Snakes! A Story in Three Parts

I liked these a lot, but I’m a bit put off about the “so what”. Don’t get me wrong, they’re entertaining, but there should be a “so what” at the end of every story and I’m having trouble finding it here.

These are very good. They contain soul and I adore your reasons for writing them down.

Lovely retelling of your husband’s stories. I love your writing, with those little clever asides. However, I think Chase has a point. Your first vignette really is a complete story, it has a beginning middle and end. The other two have less of an ending, and most especially the last one.

I think that instead of the postscript, you should try and wrap up the story so that it does come to a close. Rather than tell us that “they paint a picture of an Australia that was typical in its place and time but doesn’t exist any more. I hate the thought of it being forgotten.” incorporate that into the story to convey the message and make the story complete.

And if you have plenty more like these, there’s really a lot that you can do with them…

Judith,

I don’t think I can add any more than what’s already been said. I loved reading the story, which is why I decided to comment, but at the same time, I wanted to know what happened next, to reach a sense of closure.

At the same time, I think it’s lovely that you’ve written these stories down for Ron, a real act of devotion. One thing I learned from this exercise is that if you write a story for one person, it can be less accessible to other people, because of the shared knowledge that you would naturally edit out. In order to share stories with a wider audience, you need to add aspects that wouldn’t be necessary between close friends.

Thanks for sharing Ron’s memories.

Katie 🙂

These are fabulous! What a history! And what an awesome fellow to have married. 🙂 I hope you write them all down! This kind of story needs to be told in a world where A/C and internet have erased most adventures.

Remind me never to visit Ron’s family’s place in Tenterfield… 😉

I love your retelling of his stories, as creepy as they are (a snake big enough to blow the tires of an automobile? Yeeeesh!)

I’m falling asleep writing this note, so I’ll check back in later to finish my thoughts. Thanks for sharing, J