 Short Stories: January 12, 2011 Issue [#4182] |
  Short Stories
This week: Resolutions of the "Ending" Kind... Edited by: Jay's debut novel is out now!  
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This Short Stories newsletter is dedicated to readers and writers of short fiction, discussing what we write and why we write it. 
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Hi all! I'm Jay's debut novel is out now! back again to guest edit this week's Short Stories Newsletter.
In thinking about resolutions for the past two weeks or so, I came around to the idea of, well, actually finishing some of the stories I've allowed to languish, some of them for years. (I can avoid saying "decades" for now, but that will only last for so long.  ) The term "resolution" got me thinking about story resolution, something I know many of us struggle with in our writing. I know it's one of my biggest problems as a writer!
Now, for a long time, I have been the "seat-of-pants" type of writer, wherein I come up with a scene, or a character, or a situation, or perhaps some combination of these as a result of a prompt for a contest, for example. Now, the chiefest problem here is that with this scene, character, situation, or what have you, I have no resolution in mind. I often stubbornly labor on in the noble attempts to conquer context, and often enough, I am hitting windmills in the process.
In completing NaNoWriMo this past November, I learned a really fantastic lesson that is paying dividends in the rest of my work now. Set a goal, and plan things out. I am still sort of amazed at how readily a story comes together if I have any of the story-parts mentioned above... AND an objective in mind!! It doesn't always work but it works a LOT more often than my winging-it method ever has. I guess this is a sign that I am getting older, because I dont think I'd agree with that statement with regards to my writing as recently as a few months ago!
It's still going to take some work on my part, and I'm far from the goal, but here are a few things I've found helpful to answer some of my own common "Oh no!" moments.
"I have no idea how I want to end this story!"
Sometimes I start out just writing the story anyway to see where it will go. Often enough, it goes nowhere, but there are times when the story leads to someplace surprising and ends up being a perfectly good place to stop.
Barring that kind of unlikelihood, I am finding that the first thing I look for is the closest end point, even if it isn't the best. Some point where things could potentially conclude themselves. Working backward from that point, there are times where I realize the ending of the story is fine, it's the beginning point that needs to be altered-- whether it's beginning the story at a different point or from a different perspective.
"I got a great idea from this prompt, but the story isn't working!"
Stories that spring from prompts sometimes work better with an end point in mind-- especially if the contest has a tightly restricted word limit. Determining where the prompt will likely take you, and working out the details in between the beginning and the end can be helpful especially if there are specific story objectives such as a specific word or phrase that needs to be incorporated.
Sometimes, too, it helps to step back for a second look. As a contest judge and reader, I can often tell when the prompt has been shoe-horned into the story, as if the story itself is being obstructed by the given prompt. It never fails to be something that frustrates the living daylights out of me. The best advice I can give for a piece like this (and I've written my share of them!) is to fish the unnecessary bits out and keep the story. Write a different one for the contest. Don't force it.
"I ran over in word count for this contest-- I'd better stop now and start cutting word count!"
Ending a story before its natural ending point is nearly as bad as cramming in the details to meet the requirements of an unnecessary prompt. Write the whole story, even if it is thousands of words more than your target. Save the full version, and create an edited version where you cut away any and all unneeded fat from the core story. You'd be surprised at how many details you DON'T need to include.
"I have no idea what I want to do with this story when I'm done with it. It doesn't fit neatly into a genre or category and I have no idea if I can market it at all. Why bother finishing it?"
Because you can.
Alternately, because maybe there is a market out there and you just don't know it yet.
Alternate alternate answer: Somebody has to be the first one out there to define a new genre, it might as well be you, right?
"I have this great idea but I have no idea how to get it out..."
Just write it. Once it's written, you have something to edit!
Just some food for thought...
The end of the story may as well be the beginning; it's that important. I know many of us struggle with this, but hopefully these ideas will help with your creative endeavors in the new year!
This Month's Question:
Do you use prompts in your writing? Why or why not?
Until Next Time,
Take care and Write on!
~j |
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Feedback from last month's editorial: "The Direct Line"
eternalmuse writes:
To answer this month's question - the most difficult aspect of writing a short story for me is the description. Maybe it's because English is my second language, but I find that my descriptions simply aren't flowing enough. I am trying to find material on that now!
Have a great new year,
Dana
Thanks, Dana! I am looking forward to what the new year brings and I welcome any questions you may have. You write better in English than I do in any of the non-English languages I am learning, so I salute your efforts!!
Fyn  writes:
Thank you for including 'The Dust Jacket' in your EXCELLENT Newsletter!
Paul J. Belanger  submits the following:
 " Pulse" 13+: A sad tale of two lovers who can never be.
A quick message to congratulate all of you on the great newsletters you put out. They're all very informative and interactive. Keep it up =]
I also encourage you to take a look at the piece attached to this note. I hope you enjoy it.
Suffer well =]
cookie_writer writes:
Hi ~j I really enjoyed your NL as it has helped me make some needed character decisions. The hardest thing for me in any story writing is conversation. I often have feedback commenting on how formal the verbal exchanges tend to be. I wonder if this is because my conversations tend to be mostly work related and I do not socialize often. I just do not know how to begin to fix this. Thanks again for the fantastic NL.
Thanks!! I know that a lot of my dialogue skills have benefited from the wealth of zany friends I have accumulated over the years. I would recommend people watching even if you aren't a big socializer. Take a notebook with you to an all night diner or something and write down everything you hear, make observations about the people you see. Then, take what you've transcribed and see what you can extrapolate from that. You'd be surprised what you learn from listening to other people bantering (and from the exercise of writing it down). 
scribbler writes:
The hardest part of a short story is deciding where to end it, but also where to start.
I certainly have that problem often enough!!
PSanta-I'm ba-ack! writes:
There used to be a Radio show called Fibber McGee and Molly. Quite often Fibber would open his closet door and the radio speaker would emit a chorus of rattles and clangs as everything fell on top of him. In terms of your mansion/room analogy, this represents a short story in which the main character is swept along without making any descisions or taking any actions. I think that what people are objecting to is the fact that it is the job of the author to move the story along, not the characters.
It's the job of the author to write a story that compels the reader to finish it. Writers do that by creating characters who are dynamic, make choices, take action... and on and on. This is most noticeable in the context of the short story, but has its uses in longer forms as well. (It is less critical to flash fiction, though story actions in those formats have a tendency to exist as implications only.)
A.J. Barretts writes:
The hardest part of writing a short story for me is to carve away everything that is not needed for the story. It isn't a novel and you can't get all the background that you would like. Either your character is able to stand on their own or the story falls apart. I have to constantly edit my short stories to get them down to "bare bones" by getting rid of the parts that don't have to do with the story.
I struggle with this as well. Until the story is really written, it's hard to know what doesn't belong. The good news is, if you're writing too much detail, that can often be groomed and edited into a tightly wound story. (My problem is not including enough detail in the first place!  )
Fi submits the following:
Some advice/tips/rules on writing short stories. Hope this helps!
faithjourney writes:
Brevity is hardest for me, because I really and truly am a novelist. I still enjoy writing short stories, but find them a bit more challenging because I have less room to develop those "little things." I know it's ironic because most people find shorter is easier! I guess I'm weird.
Yeah, a short story is definitely more oriented on honed and refined details that specifically move the story forward, with little room to spare.
atwhatcost submits the following:
What aspect of writing a short story is hardest for you, and why is that?
"Short." I could answer why, but this form doesn't let me go past 1000 characters. lol
This Month's Question:
Do you use prompts in your writing? Why or why not? |
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