1. Short stories are generally between 500 and 6,000 words. If you want to submit your short story to a magazine or contest, read their guidelines as to length.
2. Stick to one or two main characters (three maximum), and very few, if any, minor characters.
3. Tell the story from the point of view of one character only. You don’t have time or space to get into anyone else’s point of view in a short story.
4. Make your main character sympathetic and likeable enough that the reader will identify with and root for him/her. Or, if not sympathetic, make the protagonist intriguing in some way.
5. A short story is about just a small slice of life. Don’t get too ambitious. Limit it to one geographical location and one time frame.
6. Unlike a novel, it’s best if your short story takes place in a short time frame, like a few weeks maximum—better yet, a few days, or even hours or minutes.
7. You will need a main conflict, and other lesser conflicts/problems, with tension throughout. Get your protagonist into some hot water! The conflict can be internal or external, or both.
8. You need a plot of some sort. Something has to happen in your story, to achieve reader satisfaction. Your main character, someone the reader cares about, has to run into a problem or conflict, and you need some kind of resolution at the end.
9. The short story requires discipline and editing. Make every word count. If a sentence or line of dialogue doesn’t advance the plot or further develop a character, take it out.
10. There’s no room in a short story for a long, meandering lead-up to the main problem, or an extended introduction of the characters and their background. Jump right in with the main character in conflict. Your very first sentence should grab the reader and raise questions that need to be answered.
11. Establish your setting (time and place) within the first few paragraphs as well, to situate your reader and avoid confusion.
12. Write and rewrite your opening paragraph and first page. They need to be as compelling and as intriguing as you can make them, in order to hook the reader in and make him want to read the rest of the story.
13. Show, Don’t Tell! Don’t use narration to tell your readers what happened—put them right in the middle of the scene, with lots of dialogue and action and reactions, in real time.
14. Make your dialogue sound as natural and authentic as you can. Use contractions, partial sentences, slang words, interruptions, one-word answers, silences, and lots of attitude!
15. Give each of your characters a distinct personality, with hopes, accomplishments, fears, insecurities and secrets, and add some individual quirks to bring each of them to life.
16. Like your first paragraph, your final paragraph also needs to be very strong. Keep revising it until it’s memorable. It’s not necessary to tie everything up in a neat bow, but do give your reader some sense of resolution.
© Copyright Jodie Renner, September 6, 2010 http://www.jodierennerediting.com/
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Hi Jodie:
ReplyDeleteOnce again you have provided a wealth of information. Your article has tempted me to write a short story again. I will certainly share this information with my student writers who find the short story a difficult task.
Gail
Wonderful post with great advice. I'm taking a short fiction class right now, and these are good reminders as we have something due on Wednesday :)
ReplyDeleteI found you from Michelle at Brewing Stories. I'm glad she left a link. :)
Great Jodie,
ReplyDeleteI was just going to edit my shorts.
That's an awesome bit of advice, thanks :) The main problem I get when i write short fiction is that my mind wants a much broader scope, so I end up overreaching and the whole thing falls down around me. I'll definitely keep this in mind.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your great comments on four of my articles, Jamie. I hope the info will be helpful in your various writing projects.
ReplyDelete