The Doppler Effect
A tale about differences of experience and opinion, written using only a single adjective.
Short fiction published in the fifth issue of Baltimore’s Seltzer magazine. 2013. Online.
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“The Doppler Effect” is a short story published in the fifth issue of Seltzer magazine. It’s a story about an urban fire. It’s a story about existential differences.
I wanted to write the story with no adjectives. As soon as i decided to do that, right away I knew the story to tell with no adjectives. It was the first time in my adult life, to argue about the simple reality of what was obviously happening. It was happening, right there in front of us. There should be no argument about it but there was! I was horrified.
It was the first such argument, it turns out, of many. For a world that seems arguably real, I wanted to try to depict it without describing it. I had to keep it short. It’s difficult to go on at length without descriptions. There was only one adjective I couldn’t live without.