THE NATURE OF SHORT FICTION

(Short Story or Novelette, or Novella)

 

Several years ago, I bought a 1970 Edition Writer's Digest book titled "Handbook of Short Story Writing." This small book gives practical advice on the how-to's of: Ideas, Characters, Dialogue, Plotting, Viewpoint, The Scene, Description, Flashback, Transition, Conflict, Revision, and Marketing.

With the complete guide, one would think a budding short story writer would soon learn the knack of writing decent stories, and perhaps one day turn into Eudora Welty. You remember her, don't you? I recently found another treasure at my local Half-Price Book Store titled "A Curtain of Green and Other Stories," by Eudora Welty. The first printing was in 1941 and the book has been reprinted many times. Her works are taught in college English courses.

"A Curtain of Green" contains seventeen short stories, ranging in length from twelve pages to twenty-five pages. In case you're wondering the exact length of a true short story, her stories probably can be considered the watermark.

The titles of her stories in "Curtain" are creations in themselves: "Lily Daw and the Three Ladies," "Old Mr. Marblehall," "Petrified Man," and "Death of a Traveling Salesman,"—to name a few.

You didn't know Eudora Welty wrote "Death of a Traveling Salesman?" She did—in 1930. And how many times has that twenty-five-page story been read, and re-read, and studied, and turned into a stage play? She was born in 1909 and died in 2001, went to college but returned home to live out her days in the home she was born in. She never married, but was said to be a "dreamy" sort of girl. I believe this "dreamy" characteristic came about because she was creating stories in her head.
We've all done that, haven't we? Looked dreamy? Or maybe in a trance?

I am no Eudora Welty, nor do I wish to be. But I value the short story more because of her talent, greatness, and influence.

These days, I'm turning more to writing shorter stories. Call them what you will—short stories, short fiction, mini-novels, or novellas—each one contains the same elements as any piece of fiction.

In this busy world we live in, readers must often cram in a few pages here, a few pages there. The short story--or novella, etc.--becomes a godsend for a quick satisfying story to ponder.

The Cattlemen's Ball-FREE-16 pages
By Celia Yeary

The story goes back to the original Cameron male, Ryan Cameron, who becomes the patriarch of the Cameron Family of Texas.  
http://rebeccajvickery.com/resources/CY_TheCattlemensBall_free%20version.pdf 

Take Five-Five short stories-$2.99-198 pages
By Linda Swift

These five short stories will intrigue readers like no other. Each one is a small treasure to savor.
http://www.amazon.com/Take-Five-ebook/dp/B0096R15T8/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1365194534&sr=1-8

The Short Story--FREE-284 pages
By Robert Louis Stevenson, Bret Harte, Washington Irving, Edgar Allen Poe, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Rudyard Kipling

Volunteers put this collection together as an ebook for the enjoyment of fans and perhaps new readers. It's not professionally formatted, but the stories are still there.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Short-story-ebook/dp/B004UK1NH0/ref=sr_1_15?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1365195967&sr=1-15&keywords=short+stories

 Celia Yeary-Romance...and a little bit 'o Texas

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/author/celiayeary
My Website
My Blog
Sweethearts of the West-Blog
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Spring Cleaning! It's fun!



CHERRY BLOSSOMS

 

April is almost upon us, the time of newness, the time of throwing out the old, and the time to take a deep cleansing breath of fresh spring air. (If you suffer from allergies, please ignore the last suggestion.)
At my house, the first thing we do is open all the doors and windows. We feel as though the air is stagnant, since it's been behind closed doors during the cold months. So, out goes the clogged air, and in comes fresh air.

But cleaning the house and porches are necessary tasks, and while they may be fulfilling to my soul, I personally like to clean my own personal space better.



1. Clothes closet--this cleaning job is complete. Instead of doing this in the spring, I work on it here and there until I have winter clothing on the back of the racks, and newer spring clothing toward the front. Any article of clothing I haven't touched in two years goes to Goodwill. It's pretty clear I'm not going to wear it.

My desk and surrounding area--

It's a very small desk with a two drawer file cabinet next to it.

The top of the file cabinet gives me a little more space.

 

2. Tasks:

--Go through cup with the cat on it that holds pens, pencils, and a nail file. Check each one--throw out the dry ones or nearly empty ones, and if a pencil hard a hard eraser, chunk that in the trash, too. Then go to stash of brand new shiny never-before used Foray Stylemark Fine Tip pens and choose the hot pink, purple and a new black one.

--Go through small wicker basket that holds various business cards for doctors, Holy Week church schedule (I now have it memorized), old receipts, and several small sheets from a notepad with insignificant or outdated information.

--From the desktop, remove prescription bottle that reminded me to order from Caremark, a stack of 5x7 cards with dozens of notes that are now indecipherable, four sticky notes from last week, a catalog for Clinique special for this month, a flyer that explains how to download Free Books for my Kindle from my library because the instructions don't work, and a little pile of colored paperclips.

--From the top of the file cabinet, throw out old notes and, spiral notebooks, and an old yellow legal size notepad.

--To my left, keep the all-important 9.5 x 6 spiral notebook I use for "Tasks for today." When I have everything checked off a page, I turn it back and begin a new page. This works really well for me. Also, break open the package of new 3/4 colorful notepads and choose pink (remember, it's spring.)

--Not to be dismissed lightly, please do dust and clean all surfaces as you go, including your computer.

TA-DA!!!!
CLEAN, ORGANIZED LITTLE DESK
IT'S NOT BIG, BUT I LOVE IT.
AND I CAN LOOK OUT THE BACK
AND WATCH THE BIRDS AND DEER.

--Last, but not least, nor can it be done in one day, Delete all old files, manuscripts, notes, etc. that's loaded on the computer. But by all means, be careful--do not delete anything important.  However if I do, I can retrieve it from the Recycle File.

There. Now I feel better.
Try it--you'll like it.

Celia Yeary-Romance...and a little bit 'o Texas
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/author/celiayeary
My Website
My Blog
Sweethearts of the West-Blog
My Facebook Page 

Could I? Would I? Should I?

Self-publish, that is.

I'm a teacher by nature and profession, and I'm also a self-learner. Some of my ventures sounded far-fetched to my family, such as going to college at age 27. But I did, and found ways to do all the work, and still run a small home, see after two small children, and be the best wife I could be.

Then golf interested me. At age 40 I took up that crazy, maddening game. I am not an athlete at all, and always had an aversion to playing a game with a ball that was thrown at me, that I was supposed to catch, and that I was supposed to either run with or throw to someone else. In golf, the ball is stationary, and it sits there until I'm ready to hit it. A much more civilized kind of game.

Writing a fiction novel then interested me. At first, only the writing kept me enthralled. I didn't care if I followed proper procedure or not...I only had fun making up and writing the stories.

But as with most, if not all authors, there came a time when I looked around and noticed women like me were publishing books with beautiful covers, and selling them. My next goal was to entice a publisher to give me a contract.

MY VERY FIRST PUBLISHED BOOK
BY THE WILD ROSE PRESS
WANT TO READ MY FIRST EFFORT?
IT'S $2.99 NOW AT AMAZON
BECAUSE IT'S OVER
TWO YEARS OLD.
I STILL LOVE THIS STORY!

With the first sold book, I caught on fire. Several novels and short stories later, I'm now falling under the spell of self-publishing. Never in a million years would I have thought to do this--I like having publishers. I LOVE my publishers.

Still, there's that same old challenge standing in my way, blocking all else except, "You, too, can self-publish."

And so, I'm hooked, caught up in the game, and trying to learn the ropes before I take the plunge.

Which story will I use first? I have two more manuscripts I pulled from publishers that are just sitting in my files. Use one of those?

Or will I write a new story, a virginal one, clean and pure, never touched by nor tainted by anyone else's hands?

The instructions from Amazon Kindle are waiting for me to read and study a little more.

A program to make a cover is part of the sticking point right now, but I have no doubt I will find something that suits me that I can conquer.

Now. I'm close to the starting block.

Stay tuned--I'll let you know how this turns out!

Celia Yeary-Romance...and a little bit 'o Texas

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/author/celiayeary

My Website

My Blog

Sweethearts of the West-Blog

My Facebook Page