  Short Stories
This week: Storing Emotions 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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Describing How It Feels
As writers, we always look to improve ourselves. We try to impart the emotion our characters are experiencing in words that capture our reader's imagination and inspire them to feel what we need them to feel. Last month I wrote about caching story ideas for times when the inspiration well is dry. This can be applied to the emotional well, also. We all experience times of joy or sadness, dark days and moments of shining in the sun.
Obviously, when we're super excited about something, we're not going to tear out a piece of paper and scribble down what we're feeling. What I suggest is take some quiet time later on and free write some of the feelings you experienced. Try to use all the words that come to mind when recalling the moment. I suggest sort the free writes by basic emotion: happy, sad, angry. Then when you're in the middle of a story and you know what emotion your character is experiencing but the right words aren't coming, you can review your emotions cache and get in touch with those emotions.
I'm not suggesting you pull out a thesaurus and use every available synonym for your character's emotion, but it is a good tool to keep at hand. Sometimes we're looking for the perfect word to invoke a feeling and you might find it looking through the listing. Be sure it's a fairly common word in language and not some obscure reference that will stop the flow of reading and confuse. Just because it's pretty, doesn't mean it need to be in your story. So save those emotions and Write On!
This month's question: Do you have a source for describing emotions?
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#1979102 by Not Available. |
Excerpt: Every night I prayed. I prayed for inspiration, to see a reason for my continued existence. My human life at least had purpose, if sometimes a terrible one. One that came with muffled screams, taut muscles, hands gripping the arms of a chair. Strapped down.
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Excerpt: Anne accepted a kiss on her right cheek. Her face was heavily bandaged and padded down one side. Her coal-black hair, which curved into her neck at chin length, had been recently washed and styled, and the hands which lifted the roses to her face were beautifully manicured. These were good signs. Sarah remembered how Anne had always cherished her fingernails.
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Excerpt: Seth carefully pried open the envelope. The letter was wrapped around a lumpy packet which contained a strange turquoise coin, an old ornate monocle, and a small stack of paper money. He laid them out in a row on the table. He tapped the turquoise coin. It sounded like metal, but felt different. The image engraved on the top showed a man with wings. The back was smooth and plain. The monocle, encased in a thin carved holder, felt feather light in his hand. The attached gold chain glistened in the pale light. He counted the money and discovered five thousand dollars. His uncle bequeathed him a small fortune. Where did he get it?
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Excerpt: "I always suspected you were a pervert. I am most definitely not naked. I am a nudist, and this is what I wear. Don't you think my necklace and watch are delightful?"
| | | Ignition (13+)
These are her most precious memories, her highlight reel. (1st, WDC Rhythms & Writing)
#2007014 by Roseille ♥  |
Excerpt: When she's eight years old, Amelia Warrington sneaks out of her scrubby little village, across the ragged canyons, and into the verdant forest where the Spirit lives. She stands in a clearing, awash in butter-colored light from the red moon and the blue stars, and she never forgets what she sees there.
Some things survived the move from Earth to the planet formerly known as E117-43p. Lewis Carroll's classic works were among them. The first time she meets En, she tells him that she feels like she's fallen down the rabbit hole.
Excerpt: Shadow crept down the stairs knowing he'd get scolded for prowling at night, but he couldn't sleep. He decided he'd go on a mission. First, he checked under the couch. Nope, not there. Hmmm … Of course, under the chair, it had to be there. Nothing.
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Excerpt: Soon they passed a neighbor's pumpkin patch. The pumpkins had been green in summertime, but now even they had turned orange! Jaime wondered: Did pumpkins have to be orange, or did all of them just want to?
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This month's question: Do you have a source for describing emotions?
Last month's question: Do you cache story ideas? Do you use them for contests?
dblameck (David) answered: Of course I keep my story and poetry ideas. I use to keep scraps of paper with just a few lines scribbled on them. Sometimes the idea was on a napkin or the back of an envelope. This was my disorganized period.
I moved from that to always carrying a notebook with me to scribble down notes and characters and even full plots.
I also highlighted passages that I read if they opened my mind to a new idea. I sometimes wrote extensive ideas in the margins of a novel that I was reading.
I ended up with binders, notebooks and files that fill two three drawer filing cabinets.
Finally now I have arrived at the time of carrying my laptop with me so I can write anywhere. (I do refrain from writing while driving.)
Many of my current stories come from ideas that are a decade or more old. I don't believe good ideas ever go out of style.
Thanks for the reply!
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Short Stories: September 24, 2014 Issue [#6570]
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