  Short Stories
This week: Are we there yet? When to end. Edited by: Ben Langhinrichs  
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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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Are we there yet? Knowing where to end.
There are many challenges to writing short stories that are different from those facing novelists. In a short story, the author has less time to build a character, less time to develop a plot, and much less time to make the reader care about both.
But some issues are similar between the two forms. In this newsletter, I want to focus on the ending. Not what should happen or how many explosions or even whether the damsel gets her knight, but when and where to write the final words.
This may seem obvious. I have heard the advice, End when the story is done. That sounds reasonable, but imagine the Wizard of Oz if the book ended when the witch melted. In one sense, the story was over. Or imagine if it ended (movie version here) when the wizard floated off in the balloon. Even worse, imagine if Dorothy had gone home, but then had to go to school and made a new friend who she told about her adventures and the friend didn't believe her and...
Argh!
Stories bear a resemblance to music in this. In a piece of music, especially classical music, there is a pattern the mind follows even if the listener is not fully conscious of it. In general, the music must lead back to where it started, sometimes off by an octave or otherwise transformed. This gives the listener a sense of completion.
In a similar way, a story has a pattern and flow. We often talk about the quest and the character arc, but the quest must end and the hero gets back home, and the arc is like a rainbow, where the beginning is not the same as the end, but it is as the same level.
Just so, you must bring the reader back from the climax to a place that is either the same or parallel to the beginning. Frodo makes it back to Bag End, even if he finds it torn up (transformed). The children in Peter Pan make it back to their home, although they may keep Neverland in their hearts.
But even then, there is a danger. The Lord of the Rings is one of my favorite books, but I sometimes think Tolkien went on a bit too far. J.K. Rowling is also a favorite author, but I strongly feel like the epilogue and the end of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was a huge mistake, and I have heard many others say so as well.
Take the hero home, or to a new home, but then leave him or her or them to live happily ever after (romance), or face death miserably (horror), or snuggle around a fire with a cup of hot chocolate (family). Don't fall for the temptation to tell what happens next, as that is your reader's job. Resolve what must be resolved for completion, and close the book.
You can always write a sequel if you want to start the adventure anew.
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Feedback from readers
The newsletter these readers were responding to is
"Writing Stories to be Read Aloud" by Ben Langhinrichs
Writing for children can teach us how to be better writers for any age. (Short Stories Newsletter - November 3, 2010)
scribbler  I love writing for children, or young adults. I find that often, writers do not give this audience enough credit. They can handle, and enjoy more when you use complex problems and characters.
Doug Rainbow Stories meant to be read aloud can include stories for adults, too. I am thinking of stories on tape or CDs to be played in the car, for example. Some classic Poe stories and poems appear on cassettes.
Zeke  Writing a children's story has always intimidated me. This is an audience that doesn't always react to subtle.
Zeke
atwhatcost I've been mocked by other writers for writing children's stories. I've been left with the feeling that I'm less of a writer for my choice in genre. Thank you for bringing the subject up in such beautiful detail. A children's story is as hard, albeit different, as writing for adults. Your NL made me feel a bit redeemed. Thank you.
KimChi Thanks for the tips and encouragement toward writing children's stories. For me, writing for children is much harder than writing for adults, as word choice is dictated by reading level.
Also, reading aloud is encouraged for any story--our own stumbling or the reader's fidgeting works the same way in helping us determine areas which need work.
sofie712 Great article on Read Aloud stories. I used to work for an oil company with a V.P. who spoke six languages. During my lunch hour I would go to his office and have him read from Cormac McCarthy's Border Trilogy. He spoke beautiful Spanish and would also translate some of the terms I didn't know. Now I write adult short stories that are read-aloud stories for adults because I use idioms, vernacular; and also because I am legally blind and appreciate the audio book market.
LJPC - the tortoise Hi Ben!
What a great NL this week.  Writing for children is far harder than it appears. This is especially true for picture books as the illustrations tell half the story. The author isn't supposed to include descriptions of how things look, but instead, write about textures and actions. The most important part of PBs (and the hardest for me) is to be zany! Children adore a zany sense of humor, like the Seuss books. Most of us need to dig deep to forget about the logic and realism we've learned over the years and find the zany childish ideas inside.
-- Laura
Than Pence offers Fashionable War with the comment: I understand exactly what you're talking about: writing stories that are meant to be read aloud is very different than writing a normal story. It is for me anyway. Once a month, I read poems and stories at an open mic event. With some shorts or poems I write, I think "How will this sound on stage? Will they get it?" Of course, I have the same worries about everything I write, but standing and reading in front of my peers adds a layer of pressure.
I'm submitting a story that I've read aloud at one of these events, keeping in mind that I would have to remember not to speak too quickly and even to pause when everyone laughed at the appropriate moments. That is something I've had a hard time with in the past: speaking too fast for people to follow. I've improved, but it still creeps up on me (in a quick manner).
Thank you.
kim offers Rabbit on the Moon with the comment: Personally, I love children's stories. I look after a couple of girls age 7 and 9 and love making up stories for them. They in turn make up great stories for me. It's a great gift to be able to see with a child's eyes.
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Short Stories: November 30, 2010 Issue [#4104]
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