Once again, I have been very remiss with my posts on Type M. There is so much rapid-fire news and chaos in Canada, the US, and the world that I am continuously distracted. And when I can tear myself away from that, there's always taxes to complete.
But in moments between these distractions, I have two short stories to write. Although earlier in my career, I have written over thirty short stories for various publications, I haven't written one in ten years and I am very rusty. But in the past couple of months, I've been invited to submit to two separate anthologies, so have been sharpening up my pencil. Literally, since I write first drafts by hand.
While scrubbing the rust off, I reminded myself of several guidelines that helped me in the past. I'm not a big believer in rules or "how-to" guidelines. In writing, everything is possible and what works for one person or one story won't work for another. That said, I offer the following "rules". Many of them are quite effective for novels as well.
First, a short story has to be tight and focussed. No wandering off into subplots or meandering flashbacks. You have to create a vivid, powerful story in a very few words so it's important to make each word and each paragraph count. You have to capture the crucial three pillars of a story – setting, character, and storyline – in a few vivid pen strokes. To help keep the story focussed and tight, I prefer to have the whole story unfold in the same one or two settings in a short space of time. Not three months, sometimes only an hour. I keep characters to a minimum; only those that have to be there to tell the story. I try to keep pure, static description to a minimum. Combine description with action that propels the story forward, and capture both character and setting in a few vivid, crucial words rather than detail. E.g., colour or style of hair is not important in itself; make it reveal character.
Luckily a lot of the overwriting can be fixed in rewrites. Be ruthless with the editing pen. Do I really need that word or sentence? Is there a single word that conveys the same thing with more punch? What is harder to fix is an overly complicated plot. I've found short stories don't lend themselves to the classic whodunnit structure. There isn't time to have a sleuth running around uncovering clues, following red herrings, and juggling suspects. There are too many characters and it's very difficult to make them distinct and vivid enough to engage the reader. In the hands of a very skilled short story writer, it's possible, but the result can feel emotionally flat and contrived. Most of my short stories have a whodunit element, but often there's also a thriller element too.
When I write novels, I'm mostly a pantser. The story evolves as I write it. But I find with a short story, I need to know the outcome and the basic premise before I start. If I start writing without knowing where I plan to end up, the writing is exploratory and unfocussed until I get an ah-ha moment and can settle down to serious writing. The process is still organic in that I discover things about the character or add in some extra twists and conflict as I go along, but I'm writing towards the goal.
Here's one last observation. POV is very important to any story. I find a story (or scene) is more powerful and more engaging when the reader is drawn into a character's head. Head-hopping distances the reader from the acton. In my novels, I often have several POVs but never within the same scene. In a short story, I find a single POV works best. It keeps me focussed and working forward. It allows for internal monologue and perspective. It can be first person or third person, whatever works for that story.
So far I have managed to write one of the two short stories and am working on the second, due next month. Once I get feedback from the editors, I'll have a better idea whether my technique for writing a short story worked, or whether I have to get out the rust remover again.
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