Discussion of "Welcome to My Fugue" by ShadowMan

Oh, this took a huge turn for the better (and it was pretty darned good to start with), Shadow. Much more detail in the writing, tighter and moving fast. Great! Five on this one!

Thanks, WW. I try to write these as quickly as possible as a kind of writing exercise. My wife is an artist and she often does quick sketches just to capture the essence of her subject; I use these StoryMash shorts in the same basic way. It's one of the things I love about this site. Just grab an idea from someone else and run with it (like the Gingerbread Man). I know many of my stories come out a bit skeletal, but I tend to have a minimalist style even when I take my time. Perhaps I should get into screenwriting (ha ha).

Nice turn Shadow. I like where you took it. Hopefully I can do it justice.

check the new entry on my profile page please

I think this chapter moved a little too fast from point A to point B, but the direction is nice and leaves lots of story opportunities.

LOL...shadow, geesh we could almost be twins when it comes to writing style. I, also, use SM as an exercise for quick, spontaneous writing. Not only is it fun, it got me writing again after a hundred years or so! I mentioned to wsells that screenwriter's write screenplays because they're too lazy to write a novel...lol. I hope I didn't piss him off...naw, he understood the context, I'm sure? LOL.

WWB: Concise. The term is "concise." As in "screenwriters write screenplays because they're too concise to write a novel." Visual would also be an acceptable answer. It's a different way to tell a story: stripping the ability to hear inner thoughts, limiting the wording emotional responses to something an actor can portray on screen, cutting extranneous words whenever possible, working the magic of white space, starting every scene as late as possible and finishing at the earliest available point, crafting dialog with careful subtext... It's no easier than writing a novel; it's just different.

Short stories and one-offs, on the other hand, are valid formats for people too lazy to write novels. Easier here, due to the non-requisite for closure. Still a challenge in its own right, but more candy bars than gourmet meals.

LOL...whew! Ok, ok, already. I was only kidding anyway. I know that writing a screenplay is no easier than writing a novel because I've tried.
If you took my comment the way you did, then maybe wsells really is pissed off. I think I'll apologize right away.

As I've come to expect from you Shadow. Great work and nice hanger.

go to the graph thread by dogdiety11

Great writing, though I agree its very screenplayish; like a stripped down Hemmingway I guess? (I'm terrible at comparisons, lol)

4 out of 5 :).