Words In The Dark
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About this ebook
Twenty minutes is not a lot of time. Less than a sitcom. One of the regular exercises in a writing group to which I belong is to receive a random writing prompt and turn it into a short story. When I receive my prompt, I have no idea what it will be about. All I know is that in twenty minutes I’ll be reading a story to my peers, a story that doesn’t yet exist. A story that I’m about to write. I unfold the paper or open the box and receive inspiration. That is where these stories come from. There isn’t enough time to do research or interviews. No time to plan an elaborate plot. Ernest Vincent Wright once, as a challenge, tied down the e key on his typewriter and wrote the novel Gadsby without a using single e. My overwhelming constraint in crafting these stories is time. How to touch a heart, capture a soul or inspire a reader in such a short period? That is what these sixteen stories are all about.
Jon Paul Olivier
Jon Paul Olivier lives in south Louisiana with his wife and two children. He was blessed with opportunities to travel starting at a very young age. He has watched others struggling to fit in as well as been that person trying to fit in. Along the way, he has looked for the little details, the things in the background, that make stories real. In time, encouraged to write down the stories he told, he started writing tales inspired by his travels and by the people he met along the way. He is grateful that his family puts up with the hours he spends writing. Away from work and writing, he is an avid runner and enjoys mountain climbing. Connect with him online: Twitter: http://twitter.com/jonpaulolivier Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/jon.p.olivier
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Words In The Dark - Jon Paul Olivier
Table of Contents
Preface
Dedication
Obituary
Creation
A Box of Kittens
Phone Sales
Rattlesnake Gulch
The Law
Nagged Psychic
Dutch Oven Cook-off
Pickpocket
Say I Love You
See Something, Say Something
Saving A Life
Wicked Witch
Donation
Too Quiet
Dollars and Buckets
About the Author
Other Works.
Jon Paul Olivier also wrote To Be Ordinary, Billy and Pancho, Aroma, Locks of her Hair and Tablet Topics. These books are available at most online retailers.
Smashwords Edition, License Notes
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Preface
I belong to an author’s group at my local library. I wandered in there a few years ago and sat down to begin an adventure. The group accepted me at once and we shared, learning and critiquing together. As part of our meetings we are given random writing prompts and have about twenty minutes to write a short story. We do one of these a month so I’ve finished a number of these stories. They are different from my novels. I don’t have the time to create rich and memorable characters or settings. I usually have about three or four minutes to work with the prompt and come up with a plot. With twenty or so minutes to read and edit the story, each one is very short. I try to create stories that evoke emotions in my readers, but the format makes that a considerable challenge. The plots vary, colored by what I saw or heard that week, or our discussions that night at the meeting
We start the meetings late in the afternoon and end when the library closes. Often, we keep talking outside in the parking light, in the dark, as the lights inside the library go off one by one.
I hope you find enjoyment in these stories.
Dedication
The situation that creates the stories as well as much of the inspiration comes from the Southern Writers’ Workshop, hosted by Jesse Suire. Thank you, Jesse and the other members of the group. You give me hours of enjoyment as well as support as I write.
The other members of the group do some excellent writing. You can read some of their stories in the group’s online literary journal, Dirty Rice. Find it at https://dirtyrice.press
Words In The Dark
By Jon Paul Olivier
Obituary
I drew from my experiences delivering my father’s eulogy, embellishing it with memories of things that happened in childhood. This is fiction, but with bits of reality sprinkled throughout…
Yesterday afternoon, I sat down at my father’s big desk. I wanted to get the feeling of what he did, capture who he was, his essence. I planned to talk about the great things he did,