short fiction

January 24, 2023

The Deed by Chris Makowski Storytime Blog Hop

The Deed by Chris Makowski cover — Cover by Vanessa Wells

“Doors stuck, shelves fell, and don’t get me started on the landscaping.” Albert pointed at the scratches still marring his cheeks. “I thought paint a little and rent it out.”

“It’s a Tudor Revival,” nice, solid pre-Depression construction. “And you know I worked on my Dad’s team, so I can do restoration.” I even had all Dad’s tools in my trailer.

He guffawed in my face. “Jenny, it’s a ruin by a swamp. No one’s lived there for decades, kids just go there to see the ghost lights and get drunk.” Much like he was.

He poured himself another. “Tell you what – you fix it up by month’s end, and I’ll sell it to you for a dollar.”

“A dollar? That’s it?”

He shrugged. “And back taxes, but that ain’t much. And Lynette has to agree.” Lynette had been a friend since grade one; she’d also turned me on to Albert’s latest ‘get rich cheap’ scheme. It was sell or take a bath on those back taxes.

I knew to the dime how much I had in the bank.

I could do this.

We shook hands and he gave me the keys. “Twenty days.”

The outside was ivy and ornate flourishes.

The inside was a place you hid from zombies.

It took me all day to unjunk the place; trash, cigarette butts, empty bottles, unmentionables. I expected dead animals, but even the cabinets were sans vermin. The City of Port Goode wanted to raze the property and make it a gas station or something, but the house had good bones under the rotting flesh. Hardwood floors, casement windows, carved baseboards: the builder had loved this place and it showed.

And under all the slime and grime, the bathrooms… <sigh>

I checked the living room fireplace then built a fire. Cot, sleeping bag, wind up clock and a good book.

Outside, fireflies played in the moonlight. I didn’t get much reading done.

The next day…

Windows stuck. Drawers tried to brain me. My tools moved from room to room, and the power went off – twice! – when I took a drill to a wall. Food rotted and my water smelled funny. I got wallpaper to come off in rotten sheets – thankfully, there wasn’t any carpet anywhere – but the stairs threatened collapse.

I fought back: bleach, wood, nails, and elbow grease. After the first time, I was hauling the trailer with me to get supplies, which ate gas but let me get more at a contractor’s discount. Worked until I was working by lantern and falling over.

And I woke up the next day and…

The zombies had been there and partied. Hard.

So I got up, and started all over again.

And again.

It was Monday.

I wanted this place. I loved this place. I needed this place. I’d spent ten days and most of my money.

Dad always said I was too stubborn for words.

I got up – stepped in the obligatory puddle – and rolled up my sleeves. “Listen to me, house. I’ve got ten days to put you right, or they’re going to make you into a parking lot.”

The fireplace belched soot, the pantry door crashed open, and a hippy dressed in leaves popped out, pointing a stick at me. “Get out, stubborn human!”

I didn’t throw the clock at her. “Look, Lady, I don’t know who you are, but I’m fixing this house. It doesn’t deserve to be torn down.”

“My house!” she waved the stick – and kudzu ate my cot.

“Ok,” Palms out, I backed off until the door behind me shut and locked itself. “You don’t want help keeping this place…”

“Keeping?” She frowned at me. “Not ‘gutting’? Not ‘painting white’?”

I shook my head hard. “No! Fixing! Keeping! Restoring!” When she hesitated, I went all in. “I love this place. I’d love to see it back how it was, beautiful, nice…”

She lowered the stick slightly. “Talk, human.”

I spent the morning explaining building codes and eminent domain. Then I got more done in the rest of the day than the previous ten. Bye wallpaper, hello wood paneling – almost everywhere wood paneling, though I got my bathroom.

Every time I went out for supplies, she examined everything I brought back. “Stain, finish, OK, but no paint!”

I lowered my head. “Your house, your rules.”

That got a nod and I got back to work. Almost fell off the roof twice, but there was this tree branch…

The city did it’s inspection three days before deadline. The house ‘barely passed’, but I had the papers in hand when I called Albert.

He was there inside an hour.

“Here, all nice and legal.” I had the new deed all filled out for his signature.

He slid the papers back at me and leered. “I’ll rent it out to you, Jenny. Won’t be that much.”

“That wasn’t the deal, Al.”

The lights went a little dim.

“You have that in writing?” He fondled my new wooden walls. “They’ll look good with some white paint.”

The fireplace spat soot again and the leafy woman stepped out of the pantry, pointing her stick. “Sign papers, man!”

“What is this, Halloween?” He spat on the wood floor. “What are you going to do if I don’t?”

Albert always was a little slow on the uptake.

Lynette signed next to Albert’s scrawl, and I handed her my last dollar. “Place looks like it suits you, Jenny. Your Dad would be proud.”

I stuck the paperwork and the tax receipt in my purse. “Thanks. It was lots of work – more than you’d know. But this place grows on you.”

“It just might. But what’s with the rock sculpture in the living room?”

“Oh that?” I gave her a smile. “Donated by a local artist.”

“It’s so… disturbing. What did she call it?”

“Deference.”

About the Author: Chris Makowski

Chris was born in the Pacific Northwest and lived briefly in Hawaii before being reared in New England. After traveling up and down and back and forth from coast to coast, he was dragged kicking and screaming in the bonds of matrimony to the State of Texas and has been mostly residing there ever since with his wife and son.

STORYTIME QUARTELY BLOG HOP JANUARY, APRIL, JULY, OCTOBER

The Deed by Chris Makowski Storytime Quarterly blog hop Jan April July Oct

Fishing Expedition by Laurie Hicks
The Deed by Chris Makowski <–YOU ARE HERE!
Fetching Water by Katharina Gerlach‘
Cataclysmic Disaster by Bill Bush
Fiddle of Gold by Barbara Lund Author
The Origin of a Reluctant Supervillain by Vanessa Wells
Help Wanted by Juneta Key

Midlife Ghostwalker Katje Storm Short Form Cover

January 14, 2023

Midlife Ghostwalker Series 87 Short Form Episodes Available

Short Form Serialization on Medium

150 Words or Less for each episode. There are 82 episodes in the short form outline. Book one expanded and revised version is currently in production. Plus five episodes of a short story outline in the same world. Coming in 2023.

Katje Storm

This was an experiment on Medium where I outline my first book in the Midlife series in short form, 150 words posts. I created 82 episodes. I am currently writing the first draft expanding and revising. I also have a short story in this world that outline on Medium–Midlife Mayhem. This is complete list of the episodes for reading for convenience. You can find all on Medium on my profile and in my lists on the right side of my profile under the name of series.

Want To Support My Writing Enabling Me To Get More Stories Out?
If you are not a Medium member you can read the first three episodes for free. You can subscribe for $5 a month and become a member. I am in the Medium Partnership Program which means I earn money depending on how many minutes a reader spends reading, which depends on how long my stories are. Theses shorts are under 1 minute in read time, so I don’t earn much, but if you subscribe and use my affiliated link, I will get a small portion of the monthly fee for as long as you are a member. Thank you in advance for supporting my work. Here is my Medium Affiliate Link.

Midlife Crisis Trope
Genre: Paranormal Women’s Fiction

(Minu Blurb)

I turned 40, filed for divorce from my cheating soon-to-be ex-husband, if that is not bad enough, he MURDERED me. I didn’t stay dead. I’m magical with a destiny. Who knew? Not me!

Premise:

I have seen ghosts all my life, mostly I ignored them. I thought everyone one saw them, but I live in a magical world I could not see before I died. Now I can’t unsee it. I am a ghostwalker. I have no idea what a ghostwalk is or does, but the dead and the magical do. The dead gave me a guide and teacher to help me figure it out, and the magical community just wants to hire me or use me.

In the human world I am an orphan, a procrastinator, and just can’t get my shit together. I have stayed in a marriage for ten years despite the fact I should have left after the first year. He comes from a big family. I so wanted to be part of that so I hung on. I should have faced the fact they will never love and accept me.

When I caught my husband in bed with another woman — in our house! Well, I was done. Ok I admit, I had suspected he cheated over the years, but in my face? I finally had enough and left filing for divorce.

I am not even sure it was the cheating that did it, but it was the last straw of disrespect I was willing to accept.

I’m tired of being seen as a doormat, people pleaser, the needy orphan in need of love and acceptance, and taken for granted — by everyone! It is time I demanded some respect, and apparently the universe decided to help me with that, along with Shamus, my cheating husband.

This short form experiment was an outline for a novel, which is currently in production expanding, revising, and editing for book length. Read the outline of the experiment that started the series all 87 links on one page for convenience of access.

All 82 link to the Short Form on Medium on one page. Plus five more links to the outline for the short story.

MIDLIFE MAYHEM a short story outlined in short form. This will be a giveaway to my newsletter subscribers.

Want to know more, stay up to date and be the first to hear when Midlife Ghostwalker is released?

Sign up for the Newsletter here!

August 29, 2022

Do You Struggle With Structure In Your Short Short?

An expansive mini-guide for structuring your short story.

Structure and Character in the Short Story

Let’s talk about short story creation and structure.

Word Limits:

· A short story typically has 1500 to a 7500-words. You need to always read and follow submission guidelines when submitting stories.

· Flash Fiction has around 500 to a 1000-words.

*Word count image created in Excel by the author using information from* *Wikipedia* *and the* *Author Learning Center*

These tips tailored for — but not limited, to stories 3000 to 4000 words.

To Start:

· You need a character with a deep need or desire. Something that they will fight or struggle to get or resist. They need an external need/desire and an internal need/desire. This need or want is intertwined with the character’s core motivation for their actions and choices, consciously or subconsciously, good or bad. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.

· Your character needs resistance, and by that, I mean something, someone, situation or event, that prevents them from fulfilling their deep need or desire. This resistance generates conflict for the forward story movement.

Clarify and simplify your character’s personality with a one-word description tool to capture character essence while you write. Describe them with one word to help you create a concept in your mind to use as a guide. ex: hopeless romantic, avenging mailman, nervous bank teller, guilty father, cranky bus driver.

Decide on setting. Setting can be snow at Christmas, or in the middle of Walmart, or a rainy day Monday, or waiting for a bus at the bus terminal.

Or a situation can also serve as both setting, location, and generate general conflict ideas: A bank robbery or shopping for toilet paper during the Corvid19 pandemic.

Start a short story as close to the end and in the action as possible.

The Hook

What is a story hook? Why use it? A hook is something that is special about your story that grabs the reader’s attention keeps them reading. A hook is story-based through ideas and concepts directly connect to the story world. Suggested reading: Active Hooks.

In short stories, the hook works somewhat like the inciting incident in novel plotting. You want to grab them in the first couple of lines or by the first and second paragraphs.

Keep your word limits in mind.

Start your story in the middle of the action, or with active dialogue, or active setting as story character or reveal some aspect of your character. Suggested reading: Active Setting

Get rid of thought verbs, to be verbs and excess filler words such as just, really, very, even, then/than, suddenly, and phrases like at or in the moment, just now and so forth. Write with conciseness. Limit your adjectives.

Use strong verbs such as batter, blab, growl, gush, shimmer.

The purpose of a scene is to show a moment in the life of the character within the story world moving toward the story end goal.

Story Movement — Rising Action

The rising action is a series of actionable scenes leading up to the climax of a story.

The word limits of short stories do not leave a lot of room for characterization, setting, and conflict. That means you have to be selective in word choice and limit your conflict.

The rising action begins at the beginning of any story. Actions and choices, when presented with resistance, move your character toward the story’s high point. (Novels structure refers to this as the climax — turning point.)

Short stories, unlike novels, will only have two or three of these moments until the turning point because of word limits.

Conflict In Story: Resistance

The purpose of all conflict in stories is to move the story forward toward the end story goal or scene story goal.

Conflict is NOT something random happening or daily routine.

Conflict is anything that stands in the way of your character reaching their greatest desire or need creating change within the character and/or outside the character or story world.

Conflict is generated and sustained through the choices and actions your character takes when blocked by the resistance, keeping them from the thing they desire or need most.

The High Point or Climax

The climax is somewhere in the middle of ANY story. Everything after that will be falling action moving the character toward the resolution or end story goal.

The climax is the highest pivotal moment or emotional point signifying a change in direction or heart in the story. It is the moment when your character realizes how much they have to lose.

It also clarifies and solidifies all rising action to this point leaving, no doubt why this is happening or happened.

The character is all in — no turning back win or lose.

In short stories, this is often the dark night of the soul too or followed, in short, by the dark night of the soul because of limited word counts. The falling action then is the events that move the story toward the end goal or resolution.

Falling Action

Falling action occurs after the climax and sets a tone opposite of rising action cueing the reader the end approaches.

In a short story, you may have two or just one falling action moment, conflict — resistance, before the resolution. The falling action is the journey to the wrap-up. You tie up loose ends giving the reader closure for the story.

A Summary of Short Story Structure

The beginning = Setup a character with a problem in setting
The rising resistance = A character faced with choices and prevented from reaching or achieving their deepest desire or need. (Obstacles to overcome internal and/or external.)
The climax = This is the highest point in the story. It is created by the rising action forcing the character to go all-in with no turning back.
The falling action = The journey and resistance to reach the end tying up all unfinished elements moving to the story resolution.
The resolution = The problem is solved through the characters, choices or actions, achieving their deepest desire or need or accepting the loss. All loose ends are resolved. It may also show a brief glimpse of the character in this new world created by their journey and choices.

Here are some free tools to help you create characters and guide story structure.

· Cheat Sheet: Character Creation & Short Story Structure.

· Bonus extended character creation cheat sheet using astrology for creating more 3-dimensional characters and in-depth worldbuilding.

· What makes a good flash fiction piece?

August 25, 2022

4 Things You Can Do To Help Guide Short Story Structure

All stories should contain a guiding structure creating a spine shaping a clear beginning, middle, and end for the reader’s satisfaction.

All stories follow a basic story structure with a beginning, middle, and end. It is an innate expectation that we learned in childhood from the first time someone told us a story, fictional or personal, or we read a book or watch a television program or cartoon.

The trick to structuring short fiction is making the most of fewer words to get the story told.

There are many story structure types that work, at least, for the bigger stories over 3000 words. All tangible things have some sort of frame, skeletal form or load-bearing points to support the reality of its existence. This can be literally or metaphorically. It’s true for a story too.

For storytellers these are some of the most common forms of structure: The 3 act structure (Act I, Act II, Act III), the 3 act structure with the two-part middle (Act I, Act II part 1, Act II part 2, Act 3), the 5 point plot structure, the 7 point plot structure, story beats and so on, but it is hard to make those work and work well in shorter fiction.

But, what about flash fiction and short stories?

You still need to provide some form of story structure so the story makes sense, and your readers can follow it. You also need to end shorter fiction with an ending that will NOT disappoint or leave your reader dissatisfied.

If you missed it, I wrote an article about what it takes to make a good flash fiction.

What makes a good flash fiction piece? Article on Medium

To answer that question, we need to understand what flash fiction is about. It is a short story under 1000 words…

4 Points To Start With

Start with a character in trouble with an immediate problem/threat/obstacle to resolve. (This can be emotional, and people related e.g. romance and family connections. The key is writing it in active voice using active verbs, phrases, and action words for short fiction.)
Start as close to the end as possible— limited word count makes this necessary. The bulk of your words will go to middle. That is why you want to Hook’em.
Give your character a strong need or desire that fuels their motivation and write toward that goal. (Make a list of every obstacle you can think of that will prevent them from reaching or achieving this deep desire/need and problem.)
In the end it must feel like an end and make your reader happy they took time to read your work: Thrill’em, Wow’em, Surprise’em, Shock’em, Make’em laugh or just be darn right clever and/or witty.

The Beginning…

In flash fiction, you want close to 75% of your words to go toward the middle splitting the last 25% for use in the beginning and end.

That is why you want to Hook’em. Put a question in their mind, or make them curious about what comes next, start with a pivotal moment or unusual situation, a quirky character, situation or tone of story. (6 Tips For Engaging Readers on Kobo by Paul Bernstein.)

Middle…

The middle in any story will house the largest part of your total word count.

For short stories, use active verbs and active descriptions with no frills which help cut unnecessary usage of words. Limit descriptive words and let the readers imagination do the rest. If you choose the right word you only need one or two at most. Google active verbs and active description to find all kinds of lists free online to use.

You need high stakes e.g. life and death intensity or at least to your character. (The antagonist or conflict needs to be part of the obstacle preventing your character from achieving that deep need or desire.)

Now to contradict myself a little because you know life is really an oxymoron.

It does not have to be life and death stakes as long as there is conflict — something preventing your character from doing what they need to do or forcing them to do something they don’t want to do.

Not all stories are do or die, but it does make them fun.

What is Conflict in the Short Story or Flash Fiction? Article on Medium

What was the story question or problem you introduce in the beginning of your story? Did you answer or solve it? Tie up your loose ends. In a short story you don’t have room for more than one, or sometimes two, loose ends. Readers want satisfaction, closure. They want to be surprised, make them laugh, thrilled them, or give them the emotional touch…

Find Your Ending in Flash Fiction and Short Stories? Article on Medium

One of the best courses I have ever taken involved learning how to write flash fiction by Holly Lisle. Free 3-week flash fiction course. This is an affiliate link.

I hope you found this useful. I am still learning myself. I found I enjoy sharing what I learn. My focus and investment right now are in short fiction. Learning to create good shorts that are fun and people enjoy is a top priority, because I have partnered with another writer to create themed anthologies at Stormdance Publications. It has been a fun and rewarding adventure.

Here are my tips to help improve your short stories.

Juneta Key is the columnist and editor of The Ninja Writers Pub fiction section on Medium. She is the manager of the accountability program for Ninja Writers LLC and founder and host of the Write-In Saloon. She is the CEO of Writer’s Gambit Fiction Consultations, and offers coaching in fiction story development, short story, world building, and Scrivener. As an author Juneta is an admin and moderator for Insecure Writer’s Support Group (IWSG), Facebook community & IWSG Goodreads Book Club. She is a co-founder of Storytime Quarterly Blog Hop, and co-owner of Stormdance Publications which publishes themed anthologies. Her current novel project is the Ghost Pirate, a space opera from the Starlight Galaxy series.

May 16, 2022

Midlife Ghostwalker: Katje Storm: A Serialized Short Form on Medium.

Midlife Ghostwalker: Katje Storm

150 Word Short Form Serialization on Medium.
An Experiment in outlining and storytelling.
Midlife Crisis Trope
Genre: Paranormal Women’s Fiction

BLURB:
I just turned forty, plus I just filed for divorce from my cheating soon-to-be ex-husband, but if that is not bad enough, he murdered me. I didn’t stay dead. Turns out I’m magical, a ghostwalker with a destiny I had no clue about.

Read my serialized story on Medium.

I recently learned if you are reading short form stories you do not need a friend link you can read as many short forms behind the payway as you want to without subscribing. Just click the linK above and start reading. As of June 10th, 2022 I am up to episode thirty. E1-30.

An Experiment In Short Form: What is Medium Short Form?

Medium has introduce a new format. 150 word stories for readers who want bite-size reads. Those 150 words include title, subtitle, photo credits, and link words.

The challenge for me is to tell a novel size story in episodes 150 words a pop. I invite you to come on the journey with me and read, comment, tell me how I am doing. Are you engaged? Does the story excite you? Are you having fun? The experience for me is to create rough draft (outline) of a novel, world build, in bites bits for a short form serialization. Its experiment to later be enlarged into a novel.

Here is what Medium says about their short form requirements.
About my Midlife Ghostwalker on Medium.

My Publishing Timeline

My goal is to publish an episode a week on Medium, but more often if I can manage it in my schedule.

Would you like to support me on Medium?

If you use my Medium Referral link I will get $2.27 of the $5.00 monthly subscription fee you pay to Medium. I earn money when subscribers read my stories on the Medium site, unfortunately reading via email subscription or mobile app, or not clicking into the full story to read does not count. This info provide for your FYI, and thank you for reading me in any shape, form, or platform.

Not A Member of Medium? You can still read.

If you are not a member of Medium, I don’t earn money, but you can still read my serialization short form stories free by using my Friend Links down below. If you use the friend link you do not have to sign up for Medium to read or subscribe. I recently learned that you do not need friend link to read short form, those or unlimited reads whether you subscribe or not.

If you have a free account, you can read 3 stories behind the paywall every month free. If the story is not behind the paywall you can read free by signing up for their free account, which means you can read any story not behind the paywall and up to three each month behind the paywall. (FYI my stories are all behind the paywall.)

If you decide to subscribe, the $5.00 a month allow you unlimited and unrestricted reading on Medium.

Read Some Of My Other Fiction Free On My Website

Fiction you can read free on my website here. Some of these stories are also on Medium behind the paywall but you can read total free here on junetakey.com. If you have a problem shoot me an email.