what are some good short stories to write about

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As the story progresses, we learn that the conversation is the aftermath of the shattering moment that happened before the story began. They’re having a drink, and there is an implied tension between them that comes only through the dialogue. It’s about a couple sitting in a train station waiting for a train to arrive. It’s one of the greatest short stories, and for that reason, it’s taught in college-level writing and English courses. Rubart: Can you give us an example from a story we might be familiar with?īell: In Hemmingway’s Hills Like White Elephants, the shattering moment happens before you begin reading. That is the structural secret of the great short stories. You can place the shattering moment at any one of five points: The creative part of writing the short story is deciding when that moment occurs. The greatest short stories, the ones that work, are about one shattering moment.

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When you know that point, you’re free to place that structural element anywhere in your story. The greatest short stories explore those shattering moments that have a tremendous emotional impact on the characters and the reader.Īs you read short stories, look for the I teach writers to find the one definite point you’re writing toward. The moment shatters their complacency or the operating principle of their life. The story revolves around something that happens that changes a character on the inside or flips their perspective on life. I teach writers to find the one definite point you’re writing toward. They’ll get to a point where the story feels like it’s over, and they just stop and call it a short story. Writers begin to explore the idea, but they don’t know exactly where they’re going with it. Rubart: What are the common mistakes first-time short story writers make?īell: Sometimes, they’ll start a story with a “what if” idea. What is the most important part of a short story? In a short story, you only have space to do one thing, and that’s how I teach short story writing. If your word count is higher, it would be considered a novelette or novella.

It’s short, and it’s meant to do one thing in 1,000-7,500 words. It’s not a multi-layered, sub-plotted genre. Writing short stories will teach you to write scenes and characters. Short stories help you establish your style and voice, and an established style will help when you go to write your novel. You just don’t have the space.Ī novel has a definite structure and a lot of space to develop different aspects. But you can’t write a really short novel. So, they try to write stories using the model of a novel. Rubart: What are the keys to writing short stories?īell: Many authors try to write a novel first, and then they discover that short stories help build their readership. Study the craft by reading authors who have done it well. You need to read a lot of full-length fiction to get a sense for how it’s done.Īs a beginner, you need to read, think about the story and its message, and know what you feel about it. If you’re hoping to write full-length fiction, you must do the same thing. You will benefit from reading a wide variety of authors and genres. But don’t limit yourself to one genre because any great short story writer can teach you about craft and style. I advise beginning writers to read some of the short story masters in the genre you’re aiming for. Some of the best writers America has produced started in the pulps writing short stories. A voracious reading public would buy those publications from newsstands for five or ten cents. There were detective and adventure magazines like Dying Detective, Weird Tales, and Science Fiction. For 50-100 years, writers learned their craft and started marketing themselves by writing short stories. James Scott Bell: Short stories used to be the primary way new writers got their feet wet.

Rubart: What advice do you give writers who are just starting to write short stories? Since he’s an International Thriller Writers Award winner and Christy Award winner, we asked him about the key to writing a great short story. James Scott Bell is the author of several popular writing books and a host of mystery, thriller, and suspense novels. He’s written a number-one bestseller for writers called Plot and Structure (affiliate link), and he has served as the fiction columnist for Writer’s Digest. Rubart and I interviewed a master of short stories. The best way to kill boring scenes and assemble an army of readers is to improve your craft by mastering the art of writing short stories. Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Stitcher | Podcast Index | TuneIn | RSS | More

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What are some good short stories to write about