 Short Stories: November 14, 2007 Issue [#2057] |
  Short Stories
This week: Edited by: Vivian  
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Writing a short story requires many of the components for a novel, but not to the same extent. For this issue, I'll use some notes from the Muse Online Conference, some of my own words, and information from the December 2007 Writer's Digest to help writers see and understand what is needed for a short story.
Viv |
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Turning Fiction into a Short Story
According to Dr. Bob Rich, a fiction writer needs to allow the reader to be creative as he reads what is written. If the writing is good enough, he says, the reader will do all the rest of the work. In other words, the author does not need to give extensive details, descriptions, or explanations IF he builds good character(s), plot, conflict, dialogue, and brought the story to life. The reader can fill in the extra details.
I agree with Dr. Rich and prefer to add my own imagination. When graphic details are given, I'm often "turned off" because my imagination would fine-tune the activity to my own likes and dislikes if allowed to do so. Besides, graphic details take words and sentences that should be used to move the plot forward.
The author must get into the mind of the character so that the reader can, too. But some details, unless absolutely necessary to move the plot forward, are not required.
Simon Wood (Writer's Digest, December 2007) calls writing concisely for short stories as scope. "By their nature, short stories are limited by the size of the story being told." In another part of his tips for writing short stories, he states, "A short story is storytelling in it purest sense. It's concentrated. expression. The prose has to be streamlined because every word is an expensive commodity."
Many people believe that novels can be condensed to become short stories. While the converse is true, that a short story can be expanded into a novel, usually reducing a novel into a short story becomes a synopsis.
To write a good short story, a writer must hook her reader early and focus on what makes the plot move along: get to the point almost immediately; solve conflict swiftly; have a beginning, a middle, and an end; not too much information; and the mantra - show, don't tell.
The following is a guide for structuring a short story:
 The conflict should be introduced by the end of the first page.
Dailogue or physical action can ignite the story's conflict.
Few major characters should be featured.
The beginning, middle, and end need pivotal plot developments.
Each sentence must move the plot forward or tell readers something about the characters. One that doesn't, should be deleted.
Each word should move the story forward. If it doesn't, it should be deleted.
The story must be focused and not have irrelevancies and redundancies about the characters or plot.
Example: The woman tossed her long, blond hair with silver streaks over her shoulder. If her hair being long or blond doesn't have relevance, a need to be known, then it should be deleted. Certainly noting that her hair has silver streaks is not necessary.
Descriptions should be simple but vivid without excessive wording.
Dialogue should be tight and sound "real."
The reader should "see" how characters act.
The conflict should be resolved, even if not a "happy ending."
Hopefully the information shared will help authors write better short stories.
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Stories from W.Com
The following stories were submitted by their authors. Please read and review, giving the writers constructive help.
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Words from Our Readers
Blink 
Hey, Viv, great suggestions. Thanks for sharing. You are right about the 'hook' of the story. That determines whether a reader will read the whole content of the story or not.
Back in our institute, a foreign lecturer said our topic sentence, the first line/sentence in our story, should hook the reader in such a way that he/she will be encouraged to read further.
If the author loses the reader at the beginning of a story, all the words in the work are wasted. So, yes, the hook is extremely important. The lecturer was correct.
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April Sunday
Oh, Viv -- sad is the heart of fiction as known facts show shift changes are logical, POV often changes from start to end and ... pieces on short stories go poof! Magically replete with review orders bereft of content/plot. Fiction she cries tonight!
Any changes in POV needs to be carefully used in writing. In short stories, even more care is needed because of the required brevity of the story. In short stories, changes of point of view are often not managable in such a short writing.
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dkdoulos
Vivian,
Thank you for this succint and helpful guide to critiquing stories. Great newsletter!
--Kelly Michaels
Acme
This newsletter was a great reminder of desireable reviewing techniques on WDC, as well as a good reminder in the basics of story construction. An interesting and informative read - thanks!
Thank you, Kelly and Acme. I'm glad you found the newsletter interesting and helpful.
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StephBee 
This was very informative. Thanks so much for sharing. I'm so glad you an opportunity to attend an online conference like the one you went to. I wholeheartidly agree about consistency. I find in order to keep myself consistant, I put my first draft aside and then later, after some time has past, I'll do an edit. It helps me to catch most of my consistancy issues. Writing in the same POV, keeping verb tense consistent, and spelling are so important to do if a writer wants to be taken seriously. You're very right - those are the basics that agents and editors are looking for when they read a sample of a writer's work. Two thumbs up, Viv!
Thanks, Steph. Waiting between reads and revisions of any material is a good idea, as is reading material allow.
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Fallser
Hello,
Great newsletter on the importance of reviewing. I feel confident reviewing stories/novels. I'm not at all confident about reviewing poetry and there's a lot of that here! I would like to know what poets like to see in a review.
Best, Fallser
I think you might find the information about poetry in the poetry newsletter. As a poet, I could give you some ideas, but this newsletter really is supposed to deal with short stories.
However, poetry should give the reader a sense of emotion through the words used. The meaning of the poetry shouldn't be so hidden that the reader is left feeling confused and lost. Punctuation in poetry should be the same as in any writing. Any rhyme should not require convoluted wording, but be smooth.
Those are just a few examples of what to note when reviewing poetry.
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billwilcox
Dear Teacher,
I have always looked up to you and taken your experienced-advice. Here again, you have hit the proverbial nail on the head, but it seems to me you didn't take away anything from your on-line 'writing-course' that you didn't already know. Are these courses really worth the time and effort?
First of all, Bill, I did not attend an online writing course; I participated in an online writing conference. Conferences are good for learning, explaining, and networking.
As a matter of fact, I did learn quite a bit during the live chat workshops and the forum workshops. However, I had to write my newsletter before the end of the conference and before I could organize and use any of the piles of information I received. More information will be used in coming issues of this newsletter and in the For Authors newsletter; in fact more of the information is usable for that newsletter.
Some of what I already know was reinforced. For example, writers must polish and fine-tune their work, allow and accept constructive criticism, and have correct grammar as well as few, if any, typo/spelling-errors. One point reiterated by publishers and editors and authors alike was the need for writers to seek evaluations of their work that give suggestions for improvement, not just pats on the back.
I also received information about the difference between writing hobbiests and dedicated writers.
Probably the most important aspect of any conference for dedicated writers is networking. Publishers and editors at conferences give attendees an opportunity to submit their work without it sitting in a slush pile, perhaps to grow moldy and never again see the light of day.
But, I covered all this in a previous For Authors Newsletter.
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Mavis Moog
Excellent advice on what makes a short story work, and what to look for when reviewing.
Writers who have studied English Literature to degree level will have learned how to analyse literature for characterisation, theme and prose-style. This is useful but not the whole picture.
It's interesting to go back to classic works and analyse them for commercial ingredients. I enjoy looking for the matrix behind the art.
What is "required" for stories now-a-days is different from what found in classic work. Society has changed, as how the experience in writing. Studying the classics is good for discovering the progress of writing skills.
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Brad Davies
"Somebody Has To Stop It"
I feel that this short piece is close to being ready for submission to lit magazines. I am currently unpublished so I am anxious to start sending this out. I would like serious writers to critique it. My Fiction Writing class (university) reacted very well to this story. My professor thinks that someone will publish this if I "clean it up." I would like more opinions please.
Thanks
I hope you get many reviews, helpful reviews.
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Haley Frances
This newsletter was outstanding. Reviewers don't get too much input about bettering the craft, and reflecting it in our own writing.
I found it especially helpful the detailed things we should put in our reviews such as telling the author whether the character is believable or not, and watching to see if the author provided a real 'hook.' Great job on a great newsletter.
I don't know how often I've heard and read that writings needed to hook the reader immediately, yet I'm still learning how to do it.
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kenfales
Hello, I'm a newbie. I see that my story has gotten several views, but only one review. Is 14K+ words too long for a short story? Or is this normal, and I'm being hyper, because I'm a newbie, all geeked up and...sorry. If you read "Invalid Item" , and you have any feedback, I'd love to hear it. Thanks! K Michael
My research on the length of short stories shows the following:
Short stories can be up to 20,000 words in length according to Dictionary of LaborLawTalk. The article also broke the figures down by three countries: in the U.S. up to 10,000 words; in the U.K. up to 5,000; and in Australia up to 3,500. All sources agree that a short story should be at least 1,000 words. However, flash fiction has stories of approximately 300 words. In other words, short stories can range from extremely short to almost too long.
The "rule of thumb" states that a short story is one that can be easily read in one sitting. A reader should be able to sit down with a short story and finish it without needing to take a break. As the demands on people's time has increased, the amount of time a reader can read at one time has decreased, which is one reason the number of words at the long end of the short story spectrum has shortened.
Since a short story has limited number of words to cover characterization, plot, conflict, climax, and resolution, many details cannot be included, and the action must take place in a very few pages. Does the limit mean that no emotional depth can be found? No, but the depth of meaning and emotion must often be compressed.
Much can be expressed in few words. Much can be left unsaid in many words. A writer of short stories must be able to compact a complete plot in few words, leaving readers feeling that they have experienced what the writer wrote.
A story of 14,000 words is rather long for anyone sitting at a computer monitor to read in one sitting. You may want to see if you can shorten it by removing unneeded words and phrases, by tightening your writing.
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dejavu_BIG computerprobs
An excellent newsletter on critiquing! I'd love to receive more reviews including these points in them and they give me great ideas to add to my own reviews of others works. Thank you for sharing this information and the great links.
SM Ferguson
I'm glad what I wrote was helpful.
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Thanks for joining me this week. I'll be back next month with writing tips and ideas for writing short stories. Please join me.
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