I’m not naturally inclined to writing short stories. Despite leaning towards shorter word counts on my novels, I naturally go for story ideas that lend themselves to an ongoing series. Short stories, on the other hand, are usually stand-alone, or at best taken as snippets of a larger property.
So, it can be tricky for me to get to grips with the unique challenges of shorter fiction. Which means I need help whenever I venture in that direction. I thought it would be a good idea to share some of the advice I’ve picked up along the way.
1: How to Write a Short Story From Start to Finish – Back with an old favourite, The Write Practice, for this excellent primer on short story-writing.
2: 10 Steps to a Great Read – A solid structure is essential for learning something new, and this article presents a simple plan for how to write the best short story you can.
3: 5 Secret Tips to Writing a Successful Short Story – Over on the Huffington Post, we’ve got more pointers on what makes a short story really stand out.
4: The Difference Between Short Story and Novel-Writing – For those of us who, like me, are used to having more time to complete a story, or the option to spread a story across a series, it’s important to be conscious of the major differences between longer and shorter fiction. Each has its own challenges to overcome.
5: Kurt Vonnegurt’s 8 Tips – One of our seminal modern authors, if anyone was going to be able to advise on short stories, it would be Kurt Vonnegurt, and this article, while brief, presents his insights with all the style you’d expect.
That’s all for this week. Good luck!
(c) Paul Anthony Shortt
