Friday, September 13, 2019

Sunset Dreams

by Tracy Crump from the September 9, 2019 issue

Tagline: After her father's passing, Hillary Dunn heads down to the water to clear her mind and her heart. But as she sits watching the tranquil scene, local fisherman Brad Jenkins floats into view, bringing with him the promise of a new love and hope for the future that paints Hillary's future a new hue.

Observations: This story was particularly poignant for me as my dad passed a couple of years ago. He didn't have cancer but had suffered a major stroke that left him without the power of speech or the use of the right side of his body.

I liked the humor in this story regarding cooking the log.

I didn't find any teaching moments here, except to suggest that you read your stories aloud before submitting them. It's a weird phenomenon, but your ears can catch things your eyes don't. For instance, in this story the author used the word prickled and then in the next paragraph used prickling. Oddly enough, you can sometimes find minute things like this if you read the story aloud.

Photo by Heath Alseike via Flickr CC license

3 comments:

Pat said...

Cute story. I enjoyed it.

Great comments on proofing your own writing, Kate. I always read my writing aloud as my last editing round. It always amazes me what I find. First I read it to the cat, then I read it to Hubby. Once he told me I was using my voice and not the character's. He was right.

Tamara said...

I have a "thing" about using the same word -- or another form of it -- in close proximity. It's sometimes hard to realize I've done it, and reading it aloud helps -- you're right. Sorry about your dad.

Pat said...

Tamara, I have that same 'thing' about words being to close together. LOL I probably could list two pages on my 'over-used words' list.