 Short Stories: October 29, 2014 Issue [#6629] |
  Short Stories
This week: Where's the story? Edited by: 🦄🏳️🌈Sapph  
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The purpose of this newsletter is to share my personal thoughts and ideas of what can make (or break) a short story. In doing so, I hope to inspire new, creative stories and to help short story writers improve their craft.
Today's Topic
Where's the story?
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All too often when reading a short story, especially contest entries, there seems to be at least one of a few major things missing from the story. When did stories stop having those elements that draw the reader in and keep them hooked? I'm talking about having themes in a story, character arcs and development, and most of all I'm talking about conflict.
Themes that run throughout a story can help keep your reader interested. This can be what is driving your story or something that is recurring throughout. If it runs through the story, use it to your advantage and keep the reader intrigued with it. If you're missing some kind of draw, your story isn't going to be successful.
One dimensional characters are good in newspaper comics but have no place in a short story. Your character should be able to go through some sort of trial or have a realization by the end your story. Characters are there to grow and change over time, not come in as a full being. Readers love to experience things with a character in a story so give them that and bring that realness to your character through some sort of development.
Conflict is the thing that I find missing in most short stories that have any of these issues. If you don't have some kind interesting point in your story, it's going to be boring. These kinds of stories lack that punch, the spark that really makes a reader connect with it. You can have a technically sound story but if you don't have any kind of conflict that the character deals with, no one is going to want to read it.
A few tips and questions to help you make sure that all of these are in next short story endeavor:
 Has the character gone through some kind of change from the beginning to end?
 Is there something in the story that creates tension that needs dealt with?
 Is there one thing that pulls me from the beginning to the end of the story, a common thread?
 A recurring element can be as simple as piece of string, so long as it's played as a connecting element.
 If your character isn't developing throughout the story, neither is your writing. Think of the two as being connected. You grow as a writer as they do as a character.
 If you can't find that spark of tension, rewrite the story. Make sure that it's there and can be identified.
Remember, these are called short stories and without these key elements, all you'll have is a short, it won't even be a story.
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My question for you this time: Have you ever written a story without these? How did you fix it?
Question from before ("Short Stories Newsletter (October 2, 2013)" ): Do you use music when writing a story? How do you decide what music to listen to while writing?
brom21  replied: Music is a good motivator for me. Listening to some tunes on YouTube gets my mind into gear to begin writing. I also listen to music to motivate me to do my homework. Without music it is very hard to do any type of manual labor or typing. The kind of music I find myself enjoying is mainly techno and Christian contemporary as well as some genres that I cannot name. With myself I find that listening to the same songs never gets old. Maybe I should try playing songs while I'm writing and such.
>>^..^<< Kat replied: This newsletter is very timely for me. I wrote a story around the song I was listening to, and now wonder where can I find out if it is OK to include the lyrics of the song in the body of the story? The couple sings it to each other, after a fashion, changing a couple of words for their own meaning.
Elle - on hiatus  replied: I listen to classical music when writing, because words distract me. I love some of the classics - Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture, Beethoven's Symphony #5, Grieg's Hall of the Mountain King... But I also love classical film scores - the theme to Harry Potter, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, etc - absolutely fantastic for putting you in the write right mood! 
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