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“A short story is a love affair, a novel is a marriage. A short story is a photograph; a novel is a film.”
~ Lorrie Moore
“A short story must have a single mood and every sentence must build towards it.”
~ Edgar Allan Poe
“Fiction has been maligned for centuries as being "false," "untrue," yet good fiction provides more truth about the world, about life, and even about the reader, than can be found in non-fiction.”
~ Clark Zlotchew |
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What is a 'short story cycle' (also referred to as a story sequence or composite novel)?
The difference between the collection of short stories in a short story cycle and the chapters in a novel is that each of the short stories in a short story cycle can stand on its own, unlike the chapters of a novel. Every story in a short story cycle has a beginning, a middle, and an end, but when the stories are read within a collection the reader learns about a larger world, gets more depth into the characters, etc. This special dynamic must have an awareness of what the other stories accomplish; therefore, cycles are usually written with the expressed purpose to create a cycle as opposed to being gathered and arranged later.
When thinking about writing a short story cycle, consider incorporating one (or more) of these as a way to establish a theme:
 A geographical area
Set all the stories in the same location/town/city
A central protagonist, which has the option of also being the narrator
This will be the main character in all of the stories
A collective protagonist
This is a group that functions as a central character (a couple, an extended family, a special-interest group)
Patterns to create coherence/cohesion
Cohesion refers to how parts of a text across the stories are connected together
Coherence can be improved upon by using an outline before writing
Or a reverse outline, which is an outline written after the writing is finished to check that the ideas are logical and well organized
Focus on storytelling itself
Incorporating more than one of these organizing principles may help you to create a solid composite novel.
For your reading pleasure, here are a couple of examples of 'composite novels':
Hearts in Atlantis by Stephen King
This is a good example of short story cycles. The narratives are presented sequentially and the connection is clear early on. Though the five stories take place between 1960 and 1999, they all have their roots in the ‘60s and each involves Vietnam. As is true of much of King’s work, there is some suspense and there are some scares here, but the book is more likely to tug on your heartstrings than send you to check under the bed.
The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros
This book is a series of vignettes that tell the story of a young Latina growing up in Chicago.
Love Medicine by Louise Erdrich
The use of the short story cycle is particularly helpful in this collection. The stories follow the same family year after year as their troubles seem to do nothing but multiply. Only by getting the many different perspectives could a reader truly understand the cause and effect of several lifetimes of challenges.
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In response to "Planning Your Writing" ,
Elfin Dragon-finally published  wrote:
"Being a Panster, I do tend to forego all this planning. Although when going into November I do like the OctPrep. It does help me focus a bit more. But sometimes, after thought, I find completely different ways of doing things.  Especially when I find I need to change my POV. LOL"
GeminiGem🐾  wrote:
"NOW you tell me I'm supposed to be planning my writing.  "
dragonwoman wrote:
"I was thrilled to see my flash "Into The Void" as one of your picks. Thanks!"
G. B. Williams  wrote:
"Writing.com newsletter system, thank you for this article on writing a story. I have always wanted to write a book and a story, and I just do not know how to get started. This was helpful. Thank you."
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Short Stories: October 05, 2022 Issue [#11586]
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