  Short Stories
This week: Edited by: Ben Langhinrichs  
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Three Rules of Work: Out of clutter find simplicity; From discord find harmony; In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.
Albert Einstein, Scientist
Greetings! I am one of the editors for the Short Stories Newsletter, and I hope to share some of my thoughts on writing short stories, and perhaps about writing in general. I suggest you treat these not as pearls of wisdom dropped from on high, but rather musings of a fellow writer, written to inspire, provoke or stimulate your personal muse. I welcome your thoughts, feedback and suggestions. Ben Langhinrichs
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Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.
Henry Ford, American industrialist
Putting the Elements of Your Story to Work
A few weeks ago, Shannon  wrote a wonderful newsletter on what makes a short story work (see "Short Stories Newsletter (December 9, 2009)" . In this newsletter, I want to touch on how to use those elements efficiently. They should not just work, but work together.
Here is Shannon's list of elements (shamelessly copied as they are so aptly written):
 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).
These are all important, but as with most things in life, the whole can be greater than the sum of the parts. Or it can be less.
The key is often how the elements work together. Imagine a creepy swamp, beset with creatures of unknown ancestry. You've written a haunting paragraph which places your heroine in the swamp, and the reader is right there with her.
Next, you show your character. The bubbly heroine is full of life, always optimistic and never discouraged.
Then, you add your plot. Your heroine is an athlete, a soccer superstar who is showing the boys and girls of America that soccer is not just for boys... or South Americans and Europeans.
You are really cooking, so you add a conflict, which is that a large crocodile is trying to catch the heroine. She runs, stumbles on marsh grass and screams a lot, but is finally rescued by the handsome Rocky McKuen, a baseball star who introduces her to his sport.
Your theme, never give up.
If you don't have a headache yet, congratulations. These elements are all plausible, all good story elements, but they are working against each other. If the creepy swamp has unknown creatures, why is a boring old crocodile chasing her? If she is a soccer star, why is she in a swamp? The questionss go on and on, and overshadow your story. Characters, setting and plot are all at odds.
This may be an extreme example, but take a look at one of your stories that doesn't work. Is it an action story with a flat, bland character? Is it a lush romance with no setting to speak of? Is it a space science fiction story where the conflict could be taking place in New York City in 2009?
In general, your POV and setting should set the mood and frame the characters. Your characters should drive the conflict which should form the plot. Your theme should be built out of your conflict resolution. If you want to get adventurous, you can make some elements work harder. Edgar Allen Poe used his settings as characters, allowing them to drive the conflict. Both J. K. Rowling and J. R. R. Tolkien allowed their themes to move the story along at times. Charles Dickens was a pro at making his characters color their settings.
Make sure your elements work together to form a cohesive whole, because the essence of a short story is the unified experience. Your elements should not contradict each other, as in my example above, but more than that, each should be present and lifting his or her weight. Character, POV, setting, conflict, plot and theme, all carry their share of the story, but they carry it best if they lift the burden together.
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Feedback from readers
NickiD89  So true, Ben! WDC welcomes published authors, those working toward publication, and creative writing hobbyists. As someone working toward publication, I found your newsletter full of excellent ideas. I'm following the link now -- thanks for including it!
Best of luck in your journey toward publication.
Leger~  {Hi Ben - Just wanted to drop a line to say I enjoyed this week's newsletter about submissions. You're doing a great job, I like your topics and your writing style. Nice work, Kim
Thanks! Coming from you, that means a lot.
peach  Ben, thank you for your practical article about getting published. Your piece was very thoughtful and encouraging.
Just as most people who learn to play a musical instrument never get paid to write, record, and perform music, most writers will never write, publish, and get paid.
For me, I'd have to say the only thing that feels as good as seeing my name and music on an album, is being published and paid for my writng.
All of my thanks go to the many people who love to read and listen to music.
Rock on!
faithjourney Thanks for featuring "Wasted Years" in the Short Story Newsletter and for the great tips!
You're welcome.
Coolhand Great newsletter and advice on getting published. Thanks for including my contest and highlighting some of the talented writers who have contributed to its success.
It is an excellent contest. Thanks for running it so well.
LJPC - the tortoise Hi Ben! Thanks for giving your readers the heads-up about Duotrope. They do a GREAT job highlighting venues and I use their tracker to organize what I've submitted. I'm sure you've inspired others to go to their website and to consider submitting.
Laura
I hope so. It is a thrill to get published, and I hope many others get a chance to share that thrill.
Rixfarmgirl  Thank you for highlighting my story. It was fun to write and I appreciate your mention of it. Enjoyed your encouraging newsletter. Rixy
You're welcome.
Items submitted by readers
Hello... Please give consideration to my short story to be included in next newsletter.
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Short Stories: December 30, 2009 Issue [#3466]
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