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Writer's Notes - By Jeanne Dininni

 
WritersNotes.Net: Helping Writers Follow Their Dreams Through Information, Inspiration, and Encouragement!

Just in case you fiction writers out there need a bit of inspiration to sit down and pen a tale--particularly a suspenseful crime tale, I will share with you my flash fiction piece, Confession. This short story won a recent writing contest at Iron Pyramid Publications (out of 64 entries) and is currently ranked #1 out of 52 stories about "The Other Woman" on Helium.Com. (Though the rankings at Helium can change daily, Confession has so far held the #1 slot since its posting in January 2007.) It's quite suspenseful--or so I'm told.

Read on--and then sharpen your pencils, fire up your computers, get creative, and start writing!


Confession
A Wife Lets Her Unfaithful Husband in On a Murderous Little Secret

Hello, Darling.

You'd better sit down. I have something to tell you.

I went for a walk tonight...to your mistress's house. Yes, Darling, I've known about her for weeks. And, you know, it wasn't as difficult as I'd imagined it would be.

She didn't utter a sound when it hit. I hadn't really expected her to. Her eyes merely took on a fleeting expression of...shock--as if she couldn't comprehend what was happening and was absolutely petrified by it all--and then...it was over.

All it took was one shot. It was what a pro might call "a real clean job," though now I know that pros don't mean the same thing when they say "clean" as we amateurs are likely to think.

Actually, it was quite messy. You know, Darling, people like me--average, everyday folks, who've never had occasion to handle firearms (previously, that is)--tend to think of them as instruments that drill neat little holes into people and that's that. For some reason we visualize no blood; we imagine no gore. How naive we are, Darling!

That's not at all the way it is! In fact, it's terribly shocking the first time you look down at that...corpse...covered in real, red, blood--the kind you could never stand the sight of--and staring, like something out of a horror movie, at...nothing. And it's eerie the way it lies so still, exactly the way it fell. You keep expecting it to move, to look up at you and say something...but it doesn't. It just lies there...staring.

Well, Darling, I stood there looking down at her...at it...for a while--a few minutes, perhaps--to be sure that she was dead. But, no, that wasn't the reason. I knew she was dead. I suppose I simply couldn't draw myself away. After all, I'd never seen a...corpse...before.

You must understand, Darling. I hadn't wanted to kill her. As they say: In other circumstances, we might have been the best of friends. But try to imagine what it must be like to lose the one you love most in life, the one who supplies the little sunshine there is in your drab existence, the only one you've ever trusted! Have you any idea how it feels to have that trust betrayed? But how could you, Darling? You've never had the misfortune to experience it. If you had, you'd understand that the act was committed in desperation. You'd see why I had to do it.

I freely admit that I went to her house for the express purpose of killing her. But I wasn't responsible for my actions. You've no idea how the hatred and jealousy seethed in me as I left the house earlier this evening. The emotions were beyond my control; they'd grown and multiplied since the first day I learned of your affair, until I simply had no choice but to satisfy them. They drove me to an act I would never even have contemplated before they dominated my life.

I did it because I loved you, Darling. But, you know what's funny? Tonight I discovered something infinitely more satisfying than love. Can you guess what it is, Darling?

Yes, that's right--revenge!

Good-bye, Darling...
**************

Now, you try it! Then, check out the second Relate This Post listing at the end of this blog entry for some info on a possible market for your crime-related masterpiece. (To learn more about Helium.Com, check out the first Relate This Post link.)

Happy writing!
Jeanne


Did you enjoy this post? Don't leave me lonely--Please comment!



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Yes, I Won!
I found it most ironic that, not long after completing and posting my blog entry about MOUTH FULL OF BULLETS, a website that publishes crime-related stories, poems, and articles, I received a phone call from Ron "R.D." Peters of Iron Pyramid Publications informing me that my flash fiction piece, "Confession," a--you guessed it--crime-related story, had just won his website's current Writing Contest.

What a Surprise!
I must confess I was quite amazed by this turn of events, simply because, while I'd figured the story was worth entering into the competition, I truly didn't expect it to win--though, of course, I hoped it would. There's simply too much good fiction out there--and my story was, after all, competing against 63 other stories, many of which were very good. So, needless to say, I felt quite honored to receive both an e-mail and a phone call from R.D. this morning telling me not only that my story had won, but that it was 'superb' and 'writing at its best'! That was truly a great compliment!

You Could Win, Too!
The main reason I share this story here, however, is not simply to tell you that I have won the latest competition at Iron Pyramid or to gloat over the fact, but to share with you what R.D. told me this morning about the next short story competition he will be sponsoring on his website very soon. I was, in fact, surprised to hear how soon he's planning to do it all over again--but pleasantly so: it will run from April 1st to April 30th, 2007.

[UPDATE 3/19/07: I've just learned that the new contest is open NOW, as R.D. has apparently decided not to wait until April 1st to begin accepting submissions, after all. So, if short stories are your literary 'cup of tea,' sharpen those pencils, fire up those computers, and get a head start on your entry! As far as I know, the deadline is still the same: April 30th.]

R.D. also said, in response to my question to that effect, that he is giving some thought to the possibility of offering a Poetry Contest in the not-too-distant future; that is, however, not actually on the drawing board as of yet.

Some Contest Info
Iron Pyramid features 'dark tales,' though the contest is open to all genres! (However, according to R.D.'s Craigslist post publicizing the recent contest, neither erotica nor vulgarity are welcome and, if posted, will be removed from the Forum and disqualified from the contest.) If you haven't already got a story or three written and ready to go (multiple entries allowed,) you have several weeks in which to work on it! Check out the site for samples of the types of writing found there.

Site Navigation Tips
Iron Pyramid's contests are found in the site's Forum, which is where you'll also find info about upcoming contests. The Writer's Contest has its own section on the Forum page, which is where you will be expected to post any entries you'd like to submit for consideration as part of the competition. Check out and familiarize yourself with the Forum page, so you'll be prepared to post your entry when ready to do so.

Other I.P. Posting Opps
In addition to the Writing Contest, there are quite a few other categories in the Forum, such as Poetry, Politics, Business, Humor, and many others too numerous to mention, in which writers' thoughts or works may be posted--so be sure to check these out when you visit, as well.

Give It a Try!
Iron Pyramid Publications' Writing Contest just might be your way to get some well-deserved and much-craved recognition for your work. So, why not check it out!

And good luck!
Jeanne

P.S. Forgot to mention that there's a $50 prize--and no entry fee!

Check out Short Stories: 10 Tips for Novice Creative Writers. It's a great guide to short fiction writing!

And here are two online guides that can help make you more short story contest savvy:

1. Short-Story Competitions: Increasing Your Chances of Winning.

2. Writers-Editors.com Contest Tip Sheet.

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