cj Sez: Since
yesterday was St. Patrick’s Day, I’m sending all of you my wish that the Luck
o’ the Irish (includes health, happiness, love, success…all the good things) continues
with you throughout 2018.
***
I’ve taken to writing more short stories recently and find
myself referring to the following notes for guidance and reassurance that I’m
on the right track. I’ve posted about this before, but perhaps you’re new to
the process, and the notes will help you as well.
The first thing I do is put a copy of Anne Lamott’s ABCDE structure
of a short story within eyesight:
Action—Start with
something happening to draw the reader into the story.
Background—Provide context for
readers to understand how the characters came to the current situation
Conflict—The characters must want something they don’t have and work to achieve it (sometimes against each other)
Development—The 70-80 percent of the story describing the characters’ struggles to get what they want. Each time it appears they have the goal within reach, give them something more difficult to overcome until they reach the climax (cj Sez: That’s the part where you get them up a tree and throw rocks at them.)
Ending—What happens after they reach their goal. In a romance, the hero and heroine realize their “happily-ever-after”. In a mystery or thriller, all the loose ends are tied up. In a literary story, the ending may be rather ambiguous.
Conflict—The characters must want something they don’t have and work to achieve it (sometimes against each other)
Development—The 70-80 percent of the story describing the characters’ struggles to get what they want. Each time it appears they have the goal within reach, give them something more difficult to overcome until they reach the climax (cj Sez: That’s the part where you get them up a tree and throw rocks at them.)
Ending—What happens after they reach their goal. In a romance, the hero and heroine realize their “happily-ever-after”. In a mystery or thriller, all the loose ends are tied up. In a literary story, the ending may be rather ambiguous.
***
I merge Ms. Lamott’s guidelines with a ton of writing tidbits
I’ve cobbled together from how-to workshops and essays. And this is what I’ve
learned (and a lot of this applies to novels as well)…
Short stories are about ONE thing, so start as close to the
central action as possible, and I find that to be close to the end.
Try to let the setting help reveal the character
and advance the plot. This is where a deep point of view can reveal internal character through
reactions to setting.
In a short story, every line should (probably must) serve
more than one purpose.
Every character needs to want something, even if it’s only
to be left alone so s/he can take a nap.
Make the reader care about your main character. Snappy
dialogue, beautiful settings, or surprising plot twists won’t keep your readers
turning the pages if your main character is boring or unlikable. They need
someone to root for.
That being said, all great characters have
flaws—something that readers recognize or sympathize with. You don’t have space
in a short story for paragraph-long character descriptions. This is where less
is more, necessarily. One significant detail can tweak the imagination, and a
complete character is formed in the reader’s mind. This is the character that
can lead the reader to an unexpected twist ending, perhaps best exemplified by
the master of twisted endings, William Sydney Porter (O. Henry).
A story with a moral
appended is like the bill of a mosquito. It bores you, and then injects a
stinging drop to irritate your conscience. ~ Strictly
Business by O. Henry
***
Okay, all you short-story writers, is there something I’ve
missed that you’ve found helpful?
That’s it for this post. You-all guys keep on keeping on,
and I’ll try to do the same.
By the by, Adams Media has closed the Crimson Romance
imprint. My books are currently still available on Amazon, but I’m on the hunt
for another publisher for my next novels. Wish me luck.
cj
Short romance stories in:
Pieces Anthology
20+ short stories by Mobile Writers Guild
The Posse a Western anthology of 8 short stories
Qrtly newsletter sign-up at cjpetterson@gmail.com
Great reminders. Thanks!
ReplyDeletecj Sez: Happy you found something in this post. Thanks for stopping by!
DeleteGreat advice! The only thing I might add is to ground the readers at the beginning of each scene, so they'll know where they are, when it is, who is there, and add as many relevant sensory sensations as you can.
ReplyDeletecj Sez: Exactly right, Kaye, and get as many of those five senses in a scene as possible. 'Preciate the addition to the post. I'm sure other readers will as well.
Delete