In the late 1970s the short story was believed a dead genre. No one wrote or published short fiction anymore. But in the last forty years, short stories have enjoyed a stunning revival. Magazines are bulging with exciting new fiction and short story competitions popping up by the hundred. Now short story fiction is already a trend – not only for magazines, newspapers and books but also it had become a partly life of Internet. There are thousand of websites working so hard to attract fiction writers like Triond. This article will guide you some important points needed to enhance your short fiction writing capabilities. Bear with me.

Finished dishes can look amazing – especially if a top chef has lavished time and effort on them. But although the colors, tastes, textures and shapes all blend together to provide a treat for the senses, the chef has not used paranormal skills to create the feast. All he has done is use ordinary ingredients plus a little experience and easily following cooking techniques.

The same is true for short story writing. You may not be able to re-create every nuance of the haunting prose of highly experienced writers that only comes with years of practice – but there is no reason why you cannot write stories that are technically competent, containing all the right ingredients in the correct amounts and in the correct order.

In order to cook a good entertaining and profitable short story – one should need the following ingredients:

(1) You need a single narrative thread. Because the space in a short story is so limited perhaps as little as 850 words to 1,200 words – there is not time to explore the stories of several different characters or at how your main character reacts in a series of different environment. You would need to stick to one storyline and do not deviate from it.

(2) You need a short timescale. All the best short stories are tightly focused on one storyline covering no more than a few days. The most gripping yarns recounts events happening to your hero in a few crucial hours.

(3) You need only one mood, pace and style. A short story should have the same feel throughout. It should not start as an emotionally packed tale of grief then suddenly switch to knockabout comedy. It should not speed up and slow down erratically or switch from a tightly written story with short, punchy sentences and simple vocabulary to a flowing, languorous piece of prose oozing baroque expressions and overblown imagery.

(4) You need brief descriptions. A short story is not the place to show off your descriptive skills. Long descriptions kill the pace and divert the reader’s attention from the plot. Always aim to get the maximum effect with the minimum number of words.

(5) You need minimum background information. Only give the background information that is relevant to the plot. The trick is to maintain a good balance between keeping information tight and giving enough relevant facts about a character so that the reader can visualize him.

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Comments (12)
  • Dreamy777 on Apr 11, 2011

    Thanks for the great information

  • Ima Vee on Apr 11, 2011

    very useful tips sir Paul… I’ll keep this in mind..:-]

  • SittieCates on Apr 11, 2011

    Nice. Such an engaging and helpful article.

  • Edsss on Apr 11, 2011

    Thanks for the tips :)

    It is very useful for a beginner like me.

  • CHIPMUNK on Apr 11, 2011

    great read

  • elnavann on Apr 11, 2011

    Thanks – I am trying to write a short story and all the tips are welcome

  • foxpete88 on Apr 11, 2011

    good reading….thanks.-

  • aprilsong on Apr 11, 2011

    thanks for your nice tips.

  • papaleng on Apr 12, 2011

    Cool tips dude, nagka-idea tuloy ako.

  • pruelpo on Apr 13, 2011

    @Dreamy, Ima, Sittie and Edss – Thank you always for having your precious time reading my item and commenting. I appreciated so much. As always see you around again.

  • pruelpo on Apr 13, 2011

    @Chip, elnavan and fox – it is always my pleasure to read your comments. Thank you friends.

  • pruelpo on Apr 13, 2011

    @april and papaleng – hopefully if you thought it as helpful – just go ahead. Thank you for dropping by and commenting.

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