Short Stories: Don’t Underestimate Your Writing

We’re getting ready for Camp NaNoWriMo this April! This month, we’re talking to Wrimos who are using the Camp format to work on non-novel projects. Today, participant Paulinette Quirindongo dives into some of the advantages of short story writing:

The novel and the story are as old as your great-grand-ancestor, yet not as old as the art of storytelling itself. Both writing forms are centuries old: the modern form of the short story dating back from the 19th century (although its traditions in oral storytelling and fables are much older), and the novel as it is recognizable today from the 15th century. These have become the two main forms of fiction writing that have been used to question, to understand, criticize and interpret the world we live in.

Writing a short story or a novel is like creating a new world from paper and ink, then plastering it on to that little new planet that is waiting to be set free from the farthest depths of the universe: our consciousness. Many people seem to think this is a simple thing to do, but we writers we know that is not an easy job. 

My first writing experience was in ninth grade. I was frustrated with the disappointing ending of my favorite series and, based on that frustration, began writing. Today I cannot stop feeling embarrassed about what I wrote in those three long notebooks, one for each year that I wrote. The three main reasons for my embarrassment are: (1) My story does not have one main topic, but infinite topics, (2) it has no coherence, and (3) I underestimated it. (The last one I will explain further on.)  

In some ways, the art of writing a novel may seem easier than writing a short story, because in a novel you have some liberty when it comes to plot and subplots, characters, symbols, and settings. Short stories, on the other hand, typically have one plot, one setting, few characters, one or two symbols. Yet they still must have substance enough to have readers become invested in the characters and outcome of your story.

Anyone can write a short story, a novel, a poem, or short fiction, but each form of story should still be carefully crafted. Writing is not just putting words on paper, (although that is an essential part); is about concentration, preparation, and consistency. 

“My advice to any of you that are planning to start a new writing form is: try it, explore it, savor it, and love it, but above all do not underestimate your writing and the type of writing form that you choose.”

It can be easy to underestimate any kind of genre when when the stakes don’t seem as high. When it comes to short stories, people tend to think that because it is a small tale, you don’t have to care as much about plot, setting, coherence, and substance. On the other hand, the main reason people underestimate novel-writing is thinking that they can put everything into the story without a care in the world how it goes together. But with both formats, you need to ask yourself: is this bit necessary? Does it serve a purpose within the plot? How does it fit in? 

A short story, yes, it must be short; but like a novel, it still needs substance, a plot, a meaning. In other words, it should still give the readers goosebumps when reading that new creation plastered into that 300 or 1,000 word count.

My advice to any of you that are planning to start a new writing form is: try it, explore it, savor it, and love it, but above all do not underestimate your writing and the type of writing form that you choose. It’s ok to be afraid of making mistakes, to feel insecure, and to think that your first draft seems bland or that that brilliant idea you had now seems dumb. It’s ok to feel like that, but do not let those demons stop you. It takes effort to try to keep to the point as we get ourselves lost in that small biosphere of writing, but it takes greater effort to face our fears and prove our doubts wrong.

Paulinette Quirindongo is a young writer from the island of Puerto Rico. She knows eight languages and is studying for her Master’s degree in History. She has participated in NaNoWriMo for the years 2013, 2014, and 2015, and hopes to participate again this year. She published her first novel in 2015 and is currently working on her second novel. She published one short story in the zinc magazine MicroCuento, created by students from the university she studied. Check out her website or preview her novel.

Top photo by Flickr user Jenn and Tony Bot.