WRITING THAT FIRST SHORT STORY
I've written this article (more a collection of notes) to help those expanding
the adventure within themselves - that of creative writing. We all
participate in the adventure of writing in our minds but the time comes when we
want others to share it and that's when it becomes more difficult. Remember
you are now writing for an audience.
What do you expect from a story
?
So what comes first, the plot or the characters? This largely depends on the
writer, sometimes it is the plot, sometimes the character. Sometimes both are
born in the writers imagination at the same time, but both will need to be
honed and sharpened before being brought into public view.
How long is your story to be? It is often a good plan to write to a set number
of words, most publisher require this and can't afford the luxury of a short
story that no matter how well written rambles on and on for endless pages.
The traditional story should have a beginning, a middle and an end. This might
seem obvious but it is really surprising how many new writers forget this.
They can have a wonderfull beginning and a brilliant end, but nothing happens
in between. Others may have a good beginning and a good story line to follow
but the ending fizzles out.
Some might say the beginning is all important and so it is important to grab
the first time reader of your tales, you can still lose them though if you
don't keep up the interest.
Back to the beginning - make this 'grabbing'. This is the hook or
'readonability
factor' and must capture the imagination of your reader.
Example, which is best?
1) It was the kiss that started it!
2) He kissed her on his way out.
The opening lines need to make the reader ask questions.
In a short story, the central character needs to feature strongly from the
start and must be well described (this needs only be a few well chosen words)
from the beginning before the reader forms their own picture which is totally
different from that which you want to portray.
Name your character well. This needs to be well thought out. Does the name
match the character?
All other characters should be easily definable.
Where is the story set?
Again the scene needs to be described before the reader finds their own setting.
Stories need conflicts! What have you got?
Dialogue
Make the dialogue match the character. Would he/she have an accent (don't
overdo this), speak well or speak badly? No matter how well a person speaks,
they usually abbreviate words. Keep your wording natural. You will notice
that in this article, words have been abbreviated, this is puposeful, the way
we speak and helps the flow.
A good story needs suspense - if the reader knows what's going to happen next,
why read on?
The unexpected!
We all like surprises so try to surprise your reader, the umbrella handle in
the shopping bag that is a gun (or the other way round).
That ending.
This needs to be concise and end in the right place, not ramble on. It might
leave thoughts of what is going to happen next - that doesn't always matter, as
long as conflicts are resolved and the story you have told has ended.
So the story's been written - What now?
Read it through, preferably aloud. Does it sound right? Does the dialogue
flow? Listen to yourself, are you changing some of the words? Should they be
changed? Does the story make sense?
Do you need to change anyone's name, their hair colouring, their sex?
It might work better if you do
. Does it work well in the genre you have chosen, or should you make a few
changes and change the genre.
Does it start in the right place, or would it be snappier if you start further
into the story? Is it too long? Or have you tried to crowd too much into it?
Does the ending sound right or does it 'round itself off' afterwards?
Are you happy with it? If not rewrite it and go through the same process again
then when you think all is well:-
give it to somebody who will criticise it and give you an honest opinion, not
necessarily somebody who wants to be nice and to please you. This is where the
writing group comes in very useful.
Are they happy with it?
Do you need to follow through with their suggestions or are you as the writer
happy?
Good then your story is completed... Or is it?
Pauleen Street
