  Short Stories
This week: From A Wayside in Indiana Edited by: Legerdemain  
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Travel Ideas
They say when you don't have time to write, you have time to come up with ideas. I don't seem to find time for either lately, but I did think of something pretty awesome to share with you. In my travels across the United States, (I really don't know if this is true for other countries, let me know!) I end up pulling into rest stops on the Interstate. While most are quite tidy, there is nearly always some interesting character to people-watch. Especially the interaction between tired and road weary members of a family. Those of you who travel know...it's great fodder for character development. Why heck, even Stephen King wrote about rest stops. He wrote a short story for Esquire called 'Rest Stop' in 2003, and was also published in the 'Just After Sunset" collection of shorts. Then there was the interaction at a rest stop in a story he wrote called 'Mile 81'. Give them a read, and stay away from dusty old station wagons.
Anyway, my suggestion wasn't about infamous vault toilets or a particular car, but about the travel brochures that are in big racks at rest stops. I like to pull a few down that look interesting and give them a look at my next stop or read them if I'm not driving. Some of these brochures read pretty crazy, just like places listed on the website "Roadside America" Even in my own state of New Jersey, you can find a listing for 'Space Farms Zoo and Museum'. While the place has nothing to do with space and more about the founder's last name, it boasts some cool items. On display are animals in jars, and a dead turtle who lived 59 years and had the great-grandfather's initials carved in it. Also a huge bear that lived at the museum and was stuffed upon death. Apparently there are also live animals in the petting zoo. While I'm pretty positive it's not going to make my must-see bucket list, there has to be some cool story ideas there.
So the next time you're surfing that website, or wandering a rest area, think of writing and look for fun ideas. And as always, Write On!
This month's question: Do you look over the travel brochures? Do they give you ideas? Send in your answer below!  Editors love feedback!
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Excerpt: The course at Pinecrest never looked more spectacular. The early morning rays glanced off the dew on the freshly cut grass near hole one. The smell of the azaleas wafting over the virgin turf would have been intoxicating to any golfer's enthusiasm, and it certainly was not wasted on the pair warming up at the first tee.
"Doesn't get any better than this, Danny. Nothing beats being first on the course at early light," said Mike Webber, twisting with his club across his back.
"No, I suppose not," replied Daniel Frost with a smirk. He had waited for Mike to repeat that same sentence, and it came on cue just like clockwork.
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Excerpt: For the printer Jules Benoit the morning began like any other. At 8.00 am sharp he arrived at his little print shop on the edge of the busy Les Halles market, chained his bike to a railing, and bought a paper and a cigarette from the news-stand on the corner. As he unlocked the door the regular German patrol passed by; it, too, was dead on time, and the young sergeant politely wished him good morning.
Benoit pretended he hadn't heard. He was not a morning person, especially where the Boche were concerned. For a moment the sergeant actually looked disappointed, then he shrugged, said something in German to his companions, and they went on their way. Benoit shrugged as well and shook his head wearily. They never seemed to learn. What did he expect? Hugs and kisses?
Excerpt: Please allow me to introduce myself. I am a black and white cat, and my name is Othello. I originally lived with a family named Goldberg a ways outside of a city called Krakow, in Poland. My life was a normal cat life, lived mostly indoors. I had a big house, with many stairs and places to explore. There was always plenty of love, laughter and food.
Excerpt: "Margie, don't cry. Seth is in with the psychiatrist now. I'm sure we can use an insanity defense."
Margie nodded and sniffed into her tissue.
"Any defense is better than the one he's claiming. I've never heard of anyone using the-devil-made-do-it defense."
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Excerpt: It looked like an ordinary well. Quaint but quite ordinary. An oak-paneled bucket tied to a slightly fraying hemp rope dangled over the thick wooden cover that was weathered and aged.
"Whoa! Check this shit out!" Norman was the first to approach it, dropping his sneakers in the thick surrounding grass and howling about it. "Damn! I don't want to mess my stuff up!"
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Excerpt: Many times you may have noticed while some couples are lovey-dovey, declaring their love to each other, other couples are shy or discreet. Similarly, some girls are the ones following boys around, spoiling them, building up their ego. However, it was the complete opposite for Robert and Jenna, a recently married couple, their marriage was arranged by their parents. Robert sat on the chair, recalling the conversation he had before their marriage shortly after which his father, Ian, died.
Excerpt: The rain was falling heavily and there was the odd rumble of thunder as the mob worked their way along the country lanes. Some carried burning torches to light the way and others were armed with pitchforks and hoes, prepared to fight.
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This month's question: Do you look over the travel brochures? Do they give you ideas? Send in your answer below! Editors love feedback!
Last month's question: What are some of your favorite types of sites to research? How has it helped your writing?
RedButterfly  responded: I like short stories. My favorite is James Baldwin's story "Sunny's Blues." I like it because on the surface I relate to the the main character's struggle with drugs. A world I'm familiar with. But, I love it because of the way the undercurrent of Blues rhythms/ sounds move the story forward in the way that the character and the story move the action foreword. Maybe I begin a short story today.
Cheri Annemos  answered: To answer your question about favorite research sites. These are just a few of my favorite sites. You can figure out why, I'm sure.
militaryacronyms.net
http://visihow.com/Get_through_MCT_%28Military_Combat_Training_Marines%29
http://www.military.com/daily-news/2014/01/24/darpas-bionic-arm-can-be-controlle...
http://www.noble.org/ag/economics/ranch/
Quick-Quill  sent: I love the research part of writing. Some I do very detailed, and even took a road trip. Some is just internet search. I love talking to lder people an getting them to tell family stories. They are usually filled with plot bunnies.
Elfin Dragon-finally published  said: Oh man, research, research, research. I think I've been all over the web for just about everything. Lately it's been science and space. My technique is use "Bing" and then pick a site that looks promising. But seriously, any type of research I do, whether it's on the web, asking my father (a minister) or asking a stranger on the street. All of it goes into my research database. And a some point in time it gets used for something; a short story, poem or novel.
GaelicQueen  admits: I am not well traveled. I like to use location travel websites, Rand McNally Maps, Wikipedia, Pinterest, and many friends who are travelers who send me pictures & descriptions of the places they visit. Okay, it's not the same as being there, but it works for me.
brom21 suggests: Wikipedia is a good and concise site to refer to. I’ve used it several times. I also used Dictionary.reference.com once to look up a word or two. Other than that I can’t think of any other sit’s I’ve used. What sites do you suggest?
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Short Stories: July 29, 2015 Issue [#7122]
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