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Posted By: Neurolanis Jul 05, 2003 - 07:47 am

Man, all I write is novels! I've got PILES of them! (All first drafts.) I need to get writing some serious short stories to get me into the field, but I just can't write stories that small. My ideas are always BIG ideas with novel series' and so on. How can I get writing short stories? To invent good characters and ideas and put them into a little tale seems such a waste! My goal is to get published in ROF. I've already had conversations with the Editor! Man! I need to put my currnet book aside and write short.

I started writing a really well-written short story, first character and present tense, about a man-with-no-name-type character in the form of an old man, immortal, in full body armor. It's really good, but after about three pages the strange hero takes off, leaving the bad guy on the run, and then I got writer's block. Went back to writing a novel again. Any ideas how this story could develop (for a short story size?)

Any suggestions would be helpful. Does anyone else find it easier and more enjoyable to write novels as apposed to short stories?

-Neurolanis

Posted By: Maitaman Jul 05, 2003 - 09:44 am

I write whatever fits the story. Some are very short, but most are novels. You ruin a short when you stretch it, and you ruin a novel when you shorten it.

Think of humorous things when you want to get into a short format. It's very difficult to sustain humor for long.

Here's one I posted somewhere because I was in a weird mood, and wrote something like it while answering a question.

She danced across the sparkling meadow, a vision of innocent beauty as the early morning sunlight flashed in the highlights of her long, strawberry blond hair.

He jogged across the meadow, a startlingly handsome embodiment of masculinity and virility.

As they came abreast of one another, he couldn't help but notice that she was extraordinary in her feminine loveliness.

"Good morning! Nice day for a romp in the grass!" he greeted.

"Male chauvinist CRUD!" she snarled as she slapped him sharply across the side of the face.

...... well, that one didn't go anywhwere!

Posted By: Ding_man Jul 05, 2003 - 09:54 am

Neurolanis what you do is you take one of your novels and take your favorite character and m,ake a story around him about one of his days or something. Then you can go back to the novel. BTW what is ROF?

Posted By: Dreamer1206 Jul 05, 2003 - 01:41 pm

When I sit down to write a short story, I give myself a "prompt" (usually revolving around a single word), think for about five minutes, and just write a few pages. I've found that if you think too much about short stories, they get too complex. If they're complex, they must be lengthened to allow for the detail... you get where I'm going.

Posted By: thespartan Jul 05, 2003 - 03:45 pm

i find novels more enjoyable because i can't explain stuff in a nice little package.

Posted By: thespartan Jul 05, 2003 - 04:00 pm

lol
oh yeah i agree with dingman. tahts the only way i can write a short story. otherwise i feel bad about now explaining it better.

Posted By: Neurolanis Jul 07, 2003 - 01:38 am

Thanks for your suggestions, especially Ding_man. That's a VERY good idea and I'm going to do it. Thanks. ROF? Means Realms of Fantasy (Magazine.)

-Neurolanis

Posted By: gypsychic Aug 13, 2003 - 05:59 am

I used to have real problems with writing short stories, until I started reading them more. I found that the mainstream short stories helped me more than sci-fi/fantasy (may just be me). Anyway, I recommend Jhumpa Lahiri's "Interpreter of Maladies" collection highly - that book really gave me insight into what you can do with a short story. I still prefer novel format, but now at least I can write a short story if I want to.

Posted By: Neurolanis Aug 15, 2003 - 04:16 am

Thanks, gypsychic.

Posted By: fiftytwo Aug 15, 2003 - 07:46 am

Piles of novels? Amazing.

A short story is more like a joke -- very focused, concise, and with a definite Bell curve to it. Make a point, that's about it. In many ways the short story form is more difficult to deal with, I think.

Posted By: Ding_man Aug 15, 2003 - 08:23 am

Yes, I agree.

Posted By: Aldan Aug 22, 2003 - 02:05 pm

I, too, had this problem. Instead of trying to develop a character with limited scope, instead, I took one of my more minor characters - one that I used throughout the novel story, but didn't FOCUS on him - and wrote a story about how he got to where he was when the MC first encountered him.

It developed into an interesting story in and of itself - at least I thought so!

Posted By: Neurolanis Aug 23, 2003 - 07:44 am

Yes I suppose. Like those Star Wars books which feature loads of short stories, each based on a minor SW character. Nice idea. You could pick out a neat character you had in a novel but who died early on and something, and deal with an earlier story involving him or her. Yes...I feel the old clock tower wheels begining to turn...struggeling...yes...

Posted By: gypsychic Aug 26, 2003 - 06:10 am

Hey Neurolanis - if you end up reading that book, let me know what you think.

Posted By: victorhadin Feb 04, 2004 - 03:02 am

Think of the twist in the tail first, and construct your entire story leading up to it. It ensures shortness.

Posted By: Aldan Feb 28, 2004 - 01:49 pm

Back to your first post, "hero takes off, leaving the bad guy on the run". Okay... what do you mean by "the strange hero takes off, leaving the bad guy on the run"? Does it mean that your MC leaves the story (if it was a 3rd person singular POV), with the bad guy THINKING that the strange hero is chasing him? or IS the hero chasing the bg? or what? Here're my thoughts...
1) The hero could just leave the BG to flee, sending a robotic ship to chase/follow him, to increase the BG's paranoia.
2) The hero could start chasing the BG and then you could skip forward in time to where it shows the BG at bay, and the hero and BG are talking to each other (and it'll turn out that the BG's the hero's brother or father, which will explain why the hero hasn't slain the BG outright).
3) The hero could turn out to be the "real" bad guy (the stolen loot or kidnapped being could be on his ship as it shows him leaving to go after the BG).
4) The hero could launch a missile after the BG and blow him out of space. (boring, what?)
5) The hero could turn out to be a WOMAN in a male-dominated society (the Armor is an effective disguise), which you'll find out about when she removes her helmet inside the ship.
THESE ARE ONLY A FEW DIRECTIONS IN WHICH YOU MAY TAKE THE STORY, IF YOU'VE NOT FINISHED IT YET.