Thursday, July 17, 2014

3 Tips for Writing Short Stories #amwriting @JacquieRogers


So You Want to Write 
a Short Story?
by Jacquie Rogers

Like everyone who reads the Western Fictioneers blog, I love to read novels. Eventually, after my children were in high school, I even started writing them. The first book is one that no one will ever see, but my goal was to finish a book, and that was my only goal.  Since I had never finished an unpaid project in my entire life, no one in the family (including me) had any expectation that I'd actually do it.  I did.

I had read that for every thousand books started, only one was finished. One. Along about chapter three of my first book, I figured out why that was. In fact, I figure that out at about chapter three in every book I write. It’s sure it easier to quit.

After I had completed six manuscripts and had written the beginnings of two more, my writing career—which hadn’t gotten very far past some fancy rejections that all my friends said were good, even though it sure didn’t feel that way—I had a major accident. So there I lay... thinking about all I had invested: a ton of time, money, and my soul, with nothing to show for it.

But then I was asked to write a couple of short stories for a charity anthology. Mind you, I hadn’t read a short story since those horrible things they made us read in high school. I told them I couldn’t do it. My friend told me that if I wanted to be published, I would do what was necessary to reach that goal. So I sat down and wrote the first half of the short story in about three hours. The last have took me a week. Nevertheless, for a person with the disease of right-now, writing The End after only a week was a real thrill – one I liked a lot.

Short stories present quite a challenge because all stories, no matter what the length, require certain elements. The reader must care about the character first and foremost. There has to be a change in the character’s life to start the story, high action at midpoint, a dark moment, and all my stories have a satisfying (happy) ending. You have the page space to develop character and weave intricate plots in a novel—you don’t in a short story.

And that leads in to my three tips of short story writing.

Strong verbs and nouns
So the first tip is easy—get on with it. Don’t waste words. Combine description and emotion in a deeper point of view. Adjectives and adverbs take up word count and likely there’s a stronger verb or noun that would do the trick.

Story framework
The second tip isn’t so easy, and the one I struggle with the most. Limit the scope. I know, a ton of great ideas are floating around in your head begging to come out. Save those for your novel because you can only cram seven pounds of manure in a five-pound bag—don’t try to stuff ten pounds into it. Some publishers are more flexible on word count than others but even that can get you in trouble because you think they won’t mind a few thousand more words. Which turns into five thousand. Oops.

Know your audience
Tip number three is to satisfy your audience. Your fan base will begin reading your story with certain expectations—elements that they’ve come to enjoy. Yes, it’s fun to change it up every once in a while but maybe not a complete departure. If you’re known for your humor and you write a darker story, let your humorous voice shine through a time or two. The main thing is to keep ’em coming back for more.

I’ve been hoping that the romance genre fan base that I’ve developed will follow me to westerns. Yes, I’m still writing romance but I want my western fix, too. And fantasy, on occasion. It’s good for the Muse to branch out, but getting readers to snap up everything you write is a whole 'nother ball of wax.

The short story that I wrote for Wolf Creek, Book 6: Hell on the Prairie, has now been reissued by Western Trail Blazer, and I am sorta at a loss on how to promote it since it’s the first of a series, and the second story, No Small Tempest, is written but not yet released. The third story has no chance to get written until October, which is quite a wait for the readers but can’t be helped.  So here's the new WTB cover and blurb for Judge Not. 

Muleskinners #1: 
Judge Not
by Jacquie Rogers
Western Trail Blazer

Elsie Parry and her eight mules survived the war, but can they escape the wrath of the Danby Gang? 

She lived alone for five years after the Recent Unpleasantness and was overcome with happiness to be reunited with her father. Now, his fondest desire is to leave all the bad memories behind and see the Pacific Ocean, so she agreed to head west. 

All’s well until they approach Wolf Creek, where they’re set upon by the notorious gang of ex-Confederate guerrillas… intent on proving the war is not over, after all.


14 comments:

  1. Thanks for sharing these great tips, Jacquie. Why didn't you share them with me BEFORE I wrote my first short story? :-D

    I wonder how many authors find your second tip the most challenging. Unlike in novels, writers must develop short-story characters on the run. There's no space for backstory, introspection, or subplots, all of which help to define characters in novels. There's no space for the types of time and distance transitions to which one might devote a whole chapter, or a least a scene, in novels. Short-story writers must focus on the story's turning points and imply all the in-between goings-on they'd flesh out in novels. That's HARD.

    After surviving the abject terror of writing the first short story for publication, I've discovered I really enjoy the form. Even better, I think short-story writing has sharpened my skills and helped me tighten the long-form fiction I write.

    I honestly believe all novelists should at least give short-form fiction a try. I won't say it's easy to write short, but it isn't nearly as scary as novelists think it might be -- and short stories represent a priceless opportunity to learn and practice new skills.

    Thanks again for sharing these tips! :-)

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    1. I was scared to death to even start my first short story, so boy howdy, do I ever relate! I have to say that after I wrote a few of them, both my short stories and novels improved just because the concise nature of the short form really made me pay attention to the craft. After that, it becomes second nature. But I do remember those early struggles very vividly.

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  2. Excellent advice from both Jacquie and Kathleen. Thanks.

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    1. You're welcome, Tom, and thanks for stopping by. You could give a lesson or two on blog articles--yours are always wonderful (as is your fiction).

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  3. Ditto, Tom! Ahhh, the Short Story, my favorite beast! Now if I could only find a publisher for the hundreds lying around unedited.

    Nice to hear about the short story, but then Jacquie and Kathleen wouldn't write anything that wasn't worth reading.

    Charlie

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    1. Charlie, if you have that many, hire an editor and publish them yourself. They're not doing any good hiding under your bed! Or send out a few queries and see of someone will publish a collection or ten for you.

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  4. Good wisdom on short story writing and interesting to me how you got started with them. I had written some back before I started trying to write novels. Not sure where those are but they never made it to the computer.

    The next time was when a group of western writers said they would put together an anthology of short, short stories, under 3000 words, and I thought it'd be an interesting challenge. [http://www.amazon.com/Rawhide-n-Roses-Western-Anthology-ebook/dp/B00IRPWDNM/]. I think it was good for me and by taking a character from one of my books, it made it easier as I already knew the person's character. I will have to look back at it to see if I used those energy verbs as that seems like a good tip if I ever do another. Novellas were a form I got into for the first time in 2013. They have less form requirements and still can be fast writes in comparison to a novel. I did three of those earlier this year which I intend to put out in one book later this month. One thing that led me to trying my hand at the novella was having read some and realizing I liked the shorter length of time it took to do it.

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    1. I have to say, writing a 2,000-word story for Rawhide 'n Roses was quite a challenge. You just can't get a romance in that short of space, which is why my story uses the reunion trope. I'm most comfortable in the 10k to 15k range. Novellas are harder for me than either short stories or novels. I guess we all have our sweet spots. :)

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  5. Jacquie,
    I love short stories to read and write. Your post is very timely and informative. To have a series of short stories about the same subject and to promote them, when not all have seen the readers eyes, can seem odd. Since I read the first one and loved it, I didn't have any expectation of others to follow, now that they will is icing on the cake. (Smile) Doris

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    1. Thanks, Doris. That means a lot coming from you. :) Yes, there will be at least three more stories, maybe more. I don't see the series going over 6 stories total, though.

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  6. I admire those who can write short stories. It is a skill that I sorely lack. Good for you, Jacquie.

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    1. Frank, I've read a few of your books and it's a given that you can write anything you want!!! You're amazing.

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  7. Jacquie, I'm a day late and a dollar short. Wonderful post! I had an editor at The Wild Rose Press who asked me to write a short story, for a giveaway freebie-type thing, and then also mentioned that I might want to try writing a short story for sale, too, just to see how I liked it. I wrote the freebie "Until the Last Star Burns Out" and it was one of those that had a very low word count--hard to do and get the "romance" in there, too. The other one I wrote for sale was A Night For Miracles, and it still remains one of my favorite projects I've ever done. I remember how worried I was about managing to get all the details in there, and how was I going to do a romance in a short story? etc. But it worked, and I enjoyed writing it so much. I think you do a great job on short stories! Although...ahem...sometimes they DO turn out a bit longer than we planned for, right? LOL
    Cheryl

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  8. Thanks for your great information. Short stories are, indeed, a different animal from novels - and I agree with Kathleen that every writer should try them, even if only to hone their ability to cut out the wordiness.

    You've hit the basics of the technique right on the head with this article!

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