The Little Victories

I'm delighted to have made it to round #2 of Cyberspace Open, a fun screenwriting competition.

Congrats to all the other semi-finalists!

CBC Short Story Competition

The CBC is asking readers to vote for their favorite opening lines of short stories in a current competition. Which story gets your vote?

7 Suspenseful Sentences Sunday

I wrote a short story called "The Curve of His Shoulder" during the Kenyon Review's Writers Workshop in 2009. (If you're a writer and have never given yourself the gift of a writing retreat, do consider it.)

The story takes place in the woods, and examines how differently two people can see one object. Matthew is a photographer from Dallas, out on a day trip. He sees a deer in the forest.

In a clearing to Matthew’s right, a young man steps out from behind a tree. Handsome, Matthew notes, tall and lean. Matthew acknowledges the man with the upward half of a nod, then points at the deer. The young man responds with an appreciative smile and a slow thumbs-up. Matthew, who craves the isolation of the West Texas hills, is now thankful for the man’s company. A pleasant smile, Matthew thought, and he is happy to share his deer with a fellow human. He focuses his camera on the deer’s profile, and zooms in so close he can see the mist of the deer’s breath on its nostrils.
A shot splits the silence. The deer’s head snaps sharply to the right as the bullet pushes its narrow skull toward Matthew.

This story will likely never be published, yet it's still one of my favorites. Do you have a story that will live only with you?