  Short Stories
This week: Show Me Your Shorts Edited by: Shannon  
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Show Me Your Shorts
What is it about short stories we love so much? Many writers (myself included) prefer the short form. I can usually say everything I want to say about a group of characters in 3,000 words or less, and I often wonder how novelists do it. It must be like pulling teeth. Oh, the torture! How do they determine which characters populating their mindscapes are worthy of 50,000 words? Even when I participated in NaNoWriMo this year, what did I do? I wrote a collection of short stories. 
Joyce Carol Oates once said, "I tell my students to write of their true subjects. How will they know when they are writing of their true subjects? By the ease with which they write. By their reluctance to stop writing. By the headachy, even guilty, joyous sensation of having done something that must be done, having confessed emotions thought unconfessable, having said what had seemed should remain unsaid. If writing is difficult, stop writing. Begin again with another subject. The true subject writes itself; it cannot be silenced."
I LOVE that! I've experienced that. When I'm writing my "true subject" it just feels right. It feels natural, and good writing can't be forced (in my humble opinion). If you're not passionate about what you're writing, your readers won't be either.
Flash fiction, short shorts, short short fiction, novellas--there really is no "rule" as far as how long (or short) a short story should be. Look at the submission guidelines of three different magazines and you'll find three different opinions: 5,000, 7,500, 10,000 words or less. Poe argued that a person should be able to read a short story in one sitting. I prefer to write 3,000-word stories. Obviously you can't write about someone's entire life in 3,000 words or less, so keep it simple. Your stories should contain few characters and one central conflict: ordinary people enmeshed in an extraordinary set of circumstances.
Short stories are comprised of who, what, when, where, why and how, also known as:
 Character: The people and/or animals (weather can even be written as a character/antagonist) who populate your story.
Point of View: Pick one and stick with it.
Setting: Where and when your story takes place.
Conflict: The antithetical struggle between characters/forces that motivates/shapes the action of the plot.
Plot: The sequence of conflict-driven events/actions your characters engage in.
Theme: A truth/observation about life (may be stated or inferred).
Introduction/Exposition (beginning), conflict, rising action, climax (middle), falling action and resolution/denouement (ending)--essential elements of a well-defined plot. Take your readers on a white-knuckle, hair-raising ride through the recesses of your mind, but don't be too verbose about it.
Economy of words is the key to the short story. Each and every word must count. Each and every word must build character or move the action forward (or both). There is no room for fluff here. Short stories require you to be a ruthless editor. I know it's painful. Copy and paste those unnecessary words and phrases into a Word document for later use if you have to, but cut them from this one. You can do it!
I've said it before, but it bears repeating: whether you write flash fiction, short stories or novellas, write passionately, frugally ... write with abandon and without fear.
Just keep writing ... and we'll keep reading.
Sh nn n
We write for the same reasons we dream--because we cannot not dream, because it is in the nature of the human imagination to dream.
~Joyce Carol Oates |
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Feedback
The following feedback is in response to "Short Stories Newsletter (November 11, 2009)" :
BEAR says, "I have given thought to the NanoWriMo thing and quite frankly I think that tring to come up with a 50,000 word project in a month is very unrealistic. It would seem to me that you would be more interested in just getting it done... rather then giving it great thought as to how you wanted to develope the story as well as the characters. However if you did write say 2000 words a day over 30 days , you still would have 60,000 words, so that being said I would imagine that in 2 or 3 hours a day you could both think it out and write it."
Lynn McKenzie says, "Hey Shannon, thanks for the highlight! Nice NL, too, although I'll be honest: I'm not really looking for NaNo news in a Short Story forum. Still, good luck with your novel this year!"
faithjourney says, "I've heard many people in my lifetime say "I'm going to write a novel," but the folks here at WDC are the only ones I've seen that have ever even tried. So you're right. Intentions are one thing; effort another. Best of luck with NaNo!"
April Sunday says, "Yes, agree -- what we do with the best of our stories or poems is our call. Some like me tend to procrastinate, sit on the pile up. Bad me. Good reminder ala encouragement for outsourcing. Good luck in Nov. 8,000 words in novel form is a fine thing indeed for 2008."
Zeke  says, "I don't think numbers should be the goal. I believe that completed thoughts are the real thing we should strive for."
Adriana Noir says, "Great points, Shannon! I know more than a few writers on here who could be published if they would just take that first step and submit! Good luck with NaNo ... this is my first year and talk about self discipline!  "
SantaBee  says, "Thanks for the NaNoWriMo inspiration, Shannon! Good luck this year!"
LJPC - the tortoise says, "Hi Shannon! Thanks so much for the encouraging sentiments expressed in your latest newsletter. All of us go through rough patches - self doubt and lack of confidence can be fearsome enemies, and it's hard to balance the negative aspects of self-criticism with the need to revise your own work. I'm grateful to have read your supportive thoughts.  "
JACE  says, "Excellent words for the writer in all of us to live by, Shannon. Like you, I did NaNo last year, and I discovered one thing about the effort. Whether you write 5000 or 50,000 words, you embark on a journey that may or may not lead you where you think you are going. And it's that journey that helps you grow as a writer. But, you're right--you have to write. Thanks for sharing."
Thank you all for taking the time to read and comment. And thank you for your continued encouragement, support and friendship. May each and every one of you have a safe and Merry Christmas, and a happy, prosperous New Year!
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Short Stories: December 09, 2009 Issue [#3396]
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