  Short Stories
This week: Happily Ever After 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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And They Lived Happily Ever After
When I actually get a few moments to log on to WDC, I like to visit some of my favorite bloggers. While I'm often so tardy reading them, it seems silly to comment, I do enjoy catching up and reading all the entries and comments within. One blogger/author, Linda Zern "Invalid Entry" was talking about her book Mooncalf , how the book ended and reader reactions. And so you know, I agree, not all books need to have a happy ending.
I think we're selling future generations short by not showing the reality sometimes. Sure, we like to get lost in the fairy tale that everything is going to be all right, but the reality is life isn't perfect. And perhaps showing younger readers that sometimes life really sucks could be a lesson too. Some days we are going to wake up and groan because the pumpkin coach is definitely not picking us up and chances are... the car's gas needle is on E, will quiver a block from the gas station and make us roll into the station under gravity alone. Okay, maybe not all of us, but definitely a couple people.
The point being, calling on reality instead of a Happily Ever After ending can be even more satisfying if the reader knows the reasons. And it's your job as the author to give those reasons (and goodness, not a LIST) so your reader nods and agrees, this is how it should end. Maybe your main character got a little bruised and bumped along the way but in the long run, they learned a lesson and moved on. Isn't that how life is? Once in a while we get a happily ever after, but sometimes, bird doodoo falls from the sky and finds our shoulder. Brush it off and Write On.
This month's question: Do stories need happy endings?
 Send in your reply below! Editors love and appreciate feedback!
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Excerpt: I want to believe that Christmas day might mean no whaling, but that is a pipe-dream. These whalers are men and women working hard and long to earn enough money to feed and clothe their children when money is tight in their communities. We, as an environmental group, are a threat to them earning the money with which they can look after their families, and as such we are a nuisance to them; enough of a nuisance to have the navy intervene should we try. These are not evil people. They are mothers and fathers, sons, future wives, people who love the sea every bit as much as we do and yet here we are, in direct and aggressive confrontation on Christmas day!
Excerpt: Ruby Beesley rolled her eyes as the televangelist warned that recent UFO sightings were a portent of the end times. She shook her head and turned off the TV in her kitchen. How silly! The Lord might work in mysterious ways, but Ruby was pretty sure He hadn't sent little green men--not that she could see their tint, at least not since her Digoxin had made her color blind.
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Excerpt: “You look familiar, do I know you?” asked the woman. For a second, I panicked.
“I doubt it, we don’t move in the same circles,” I replied. While looking her over before I’d sat down beside her, I’d decided she wouldn’t be chatty because she was out of my league. I was wrong.
Excerpt: The poet paused on his walk to enjoy the sounds of the beach awakening: the thunk of tackle dropping into wooden hulls, the shouts of men pushing their boats over rough volcanic sand, and the splash of waves resisting their entry into the water. He loved the briny smell of fog blowing in from the early morning sea. Lifting his head to take a deep breath, he half opened his eyes. He tried to imagine how the world looked as a fog devoured shapes and colors, for he was blind. He sighed and listened, as the swish of oars pushing through water blurred and faded away.
Excerpt: “Your father only left you this piece of paper, Dear.” After everything Daddy and I had been through and all he left me was a piece of paper that made no sense? How in the world could this have happened? “It appears to be some sort of combination, so I guess technically he left you a mystery.”
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Excerpt: Rebecca stood up as did Richard, he placed his hand around her waist taking her other hand in his and pulled her in close to him. They danced under the stars in a slow passionate waltz.
Rebecca whispered in his ear, “Can I ask you something?”
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This month's question: Do stories need happy endings?
Send in your reply below! Editors love and appreciate feedback!
Last month's question: Do you find it easy to expand your short story into something larger?
Shanachie  replies: I took a short story I wrote once and expanded it into a series instead of making it a longer story. That one short story still stands alone, but now there are will be (when they're all finished) something like twelve stories that go with it. Each story stands on it's one, but sometimes the other characters pop up and each story has a common theme running through it. And they're all in the same verse. So it worked out well.
blunderbuss sends: No, I find it almost impossible to expand a short story at all. Lots of times readers (not online ones) & reviews (here for example)have suggested that I do. It hasn't inspired me yet, as I spent a lot of time & energy in getting within those word limits - which are everywhere. Easier is to cut them down for a lower word-limit criteria. But I will take another look! Thank you.
Quick-Quill  comments: Yes. I have short stories that beg to become a larger work. If it wasn't for the 3 novels that have their hooks into me I'd be writing that novel. I love the prompts here on Wdc. Sometimes they prick my imagination and sometimes they wrestle me to the ground to be heard.
J. A. Buxton responds: Easy? Unavoidable at times. Some of my short stories of 1,000 words or less became novels that I fought with my characters to keep down to 129 chapters. What I found difficult, not easy, was ending the story.
DRSmith answers: From my perspective, I don't think its a question as to whether we find it "easy" (or difficult) to expand, but rather had we purposely intended to set a story up for same. To me, short stories have a purpose, whereby most are meant to be just that: a complete, well-rounded tale with all the structural ingredients of a beginning, setting, plot, and theme with interactive characters that culminate in a fitting end for a satisfying read. However, now and then, a short story can be written as a stand alone item, but with deliberate intent to evoke: "I want more" from readers... holding them captive with unanswered questions perhaps. Hence, some short stories could serve as a prelude to a much broader theme, an idea predisposed for expansion. For example, "Invalid Item" is a short story written in response to a contest prompt, yet purposely intended to set the tone for delivering a provocative theme that could be developed into a full blown novel. IE, in this case: the "hint" tied to the title: <<the planet was destined to discover the true and dire meaning of the ancient beatitude: 'the meek shall inherit the earth.'>> What's in store for mankind, what's meant by: "dire"? and so on.
GeminiGem of House Lannister  admits: I had read that writing a series of short stories was a terrible way to write a longer piece. So I promptly started to write a series of short stories. (Rule following is not always my strong point.) Actually, I have two series. One of them is meant to be one cohesive story some day.
Callie hears Angels these days  tells: Every time I write a short story, I meet new people I want to know more about.  it's hard for me to remember the story arc when it turns into a chapter instead!
☮ The Grum Of Grums reveals: No, I find it quite difficult to translate from short story to something longer. That is mainly because I am still learning the importance of showing rather than telling. I have several "told" stories that could be much more effective if I "show" readers what is happening. But, IMHO, that takes time and a sense of identification with the characters which, for me, is far from easy. I am hopeful it will get easier (never easy) with practice.
Elfin Dragon-finally published submits: Expanding a short story into something large often depends upon the story itself. If I write it specifically as a short story I find it a bit difficult. But if I'm just writing an idea for a prompt of a contest I find often that short story becoming a larger idea. It's actually how one of my current ideas came into being. 
Thank you all for your thoughtful replies, they are much appreciated! |
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Short Stories: May 06, 2015 Issue [#6976]
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