Join us for another wonderful issue of Wattmag! This March, we're celebrating the release of Beauty and the Beast by talking about Disney and some of our favorite fairytale retellings. We also delve into the world of writing with awesome advice on w...
When I just started writing it was all about the short stories. Then I realized that I wasn't getting everything I wanted into it, so I began to write novels. The first novel I did was epically long. I mean more than four hundred pages. Then I started looking into where I could submit my books for publication when the matter of writing became a more serious endeavor for me. That was when I discovered the novel wasn't working for me either. It was too long, and most if not all agents don't give epically long novels from an unknown writer a second glance.
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After many weeks of wallowing in my sad reality (dramatic, I know) I went about cutting down my novel. I had more than four hundred thousand words, and I needed to get it down to a word count of no more than one hundred and ten thousand.
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It was a painful process trying to figure out what made it into the final piece and what I just had to let go. Killing your darlings was a taboo for me back then. Through the process, I cringed at all the repetition I encountered. All the mistakes. Let's just say it was a hot mess. I didn't know how to pack a punch in fewer words without leaving barged sized gaps. It was back to more hours of research, the topic—How to Fix the Literary Lobotomy that Was My Book. During my research, I kept seeing suggestions about writing short stories as a means for writers to strength their craft, and I decided to get back to basics.
You will never run short of articles with advice on how to write a short story. Some tips will overlap while others don't. Here is a smash up of some of the ideas that have worked for me.
1. Make your title a memorable one
Sounds easy, doesn't it? All you need is two words, right? Maybe one? Lucky you if you find this to be the easy part because for me it's a task but one that is as important as your story. Sometimes you have a title right off the bat, and other times you don't. Don't sweat it. Write your story and at the end look it over. What words or phrases stand out to you? What is the driving theme? Make a list of titles that come to mind that reflect the questions you ask then by the process of elimination whittle it down to that one. Or make a list, have some friends read it and you can take a poll on which they think reflected what they read.
2. Know your limits
According to Writers' Digest, short stories range from 1,500 to 30,000 words. Others say 1000 to 7500 words. With different sites giving you different ranges how do you know which one is correct? Simple—ask. If you are planning on submitting your short stories to a literary journal or anywhere for that matter more than likely a submission guideline would be provided. There you'll find what length is acceptable. Knowing the accepted word count is vital as it is one of the factors determining whether your story gets read or not. Also, keep in mind that the length of the story should be appropriate for the topic. Don't milk a topic making it longer than it naturally should be. Know your story's limits.
