Friday, March 13, 2020

A Fresh Start

by Nicole Helm from the March 9, 2020 issue

Tagline: On the eve of a big move, Violet gets a surprise visit from her friend[,] Mac...and learns that home is where the heart is, and her heart is with him.

Observations: It's doesn't take a lot to create setting in these short stories, so I thought I'd point out the small things that contributed to our feeling comfortable in Jasper Creek.


  • There's general store and the owner lives above it. 
  • Violet refers to her boss as Mr. Landings, even in her thoughts. There is no one I know who refers to their boss with that kind of quaint formality.
  • The hero has a ranch.
  • Mac says, "No, I have to say my piece." Definitely not what a city-slicker would say. LOL
  • He also says, "Maybe everyone knows the way Austin hurt you..." Only in small towns does "everyone" know personal details about each other's lives.
Five things. That's all it took. This is good news, because as you all know, we only have 800 words to tell a great story and setting is often an important part, so nice to know crafting a setting doesn't take too much.

Photo by Colin Browne via Flickr CC license

3 comments:

Pat said...

I really enjoyed this small town story. Thanks for pointing out the setting elements, Kate. Nicole Helm's did a great job of spreading these elements out.

Kate said...

Thanks, Pat!

Sandy Smith said...

This was a well-written story. I enjoyed it.