  Short Stories
This week: What's That? In the Background? Edited by: Legerdemain  
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What's That? In the Background?
I was sorting and editing some photographs this week. I've been awful about printing and getting those prints into albums for the last few years. So instead of cleaning closets like I usually do this time of year, I decided to truly get to work and print those treasured photos. You know, before my toddler grandchildren are in high school.
Anyway, in editing the photographs, I generally do a little cropping and color adjustment. The interesting and distracting thing is what I sometimes see in the background of photos. Things people do when they don't think their photograph is being taken. Now it's amusing to see what goes on outside the limelight. Or in photos taken in public places, the interesting things I paid no attention to, because I had a different focus.
Think about what might be going on outside the limelight in your writing. Show your readers a bit of background. Sometimes an intense scene could use a little relief, or comic aside. Filling in the scenes with everyday life can help the reader relate to your characters and their surroundings. And if you're looking for inspiration, look at some photos, and perhaps what is happening in the background of those photos. And in edit, crop the unnecessary background and show your characters in a good light. It's what they deserve.
Write on!
This month's question: Do you write too much or too little into your scenes? What methods do you use to focus your writing during edit?
Send in your reply below!  |
| |  | The Photo (E)
Memories of an old friend come flooding back while sorting through old photographs. 1095w
#1992819 by TessaT  |
Excerpt: At that particular moment, she couldn’t have told you what made her go into her closet and take down that old box.
Excerpt: A click and a whirr and Ismail froze his son. It didn’t matter that Samir was asleep, one arm curled around his soft gorilla. It didn’t matter that the boy squirmed, scratched his nose and nuzzled into his pillows. It didn’t matter that he had to leave tomorrow. Ismail smiled, put the camera down and tiptoed to his side, crouching to kiss his forehead.
Excerpt: “You picked what off the street?” Rhonda asked, trying to get past the excitement in her friend’s voice.
“An old photograph! I found it when I was walking along Maxwell Street. Get this, there’s writing on the bottom that says Croyde Bay, 30/8/49. That’s sixty years ago, Rhonda!” Jacqueline said, excited at the prospect of a story.
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#1908137 by Not Available. |
Excerpt: “Come up and see me some time,” the woman said to Lover Boy, and laughed merrily, for she knew as well as he that there were no lifts here in Carton City, and no stairs, either. Fifty years old if she was a day she was still good-looking for her age, with short, greying blond hair under a red baseball cap, and the ancient overcoat she wore did little to conceal a full, rounded figure. None of this cut any ice with Lover Boy, however. He simply ignored her.
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#1882727 by Not Available. |
Excerpt: He holds the glossy photograph between nicotine-stained fingers. He glares at it with the fever only a mad man can know. I can see the image in my head right now. His daughter, chatting with friends at school. Safe. Or that's what he thought.
Excerpt: The house was odd, not odd because of who lived in it, but odd the way you can sense something's not quite right about a place. It slumped down like a tired old man in an overgrowth of weeds and ferns that wove their spidery webs together into a green embroidery of cascading bougainvillea, laurels, palms, and fragrant eucalyptuses. I had hoped that all it really needed was a bit of repair and a new coat of paint, but the way the house sagged, it appeared as though paint would simply slide off. There had been an earthquake way back when, and looking at the place from the roadside, it seemed to squat upon its foundation like a hungry old ogre patiently hiding in the bushes and waiting to be fed.
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#1582857 by Not Available. |
Excerpt: “Tim, what’s wrong?”
He didn’t speak – he seemed incapable of it. I saw the envelope shake in his fist, grip so tight that his knuckles pulsed red and white. I slid it gingerly from his fingers. There was no address, no label. A torn corner of the envelope floated to the floor, catching on some invisible breeze to land past my feet. Tim watched as I looked inside.
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This month's question: Do you write too much or too little into your scenes? What methods do you use to focus your writing during edit?
Last month's question: Is your mind sparkling clear or a host for dust monsters?
brom21 tells: I would have to say that mine is a mix of the two. Sometimes I have a great premise or idea it is hard to actually hash it out. For some reason though I can write poetry with more successful alignment. A lot of my stories require me to improvise when I do not fully express my vision. For me the “It” is nostalgic settings where the content is full of subtle, simultaneous inferences that make the reader feel curious and guessing. Once again it is nice that others sympathy with my condition. Thanks for the letter.
Elfin Dragon-finally published empathizes: Dust Monsters! Ack! I can't get rid of the darn things. They clutter up my mind, turn whirlybirds and whirlygigs, causing the dust-devils to fly across my eyes. And then they do the worst thing EVER! They stir up more story plots and poems than I could ever hope to write in one lifetime. The nerve of those little dust monsters!
Elle - on hiatus muses: I found it amusing that you envied people who have a 'clear mind' - I've always envied people who are overflowing with ideas. The things I could do!  I guess the grass is always greener on the other side, huh?
GaelicQueen confesses: Sparkling clear or dust monsters..... I have dust monsters. They disguise themselves as poor drivers, don't know how to walk behind a shopping cart, don't keep their kids or dogs under control in public places. Or perhaps they are the bank tellers with too bright smiles or cashiers at the convenience store that have a loaded .45 in a holster under their shirts just waiting for you to appear thuggish. There is a story in here somewhere.....
The Run-on King PDG Member responds: You know I never really thought about it. If something sparks my mind or I get a dream I always run with it or start it leave notes and come back to it later. Then I get ambitious and sign up for two classes and the novel writing class wants a blog link setup so I use my old short story class one and delete the entries except for the short story I rewrote. I had a few hints in it of more to come. They were very low key like why would a Terraformed world be low on water when they have a whole solar system to take ice blocks from. Anyway this dust monster turned out to be the beginning of my fifth book. It works out to be just right for the first chapter. To me a clean mind is a is a sign of mental heath issues just like a clean desk is lol. To really answer your question mine is like my desktop full of dust monsters just waiting for me to reach out and get bit!
Quick-Quill answers: My ideas will run around in my head until I write something down. In years past I just ignored them and they went away. Now I let them fester, proof and rise until they demand I write something down. I have a notebook full. Sometimes its a little plot sometimes its details about a character.
When I read something in the news, or watch TV I get a plot. WHAT IF? Is my mantra.
wannabeawinner says: I have a folder, which is really a series of folders, that I write down ever my darkest ideas. That isn't my problem. My problem begins when I re-read them later and start to think about the small details to add in. I end up deleting even the best of prompts. I have decided that thinking is my worst enemy.
Shanachie admits: Mine is definitely full of monsters and ideas that all clamor for my attention all the time. Sometimes I cant think of just one thing because theyre all talking so loudly. So I just have to try to fight through it and figure out what Im doing. Sooner or later I get one thing done and then another if I just give them a bit of a chance. But I always have more ideas than time. And my list of things I want to write never seems to get shorter.
Thanks to you all for responding, and sharing your experiences. Feedback is always appreciated. ~Leger |
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Short Stories: June 04, 2014 Issue [#6361]
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