If you read this essay carefully and apply the principles it presents, you will be able to write a short story. What constitutes a good short story differs from reader to reader. For one reader, it’s a slice of life marked by a gripping conflict. For another, it’s a fascinating character study with a distinctive […]
Short Story Writing and Editing
Do revise and rewrite - objective self-criticism is a skill worth practising. These are some of the faults and weaknesses that might cause your story to be rejected:
Is the opening too long? Too slow? Too general? It’s vital to grab the reader from the opening paragraph.
Have you begun in the right […]
Here’s some lovely advice on writing short stories, from Kurt Vonnegut’s collection, Bagombo Snuff Box:
Use the time of a total stranger in such a way that he or she will not feel the time was wasted.
Give the reader at least one character he or she can root for.
Every character should want something, even if it […]
Paper has the other sideMAO, ShujunDalian, China
One day I was writing something.Soon the paper was full of disordered words. Meanwhile I felt sad and thought the paper was just like my life. But when I turned over the paper, a new clear side appeared before my eyes. Suddenly I realized paper has the other side.
Wonderful […]
Outstanding works of the 1st ESSC 2006 (Extremely Short Story Competition)
TearsMIZUNO, Ayumi(Tokyo)
One night, the telephone rang. My father answered it.He was just nodding without saying anything. He seemed very serious.Then, he hanged up the phone and told us."My father has just passed away."It was the direst and the only time when I saw his eyes […]
Short fiction is the "garage band" of science fiction, claims Tor Books editor Patrick Nielsen Hayden, so it’s time to step on that fuzzbox and thrash as hard as you can without knocking over your mom’s weed-trimmer.
Actually, I think Nielsen Hayden was referring to the fact that you can try more crazy experiments in […]
The model described here is the pyramid plot: The upward slope establishes setting and characters and builds tension; the tip is the climax; and the downward slope is the resolution.
Instructions
Things You’ll Need:
* Thesauri * Printer Inks * Printers * Desk Lamps * Desks * Wastebaskets * Folders * Printer Paper * Spiral Notebooks * […]
The name (Tangkuban Perahu) translates roughly to "upturning of (a) boat" or "upturned boat" in Sundanese, referring to the local legend of its creation.
The story tells of "Dayang Sumbi", a beauty who lived in West Java. She cast away her son "Sangkuriang" for disobedience, and in her sadness was granted the power of eternal […]
Whether you’re an aspiring professional writer or a stay-at-home mom with something to say, the short story is the perfect medium. While writing a novel is a Herculean task, just about anybody can craft and, most importantly, finish, a short story. That doesn’t mean that short stories are easy to write, though, and it certainly […]
Alice Munro spins tales that show us, again and again, and with wondrous grace, how much can be done in a simple short story. Yet the 74-year-old Canadian does it by breaking every rule ever taught in a writing seminar, setting up a master class along the sidelines. Her latest–her 11th–collection of stories, The View […]