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Write Short
Stories for Profit and Pleasure
Updated:
An exact definition of 'short' in the context of short stories
is almost impossible to give. In some publications several
hundred words are the norm for short stories; others publications
feature short stories several thousand words long. Again it's all a
question of careful market research. Market study will also reveal
the type of short story a publication favours. I know of one
for instance where almost every story must be set in Scotland, and
have a heroine who possesses certain characteristics as laid down in
the magazine' s notes for contributors.
I'll leave it for you to discover which magazine it is, for the
short story market being so small, there is no place for the writer
who knocks out his story and then looks for someone to buy it. Short
stories must always be tailored for an individual market. Some allow
promiscuity to enter the realms of their pages, some allow the odd
naughty word, some allow slang, whilst others prefer their
characters to be whiter than white, with equally commendable family
backgrounds. Some publications favour historical short
stories, others want them set in modern times, with characters and
events bang up-to-date. Market research, remember!
All short stories have a beginning, a middle, and an end.
Perhaps stating the obvious, but how you handle each section is of
paramount importance to the success or otherwise of your work. The
short story illustrates a moment in time, a moment of change, the
essence of that change arising from some element of conflict,
whether of a physical or emotional nature. There must be
a direct link between that conflict and the time of change.
To illustrate, let's take a heroine who, having spent her entire
life in a small village, and being engaged to a local teacher,
receives a once-in-a-lifetime offer to work in America. She is
tempted, so much so, she starts packing. Her thoughts are
racing, filled with visions of New York's bustling streets and life
in a high-rise apartment block. New York - the city that never
sleeps! She can hardly wait. Sorting out her possessions, she
comes by her fiance's letters to her while he was away at college,
and she remembers how she missed him then (CONFLICT). Cases packed,
her fiance and family informed of her decision, a week or so later
she is on her way to the airport.
The CONFLICT is mounting as her thoughts run riot - New York or him?
She sees couples, hand in hand, as she passes through the villages
and towns along the way. She watches families playing in parks
and standing in cinema queues. They're giggling and laughing.
Have they even heard of New York? (MOMENT OF CHANGE)
Michael, her fiance, wants marriage and a family, and at this point
she realises she doesn't really know what she wants, but she's sure
that whatever it is, Michael is an essential part of it. She asks
the taxi driver to take her home!
The basic design of the short story is as follows:
CHARACTER/S - PROBLEM - COMPLICATIONS - CLIMAX - SOLUTION
All short stories have certain essential components:
A Plot.
'Plot' is the story line. It is that component which causes
something to happen and leads to the events that follow. In
the story of the girl tempted to go to New York, basically the plot
consists of that temptation which is then forced into near
insignificance when she sees around her the things that really are
important, and to have those things she must return home.
Polti's 'The Thirty-Six Dramatic Situations' will help you
plot your stories, as will the simple art of observing everyday
situations, and stories in newspapers, and asking yourself the
question: 'what if...? This is guaranteed to start the creative
juices flowing.
Theme.
The theme is the underlying meaning of the story. It is our message
to the reader. We might want to imply there's more to life
than the accumulation of vast sums of money; love and concern for
our fellow man are two such examples. In our example story we
might say the theme is, for want of a better description, 'Better
the devil you know' or to suggest ‘The grass isn't always greener on
the other side'.
Setting.
The setting is the backdrop against which the story is enacted.
It might take place in the past, in modern times, or it may be set
in the future. Your story may be set in a sleepy English village or
in a war-torn foreign city. The events may be seen through the
eyes of the main character, or told in the words of a bystander. The
character chosen to relate the story is extremely important.
Thoughts known only to the main character cannot, for instance, be
divulged by the bystander. Equally the bystander can relate events
not obvious to the central characters, for instance, events taking
place elsewhere which are crucial to the plot, but of necessity must
not be known, yet, to the characters. In a romantic story, we might
not want the heroine to know that her new love has been married
before, although we want to make the reader aware of this important
part of the story.
Characters.
Characters bring your story to life. They should be believable, as
should their dialogue. Certain magazines prefer a
particular type of character, of a certain age, from a certain part
of the country, and so on. Always study your target publication
carefully and obtain what contributor's guidelines they have.
Don't make your characters superhuman, unless you are actually
writing a fantasy story. Characters can have faults like the rest of
us, so don't strive too much for perfection. Characters should be
like people you meet everyday. In this way the reader is able to
identify with the people in your story. The reader gets close to
them if their dialogue also is believable.
Go over what it is you want them to say and ask yourself if, in real
life, people would use those words, and always keep your dialogue
meaningful. There simply isn't room for the continual passing
of pleasantries. Everything said must move the story along. Give
your characters suitable names. Kylie and Jason might be
inappropriate for characters in a Western story, but entirely
appropriate to a modern day story concerning two teenagers.
Style.
This is your own particular trademark; your way of saying something;
the manner in which you string together your ideas and thoughts; the
mood you create for your readers; the atmosphere of the story; and
much more besides. Another concept almost impossible to define, it
is unfortunately something that can' t really be taught, but style
can be acquired through practice and determination. Style is
something that should never be copied, however much you admire
another person’s work. However, it is almost impossible to
reproduce another person’s style, but if you could accomplish such a
thing, would you find much personal satisfaction in doing so? I
truly doubt it!
Reading the work of others is an excellent way of improving your own
style, but not with the intention of creating carbon-copy versions
of their latest award-winning short stories. Be yourself -
it's fresh talent editors are constantly on the lookout for!
In our short story, we present our characters with a problem, as the
story progresses it increases in complexity until the point of our
story's climax, as near to the end as possible, when we provide the
solution - and wind it all up as quickly as possible. After
the climax, there is little point in dragging out a short story;
it's disappointing to the reader who having been led speedily
through the earlier part of the story, and now gripped by the
intensity of the climax, we require a speedy ending that leaves him
still deeply moved by the event of the last few paragraphs.
To recap on some of the main features of a good short story:
The essence is conflict.
Plot comes from your characters and the situations you put them
into, and the subsequent solution.
Start as near the end of the story as possible. Don't drag out the
preliminaries to the climax. Time is short and the end result can
bore the reader - if it hasn't already bored the editor.
As in all forms of writing you must grab the reader in the first
paragraph, and lead him or her through a tightly-constructed story,
one that offers no temptation to cease reading until that last word
has been devoured.
Keep the middle going with the suspense that increases in line with
the problem, or problems, you have set for your characters. If you
offer more than one problem, the second should be related to the
first, or you risk the chance of losing your readers. An irrelevant
problem belongs to another story. The second and subsequent problems
should be greater, in order to maintain the suspense, as opposed to
deflating it somewhat mid-story.
Make characters as interesting as possible, by getting to know them
intimately. Express them to your reader in the same manner and he
will need to know what happens to them, and your story will be read
until that need is fulfilled. Use mannerisms and speech to make them
as interesting as possible.
End the story as soon as possible after the climax, or moment of
change.
Never tell your reader what is happening by using straight
narrative. Show them what happens by the use of action,
dialogue, and vivid descriptions of the characters' reactions.
MAKE EVERY WORD COUNT - Don't waffle. Refer to the
Gary Provost book at the end of this manual for advice on writing
tight and maintaining the readers’ interest.
Grab the reader by the senses - let him smell that coffee the
heroine makes to occupy hands that otherwise would lash out in
temper! Let him see the trees and smell the flowers in the garden
where that first romantic encounter takes place. Let him hear the
jet that suddenly flies overhead bringing the encounter to a
maddening end!
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Quotes
'Don't think of what's in your head that you want to get on paper,
but what kind of effect you want to have at any given moment on the
readers' minds and emotions'. S Stein, Author.
'It helps to have a detailed resume for each major character, along
with a ten-or-so page bio (biography). For every fact about a
character that is revealed in your pages, at least ten or twenty
more should be vividly present in your head'. C Breslin,
Authoress.
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