While seeking inspiration or time or confidence for your opus magnum, why not write a short story? Short stories are amazing. Think of Grimm’s Fairy Tales. The originals, intended for adults, not the sugar-coated versions we feed to children, are terrifyingly effective.
It’s a cracking way to learn some writing discipline which can be applied to the rest of your work. Of course, writing short stories is a perfectly legitimate long-term goal, too. Just because it is short does not make it easier – but the end is in sight much faster, so you get a quicker result.
A short story means fiction (non-fiction is an article). These are the formats.
- Traditional: 1,500-5000 words
- Flash Fiction: 500-1,000 words
- Micro Fiction: 5 to 350 words
In terms of magazines, they usually seek 1,500 to 3,000 words, if you are looking at saleability.
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They can be even shorter, such as Ernest Hemingway’s which I’ve used before in writing groups: For sale: baby shoes. Never worn. What a backstory lies there.
Short stories are stories well told. They have to be because of the word limits/constraints.
The Process:
- Think about someone you know, or a situation you are aware of. Make a few notes about character and a simple plot. Plot is what gets to us all: love, jealousy, anger, bitterness, emotions people identify with.
- Push your main character into trouble as soon as possible. Trouble may be crime, an adrenaline ride, a dodgy romance, an argument with someone close, and so on. Keep it simple, don’t elaborate, and only hint at backstory.
- Everything your character does to try to get out of the trouble makes it only worse.
- Things appear increasingly hopeless.
- Your character learns from his/her flaws and people’s responses to save the day (or fail).
Then, edit …
- Not sure something helps the story or is relevant? If in doubt, cut it out.
- Remove all those superfluous ands and buts, make every word count.
- Edit as if your life depended on it. Cut, cut and cut again. Feel free to rewrite/recreate sections. Omit useless verbiage.
- Read it aloud. Let someone else read it. A trusted person who will be honest.
- If something is not working, re-address it.
Key:
- Find a great title.
- Create a fabulous ending, pack a punch.
- Every sentence must count.
You can see a balance here between researching, writing and editing. Get it right and you are ready to submit to competitions, magazines, etc.
Go for it.