04.23.07
There’s still hope
Probably an odd title, but so be it.
It shall be a short story, so say I. A long short story, granted. But I have a story arc that can end before too long, and I’ve only added one more character. Of course, the trick will be to make it sound like a real ending, and to keep complications from arising. The first I can do. The second? Well, that remains to be seen.
My first draft is definitely going to be too long, but, to look on the bright side, I’d rather have too much than not enough. I already have a list of things to look at removing, though it pains me to take away certain things that would go wonderfully in a novel. Anyway, I never throw anything away. If it sucks as a short story, then I’ll call it a learning experience and file it away in my too-large bunch of novels that want to be written someday.
cjhill said,
April 23, 2007 at 10:18 pm
So, what are the steps involved in writing a short story?
Are there definitive ones?
Or is it simply a thought process kind of thing?
I can literally count the number of short stories I’ve written on one hand. How do I go about changing that? I think it would be good practice but I’m clueless.
cjh
antqueen said,
April 24, 2007 at 8:10 am
Steps? No clue. I’ve never really had steps for anything I do, though. Not beyond the ‘Write. Write more. Revise. Edit.’ level, at least.
Mine always end up more complex than I thought they’d be at the start, and so they need more words to finish. Especially with the fantasy stuff. I don’t think I’ve ever managed a fantasy short story… I’m just not very good at keeping to a single plot-line. I love stories with a bunch of things going on at once.
Mel said,
April 26, 2007 at 3:56 pm
When I write a short story, I find that I have to just sit and write it all the way through. I used to be able to do that when my son was a baby, but now, I just can’t because…well, he’s almost five. He’s an attention glutton
. But anyway, I need to do it all at once because if i don’t, all sorts of ideas come rushing at me, more things I can do with the story, etc. I end up with…well, another novel.
antqueen said,
June 1, 2007 at 12:38 pm
You know, that might be the best thing for me to do. I have a hard time keeing things simple.