Short Stories
Right, joining this merry band of writers helping writers, I'll be writing a 'your first short story' guide. First off: if ever in this guide I make the mistake of setting a rule of must’s/cannot**, break it, just for the hell of it. Writing is creativity, and that is something that is hard to do when fearing the iron fist of The Rules.
Now: short stories, by definition, have no real definition. You can find a dozen different sources and most if not all would disagree about what defines a short story and/or what length constitutes a short story. Just to add to that confusion, I'm going to say a short story is anywhere between six words and infinite words.
A short story, just like writing in general, is anything you want it to be. I was once told to learn what I could about writing and then forget it; that way, you're never chained down to what you've learned and can stay dynamic, write whatever's on your heart at any time without having to worry about what you've learned something should or shouldn't be.
The beginning of a short story, as with any other, must be captivating (try breaking that rule ), so it can serve as a hook. However, because the story is a mile shorter than a novel or a novella, it's usually the beginning of the story that sets the mood or atmosphere for all the rest of it. An example from Roshind*'s excellent romantic short story, Love Thy Neighbour, follows:
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I don't know when it was that I first fell in love with her. It snuck up on me like one of those sudden summer rain showers, when one minute the sky is clear and blue, and then the next thing you know its pouring rain. It leaves as suddenly as it comes, but afterwards everything looks new and clean. Even though there was nothing wrong before the rain, everything is somehow better.
18-Jun-2015 18:34:52
- Last edited on
18-Jun-2015 22:15:29
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MJT2-0
