by Editor Jodie Renner
Writing short stories is a great way to test the waters of fiction without making a huge commitment, or to experiment with different genres, characters, settings, and voices.
Even if you've published a novel or two, it’s a good idea to try to release a few high-quality, well-edited short stories between books to help with discoverability and growing a fan base.
Also, today's busy readers (especially the young ones) have more distractions and temptations for their time, therefore shorter attention spans, and they're reading on smaller devices, so a short story is a nice escapism-byte for increasing numbers of people.
As our multi-talented host Anne R. Allen said in an excellent article in Writer's Digest magazine, "Bite-sized fiction has moved mainstream, and today’s readers are more eager than ever to 'read short'." For a brief mention of each of Anne's "nine factors working in favor of a short story renaissance", see her article, Short is the New Long and there's more in her post, Why You Should be Writing Short Fiction.
31 STEPS TO A WINNING SHORT STORY
Here are 31 concrete tips for writing a compelling short story that is worthy of publishing or submitting to contests, magazines, and anthologies. Of course, these are only guidelines—like any good cook with a recipe, you'll tweak them to suit your own vision, goal, genre, and story idea.
When referring to the main character, I’ll be alternating between using "he" and "she", so just fill in the gender of your own protagonist.
PLANNING STAGE:
1. Keep the story tight.
2. Create a main character who is complex and charismatic, one readers will care about.
Your protagonist should be multi-dimensional and at least somewhat sympathetic, so readers can relate to him and start bonding with him right away. He should be fascinating, with plenty of personality. But give him a human side, with some inner conflict and vulnerability, so readers identify with him and start worrying about him immediately. If readers don’t care about your character, they also won’t care about what happens to him.
What does he or she want more than anything? This is the basis for your story goal, the driving force of your story.
What does your heroine regret most? What is she feeling guilty about? Give her some baggage and secrets.
Create a main conflict or challenge for your protagonist. Put her in hot water right away, on the first page, so the readers start worrying about her early on. No conflict = no story. The conflict can be internal, external, or interpersonal, or all three. It can be against one’s own demons, other people, circumstances, or nature.
First, get to know your character really well by journaling in his voice. Pretend you are the character, writing in his secret diary, expressing his hopes and fears and venting his frustrations. Just let the ideas flow, in his point of view, using his words and expressions.
Then take it a step further and carry that voice you've developed throughout the whole story, even to the narration and description, which are really the viewpoint character’s thoughts, perceptions, observations, and reactions. This technique ensures that your whole story has a unique, compelling voice. (In a novel, the voice will of course change in any chapters that are in other characters’ viewpoints.)
Devise an opposition character who is strong, clever, determined, and resourceful – a force to be reckoned with. And for added interest, make him or her multi-faceted, with a few positive qualities, too.
Give each of your characters a distinct personality, with their own agenda, hopes, accomplishments, fears, insecurities, and secrets, and add some individual quirks to bring each of them to life. Supporting and minor characters should be quite different from your protagonist, for contrast. Start a diary for each important character to develop their voice and personality, and ensure none of them are closely modeled after you, the author, or your friends.
But don’t fully develop any very minor or "walk-on" characters, or readers will expect them to play a more important role. In fact, it’s best not to name minor characters like cab drivers and servers, unless they play a bigger role.
Try to jolt or awe the readers somehow, with a unique, enigmatic, even quirky or weird character; an unusual premise or situation; and an unexpected, even shocking revelation and plot twist.
Short stories can be edgier, darker, or more intense because they're brief, and readers can tolerate something a little more extreme for a limited time.
Short stories need to grab and emotionally engage the readers right from the first paragraph. Don’t open with a description of the scenery or other setting. Also, don’t start with background information (backstory) on the character or an explanation of their world or situation.
It’s best to use his name right in the first sentence to establish him as the point-of-view character, the one readers are supposed to identify with and root for. And let readers know really soon his rough age, situation, and role in the story world.
Having her interacting with someone else is usually best—much more dynamic than starting with a character alone, musing. Also, it’s best not to start with your character just waking up or in an everyday situation or on the way to somewhere. That’s trite and too much of a slow lead-up for a short story—or any compelling story, for that matter.
Get up close and personal with your main character and tell the whole story from his point of view. Continually show his thoughts, feelings, reactions, and physical sensations. And take care not to show anyone else’s thoughts or inner reactions. You don't have time or space to get into anyone else’s viewpoint in a short story. Show the attitudes and reactions of others through what the POV character perceives – their words, body language, facial expressions, tone of voice, actions, etc.
Even the narration should be expressed as your POV character's thoughts and observations. Don't intrude as the author to describe or explain anything to the readers in neutral language. You want to keep your readers immersed in your fictive dream, and interrupting as the author will burst the bubble of make-believe they crave.
To avoid reader confusion and frustration, establish your main character immediately and clarify the situation and setting (time and place) within the first few paragraphs. On the first page, answer the four W’s: who, what, where, when. But as mentioned above, avoid starting with a long descriptive passage.
As I mentioned, there's no room in a short story for a long, meandering lead-up to the main problem, or an extended description of the setting or the characters and their background. Disrupt the main character’s life in some way on the first page. As Kurt Vonnegut advises, in short fiction, start as close to the end as possible.
Don't use narration to tell your readers what happened—put them right in the middle of the scene, with lots of dialogue and action and reactions, in real time. And skip past transitional times and unimportant moments. Use just a few words to go from one time or place to another, unless something important happens during the transition.
Continually show your character's emotional and physical reactions, both inner and outer, to what’s going on around him. And to bring the character and scene to life on the page, evoke as many of the five senses as possible, not just sight and hearing. Scents or smells are especially powerful and evocative.
It might be overt, like an argument, or subtle, like inner resentments, disagreements, questioning, or anxiety. If everybody is in agreement, shake things up a little.
This adds tension and intrigue, especially when a character has secrets or regrets. Hint at them to arouse reader curiosity, then reveal critical info bit by bit, like a tantalizing striptease, as you go along.
Skip the yadda-yadda, blah-blah, “How are you? I’m fine. Nice weather,” etc., and add spark and tension to all your dialogue. And make the characters' words and expressions sound as natural and authentic as you can. Avoid complete, correct sentences in dialogue. Use plenty of one or two-word questions and responses, evasive replies, abrupt changes of topics, and even a few silences.
Each character's word choices and speech patterns should reflect their gender, age, education, social standing, and personality. Don’t have your kids sounding like adults or your thugs sounding like university professors! Even men and women of similar cultural backgrounds and social standing speak differently. Read your dialogue out loud or role-play with a friend to make sure it sounds real, has tension, and moves along at a good clip.
Keep putting your protagonist in more hot water until the big “battle,” showdown, or struggle—whether it's physical, psychological, or interpersonal. This is where they're challenged to the max and have to draw on all their courage, wit, and resources to avoid defeat and/or reach their goals.
Don't stretch out the conclusion – tie it up pretty quickly. Like your first paragraph and page, your ending needs to be memorable and also satisfying to the readers. Try to create a surprise twist at the end – but of course it needs to make sense, given all the other details of the story. It should be unexpected, but also, in retrospect, inevitable.
It's not necessary to tie everything up in a neat little bow, but do give your readers some sense of resolution, some payout for their investment of time and effort in your story. As in novels, most readers want the character they've been rooting for all along to resolve at least some of their problems. But be sure the protagonist they've been identifying with succeeds through their own courage, determination, and resourcefulness, not through coincidence, luck, or a rescue by someone else. Keep your hero or heroine heroic.
Now that you've got your whole story down, go back and grab the readers with an opening that zings. Write and rewrite your first line, opening paragraph, and first page. They need to be as gripping and as intriguing as you can make them, in order to compel the readers to read the rest of the story. Your first sentence and paragraph should arouse curiosity and raise questions that demand to be answered.
The short story requires discipline and editing. Trim down any long, convoluted sentences to reveal the essentials. Less is more, so make every word count. If a paragraph, sentence, or line of dialogue doesn't advance the plot, add intrigue, or develop a character, take it out.
Also, use strong, evocative, specific nouns and verbs and cut back on supporting adjectives and adverbs. For example, instead of saying "He walked heavily" say "He stomped" or "He trudged." Or instead of "She walked quietly," say "She tiptoed" or "She crept."
Every significant detail you insert in the story should have some significance or some relevance later. If it doesn’t, take it out. Don’t show us a knife or special character skills, for example, if they don’t show up later and play an essential role. You have no room for filler or extraneous details in a compelling short story.
When you're describing a character, for example, rather than just listing their physical attributes and what they're wearing, search for details that reveal their personality, their mood, their intentions, and their effect on those around them, and also the personality and attitude of the character who is observing them. And there’s no need to go into detail on everything they're wearing. Just paint in bold brush strokes and let readers fill in the details – or not, as they prefer.
Filter all descriptions through the attitude and mood of the main character. If your POV character’s aging father shows up at the door, don't describe him neutrally and in detail as a brand new character. Show him as that character actually sees her own father arriving at her house.
Similarly, if a teenage boy walks into a room, don't describe the room as an interior designer would see it – stay in his viewpoint. He is most concerned with why he entered that room, not all the details of what it looks like.
As I mentioned earlier, short stories are generally between 500 and 7,500 words long, with the most popular length around 2,500 to 4,000 words. If you want to submit your short story to a website, magazine or contest, be sure to read their guidelines as to length, genre, language no-no's, and so on. Also, for your own protection, do read the fine print to avoid giving away all rights to your story.
What about you, Scriveners? Do you write short stories? Or are you like me and keep getting bogged down in big novels? Can you work on stories when you're in the middle of a novel? Have you ever won a story contest? Are you going to run out and enter one now? (If so, do scroll down to our "opportunity alerts".) Do you have any questions for Jodie?...Anne
Giveaway: Jodie will be giving away an electronic copy of her new writing guide, Captivate Your Readers, to the first four people who request it below, and she'd love it if winners wanted to leave a review at Amazon.com or Amazon.ca. Also, if you haven't read any of Jodie's writing guides, mention that in the comments! You'll be eligible for a grand prize of all three books, in mobi, ePub, or PDF (your choice).
3. Give your protagonist a burning desire.
What does he or she want more than anything? This is the basis for your story goal, the driving force of your story.
4. Decide what your character is most afraid of.
What does your heroine regret most? What is she feeling guilty about? Give her some baggage and secrets.
5. Devise a critical story problem or conflict.
Create a main conflict or challenge for your protagonist. Put her in hot water right away, on the first page, so the readers start worrying about her early on. No conflict = no story. The conflict can be internal, external, or interpersonal, or all three. It can be against one’s own demons, other people, circumstances, or nature.
6. Develop a unique "voice" for this story.
First, get to know your character really well by journaling in his voice. Pretend you are the character, writing in his secret diary, expressing his hopes and fears and venting his frustrations. Just let the ideas flow, in his point of view, using his words and expressions.
Then take it a step further and carry that voice you've developed throughout the whole story, even to the narration and description, which are really the viewpoint character’s thoughts, perceptions, observations, and reactions. This technique ensures that your whole story has a unique, compelling voice. (In a novel, the voice will of course change in any chapters that are in other characters’ viewpoints.)
7. Create a worthy antagonist.
Devise an opposition character who is strong, clever, determined, and resourceful – a force to be reckoned with. And for added interest, make him or her multi-faceted, with a few positive qualities, too.
8. Add in a few interesting, even quirky supporting characters.
Give each of your characters a distinct personality, with their own agenda, hopes, accomplishments, fears, insecurities, and secrets, and add some individual quirks to bring each of them to life. Supporting and minor characters should be quite different from your protagonist, for contrast. Start a diary for each important character to develop their voice and personality, and ensure none of them are closely modeled after you, the author, or your friends.
But don’t fully develop any very minor or "walk-on" characters, or readers will expect them to play a more important role. In fact, it’s best not to name minor characters like cab drivers and servers, unless they play a bigger role.
9. To enter and win contests, make your character and story unique and memorable.
Try to jolt or awe the readers somehow, with a unique, enigmatic, even quirky or weird character; an unusual premise or situation; and an unexpected, even shocking revelation and plot twist.
10. Experiment – take a chance.
Short stories can be edgier, darker, or more intense because they're brief, and readers can tolerate something a little more extreme for a limited time.
WRITING STAGE:
11. Start with a compelling scene.
Short stories need to grab and emotionally engage the readers right from the first paragraph. Don’t open with a description of the scenery or other setting. Also, don’t start with background information (backstory) on the character or an explanation of their world or situation.
12. Start right out in the head of your main character.
It’s best to use his name right in the first sentence to establish him as the point-of-view character, the one readers are supposed to identify with and root for. And let readers know really soon his rough age, situation, and role in the story world.
13. Put your character in motion right away.
Having her interacting with someone else is usually best—much more dynamic than starting with a character alone, musing. Also, it’s best not to start with your character just waking up or in an everyday situation or on the way to somewhere. That’s trite and too much of a slow lead-up for a short story—or any compelling story, for that matter.
14. Use close point of view.
Get up close and personal with your main character and tell the whole story from his point of view. Continually show his thoughts, feelings, reactions, and physical sensations. And take care not to show anyone else’s thoughts or inner reactions. You don't have time or space to get into anyone else’s viewpoint in a short story. Show the attitudes and reactions of others through what the POV character perceives – their words, body language, facial expressions, tone of voice, actions, etc.
Even the narration should be expressed as your POV character's thoughts and observations. Don't intrude as the author to describe or explain anything to the readers in neutral language. You want to keep your readers immersed in your fictive dream, and interrupting as the author will burst the bubble of make-believe they crave.
15. Situate the reader early on.
To avoid reader confusion and frustration, establish your main character immediately and clarify the situation and setting (time and place) within the first few paragraphs. On the first page, answer the four W’s: who, what, where, when. But as mentioned above, avoid starting with a long descriptive passage.
16. Jump right in with some tension in the first paragraphs.
As I mentioned, there's no room in a short story for a long, meandering lead-up to the main problem, or an extended description of the setting or the characters and their background. Disrupt the main character’s life in some way on the first page. As Kurt Vonnegut advises, in short fiction, start as close to the end as possible.
17. Show, don’t tell.
Don't use narration to tell your readers what happened—put them right in the middle of the scene, with lots of dialogue and action and reactions, in real time. And skip past transitional times and unimportant moments. Use just a few words to go from one time or place to another, unless something important happens during the transition.
18. Your character needs to react!
Continually show your character's emotional and physical reactions, both inner and outer, to what’s going on around him. And to bring the character and scene to life on the page, evoke as many of the five senses as possible, not just sight and hearing. Scents or smells are especially powerful and evocative.
19. Every page needs tension of some sort.
It might be overt, like an argument, or subtle, like inner resentments, disagreements, questioning, or anxiety. If everybody is in agreement, shake things up a little.
20. Withhold key information.
This adds tension and intrigue, especially when a character has secrets or regrets. Hint at them to arouse reader curiosity, then reveal critical info bit by bit, like a tantalizing striptease, as you go along.
21. Dialogue in fiction is like real conversation on steroids.
Skip the yadda-yadda, blah-blah, “How are you? I’m fine. Nice weather,” etc., and add spark and tension to all your dialogue. And make the characters' words and expressions sound as natural and authentic as you can. Avoid complete, correct sentences in dialogue. Use plenty of one or two-word questions and responses, evasive replies, abrupt changes of topics, and even a few silences.
22. Each character should speak differently, and not like the author.
Each character's word choices and speech patterns should reflect their gender, age, education, social standing, and personality. Don’t have your kids sounding like adults or your thugs sounding like university professors! Even men and women of similar cultural backgrounds and social standing speak differently. Read your dialogue out loud or role-play with a friend to make sure it sounds real, has tension, and moves along at a good clip.
23. Build the conflict to a riveting climax.
Keep putting your protagonist in more hot water until the big “battle,” showdown, or struggle—whether it's physical, psychological, or interpersonal. This is where they're challenged to the max and have to draw on all their courage, wit, and resources to avoid defeat and/or reach their goals.
24. Go out with a bang.
Don't stretch out the conclusion – tie it up pretty quickly. Like your first paragraph and page, your ending needs to be memorable and also satisfying to the readers. Try to create a surprise twist at the end – but of course it needs to make sense, given all the other details of the story. It should be unexpected, but also, in retrospect, inevitable.
25. Provide some reader satisfaction at the end.
It's not necessary to tie everything up in a neat little bow, but do give your readers some sense of resolution, some payout for their investment of time and effort in your story. As in novels, most readers want the character they've been rooting for all along to resolve at least some of their problems. But be sure the protagonist they've been identifying with succeeds through their own courage, determination, and resourcefulness, not through coincidence, luck, or a rescue by someone else. Keep your hero or heroine heroic.
REVISION STAGE:
26. Hook 'em in right away.
Now that you've got your whole story down, go back and grab the readers with an opening that zings. Write and rewrite your first line, opening paragraph, and first page. They need to be as gripping and as intriguing as you can make them, in order to compel the readers to read the rest of the story. Your first sentence and paragraph should arouse curiosity and raise questions that demand to be answered.
27. Cut to the chase!
The short story requires discipline and editing. Trim down any long, convoluted sentences to reveal the essentials. Less is more, so make every word count. If a paragraph, sentence, or line of dialogue doesn't advance the plot, add intrigue, or develop a character, take it out.
Also, use strong, evocative, specific nouns and verbs and cut back on supporting adjectives and adverbs. For example, instead of saying "He walked heavily" say "He stomped" or "He trudged." Or instead of "She walked quietly," say "She tiptoed" or "She crept."
28. Make every element and every image count.
Every significant detail you insert in the story should have some significance or some relevance later. If it doesn’t, take it out. Don’t show us a knife or special character skills, for example, if they don’t show up later and play an essential role. You have no room for filler or extraneous details in a compelling short story.
29. Make descriptions do double duty.
When you're describing a character, for example, rather than just listing their physical attributes and what they're wearing, search for details that reveal their personality, their mood, their intentions, and their effect on those around them, and also the personality and attitude of the character who is observing them. And there’s no need to go into detail on everything they're wearing. Just paint in bold brush strokes and let readers fill in the details – or not, as they prefer.
30. Stay in character for all descriptions.
Filter all descriptions through the attitude and mood of the main character. If your POV character’s aging father shows up at the door, don't describe him neutrally and in detail as a brand new character. Show him as that character actually sees her own father arriving at her house.
Similarly, if a teenage boy walks into a room, don't describe the room as an interior designer would see it – stay in his viewpoint. He is most concerned with why he entered that room, not all the details of what it looks like.
31. Pay attention to word count and other guidelines!
As I mentioned earlier, short stories are generally between 500 and 7,500 words long, with the most popular length around 2,500 to 4,000 words. If you want to submit your short story to a website, magazine or contest, be sure to read their guidelines as to length, genre, language no-no's, and so on. Also, for your own protection, do read the fine print to avoid giving away all rights to your story.
What about you, Scriveners? Do you write short stories? Or are you like me and keep getting bogged down in big novels? Can you work on stories when you're in the middle of a novel? Have you ever won a story contest? Are you going to run out and enter one now? (If so, do scroll down to our "opportunity alerts".) Do you have any questions for Jodie?...Anne
Giveaway: Jodie will be giving away an electronic copy of her new writing guide, Captivate Your Readers, to the first four people who request it below, and she'd love it if winners wanted to leave a review at Amazon.com or Amazon.ca. Also, if you haven't read any of Jodie's writing guides, mention that in the comments! You'll be eligible for a grand prize of all three books, in mobi, ePub, or PDF (your choice).
Jodie Renner (@JodieRennerEd) is a sought-after freelance editor and award-winning author of writing craft books: Fire up Your Fiction, Writing a Killer Thriller, and Captivate Your Readers, as well as time-saving clickable e-resources, Quick Clicks: Word Usage and Quick Clicks: Spelling List. You can find her at JodieRennerEditing.com, JodieRenner.com, and the award-winning Kill Zone Blog. When she’s not editing, reading, or writing, Jodie loves to pursue her two other passions, photography and traveling. In fact, Jodie loves traveling so much, she’s considering changing her tagline from "Let’s work together to enhance and empower your writing" to "Have laptop, will travel".
BOOK OF THE WEEK
Captivate Your Readers – An Editor's Guide to Writing Compelling Fiction Amazon.com Amazon.ca Amazon.co.uk
This third guide to writing compelling fiction by respected editor and award-winning author Jodie Renner provides concrete advice for captivating readers and immersing them in your story world. It’s all about engaging readers through techniques such as deep point of view, showing instead of telling, avoiding author intrusions, writing riveting dialogue, and basically stepping back and letting the characters tell the story.
Today’s readers want to lose themselves in an absorbing story. Renner shows you how to provide the immediacy and emotional involvement readers crave in fiction, the direct, close connection to the characters and their world.
This book is available in both e-book and print form, through all Amazon websites. Available soon in print through Ingram and at many independent bookstores and libraries.
"Jodie’s books are packed with practical writing and editing advice. Get ready to improve your manuscript today." – Steven James, author of Story Trumps Structure: How to Write Unforgettable Fiction by Breaking the Rules
"Want to write solid, marketable fiction? Read this book. Regardless of your experience level, CAPTIVATE YOUR READERS gives you clear and concise tools that will help you create a believable story world and spin a good yarn." – DP Lyle, award-winning author of the Dub Walker and Samantha Cody thriller series
"Jodie Renner nails it! Captivate Your Readers should be at the top of every new and experienced writer’s arsenal, as well as a preferred resource for every teacher of writing. Her no-nonsense, easy-to-understand approach is perfect. Bravo, Jodie Renner!" – Lynn Sholes, bestselling author of the Cotten Stone series and The Shield
OPPORTUNITY ALERTS
MARK TWAIN HUMOR CONTEST Entry fees: $12 Young Author or $22 Adult. 7,000 words (or fewer) of any original work of humor writing. Submissions must be in English. Submissions are not required to be in the style of Mark Twain or about Mark Twain. 1st Prize: $1,000 (Adult), $600 (Young Author). Other cash prizes! Deadline July 10, 2015
The Elizabeth Jolley Short Story Prize, Managed by Australian Book Review. Entry fee $20 (AUS). First prize of $5000 and supplementary prizes of $2000 and $1000. Stories must be 2000-5000 words. Deadline May 1st.
Writer's Digest Writing Compeition. This is their biggie. First prize is $5000 plus your photo on the cover of Writer's Digest. Entry fees are a little pricey at $25 for a story, $15 for a poem but there are lots of big prizes. Categories for many genres of fiction, Creative nonfic, essays, screenplays, and poetry. Early Bird deadline May 4th.
The Vestal Review is looking for FLASH FICTION. Submissions are accepted February-May for the Vestal Review, the oldest journal devoted exclusively to flash fiction. 500 words or less. Humor is a plus. Pays $$ plus copies.
The 2015 Bulwer Litton Bad Writing Contest. Wretched Writers Welcome! This is the "It Was a Dark and Stormy Night" Bad Writing Contest! Write the worst opening line you can come up with (about 50-60 words). Must be a single sentence. NO FEE. Small cash prize. Deadline April 15
CANADIANS! The Kobo First Book Contest is for you! Did you publish your first book in 2014? Do you have a Canadian passport? You could win $10,000! Literary Fiction, Genre Fiction and Non-Fiction categories. Winners will be announced in June. Deadline March 31.
INDIE AUTHORS: Here's a list of 50 contests open to self-published books. If you've always wanted to be "an award-winning book author," this is a good place to start. List compiled by the Alliance of Independent Authors.
The 2015 Bulwer Litton Bad Writing Contest. Wretched Writers Welcome! This is the "It Was a Dark and Stormy Night" Bad Writing Contest! Write the worst opening line you can come up with (about 50-60 words). Must be a single sentence. NO FEE. Small cash prize. Deadline April 15
CANADIANS! The Kobo First Book Contest is for you! Did you publish your first book in 2014? Do you have a Canadian passport? You could win $10,000! Literary Fiction, Genre Fiction and Non-Fiction categories. Winners will be announced in June. Deadline March 31.
INDIE AUTHORS: Here's a list of 50 contests open to self-published books. If you've always wanted to be "an award-winning book author," this is a good place to start. List compiled by the Alliance of Independent Authors.
They can be grittier because readers can tolerate extremes in short doses - never thought of it that way. That's probably easier on the writer as maintaining that kind of atmosphere for hundreds of pages is difficult.
ReplyDeleteI've only written one fiction short story in recent years, but maybe I should write more.
I encourage you to write more short fiction and even experiment with different genres as a way to broaden out your writing and develop different "voices," Alex.
DeleteAnd for award-winning fiction or for submitting to anthologies, your story should stand out in some way and affect the readers (and judges) emotionally, to rise it above the pack.
Good luck with all your writing projects! :-)
Thanks, Anne, for the opportunity to guest post on your highly rated, award-winning blog! I've recommended various articles of yours to my aspiring author clients for years, and it's a privilege to be here this week.
ReplyDeleteJodie--We're honored to have you with us!
DeleteBrava. These short story suggestions would fly as excellent pointers for writing novels, too. Thanks, once more, for some fine advice.
ReplyDeleteThanks, CS. Glad you found my tips helpful!
DeleteI do write short stories. Unlike other writers, I don't have a problem with a short story wanting to be a novel. Short stories are great for experimentation because you can do things that might not work at all if exposed to the longer form of the novel.
ReplyDeleteBut you left out something, and it's a major thing that editors look for and writers leave out: Setting. Most writers deal with setting by saying, "They went to a bar and sat down." Unfortunately, some of this probably because description is almost universally described as "boring" and "excessive." No one ever stops to think "How do I make it not boring?" Instead, they just leave it out.
Even you put description near the end, which kind of implies it's not that important. The opposite is true: Setting should be firmly established with all the five senses in your first 300 words. It also should very clear -- and this one is hard -- that if you removed the setting from the story, the story wouldn't work without it.
Most writers tend to focus on making sure the words are perfect, fearing that a misplaced comma will get a rejection. It's things like missing setting that gets rejections.
Linda, you make an excellent point about setting, and I definitely should have included it. I find that a lot of aspiring fiction writers get carried away with describing the setting, as if they're writing a travelogue, and of course there's no room in a tight short story for that. But setting the stage for the readers and showing the story world through the main character's observations and sensations, with attitude, is very important, as you point out. Show what he's seeing, hearing, smelling, touching, and tasting, and color the description through his personal observations and his personality, mood, and intentions. Thanks for the reminder! I must add that as another key point.
DeleteGreat post for short-story writers and novelists alike.
ReplyDeleteI'm in, Jodie. You already have my e-mail address. I'd love a copy of your book.
Thanks, Kathy. I'm glad you found these tips useful for fiction writers. I'll email you with an e-copy of my book.
DeleteWhat a helpful post for fiction writers. I've bookmarked it. Thanks for such a thorough treatment.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your kind comments, Elizabeth. Glad you found it helpful.
DeleteThanks so much, Jodie. This is a very complete guide for writing and revising short stories. Especially loved the revision section. I plan to bookmark and return to this over and over. What a great article. My best, Paul
ReplyDeleteSo glad you found this checklist useful, Paul! Good luck with your short stories and all your writing projects!
DeleteLoved this post and I'd love to read your new book, Jodie! I wasn't aware of any of them, so of course I'd like to win all three : ) I think I see the problem now with a short story I've been wrestling with for too long.Thanks!
ReplyDeleteGreat to hear these tips gave you a light-bulb moment, Deb! I'll put your name in the hat to win e-copies of all three of my writing guides!
DeleteCongratulations, Deb! You've won e-copies of all three of my writing guides! Please email me at info(at)JodieRenner(dot)com to claim your prizes.
DeleteMakes one want to write a short story or at least give it a try. :-)
ReplyDeleteThank you for the post, Jodie.
You're most welcome, Sasha! Hope this helps you develop a compelling short story!
DeleteTanks for this post, Jodie. Love the short story. I got hooked when they were the magazine rage from Red Book to Playboy. My first love was the master ... O Henry. Back in the day many novel writers had collections. I am gratified to see interest in this form making a comeback.
ReplyDeleteI have written them, played with them for quite some time, and use flash fiction on my blog ... often taking prompt sentences from my readers. I don't know if I'll ever do more with them, but your post motivates me to think about trying :)
So glad I'm providing some motivation for you to keep writing short stories, Florence! I'll be sure to keep an eye out for them in print!
DeleteGreat advice. I have been wanting to start writing for so long now, particularly short stories. I'm inspired to begin. I would also love to be able to read your books. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteI'm pleased that I've inspired you to write some short stories, Nimisha! If you contact me at info(at)JodieRenner(dot)com, I'll send you an e-copy of my new book.
DeleteSo glad I found you. I see so much here that you have accomplished I'm amazed. I have one short story titled " The Bunny Trail n` murder" 54 pages and you're done. Vale. Waiting on the proof to come back on the 10th. Hope you keep doing good stuff. I would love to inspire others the way you have with me. Have a wonderful day.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your kind words, Donald! So glad I inspired you! Good luck with all your writing projects! :-)
DeleteIf it's still available, I'd love to read your book
ReplyDeleteHi Ash,
DeletePlease email me at info(at)JodieRenner(dot)com and I'll send you an e-copy of my new book. :-)
I love short stories and have written dozens (though only one collection out with 8 stories but I have participated in anthologies). Great fun to write, much more fun than a novel. You, as the writer, get instant satisfaction - whereas a novel is a much bigger effort, and of course, a lot harder to pace. Can't keep the stakes up too high throughout a novel without tiring your reader out! And congrats to Editor Jodie Renner: that's exactly the way I see it, that's the way a good short story should be. Shall spread the word around!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for spreading the word around about my tips for writing a winning short story, Claude! So glad you enjoy this format for fiction! Keep on writing!
DeleteLove your rundown on both writing and revising short stories. I'll definitely be coming back to this post later.
ReplyDeleteGlad you found my tips useful, Tyrean! :-)
DeleteHi Jodie -Excellent article. I've written three novels and have recently made a foray into the realm of short story writing for a change of pace. You have condensed indispensable advice on story writing into a ready-made checklist for aspiring or accomplished writers. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for your kind words, Vicky. Good luck with your short stories!
DeleteThose steps suspiciously sound like the same steps for a novel... :)
ReplyDeleteYes, Southpaw, most of them work for a novel, too, except a few tips specific to short stories, like word count, keep it to a tight time frame, only one main character and one POV, no subplots, etc.
DeleteI didn't read every comment to see if you already took the 4 requests for your book, but I'm very interested! Add me to the request list.
ReplyDeleteThis is a fantastic post. :-)
Glad you like the post, Jenny! I'm still waiting to hear from one or two of the winners, so if I don't hear from them, I'll get back to you.
DeleteThanks, Jodie! It was super helpful, since short writing is my sweet spot.
DeleteGreat! Glad you found this checklist helpful, Jenny! :-)
DeleteI have nine published books and for me short stories are more challenging. Thanks for the great tips.
ReplyDeleteBarbara--Hi there! Great to see you here. Yeah, I'm the same way. Once I started writing novels, I abandoned my short fiction and it's hard to get my mojo back. I'm hoping Jodie's tips will help me too!
DeleteOne thing about writing a short story, Barbara, is if it's not going as well as you'd like or you want to change direction, you (hopefully) haven't invested a great deal of time so you can put it aside for a while and brainstorm another idea. Good luck with your foray into short fiction!
DeleteAs someone just starting out blogging and getting serious about my writing, I absolutely adore your blog! I have tagged several of your posts in my bookmarks page so I can easily go back and reread your advice! This one is especially going in my bookmarks as I am writing short stories right now. I'm too inexperienced and nervous about my writing right now to write an entire novel, but short stories I feel less self-conscious about writing. Thanks again for all your advice!
ReplyDeleteScribbling--I'm so glad you like the blog! Do come back. We update every Sunday, 10 AM Pacific time.
DeleteGetting started with short stories is very wise. They're easier to place, and they can be sold again and again. We're so pleased Jodie could write this great post for us. Do take a look at her books.
Yes, isn't Anne's blog fabulous, Scribbling! I refer my writing clients and other authors and aspiring authors here all the time, and I'm honored to be a guest here this week. Short stories are a great way to experiment, so don't be nervous - jump right in! Good luck with that! :-)
DeleteGreat Blog, Jodie. I'm presently working on a short story. Even before hitting #31 on your list, I was contemplating ways to deepen and rev-up my work. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteSo great to hear my tips provided you inspiration for your current short story, Della! Good luck with this and your future stories!
DeleteThis was excellent! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Nina!
DeleteGreat tips! When I have my lunch break and no one to talk to (which is usual, because I don't like a lot of people around me), I always take out a short story to provide me with a quick journey through some faraway land. Hence I need it to be gritty, aggressive, out of the ordinary, I don't have the time I have at night to enjoy the longer stuff. Great post!
ReplyDeleteWhat a perfect way to spend your lunch break, Bernardo! (I hope you're eating lunch at the same time! LOL) More and more people are latching on to the advantages of having some short fiction ready on their reading devices, so writers should cash in on this growing demand.
ReplyDeleteGreat stuff, Jodie. I started out writing short stories, fell in love with them, and still write them in addition to novels. In fact, the protagonist in my first novel originally appeared in a short story. I have another character who has appeared in a half dozen stories and who is begging me to put her in a novel. I'm sure I will. I occasionally give presentations on writing short stuff and I'm sure I'll steal - I mean borrow - some of your great tips.
ReplyDeleteI just checked out your Amazon Author Page, Earl - impressive! Next step - pick up some of your short stories. Can't wait to read them! Thanks for dropping by and commenting, and of course, steal away! :-)
ReplyDeleteI'm going to paste the email I sent to my Beginner Writer Friend, along with the link to this article.
ReplyDelete"This is THE best SHORT article I’ve seen on writing a good short story.
MOST of these things apply to every story we'll ever write.
If you can do MOST of these things, your stories will be good, and people will want to read more of YOUR stories. And that’s how you will succeed.
The article is actually about winning competitions, so a couple of the points don’t apply in your case (or mine). Because winning competitions doesn’t matter to us — it’s a different skill than SELLING BOOKS, which is currently our aim."
To be completely honest, Jodie, I then told him NOT to buy your books yet. As a beginner, he's feeling quite overwhelmed, so I told him, for now, to work on improving the 10,000 word story he's written, using this article as his guide, then to write another from scratch — again, using this article as his guide.
Of course, down the track, I'd highly recommend he go on to buy your books and/or use your editing services — anyone who can write such a succinct article must certainly have a lot to offer.
Thanks again for sharing it.
Harry, these tips apply to anyone wanting to write short stories that sell, too! My whole focus as an editor and award-winning author of writing guides is to help writers create fiction that readers love and that sells!
DeleteAnd my books are a great resource for newbie writers as they're very reader-friendly, with lots of subheadings and before-and-after examples. And in the e-book, you can click on the chapters and subheadings to jump to them, then back to the TOC.
Good luck with everything! Glad you found my tips useful! :-)
Awesome post! I have placed in a few writing contests recently, and I think point 9 is key. A lot of contests have themes or prompts, so writers have to make sure their story is different from the common storylines.
ReplyDeleteGargi--Congrats on placing in those contests! Those wins don't just help your self-esteem--they really raise your profile and help with queries. I like the ones with writing prompts, too. I always try to do the opposite of what seems "expected."
DeleteOops! Somehow this comment slipped past me. Gargi and Anne - good tactic about going for the unique, unusual, and unexpected. Hope the judges are delighted or even awed by your entries!
DeleteComing way too late to request the books (drat!) but wanted to say thanks for a great post. I wrote short stories earlier, morphed into novels, wrote literary short stories for college classes (probably had quite enough of those, thanks), and my 2nd middle-grade book is coming out this summer. No time shorts now, but bookmarking this for later - I'd love to get back to them!
ReplyDeleteThanks for dropping by and commenting, Jennifer. Good luck with all your writing projects - sounds like you've got lots on the go!
DeleteI do many of those things when I write my short stories. Could you read some of my stuff and tell me what you think? http://agent54nsa.blogspot.com/2015/03/super-problem.html
ReplyDeleteThanks, Agent 54
Timothy--Good for you to be following these tips already! Jodie is a professional editor, so you would have to hire her at professional rates to get an evaluation of your work. The link to her website is in her bio above.
DeleteAt last I've found a mind like mine.i do appreciate what you've provided ma'am.hope I get all three e books even though I'm late reading this post.its better to be late than never being there.i do appreciate once again
ReplyDeleteObed--I'm not sure Jodie is still getting notifications on this post, but I'll let her know. I'm so glad you've bought her wonderful books!
DeleteGlad you found these tips helpful, Obed, and I hope you enjoy my books!
Delete