|
|
|
Shaping up Short Stories (an article), by Susan J. Letham |
|
|
|
Jan 8 04, 15:45
|
Mosaic Master
Group: Administrator
Posts: 18,892
Joined: 1-August 03
From: Massachusetts
Member No.: 2
Real Name: Lori Kanter
Writer of: Poetry & Prose
Referred By:Imhotep
|
Shaping up Short Stories By Susan J. Letham
Beginning writers often think that writing a short story is easier than writing a full-length novel. You can whip up the first draft of a 2,500-word story in a couple of evenings-- the reasoning goes--add an hour or two for tweaking and polishing and presto, a short story is born!
Oh, wouldn't it be nice...? In fact, it takes as much care and planning to craft a successful short story as it does to plan a novel, if not more.
You can ease your way into a novel. Readers who pick up a full-length novel expect to be entertained, led along meandering scenic pathways, and allowed to rest beside quiet streams occasionally. Writing a novel gives you the scope to spread a story out like a patchwork quilt and point to individual patterns. If the story is good, a gracious reader will allow you the time to tease and tantalize, to hint and hide again. You can afford to spin a slow and sensuous tale with a cast of thousands and manifest your visions word by word in deliciously intricate ways.
A successful short story needs a different approach. Your short story should cover only one clearly defined event, a limited time span, and involve a handful of characters at most. Your words should be purposefully chosen and tightly written. The story needs to progress at a steady pace from beginning to end. As a short story writer, you need a clear idea of what you want to say and a plan that will help you say it. No more. No less.
The tips in this two-part article are based on criteria that judges use to evaluate short stories. We'll walk through the most common short story problems, and look at remedies for each point raised.
Problem #1: The story is too ordinary, or has the kind of predictable outcome everyone has read before.
Remedy: This happens a lot when writers base their stories on real life happenings. Real life is a little too, well, realistic for fiction. You need to make the story a little larger than life; the heroine more heroic. If your characters are based on people you know, you may be tempted to make them too complicated or stay to close to the way events actually happened.
Simplify your characters. Reduce them to one or two main traits and magnify those traits to make them more prominent and interesting.
Rearrange action details for effect. Leave out (real life) events that need too much background understanding and focus on the essence of the situation. Look to see if you can change the way you've approached the underlying theme and give it a fresh twist. Can you use wordplay and double meaning? Analogy? Parody? Can you surprise me?
Problem #2: The story is slow to begin. Readers are bombarded with information without knowing the context. We learn a lot, but nothing actually happens.
Remedy: Check to see that you've introduced your main characters and their conflict by the end of page two (in the first 500 words). The story challenge should appear on page three at the latest. Once you've set the scene, get into the action as soon as you can.
Problem #3: The wrong central character. We learn a lot about a character who doesn't seem to play an important role in the story.
Remedy: This can happen more easily than you think. You start out with one character and introduce another who turns out to be more interesting, so you go into detail...
Go back and ask yourself whose story it is you are telling. Who changes most during the story? Who acts to make the story happen? Make this person your central character.
Your reader will normally assume that the first person named in the story is the central character.
Problem #4: ...including a cast of thousands!
Remedy: Short stories should contain as few characters as possible. Most feature only two or three characters with important roles. Check to see whether the story will work if you delete one or more of the roles. Do you really need all those walk-ons?
Problem #5: The story doubles back, loses the thread, or doesn't seem to be coherent.
Remedy: Short stories are usually written in a linear way, i.e., from start to finish. No flashbacks, no time outs, and no asides, in most cases.
Every story needs a clear beginning, middle, and end. The beginning introduces your characters, the setting, and the problem. The middle develops the action, adding to the suspense as it goes, until it reaches the climax and turning point, where the main character gains an insight and acts on it to resolve the story problem. The end tells us how she puts insight in to action and ends the story situation for better or worse. Each of these sections should be clear.
Check to be sure that your short story contains a beginning, a middle, and an end, and moves forward from start to finish with as few detours as possible.
Problem #6: Parts of the story seem to be in the wrong place or missing entirely.
Remedy: Lack of clarity is the result of poor plotting and planning. Go back and make a clear list of the steps and scenes involved in the story. Check that each step or scene appears in the right order.
- Is the scene progression logical? - Does the character complete each task or meet each challenge in the right order? - Is it clear who your main character is? - Is it clear when and where the story takes place? - Are you clear about the main character's goal? - Do you know what the message of your story is?
Do a self-check. Finish the following sentences:
This story is about a but first has to overcome __
Problem #7: Time span too long
Remedy: A short story is about one event or development. The usual time span of a short story is somewhere between a few hours and a few days. If your time span is too long, it's often because you've introduced too many situations for your character to deal with.
Can you edit your story to leave out events that aren't strictly necessary?
If your story covers a long period of time and needs a lot of characters and description, you may be better off writing it as a novella instead.
Problem #8: Parts of the story were too contrived or simply unbelievable within the context of the genre.
Remedy: Yes, fiction characters can have a lot more luck than real people and most of the risks they take pan out, unlike ....
Even so, your reader needs to be able to believe that the things and events you describe could a) happen and B) happen the way you write them. Readers are ever ready to suspend their disbelief -- that's why fiction works -- but don't expect them to go too far. You can get away with a lot in the comedy and fantasy genres, but if you've written a straight story, keep things feasible.
Write about long shots that work out, but leave out the magic or miracles. If you must have Divine Intervention to save the day, at least credit the role of the mortal helper.
Problem #9: Nice writing, interesting character, but where's the problem?
Remedy: A short story without conflict is an anecdote. Anecdotes are nice at a Thanksgiving lunch or family feelgood, but don't make good fiction.
There must be a problem or dilemma at the core of your story. Your character must solve it and make a point by doing so.
She wants something -- badly and immediately. She can't get it -- sadly and disastrously. Something or someone is standing in her way -- gladly and menacingly. This is the stuff of conflict. Tell us about it.
Problem #10: The story is progressing nicely and all of a sudden the hero starts reminiscing about his first day at school. Excuse me. What does this have to do with the price of potatoes?
Remedy: Irrelevant episodes are another result of poor planning. Remember, a short story is about one event. Go back and make a clear list of the steps and scenes involved in the story. Cut everything that isn't directly relevant to the story and doesn't help to move it forward. Above all, try not to use flashbacks in short stories. No matter how beautifully written, flashbacks deflect the reader's attention from what should be the straight-track problem at hand.
Problem #11: The central character seems lifeless and bland. It's hard to work out why s/he is the focus of the story.
Remedy: Of course, you don't need to lay out a short story character's entire biography. We won't expect to come to know the character as deeply as we would a novel protagonist. What you do need to show is what part of your character's biography or personality is relevant to the story issues. Try to include at least one positive and negative personality characteristic for each of your major characters.
Problem #12: The point of view changes during the story.
Remedy: The short story is usually told from either a first person (I, me) POV, or from a third person limited POV (Zack thought carefully). Decide which of these best suits your purpose, then tweak your story to reflect your choice consistently.
Tip: This problem is sometimes caused by choosing the wrong central character (see part one).
Problem #13: The story contains a lot of trivial details.
Imagine this: You are standing at the water-cooler in your office talking to your colleague, Jim. Jim has the address of the hottest restaurant in town. You'd like to eat there tonight. Big date and all that.
Jim starts writing down the restaurant's address and phone number, but mid-write, he launches into a family story that includes a blow-by-blow account of Junior's first spinach dinner at said establishment. How interested are you in this?
Back to your story. Do I really need to know what the salesperson said to Aunt Jemima on the day she bought the china service from which the main character will drink her breakfast tea on the day before the story begins in earnest? Do I really need a description of the color, material and design of each item of clothing the main character dons after his morning shower?
Frankly, no.
Remedy: Unless it's a vital point, cut it!
Problem #14: Waxing lyrical is another form of padding you can do without. When this happens, nothing is simply as it is in life. Doors aren't doors, they mutate into portals, usually preceded by a string of far-fetched adjectives.
Remedy: Don't: Jemima proceed toward the tentative barrier to the elements that were the French windows. She drew aside the graceful veil of designer Brussels Lace drapes, and gaze longingly into the faux-Versailles landscaped garden, past the whimsical roses, past the delicate and heartrending loneliness of the lilies, to allow her glance to rest heavily on the sadness of the rain-laden clouds, that mirrored the depth of emotion stirring in her abandoned heart.
Do: Jemima felt sad and lonely as she looked out of the window to check the weather.
Problem #15: Too little dialogue. Your romance-gone-wrong swells to a crescendo. The lovers are about to have an almighty argument, and all your reader learns is that they, 'hurled angry words at each other.'
Remedy: Come on! Don't tell your reader about conversations between characters, let the characters hold their conversation on the page. To paraphrase the old song, "A little conversation goes a long, long way." Get the talk down on the page. Let us hear the verbal shots your lovers fire at each other. This helps you show their characters and gets information across to readers in as natural a way as possible. It also creates tension and moves the story forward faster than description alone.
Problem #16: Stilted dialogue. Two workers leaving the factory.
John: Joe, would you care to go to the bar for a drink? Joe : I think that might be a good idea.
Oh really? If that sounds stilted to you, too, try something like this:
Remedy:
John to Joe: Hey, Joe, wanna go for a beer? Joe to John: Sure. Why not?
Dialogue should sound natural. Let your characters talk the way they would talk if they were real people. Of course, you'll need to cut out the hmms, ughs, and pauses. Unless your characters are upper class and educated, use contractions (can't, don't, it's). Ask someone to read your dialogue to see if it flows well.
Problem #17: Sloppy writing. This point covers a multitude of sins: choosing the wrong words, long descriptions instead of tight terms, weak verbs instead of strong verbs, overuse of adjectives and adverbs, poor editing, poor punctuation, poor spelling, overly informal language, overuse of dialect, meaningless or missing breaks.
Imagine: You are approached on the street by an untidy person pushing a shopping cart stuffed with carriers. Stop. Rewind. You are approached on the street by a smart young person dressed in a neat business suit carrying a leather briefcase. Which of the two would are you more likely to talk to?
The first person might have the better character, but the chances are, you won't stop long enough to to find out.
Remedy: Appearances count. While it's true that content is king in the creative phase of writing, the moment you go public, grammar and style matter very much indeed. There is no way around this except to learn the rules of grammar, punctuation, spelling, formatting, and other writing skills. Creativity may be all that matters in some fields, but precision, diction, and form certainly matter if you want to be a published writer. They are the tools of your trade. If you don't feel confident enough to go it alone, find a professional who'll check your writing for you.
Problem #18: Too much generalization or background. The story events could have happened to anyone. Or we get a background explanation that reads like the course outline for Sociology 101. We don't learn how the story events affect the main character or what the character thinks and feels as an individual.
Remedy: Tell us about the story events as they relate to the story character in particular rather than to people in general. Don't go into long background explanation of issues and alternatives. In short: K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple, Sunshine).
Problem #19: Flat ending. You watch a TV adventure movie. The story reaches its climax. You bite our nails and suffer as the hero makes his agonizing choice: Good? Evil? Right? Wrong? Save the world? Take the cash? He chooses the world, of course. The next thing you see is someone is shaking the hero's hand and thanking him as the credits roll. Huh?
Remedy: Your ending needs to show the consequences of some kind of meaningful change that has taken place in or for the hero since the beginning of the story. What did the hero's choice mean? What consequences did it have and for whom? Who does your reader get to cheer for? Whose relief does s/he get to feel? How has the experience changed the hero? An ending that doesn't show development, change, and resolution is a disappointment.
Problem #20: "...and she awoke, thankful to find it had all been a bad dream." "...as she stood on the precipice, ready to jump, an angel appeared."
Cheat endings are usually an attempt to compensate for poor planning. The old Greeks were good at this. As soon as one of their characters got in a pickle, zap! a god would appear, work a quick miracle, and save the day.
Remedy: Handy Greek gods are thin on the ground these days, so readers tend not to buy miracle solutions. Don't cheat on a proper ending. Go back and see if you can resolve the issues in a more earthly or realistic way. Most readers want to learn something from your story that might help them understand or change something in their lives. If you take away the learning experience and replace it with a miracle or dream, you've robbed your reader of a valuable and satisfying experience.
Show consequences. Make them as realistic as possible in the context of the story. Make your characters work things through and come to some kind of story-logical conclusion and insight.
These tips can help you avoid the most common short story mistakes. A quick pre-submission check of your short story manuscript can make all the difference.
© 2000 Susan J. Letham
Susan J. Letham is a British writer and Creative Writing teacher. Visit http://www.Inspired2Write.com for quality writing classes and competent 1-on-1 coaching. Subscribe to Inspired2Write Newsletter (published monthly) mailto:Inspired2Write_Newsletter-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Permission is granted to Lorraine Kanter to use this article on the Mosaic Musings website, dated Jan 08, 2004 by Susan Letham.
······· ·······
"It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step into the Road, and if you don't keep your feet, there is no knowing where you might be swept off to." ~ J.R.R Tolkien, The Lord of the RingsCollaboration feeds innovation. In the spirit of workshopping, please revisit those threads you've critiqued to see if the author has incorporated your ideas, or requests further feedback from you. In addition, reciprocate with those who've responded to you in kind. "I believe it is the act of remembrance, long after our bones have turned to dust, to be the true essence of an afterlife." ~ Lorraine M. KanterNominate a poem for the InterBoard Poetry Competition by taking into careful consideration those poems you feel would best represent Mosaic Musings. For details, click into the IBPC nomination forum. Did that poem just captivate you? Nominate it for the Faery award today! If perfection of form allured your muse, propose the Crown Jewels award. For more information, click here! "Worry looks around, Sorry looks back, Faith looks up." ~ Early detection can save your life.MM Award Winner
|
|
|
|
1 User(s) are reading this topic (1 Guests and 0 Anonymous Users)
0 Members:
|
|
Read our FLYERS - click below
Reference links provided to aid in fine-tuning
your writings. ENJOY!
|
|
|
|