Hi,
I thought I'd get the ball rolling with a post.
The topic of the week for our little group, seems to be the Little Gems Anthology. This is a collection of short stories published by the Romance Writers of Australia (RWA) to encourage new writers to show off their skill. Stories written by Donna and myself are going to appear in this year’s Anthology to be launched at the RWA conference in August, if you’re keen to check out some of our groups writing.
In the meantime, most of us are currently in the process of entering stories for 2008. In keeping with this theme, I would like to call this blog entry,
I thought I'd get the ball rolling with a post.
The topic of the week for our little group, seems to be the Little Gems Anthology. This is a collection of short stories published by the Romance Writers of Australia (RWA) to encourage new writers to show off their skill. Stories written by Donna and myself are going to appear in this year’s Anthology to be launched at the RWA conference in August, if you’re keen to check out some of our groups writing.
In the meantime, most of us are currently in the process of entering stories for 2008. In keeping with this theme, I would like to call this blog entry,
Loretta's Seven Secrets to The Short Story
Is that too corny? Oh well, it’s a Tuesday night. I’ve had a hard day at work. I’m tired : ) Anyway, these 7 secrets are completely my own personal opinion. I just thought I’d put them on the table for discussion, disagreement or the odd, "Wow! That is sooooo true." They’ve worked for me in the past. Maybe they’ll work for you.
Secret Number 1 : Don't have too many characters.
I would say four maximum. Even that's a lot. You have to get in and out of the story so fast, you're only going to have time to get reader empathy for 1 or 2 characters.
Secret Number 2 : Plan your story.
I have found that “make it up as you go” just doesn't work in this instance. I'm a panster myself, so I don't generally plan/plot my novels before I get started. But with a short story it's just impossible not to do that. You have to know the ending before you start, whether it's a twist, a laugh or an emotional high because you need every single word before that to count. There's no time for dithering and working out who your characters really are. In my opinion, short stories have no beginning. There's a very short middle, climax and then the end.
Secret Number 3 : Get the reader close to the characters FAST.
In a novel you've got time to develop back story. You've got space for your characters to have a terrible past or quirky habits that make the reader just love them. But with a short story the reader has to identify with your character without all that. There are a number of techniques to achieve this. One of them is Point of View. I find first person is great for getting empathy quickly. If I'm talking to the reader like they're my best friend it's easier for them to slip into that role. Lesley just finished a short story and she used tense to do the same thing. Writing in present tense, gives a sense of immediacy, being right there with the character- along for the ride so to speak. When writing a story in third person, it's harder to achieve closeness fast. But it's doable, as long as you use universal feelings/situations that everyone can identify with immediately and don't need a lot of explanation.
Well, this blog is getting seriously long. So I think I might wrap up the rest of my seven secrets later. I hope you’re all just dying of suspense.... maybe : )
Gotta dash,
Loretta
Is that too corny? Oh well, it’s a Tuesday night. I’ve had a hard day at work. I’m tired : ) Anyway, these 7 secrets are completely my own personal opinion. I just thought I’d put them on the table for discussion, disagreement or the odd, "Wow! That is sooooo true." They’ve worked for me in the past. Maybe they’ll work for you.
Secret Number 1 : Don't have too many characters.
I would say four maximum. Even that's a lot. You have to get in and out of the story so fast, you're only going to have time to get reader empathy for 1 or 2 characters.
Secret Number 2 : Plan your story.
I have found that “make it up as you go” just doesn't work in this instance. I'm a panster myself, so I don't generally plan/plot my novels before I get started. But with a short story it's just impossible not to do that. You have to know the ending before you start, whether it's a twist, a laugh or an emotional high because you need every single word before that to count. There's no time for dithering and working out who your characters really are. In my opinion, short stories have no beginning. There's a very short middle, climax and then the end.
Secret Number 3 : Get the reader close to the characters FAST.
In a novel you've got time to develop back story. You've got space for your characters to have a terrible past or quirky habits that make the reader just love them. But with a short story the reader has to identify with your character without all that. There are a number of techniques to achieve this. One of them is Point of View. I find first person is great for getting empathy quickly. If I'm talking to the reader like they're my best friend it's easier for them to slip into that role. Lesley just finished a short story and she used tense to do the same thing. Writing in present tense, gives a sense of immediacy, being right there with the character- along for the ride so to speak. When writing a story in third person, it's harder to achieve closeness fast. But it's doable, as long as you use universal feelings/situations that everyone can identify with immediately and don't need a lot of explanation.
Well, this blog is getting seriously long. So I think I might wrap up the rest of my seven secrets later. I hope you’re all just dying of suspense.... maybe : )
Gotta dash,
Loretta
