Short story tips

"The ultimate crime in writing is to be boring.  You risk that every time you are careless with your plot."  p7, Creating Plot by J. Madison Davis. 

I'm sure you all are aware that short stories differ somewhat from novels.  Not including length, of course.  And then there are the varieties of short stories, to include flash fiction (which can be of various lengths from 100 to 1,000 words, generally); short stories; novellas; and the mid-range category between short story and novella length, the .

I've been considering this topic all during NaNo November, because one of the difficulties with working on my WIP was that I have plot issues.  I think that A Lighter Shade Of Pale needs to be reconsidered some, and it's making me stick at the point where the story is supposed to be heading into the confrontation.  Things are off, and it's a plot issue.  So, unless I can figure a way to avoid rewriting the story and keep most of what I've got written, I'm going to have to rewrite the whole blankety blank thing at some point to make it work.  (But I think the ace in the hole is that I can expand the story and keep what I've got by making it a full on novel.  We shall see.)

Anyhow, this bunch of forehead-bunching think sessions has caused me to look around for information and thoughts on short story writing.  I like the three-act format, but it isn't the be-all and end-all of plot structure.  And it's not working to help me get the kinks out of ALSOP. 

Tips on constructing a short story.  I borrowed this from Kate Kelly's excellent post on the subject, here.

1. Stick to a single POV. Multiple POV short stories can be made to work, but if a story can be told from a single perspective it’s better to do so.

2. Avoid preamble. You don’t have much space so get into the story and your character’s head right from the very first sentence.

3. Make every word count – a short story should be tight.

4. Minimise number of settings – try to keep the number of scenes down – only those that the story actually needs.

5. Minimise number of characters – you don’t have the space to develop a wide cast of interesting and varied characters, so keep these to the bare minimum.

6. Keep it consistent – this goes for voice and rhythm as well as POV.

7. Finish with a punch – make your last line really memorable to that it resonates with the reader after they have stopped reading.

8. Don’t write on beyond the story’s natural end – this is so easy to do. Come back to it later and check whether where you have ended it is the best place or whether it would have more impact if you finished it a couple of paragraphs earlier.

9. Edit it – let it rest for a few days, then come back to it with a critical eye. Rewrite if necessary – I’ve been known to turn a story completely about!

10. And finally enjoy it!! Writing short stories is fun.

 And remember:

"One spectacular scene after another does not make a novel.  They must be connected."  Ibid, p10

 

Comments

[Charles Gramlich]

Good advice there on the short story. And the last quote is certainly true. Although connected scenes don't necessarily make a novel either.

[betsydornbusch]

What she said!