Though I have many things to confess, most of which I’ve already been absolved, I have a fear of words. One hundred and forty characters invigorates me. A blog post makes me a little nervous. Can I find something interesting that will last more than one hundred and forty characters? Not sure.
A novel of 50,000+ words? Not so afraid, there’s a structure, word limits, rules and regulations to follow.
My true and total fear – the short story. How long is enough or too long? How many plot points? Number of twists one, two or three? I feel no guidance in writing a short story and maybe that should be the draw – freedom. But I like rules and guides.
So I have a phobia of short stories. I’ve tried researching them, but the only cure I can think of is to write them. So, I’m going to write one a day. I’m not going to worry if I don’t have an end or if it’s really boring and sucks. I’m just going to write one short story a day.
I’m going to love writing short stories even if it kills me.
See? Your first short story (today). It had a beginning, middle and end. And it was good! So what, if it was non-fiction?
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Yea, I never like that snotty girl down the street!
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I think Ernest Hemingway nailed it ~ “There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.”
Stories are organic. They seem to have their own agenda. My best worst efforts had great aspirations that ended badly, where heroes don’t save anyone and nobody remembers why they’re there, but the ones that work always seem to just flow to their ends naturally no matter how hard I try to bully and coerce them elsewise. I always know the ending is near when I can breathe again. The free flow of oxygen is the big signal that it’s just about time to hit ‘post’.
Great post. Love your blog, love your insight.
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Short stories are tricky but I think a blog is basically a short story so you’re halfway there 🙂
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Great graphic..You could call your short story, “Love, Bloody, Love” Just let it go and see where it leads. I tried and it lead me to the trash can. But it gave me the desire to try again, maybe.
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I am not a writer as you. But your post intrigues me. I am looking forward to reading them. Hopefully, I will learn as you go along. As I see it, this will be a win win.
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Hey, that’s a great plan!
Good luck!
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I share a similar fear. There is a message that I want to send out by writing a short story, but I don’t know how short is too short or how long is too long. I even had a story in my draft, but I deleted it. 😦
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Never delete, never ever delete. Just abandon. Even print and delete. It’s like leaving a baby at the fire station.
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I couldn’t agree more. Just keep on writing.
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I once had a fear of our garden – the first one we planted. The cure was to just to go out there and start weeding. After the first week and approval from my garden-experienced hubby I loved it! I miss it now! The summer drought and lack of time this year was prohibitive…
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I always have to remember to edit myself down. I remember this one creative writing course that I took in college, it was my turn for the class to critique my short story. It wouldn’t stop writing itself. It was 20 pages. SINGLE SPACED. The whole class hated me after that. I’ve gotten better over the years, but it’s my achilles heel — the details.
Mel
massachusetts-is-wicked-awesome.com
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I took a short story class a few years ago as one of my English credits. What my professor said is that short stories focus on one life-changing circumstance, rather than a long, intricate plot. The action of the story needs to start right away, because you’ve got a limited amount of time to draw the reader in.
As for length, that really varies. Most contests seem to cut the limit off at 3,000 words. I’ve seen some with lengths up to 10,000 words though, or as little as 200.
I wrote a post on short stories a while back that you might find helpful :). It’s Anatomy of a Short Story.
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I applaud your efforts, and actually quite enjoy the product. The short story is perhaps literature’s toughest challenge. I always keep in mind Hemmingway’s words when I write: “The first draft of everything is shit.” A true poet.
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I feel safest with my poems. Kudos to you for writing one short story a day! That would exhaust my brain doodles.
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goodluck. i don’t really understand why they call it short stories when it’s a longggg story to me.
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You’re brave….really! Inspired by your laughter, your funny plan! I have a ‘funny’ feeling all will go well…..
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I like your writing.
I think you should quit thinking so much and just write.
Wait. I don’t think that came out the way I wanted it to. But I think you know what I mean, lol.
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I love short stories. Neil Gaman, Margo Lanagan and Angela Carter are masters of the craft. Writing one a day and you’ll soon be up there.
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Thanks, I’m now trying to create longer stories so I’m probably going to have to go to one a week.
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There was a phase in Truman Capote’s life for a few years where he wrote nothing but short stories for some reason. I read an anthology once of this period in his writing. Quite interesting – and he could make a story out of anything. I think that is the key ingredient, never to confuse story with idea. I think I learned that from reading Capote.
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Thanks I’ll look into those short stories.
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Like others have suggested, a blog post is a short story. There is a beginning, a middle and an end, in which you have conveyed some form of information to the audience. So really, you are doing it already!
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Thanks. I’m going to try something long next year, maybe five pages!
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