The Art Of The Short Story
August 25th 2009 02:49
This post was inspired by a thread on the Augnowrimo forums, which I have linked to in previous posts-Augnowrimo is now coming to its end. This year the wonderful moderator, Erin,
who recently self-published a book of her own short stories which can be found at this website, decided to compile an Augnowrimo anthology, with various short stories from different members, which will be sold at its production cost.
Someone asked for advice and tips on how to write a short story, seeing as they hadn't written one in a number of years.
Short story writing is an art. In some ways, it is easier than a novel, in that you do not have to create enough plot twists and turns or enough character depth to last you 50-100, 000 or more words. In other ways it is harder, because you have to wrap up the story sooner.
Every potential market has a different cap on the lengths of short stories it will publish; some will only publish short stories under 5, 000 words and others will accept anything up to 10, 000 words. Some even have a minimum word count of two or three thousand words. Your story's length could limit its markets.
Of course when you write a short story you want to have a great beginning, like you do with a novel. You have one sentence to hook your readers, and I've written a rant on beginnings here:
Really Long Link
With a short story you want to show details of whatever world you're writing in, but you don't have the same ability to delve into the depths of your world that you have in a novel. You can casually worldbuild by throwing in a few sayings common to your world, mentioning briefly places that are well-known, or historical figures, weather patterns, things that are relevant but do not need to be fully explored.
You want to show that there is a world beyond your story in which you are writing, especially if the short story is in the same location a novel takes place (perhaps you are writing a few short stories and submitting them to magazines to get publicity for your upcoming novel, or maybe you just wrote the stories in the same place and are hoping to publish your novel at a later date). You want to intrigue the reader and make them want to learn more about your world.
In the world of the internet this has a special role. Let's say you get your short story published in a popular ezine, and you get a byline including links to your other work on your website. Some people will look, others won't. Those who look might then buy any books you have available, read your other short stories, and perhaps bookmark your website or subscribe to a newsletter or RSS feed, and later when you do get that novel published, might buy it wanting to learn more about your world.
You also want to show your character, and show that they have lived and breathed before your story and will continue to live and breath after your story (unless, of course, the short story ends with their death). Your short story should be a defining moment in the life of its main character, something that will change them forever. You could write a series of short stories about one character, generating long-term readers and interest, or write a short story about a character in one of your novels. Or you could just write one short story about a character, a story which shows a defining moment in their life and which gives the reader a feeling of satisfaction.
Your short story should have a proper story arc like any novel, with only one main difference, and that is complication. Complication affects the length of a novel, and you should have a simpler plot for a short story than for a novel. The short story needs a distinctive beginning, middle and end. The middle needs to tell us about the world and the characters, however briefly, and show us where they are in their lives. The beginning needs to draw us in and make us ask questions. The ending needs to show us that the situation which started the story has been resolved, that the characters have survived (or not, depending) and grown from what happened.
You need to give your reader the same thing in a short story, that is a complete story with beginning, middle, and end, with a character arc and a story arc, as you would in a novel, only in a lot fewer words.
You can do this by mentioning briefly events in your characters' pasts, things that hang heavy between them in the silences, briefly mentioning schools or families or what-have-you. You can do this by showing your character has plans for their future, which perhaps change after the events of the short story.
That's all I'm going to say on this subject for now. Below are some great articles about writing a short story:
Tips For Writing A Short Story
More Tips For Writing A Short Story
Free Ebook About Short-Story Writing
What do you think matters most when writing a short story?
who recently self-published a book of her own short stories which can be found at this website, decided to compile an Augnowrimo anthology, with various short stories from different members, which will be sold at its production cost.
Someone asked for advice and tips on how to write a short story, seeing as they hadn't written one in a number of years.
Short story writing is an art. In some ways, it is easier than a novel, in that you do not have to create enough plot twists and turns or enough character depth to last you 50-100, 000 or more words. In other ways it is harder, because you have to wrap up the story sooner.
Every potential market has a different cap on the lengths of short stories it will publish; some will only publish short stories under 5, 000 words and others will accept anything up to 10, 000 words. Some even have a minimum word count of two or three thousand words. Your story's length could limit its markets.
Of course when you write a short story you want to have a great beginning, like you do with a novel. You have one sentence to hook your readers, and I've written a rant on beginnings here:
Really Long Link
With a short story you want to show details of whatever world you're writing in, but you don't have the same ability to delve into the depths of your world that you have in a novel. You can casually worldbuild by throwing in a few sayings common to your world, mentioning briefly places that are well-known, or historical figures, weather patterns, things that are relevant but do not need to be fully explored.
You want to show that there is a world beyond your story in which you are writing, especially if the short story is in the same location a novel takes place (perhaps you are writing a few short stories and submitting them to magazines to get publicity for your upcoming novel, or maybe you just wrote the stories in the same place and are hoping to publish your novel at a later date). You want to intrigue the reader and make them want to learn more about your world.
In the world of the internet this has a special role. Let's say you get your short story published in a popular ezine, and you get a byline including links to your other work on your website. Some people will look, others won't. Those who look might then buy any books you have available, read your other short stories, and perhaps bookmark your website or subscribe to a newsletter or RSS feed, and later when you do get that novel published, might buy it wanting to learn more about your world.
You also want to show your character, and show that they have lived and breathed before your story and will continue to live and breath after your story (unless, of course, the short story ends with their death). Your short story should be a defining moment in the life of its main character, something that will change them forever. You could write a series of short stories about one character, generating long-term readers and interest, or write a short story about a character in one of your novels. Or you could just write one short story about a character, a story which shows a defining moment in their life and which gives the reader a feeling of satisfaction.
Your short story should have a proper story arc like any novel, with only one main difference, and that is complication. Complication affects the length of a novel, and you should have a simpler plot for a short story than for a novel. The short story needs a distinctive beginning, middle and end. The middle needs to tell us about the world and the characters, however briefly, and show us where they are in their lives. The beginning needs to draw us in and make us ask questions. The ending needs to show us that the situation which started the story has been resolved, that the characters have survived (or not, depending) and grown from what happened.
You need to give your reader the same thing in a short story, that is a complete story with beginning, middle, and end, with a character arc and a story arc, as you would in a novel, only in a lot fewer words.
You can do this by mentioning briefly events in your characters' pasts, things that hang heavy between them in the silences, briefly mentioning schools or families or what-have-you. You can do this by showing your character has plans for their future, which perhaps change after the events of the short story.
That's all I'm going to say on this subject for now. Below are some great articles about writing a short story:
Tips For Writing A Short Story
More Tips For Writing A Short Story
Free Ebook About Short-Story Writing
What do you think matters most when writing a short story?
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Comment by katyzzz
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Comment by Dianna G
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Very true.
~Dianna