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Printed from https://www.writing.com/main/newsletters/action/archives/id/9690
Fantasy: August 07, 2019 Issue [#9690]




 This week: Survival Food: Edible Insects
  Edited by: Prosperous Snow celebrating
                             More Newsletters By This Editor  

Table of Contents

1. About this Newsletter
2. A Word from our Sponsor
3. Letter from the Editor
4. Editor's Picks
5. A Word from Writing.Com
6. Ask & Answer
7. Removal instructions

About This Newsletter

I posted the following on Facebook after the Great Grasshopper Invasion of 2019.

The grasshoppers, that invaded the Las Vegas strip, ignored my section of town entirely. I've figured out the reason. I live in one of the poorer sections of town. The grasshoppers were afraid that we would catch them and eat them.



Word from our sponsor

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Letter from the editor

Humans have been eating various insects for uncounted millennia. Some of these consumable insects, which can be purchased from various online retailers, are grasshoppers, locus, crickets, Manchurian scorpions, and ants. Besides being gourmet foods, these creatures are also survival foods. People have been eating them in times of famine or as a part their regular diet for centuries.

Over the past week I have discussed the grasshoppers with several different people. One woman said that one of them had hit her in the head and gave her a head ache for several days. The other woman said she found two huge grasshoppers, I think she was referring to locus, attached to her screen door and another to one of her trees. She immediately disposed of them. I don't think either woman ever considered the possibility of eating them because locus are not consider normal food items by many people.

I considered them as possible food source because (1) I've heard of fried grasshoppers, (2) I'm normally willing to taste any unusual or exotic food, and (3) I think using insect, as food, in a story or poem makes as interesting read.

Have you ever considered letting your characters eat insects when they are on the trail? Have you considered putting insects on the menus of the pubs or taverns they go to? Edible insects can be used to reveal your characters likes and dislikes. If used properly, they can also help advance the plot. These are only a few thought on the way insects can be used in a story. I suspect there are numerous ways insects can be used in stories besides as a food source.


Editor's Picks

 
STATIC
A Bridge Too Far  (E)
A troll finds a new home in the city
#2195410 by Beholden

Excerpt: Mugglegub the troll was in deep trouble. To be more precise, he was in triple trouble.

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This item number is not valid.
#2194985 by Not Available.

Excerpt: She sees me. Is it so bad? It’s not like she’s real. She’s pretty. Nice of a mirage to be pretty. The bookcase under my hand, the trigger opens and I’m in the dark. It’s so dark in here. A doorknob in the dark. I miss the sun. It’d be nice to know the sun like a friend. Door’s closed and locked. Mirages can’t follow me here. They need the light.

 
STATIC
Shed No Tears  (13+)
What could happen if DNA was genetically altered for something to help the community?
#2194546 by Eric Wharton

Excerpt: Jordi crumpled up another page from the magazine on his lap and tried to figure where he had gone wrong. Introspection was not one of his better attributes, so he was obviously having difficulty. Just because he hadn't adhered to the existing state of affairs was no reason for his current treatment.

 Invalid Item 
This item number is not valid.
#2195748 by Not Available.

Excerpt: “What do you make of it Captain?" “Let's figure that out when we have more information John." As the two men looked at their screens, the blip was on the outer edge of the planetary system and heading our way fast. ”It's like nothing I have seen before Captain."...

STATIC
Bad Luck  (E)
Trolls forage on a battlefield. Winner of the Writer's Cramp, June 15 2019.
#2193397 by Beholden

Excerpt: Lieutenant Gozni Kalibon Kornbuster was the first to see the battlefield they were looking for. The humped and grotesque shapes of bodies, shadows of death in the moonlight, spread like a street of poorly-laid cobbles as far as the trollish eye could see. This had been quite a fight, it seemed.

 Invalid Item 
This item number is not valid.
#2196899 by Not Available.

Excerpt: Feng woke up feeling different. Buzzed and breathless, actually, instead of the serene and silent way she slipped from sleep into wakefulness every dawn. Perhaps it was because of the dream.

 
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Ask & Answer

Quick-Quill Writes: This may be difficult. Some characters are easy to define. Love, greed, jealousy, fear, and revenge. Why would a woman suddenly walk away from her home and life? I'm going to try writing a story about a woman who chooses to help a man she's only seen a few times. (He's handsome to her) Why? Because she's 45. single, in a rut (her friend keeps reminding her) She hasn't found anyone interesting to date. This man appears on her doorstep asking for help. Most of us wouldn't open the door in the first place. Why? She recognizes him and he's asking for her help. He needs her to do something dangerous, out of her element. What motivates her to do it? that friend who always tells her to take a chance. Climb out of her rut. Be adventurous. I had difficulty at first wondering how I could get a woman to help this character. Now I have her motivation. She takes a leap. My sister (57 yrs) jumped off that tall skyscraper in Las Vegas. She sent a picture. What would motivate someone to do a crazy thing like that???

BIG BAD WOLF is hopping Writes: All sorts of things motivate my characters - love, justice, revenge, a bottle of Jack Daniels whiskey - just to name a few.

ForeverDreamer Writes: Thank you very much for including "Dismal Creek in the Newsletter. I am honored.


ForeverDreamer Writes: Thank you for including my story in the Newsletter. I am honored.

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