[stylist] Blown towards nature

[Chris Kuell]

Hey Fran,

Others may disagree, but in general I think literary fiction is realistic, 
well developed characters thrust into awkward/uncomfortable/difficult 
conflicts, where the expected often doesn't happen. Stories which make you 
think. The best way to see what I mean is to read fiction in literary 
magazines such as the New Yorker, the Paris Review, Story Quarterly, the 
Missouri Review, Tin House, Plowshares and on and on and on. The New Yorker 
is available on Newsline, or you can read samples on various web sites. Any 
year of 'The Best American short Stories' or the 'Penn O.Henry Prize 
Stories' will be literary short stories. Any Pulitzer prize novel will be 
literary. Raymond Carver's story 'Cathedral' is a great literary short story 
which features a blind character.

Okay, for part 2 of your question, I'll amend my comment. I read through 
your story quickly and you aren't so much missing words as, in my opinion, 
some of your sentences are clunky. Here are a few examples:

Alternatively, what about that phenomenal at the oasis?
* phenomenal is an adjective, and probably not the word you want. I'm not 
sure if you wanted phenomenon, since that doesn't make much sense either.

I'd always run away from them and (had- delete)  come through 
unscathed(comma)  which is what I did when we reached the oasis.

He believed that Mother Nature would tell (you) what you needed to know.

 Your writing mechanics are generally sound, but not very sophisticated. 
What types of books do you like to read?

Regards,

chris