One day, he decided that he was going to write a short story...but he was not sure where to begin, so he sat on a rock under a birch tree, pondering...and pondering...until the sun went down. And then thunder struck.
Have you ever written a short story?
I remember writing just one short story in high school--about a depressed and indecisive salary man who goes unconscious in a train crash and dreams that he is a fish circling a worm unsure whether it is on a hook or not--my theme was indecisiveness and lack of self-confidence, which reflected a feeling I was personally struggling with at the time. I think that was the only one I had ever written, and since then I have never written one. I never thought that I would ever need to or want to write a short story...but I think I am going to try.
Frankly, I will admit that I have no idea how to start or what I would write, or what I would be careful of as I would do it. I am not going to pretend to know anything about this because I don't.
So...the students who have already written short stories in this class are already ahead of me. I think I will start by asking about your experience with doing short story writing.
But the fact of the matter is that I read a lot of fiction and love it. And I think it would be cool to start a story and see where it goes, even if it doesn't turn out to be a Nobel Prize winner. I don't really read "short stories"--I just read novels. So if someone asks me what my favorite short story is, I can't really say. Short stories usually don't leave a lasting impression--or are there some that do? OK, well, I do read a lot of children's books to my own kids. We love Curious George, The Cat in the Hat, King Arthur, Disney Princess Stories...other fairy tales...maybe those can be a base for I will write.
So...I'll start by teaching myself a few things about short story writing. These may be useful for you as well. I looked briefly in the ICU library for some advice on this, but couldn't find anything simple and clear.
The Internet helped me more.
1) What makes a good short story - quotes from famous writers (link)
Key words: tension, relentless motion, not abstract meaning, but experience of meaning, opening doors and leaving them open, first...learn to listen FOR stories (in our lives), start by choosing an EFFECT you want to have on the reader (Poe).
2) Short Stories - Developing Ideas (link)
Short Stories - 10 Tips (link-very user friendly advice!)
- Get Started: Emergency Tips
- Write a Catchy First Paragraph
- Develop Your Characters
- Choose a Point of View
- Write Meaningful Dialogue
- Use Setting and Context
- Set up the Plot
- Create Conflict and Tension
- Build to a Crisis or a Climax
- Deliver a Resolution
Hmm...there are many on this site. Of these, I am a Hans Christian Anderson fan. My daughter's favorite is Little Mermaid, which is not on this site. Of the one's on this site, I think I like The Emperor's New Clothes.
This site has 201 Stories by Anton Chekhov, considered an influential short story writer. Try reading "The Student" and "The Bet".
Also, try Lamb to the Slaughter by Roald Dahl. I remember being shocked by this in high school. Definitely leaves an impression. This site Classic Short Stories has a very good selection of other shorts as well such as "The Use of Force" by William Carlos Williams.
4) Example of a young writer's short story
The Doll and many others on this site.
5) Extremely Short Story Contest (deadline 11/20 - win 10,000yen! 50 words or less)
http://www.jafae.org/essc/entries/2011_6th/en/index.html#
No comments:
Post a Comment