label, and shook a few strands into the swirling liquid. Black bubbles oozed to the surface and popped, splattering grimy pieces of fly wings, and frog intestines against the sides.
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#1329540 by Not Available. |
Excerpt: Igor jerked the leash of Simon. “That one,” he whispered to the monkey, the one with the green, Simon, green.”
Igor had finally trained his little furry slave to recognize coins from paper money and it was paying off big. A flashback to last year caused him to wince in pain when Simon, his partner for over twenty years had survived an unusual sickness. As Simon pranced the park grounds, gathering bills and coins for Igor’s wicker basket, Igor tried to erase the memories of almost losing him.
| | | Dorothy (18+)
A young woman redefines her life, in a most unusual way.
#1789676 by Hatsuda |
Excerpt: There he goes again, she thought. Every Friday evening, sea bag thrown over his shoulder, this giant strode past her shop window as she hung back in the shadows, watching, wondering and dreaming. He was tall, she noted, hatless, his dark blond hair swept across his forehead like an unruly flag of determination and resolve. Sharply chiseled jaw, dark sideburns and what appeared to be blue eyes. He was beautiful she thought. Moreover, from all appearances, he was even taller than herself.
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This month's question: What do you with your unfinished work?
Send in your reply below, thank you!
Last month's question: What's your favorite grammar resource?
Storm Machine  tells us: Anytime I'm worried about developing jungle diseases grammatical errors, I look here: http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/grammar-girl
While the originator passed away, the tradition continues with easy-to-read advice.
Brooklyn  links: Great NL! You have such a great sense of humor.  My favorite go-to site on the net for grammar tips is Grammar Girl --> http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/grammar-girl her articles and podcasts are not only informational, they're fun.
Shanachie submits: I love Painless Grammar (from Barron's Painless Series). I've used it not just for myself, but also to teach with. Its very simple and easy to access. Other than that, google and fellow writers are a great source.
dragonwoman assists: My favourite resource is 'Painless Grammar' 2nd Ed. by Rebecca Elliot, published by Barron's
Acme  shares: Coming from the UK, I'm fond of The Guardian's style guide, but often flit between the BBC House Style Guide and Strunk & White's Elements of Style. I, too, am never happier than when sprinkling commas like pepper over steak. Takes all sorts, I guess 
☮ The Grum Of Grums admits: My favourite grammar resources - two. The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary (SOED) and The New Fowler's Modern English Usage (Third Edition) Edited by R. W. Burchfield. From which you will gather that I am a BrE writer.
jdenningberg helps: I like the Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation and The Complete Idiot's Guide to Grammar and Style. Both are very good.
Patrece ~ relates: I can tend to be a comma-holic. I am trying to reign that in. Often I must edit several times before being somewhat satisfied that I haven't overdone it. I also like to get reviews for this reason. It is very clear when I do not have time to edit and seek reviews. I always end up with several reviews later, pointing out the error of my ways, and wish I had known sooner.
I have not yet used it, but I purchased whitesmoke, and I am hoping it will be very helpful to me when I am writing. I really believe it will. It helps in several areas of writing, to identify errors. We shall see how it goes!
glynisj relates: Something I learned way back in 7th grade is that except for when using commas for direct speech, numbers and lists a good rule of thumb is to read the sentence out loud to find where the natural pauses are. That is usually where you need the commas. Of course, it's always good to know the grammatic rules too.
LinnAnn -book writer  noted: I have some conflicting information that is now driving me crazy. I was brought up with the rules that you stated. Then recently I was told the 'he shouted, she said' were 'complete sentences' and that we weren't using commas anymore. So glad you reinforced the old school rules. Thanks a bunch.
blunderbuss asks: Thank you for a timely reminder Leger~ and neatly explained! I am going to remember 'comma-croutons' - such a lovely image. I wish there was something REALLY simple for the use of commas in clauses and with prepositions though. Any ideas? Not pages of the stuff, which just makes me want to pull out my hair in handfuls!
brom21 comments: Thanks for the grammar info on commas, grammar is my Achilles heel. My favorite grammar resource is...well…Writing.com. I specifically get help from reviewers. I really appreciate when I get in-depth reviews. It takes a long time on the part of the one reading the work but it is invaluable. Oh, and more power to you with using those commas; more is better than less. Good luck with your writing.
Quick-Quill  confesses: I wish I had one, I'll be looking next NL for ways to start mine. I heard of something called Grammly and I will be trying to find it. I have relied on wonderful Writers here to pick over my work for those nasty imperfections I am blind to.
It's a great help: http://www.grammarly.com/ but WDC members are an awesome help too! L~ |
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Short Stories: April 09, 2014 Issue [#6257]
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