Short and Sweet

My most recent short story publication is in an anthology called Camelot 13: Celebrating the Spirit ofArthur and His Knights, set to be released next month. It’s just the latest of a dozen or so that I’ve placed in various anthologies. So, even though I’m primarily a novelist, I have enjoyed developing an approach to writing shorter fiction.
But of course, I only know MY way. As sci-fi and fantasy legend Gene Wolfe said, “you never learn how to write a novel. You only learn to write the novel you’re on.” I think that’s even more true of short stories. So, what I can do is give you some basics to build your foundation on. There are patterns I think that everyone can follow, in their own chaotic and haphazard way.
But before we get into details we should address another question: why write short stories? There isn’t much of a market for them. Not much money to be made on them. And they’re so limiting. So why write them? Well, I’d say… “Exactly!” Because it’s pure. When I’m writing a short story, I don’t worry about writing to a particular market. I’m not worrying about creating a blockbuster. I know the mortgage payment doesn’t hang on it. And I also know I’m not committing a year of my life to it. And if the idea isn’t working halfway thru there’s way less angst about dumping it and starting over. And I don’t have to have a whole lot to say. Writing short stories can be quite liberating.
And what do we mean by short story anyway? I’ve read definitions everywhere from 1500 words to 30,000 words. Practically, most outlets favor stories between 3,000 and 5,000 words. For me that’s a commitment of maybe 24 total hours, not a year of my life.  So, what do you need to write a story? First you need to have a story idea. Something that happens that you find interesting, or fun or thought provoking.  For example: recently the entire downtown of Ellicott City, Maryland was washed away by a massive flood. Homes and businesses were destroyed. People lost their cars and everything they owned. And among those lost was a national guard member who was trying to save someone else.  I’m sure you can see a story idea in there somewhere. So, starting with such an idea, what is the first step in creating a short story? Simple: Write down the story.
I’ll explain what I mean by that, in detail, next week.