Writing a Short Story

Photo: Claudia Zurc

Most writers (seasoned or not) know that writing a short story is not easy. It has to appeal to the emotions of the readers. Since it conveys the writer's interpretation of reality, the language used must evoke emotions, bring the characters to life, it should suggest a human experience. Here are some tips to keep in mind when writing a short story.

1. Read

In order to be able to write a good short story, you must read other short stories first. It will help you learn how other authors made an impression on the reader and use their style as basis to create your own style and impression.

2. Brainstorm your story

Think of something you want to talk about with your readers. Focus on this idea and think of other concepts that you want to associate with the main characters or plot. What is it that you want to convey? Is there a message or moral in the story?

3. Plan out the scenes

On a separate sheet of paper, write down the possible characters of your story and list the main events in order. By doing so, you will keep your writing aligned with your pre-conceived story events. 

4. Choose your point of view

Who tells the story? How is it told? This is vital for a short story to be effective. Once you choose your point of view, make sure it stays constant throughout your story to maintain consistency. Remember: the point of view can change the feel and tone of the story radically.

5. Visualize your characters

Unlike a novel, too many main characters in a short story can create confusion. For a short story, create a maximum of only three main characters. Your characters have to be convincing; they cannot be flat; therefore, they must speak naturally in proportion with their traits.

6. Writing a good introduction

Make your introduction interesting to hold the reader’s interest and encourage them to read on to the end. Introduce your main characters and set out the scene. The scene must be some place you know much about so that you'd be able to supply the necessary snapshot for a clearly described setting. Do not reveal the climax in the introduction.

7. Build up a great plot

From your introduction, draw out events that will eventually create a problem or a conflict for the main character/characters. Intensify the conflict as the story moves forward. This will keep your reader engrossed in your story.

8. Show don't tell

The characters should be the ones responsible for expressing the story through their actions and dialogue and not the writer telling the reader what is being expressed.

9. Avoid using passive voice

In order to do this, use verbs in the active voice in your story. Instead of saying, "The children were kidnapped by the man”, say “The man kidnapped the children.”

10. Use some dialogue

Don’t use dialogue as filler. Instead, use it to bring your story to life. Dialogue reveals who the characters are. Engage the reader by using direct quotes, for instance, “Call her at once!” Mom said.

11. Finish off in a few words

Make your ending unique but not hanging in a loose end. Make it satisfying without making it too predictable. Keep it short but leave the reader with a feeling of resonance. Your conclusion should wrap up everything from start to finish.

12. Edit and ask for opinion

Go through your story and fix all your grammar, spelling, and construction mistakes. Delete sentences or paragraphs that don’t move the story forward. Have your friends read the text and ask for their opinion as readers. Moreover, a fresh pair of eyes will point out mistakes you may have missed.

With some knowledge on the basic elements and some creativity, you’ll craft a good story. You’ll never know unless you try it.

Less is More (at least when writing flash fiction)

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I am working on a flash fiction piece that’s turning out to be a challenge. It was going nowhere, so I asked one of my mentors, Steven Manners, to provide some insight on this conundrum. Based on my story, this is what he told me: 

“Because of the compression, the approach needed is more like poetry.

The key, I think, is to think in terms of multiple layers of meaning. The idea is to present a simple enough scenario, then scratch away through language to open up levels of interpretation for the reader. This is the postmodern influence: not to tell a person a story, a beginning middle/end, but to force readers to include themselves by "completing" the story.”

Although I applied Steven's valuable advice, I still needed the technical part of it. English author, David Gaffney posted some tips in The Guardian.

1. Start in the middle.

You don't have time in this very short form to set scenes and build character.

2. Don't use too many characters.

You won't have time to describe your characters when you're writing ultra-short. Even a name may not be useful in a micro-story unless it conveys a lot of additional story information or saves you words elsewhere.

3. Make sure the ending isn't at the end.

In micro-fiction there's a danger that much of the engagement with the story takes place when the reader has stopped reading. To avoid this, place the denouement in the middle of the story, allowing us time, as the rest of the text spins out, to consider the situation along with the narrator, and ruminate on the decisions his characters have taken. If you're not careful, micro-stories can lean towards punchline-based or "pull back to reveal" endings which have a one-note, gag-a-minute feel – the drum roll and cymbal crash. Avoid this by giving us almost all the information we need in the first few lines, using the next few paragraphs to take us on a journey below the surface.

4. Sweat your title.

Make it work for a living.

5. Make your last line ring like a bell.

The last line is not the ending – we had that in the middle, remember – but it should leave the reader with something which will continue to sound after the story has finished. It should not complete the story but rather take us into a new place; a place where we can continue to think about the ideas in the story and wonder what it all meant. A story that gives itself up in the last line is no story at all, and after reading a piece of good micro-fiction we should be struggling to understand it, and, in this way, will grow to love it as a beautiful enigma. And this is also another of the dangers of micro-fiction; micro-stories can be too rich and offer too much emotion in a powerful one-off injection, overwhelming the reader, flooding the mind. A few micro-shorts now and again will amaze and delight – one after another and you feel like you've been run over by a lorry full of fridges.

6. Write long, then go short.

Create a lump of stone from which you chip out your story sculpture. Stories can live much more cheaply than you realise, with little deterioration in lifestyle. But do beware: writing micro-fiction is for some like holidaying in a caravan – the grill may well fold out to become an extra bed, but you wouldn't sleep in a fold-out grill for the rest of your life.

What about you? Have you written flash fiction? Did you find it easy to write?

Ten Quick Steps to Fix your Story

Over the weekend I got inspired to start a story I had concocted in my head a long time ago. It finally came to fruition.

Then last night, a fellow writer and dear friend of mine called me to share some news regarding a project. She also informed me that after a long hiatus she was ready to tackle her writing. And since I had started writing again, we agreed on giving each other feedback. Sometimes a little push is all you need to get motivated again.Based on our current editing process, I realized we need to apply what we learned in our writing workshops.

1. USE ACTIVE VOICE INSTEAD OF PASSIVE.
In general, the active voice is stronger because it is more direct and cuts down on the number of needed words.

2. SIMPLIFY YOUR LANGUAGE.
Use simpler words—whether verbs, nouns or adjectives— replace a less familiar word with a more readily understandable one to avoid misunderstandings.

3. USE VERBS, NOT NOUNS.
Sometimes nouns make sentences longer and weaker. For instance, “The passing of time was…” Why not say, “Time passed…”  

4. CUT BACK LONG SENTENCES.
One way to make your writing clearer is to limit the use of long sentences.

5. TRIM EXCESSIVE QUALIFICATION.
At times, qualifiers will serve their purpose but overdoing it can weaken your writing. Excessive qualifiers add bulk without adding substance.

6. USE PARALLELISM.
Parallelism is an important element of style because it builds clarity and power.

7. AVOID REDUNDANCIES.
A story can become tiresome when a writer needlessly repeats a word or an idea.

8. AVOID UNNECESSARY SELF-REFERENCE.
Avoid such unnecessary phrases as "I believe," "I feel" and "in my opinion."

9. AVOID THE MASCULINE GENERIC.
The masculine generic refers to the sole use of the pronoun “he” or “him” when referring to situations involving both genders. Opt for gender-neutral language, instead.

10. BE SPECIFIC.
Vague language weakens your writing because it forces the reader to guess at what you mean instead of allowing the reader to concentrate fully on your ideas and style.

Do you usually apply these rules when writing? Do you sometimes need a reminder?

Challenge Yourself and Others

In the spirit of all things fun in the summer, I decided to have a little writing challenge for my fellow bloggers. I started a short story for blogging purposes only (Don’t worry, I won’t publish it and take ALL the credit, LOL!), and I want you, my fellow bloggers to fill in the blanks.

Instead of leaving a comment, please leave a sentence or two (or more if you’d like) to continue the story below. I’ll publish your sentences in the order received so the next blogger can add to the developing story. You have carte blanche in regards to characters, plot, dialogue, etc. Let’s see what comes out of it and let the writing fun begin!

It was a gloomy autumn afternoon. Agatha got off on Peel Station. She looked at her watch and noticed she was two hours early for her book launch. Her first published book. She walked towards Ste. Catherine Street and went inside a coffee shop. She sat next to the window, staring blankly at a throng of dark trench coats that glided like ghosts across the street. Agatha …