Writing Short Stories

Okay, last week we covered series writing. This week is for the opposite end of the spectrum writers. This one's for the folks like me who love to write short.

What is your ideal length for a short story? How do you make sure that you're able to get one full story in that length?

Rosemary Claire Smith: The bulk of my published fiction consists of short stories. They were where I began my writerly journey. I still love them and just finished one yesterday. I don’t have an ideal length, but the ones that garnered the most attention are the longer ones: 8,000-14,000 words. I love the challenge of flash fiction and find the 1,000-word limit great inducement for cutting every extraneous word and sentence. Those left are expected to do double and triple duty.

Sheela Leyh: I know that it's more than 1000 words. Anything 1000 words or less gives me a major headache to write. I do write poetry from time to time. I do comb through my words for more impact when writing shorter.

John Morgan 'Bat' Neal: The most recent story I have written is 806 words. It doesn't need one word more.

Mari Hersh-Tudor: Went to Penguicon, a great one for writers. One of the panels was about How To Keep Your Short Story from Turning Into A Novel. Some of my notes from the panel were:

• The formula is 1/4 setup, 1/2 meat, 1/4 wrap/ twist
• Stay on task, make a plan, and stick to it
• Give yourself a word count and stick to it
• Make every word count
• Short stories do not have subplots,
• Don’t write to cut down, write light to add later,
• No backstory, use efficient descriptions,
• Economy like poetry

Jessica Nettles: I don't have an ideal length. Each story has a way of finding its length. I know that sounds metaphysical, but that's how it works in my world. Sometimes, I am writing to a specific word count, and I work hard to get to that word count and make the story work in that frame. That's good exercise for me. Other times, I'm writing for me, so I can go as I feel like going and let the story find its way.

Titles and Stories (We Got Together, Like...)

This week, let's talk about stories and titles and how they go together (or don't -- I wan't presume your process!). 

What comes first for you, the story or the title? How does one drive the other through the process?

Sara Freites Scott: The title comes first but may change after I write the story! (Which actually happened with my first book.)

Bobby Nash: It could happen either way. Most of the time, it’s the story. That said, doing series work, like Snow or Tom Myers, I like to have a page at the end that states, “Tom Myers will return in…” and so I try to have at least a loose idea and a title for the next book ready to go. I have had instances where the title changed in the process.

Sean Taylor: I find it very difficult to write without a title. I'll jot down story notes and hold off actually writing the narrative until the right title falls into place. Yes, I know that (among other things) makes me an odd duck. 

Chris Riker: First - the moment. That one heart-wrenching scene. It contains the seeds of the story. It lives at the heart of the theme. Where do they come from? I live in a stressful world. Perhaps you've heard of it. Earth? Second - a few characters. Names. Quirks. Third - The ending. Not the plot; that's different. I need to know where my characters need to get to emotionally. Lastly: WRITE!

Jerry Motyka: Yes. Sometimes I get inspiration from a title, other times I get inspiration for the story and the title comes last.

Brian K Morris: Most of the time, it's the story, especially when I'm working with someone else's characters. Then again, I've come up with a title that practically writes the story for me. Also, I have to really put on my thinking cap to come up with a halfway pleasing (to me, at least) title.

Aaron Rosenberg: Oh, story 99 percent of the time, definitely. A lot of the time I'm scrambling for a halfway decent title -- I just use a placeholder to start, and hope something better comes to mind as I get into the book properly.

Gordon Dymowski: For me, the story almost always comes first. It's easier for me to come up with a killer title for a well thought-out story than it is a story for a killer title. I have several works in progress which I have named "Untitlted [INSERT GENRE OR CHARACTER" here to make them easier to track.

George Tackes: Always the story. Something in the story inspires the title. I couldn’t imagine having the title dictate the story. Because sometimes a story can go in an entirely different direction.

Iscah: Usually the story comes first, but it depends. Originally Seventh Night was called The Magician's Apprentice, and the story more heavily focused on Phillip. Then I saw a book with the same title at the store and decided I needed a new name. As the best fairytales are named after the princess, I went with *Seventh Night*, but this meant my title character was unconscious for two-thirds of the book. So, I reworked the middle to give her more to do and a bit more of a growth arch. I do think the story works a bit better that way.

When I say the story comes first, I tend to mean the general story. I usually have an idea for the title before I have finished writing. In some cases, it's a working title. I had a story called The Littlest Vampire, which is another title that I discovered was taken. That one has been sitting on my hard drive long that I may have to retitle it again if it ever comes out.

Some titles emerge while the story is still forming. I can be glacially slow from the spark of an idea and finding time to write it. So I have several backburner novels which are partially formed and still in the notes stage. Most of those have working titles.