The point I was trying for, was that there are different styles of stories and that they offer the writer opportunities to do different things. Sometimes it is enough to illustrate only one point, only one really significant aspect of Life, the Universe, and Everything with the story. Not every tale needs to make us laugh, cry, ponder and dream of what might have been. And this is a good thing. I have finished books which leave me reeling with a cacophony of emotional turmoil, and frankly, if they all did that I think my head would explode. But then I read a lot. To me, if the author is going for a chuckle, and the chuckle happens, then the story is a success.
<br>I get more than ten minutes for rebuttal, right? :)<br><br>Your point may not be the only one missed, so let me try again.<br><br>If I compare ETD to your own The Customer is Always Right there is a basic, but I feel an important, difference in the
structure of the story. In TCIAR, Tse-Pesh and Max chat for a bit, then the story
leaves the setting and then tells the real story, in real time. We Rrraal/Tchak and what happens to him in his "human" story (funny to say that about a Dracula vs. the Wolf Man story). In ETD, the jump is never made into full story mode. Instead, we just get the outline--Mortz killed and Gratz conquered to get at Mortz. This is not the same thing as showing Gratz persuing Mortz, showing Mortz's immoral acts, and how it wore on Gratz, changing him as he chased.<br><br>
Some stories aren't meant to be life-altering events.
<br>As you said to Jaimie, the best stories are about people. I agree with that wholeheartedly. I would argue that all events involving people are life altering, because you can never be the same person you were yesterday. Gratz's love was, presumably, killed in a particularly unpleasant and unjust way, and Gratz yowed to spend the rest of his life getting revenge. This is about as life-altering as it gets, and these life-altering actions are central to this plot. However, in this story, it takes only
35 words: “And Riegar Mortz and his gang of thieves found Yanari one day, and stole many things from her. Money. Valuables. Innocence. Eventually they took her life.”<br> Gratz’s eyes narrowed. “That’s the day my mission began.”<br><br>
Our base discussion seems to be about the desirability and utility of the 'belly up to the bar and tell your tale' plot device as used in the short story venue. I still contend that this method of info dumping is completely viable, sensible even, and has a very definite place in the genre if done well.
Upon rereading my previous post I don't see anywhere where I said the writer doesn't have to do a good job in the format.
<br>Actually, I think the crux of the discussion may be what constitutes a story, but I'm not getting into that. As for doing a good job, I quite agree. My contention here is that to make this a human story that the audience relates to, it needed to drop out of overview mode and get personal. There is nothing wrong with starting out by chatting with Max. However, I do say there's something wrong with never
stopping the chat and telling the real, human story underlying the character's motivations or what happens to him or her next.<br><br>
We're not writing for aliens, Nate. We don't have to describe how the climate is affected in the northern hemisphere by the axial tilt of the planet or how the Julian calendar came to be. There is no need to go into the chemical make-up of gunpowder or the function on chemoreceptive nerve plexi in mammals for this line to evoke both a visceral and a cerebral response from our readers. We needn't launch into a treatise on how humans congregate into cities and the evolution of urban blight to set a scene using common referents. We simply use the plot device of a shared cultural experience, and keep going with the story.
<br>This may not be a kick to the shin, but it figuratively sounds like dirt meant for my eye. Using all the senses to describe the world in concrete detail doesn't mean describing any of these things, and I think you know that. >:(<br><br>As for the Superman flash story, I think you misunderstood me. I didn't mean flash can't be told in less than 1000 words. Writers are paid to do that all the time. Alien Skin paid me to do that once. I meant I haven't seen a flash story that put all the elements into it--professionalism, a strong setting described with all the senses, engaging characters who develop over the course of a story, a credible plot with a conflict that's resolved because of something the characters learned on the way, and believable dialog. That's too much to fit.<br><br>If it happens in any way that connected to the Mare, it's a Mare story, and now is in that subgenre, no matter what. However, that doesn't mean there wasn't room for improvement in this or any other Mare story. I hope you'll allow that just because it's a Mare tale doesn't mean it's all beautiful. <br><br>No, Bill, the story doesn't have to move mountains and split the atom whilst whistling the Star-Spangled Banner. The final benchmark of any story
must be whether or not it moves the reader, either with enjoyment or other deep emotion. You seem to have really liked this one. I thought it was ok, but I would have enjoyed something that portrayed human events and emotions as if they were happening at the moment
more, and in a nutshell, I think that's all I was saying.<br><br>Nate