The long and the short of the short story
Congratulations! You’ve mustered up the courage to enter a story contest. You’ve tried a few short stories in the past and have wanted to tackle a novel for a long time, but the idea was too daunting, so you’ve pushed it to the bottom of your “To Do” life. ” list. A short story is a much better idea, isn’t it? It’s like writing a novel only shorter. Okay?
Not quite!
It has been said that it is not that a story is long, it is that it takes a long time to make it short. The idea that a short story is just a mini novel is an idea that will spell certain death for the success of your short story, before you’ve even written the first sentence.
There is an art and process to writing a short story, just as there is an art and process to writing a novel, nonfiction book, or essay. Success is a matter of knowing the basic principles and then applying them to write the best short story you can.
The question is, do you have the energy to make your story short?
That question is easily answered by walking step by step through the writing process.
1. Hours
No matter what you’re writing about, you need to have a plan. Would you try to build a house without blueprints? Or would you navigate the high seas without a map or compass? Writing stories is exactly the same. Set off without a plan and you’ll no doubt be lost in a forest of your own words.
Some simple questions to ask yourself at this early stage include:
* Who is your main character and what is their predicament?
* What they want? How can they get out of their predicament?
* Who or what prevents them from getting what they want?
* How can you pressure your character to force him to make difficult decisions in pursuit of his goal?
* What will your character learn throughout the story?
Answering these few questions at the beginning will help you figure out who your character is, what they want, and how they will go about getting it.
2. Writing
Once you have a plan for your story, you’re ready to write it. When you’re writing, you’re just writing. You are not editing and you are not planning, you are writing. This specifically means that you don’t stop to wonder if “this sounds better than this.” When you are writing you are capturing the essence of the action in your story. You are writing a draft, not a finished product. At this stage don’t even think about your word limit. Just write the whole story as you have planned it. We will deal with the word limit in the editing and rewriting stages.
The writing stage is similar to mining a diamond. When a diamond is mined, it is a piece of rock, with a few flashes to show that it is actually a diamond. You don’t quarry a beautifully cut and polished diamond straight off the side of a mountain, do you? No, you have an amazing piece of raw material, which you then take to a jeweler who will cut and polish it to show its beauty to its fullest. In the writing process, the jeweler is the editor.
3. Rewrite
Once you’ve completed the first draft, the best thing to do is walk away. It can be hard to distance yourself from your own work, but it’s next to impossible if you’re trying to plan, write, rewrite, and edit your story in one sitting. If possible, don’t look at it again for at least another day. This allows your story to rest and “breathe,” and when you return to it you will see it in a new light.
When you are ready, reread it once without stopping and without making any changes or markings in the margins. Once you have finished the first reading, ask yourself a question: did I write the story that I set out to write? If the answer is no, don’t panic. It’s amazing how the true story you’re supposed to write comes out in the writing. At this stage, your main focus is making sure the intent of the story equals the outcome. In other words, the story must make sense and flow from beginning to end, with all the questions posed at the beginning being answered at the end. It’s quite common to do complete rewrites of the first few scenes, since the story you really wanted to write didn’t come out until after you really got down to business. Alright. Just go back and rewrite the scenes you need to keep the story flowing from start to finish.
Some other important questions to ask at this stage are:
* Are there big jumps in time or place? It’s usually best to keep these jumps to a minimum in a short story.
* How many characters do you have? It’s never a good idea to have more than three main characters max, and I’ve read great short stories where there’s only one. Save the huge cast for your novel.
* Does the story progress continuously? It’s very easy to have two or even three scenes that show the same thing about your character. A scene is a unit of change: if a scene doesn’t move the story forward, it must be cut or rewritten.
So to rewrite is to see again and to sculpt again. The main purpose of this stage of the process is to make sure that the story makes sense. There is logic to the story, and if there are big jumps in time or place, you may need to add some small linking phrases. Once you’re satisfied that the story flows in sequence, you’re ready to move on to the final phase: editing.
4. Edition
Now you need to fully step out of your creative right brain and into your logical and analytical left brain, to refine and polish your story.
First, look at your word count. Are you way above, way below, or pretty close to the mark? Never submit a story that is over the word limit. Please adhere to the competition requirements and stay within the word limit.
Now read your story again, this time with your red marker in hand and a critical eye on the page. Some questions to ask yourself at this stage are:
* When does the action start? This is where his story begins. It’s tempting to “set the scene” and “show character,” but the reality is that you don’t have to. The story always begins where the action begins. If there is something that needs to be explained, you have not written your action correctly.
* Is all the action in the “backbone” of the story? Edit any superfluous material. Again, save it for your novel.
* Show do not tell. This means, don’t tell us about someone, show us his character by putting him in difficult situations and allow us to discern his character by the choices he makes.
* Edit entire explanation. As a general rule of thumb, ask yourself, “is this an image?” If not, it’s probably an explanation and should be cut.
* Is there a “solution” to the story? Does the story deliver what it promised?
* Now is the time to ask, “is this the best way to say this?” If not, write it again and say it better.
You may find yourself rewriting, editing, rewriting, editing over and over again. This is completely normal! Most good short story writers do at least 15 drafts of their stories before they are satisfied with the result.
So, you’ve made it through the process and you’re ready to submit your story to the competition. Be sure to double space, type large enough to read easily, and have plenty of postage on the envelope!
And good luck!
