On Writing Short Stories (& Why They Work)

When I first started writing, I found writing short stories to be an exercise, but only that: an exercise. To me, the little write-a-holic I was, creating a world and a main character and a conflict and a villain only to spend a few thousand words with them… what was the point? The only good I saw in it was practice in brevity and the ability to submit short works to contests and literary journals.

 

As I’ve grown as a writer, I have come to see short fiction in a different light. Yes, short fiction is short, and therefore limiting to a writer who is used to playing in the sandbox of 70,000 to 100,000 words. However, short stories allow us to craft tales that “hit” us in different ways than novels. For example, most short stories, since they are brief, plow from beginning to end in a few thousand words. For the reader, this means they are brought on a full hero’s journey in a small amount of time. Often, this can strike a cord with the reader in a different way than a novel does.

 

For example, have you seen any Disney Pixar shorts? You know, those little animated vignettes before the larger Pixar movie in the theater? All of them are short and sweet, pulling at the heartstrings in one way or the other. A good short story does this, or makes you think about something you’ve never thought about before. The length of the story plays into its impact, when done well. In some ways, I find writing short stories harder than writing longer fiction, and that makes me want to pursue mastering them all the more.

 

Recently, I wrote a fantasy short story that I decided to give away for free as an ebook. Check it out and other fantasy ebooks (most full length!) here: https://bit.ly/2V9FdeV

 

Some other great resources on short story writing:

https://killzoneblog.com/2014/07/25-tips-for-writing-winning-short-story.html

https://jerryjenkins.com/how-to-write-short-stories/

 

Happy (short) fiction writing!