Notes from Let's Write a Short Story!
Highlighted notes and excerpts from the book "Let's Write a Short Story!" by Joe Bunting
For the past year, I’ve been writing a short story out of about 36 short story ideas that I jotted down on my notes. I came across Joe Bunting’s https://thewritepractice.com/ and got hold of this book, “Let’s Write a Short Story!” last year.
I downloaded the book instantly without even taking a second to turn a page later. Every time I begin a short story, my inner self repeatedly reminds me that I don’t have any formal literature background, so I’d fail! I have various resources (blogs, ebooks, and videos) that help aspiring writers get started, but no, I won’t touch them as I can’t back my procrastination with lame reason again.
This month, I thought to get started with turning the pages and plan to finish a short story by the end of this year. Except for writing a short story for us, Joe did everything an amateur expects from this resource, with actionable pointers while publishing a short story. You can purchase the book here.
Notes
A story is a character who wants something and overcomes conflict to get it.
Short stories are event-driven rather than character-driven.
Short stories have elements of plot—an inciting incident, dark night of the soul, climax, and resolution.
For your story to be realistic, something has to happen. You don’t need to have explosions, murders, or dramatic love stories, but something has to happen.
If you’re not sure what should happen in your story, write about a death. Death is the great mystery of life, and mysteries have always belonged to the storytellers.
Flannery O’Connor, one of the most famous short story writers of all time, said she didn’t tell her characters what to do; they told her. However, even her stories fall into traditional story structures that have always existed.
The book jacket structure takes a theme, a phrase, a location, or an action from the beginning of the story and repeats it at the end, except with a twist.
A simple way to implement this strategy is to rewrite the beginning. Tweak the beginning by adding a motif, action, character, or, if you must, a whole scene.
While short stories don’t always contain all the elements of plot, they should have a beginning and an end.
In dialogue, make sure you only use the verb said (as in he said / she said). While it might feel more professional to you, it’s actually the sign of an amateur. That being said, an occasional “he asked” is okay.
If you put a few sentences of description between your action and dialogue elements, your story won’t move too quickly for the reader.
Inner monologue is the thing that sets apart writing from most other art forms. It’s an example of telling, and you want to show as much as possible. Use it sparingly.
Literary authors are known for their unique voices and experimental styles.
If you follow up an extremely long sentence with a short snappy one, you can whip your reader to attention.
To make an allusion, you use an image, a character, or even a direct quote from another work of literature. These act as portals, coloring your story with the meanings wrapped up in the work you’re referencing.
Knowing something that other people don’t is one of the most powerful feelings in the world. While you should want to be more specific, to show more than you tell, you’ll need to cut whatever fails to add to your story.
If you give yourself the freedom to fail, you might actually succeed. “I don’t want to write this book. I don’t want to write anything. I don’t want to be a writer anymore because I never want to feel this stupid again.”
If you want to bring life to your characters, stop using the word “some.” Instead, look at it as a chance to fill in the blanks in your story and in your characters.
Writing classes are great places to build community with other writers who can help you.
More than anything, I find that a story's popularity depends on how widely its writer is willing to advertise it.
Pain develops character. If you have a story where someone learns through joy, the audience won’t buy it.
All Excerpts From
Bunting, Joe. “Let's Write a Short Story!.” The Write Practice.
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