To write a short story, it's not painful to know that the story is a rather young form, rising only to Nathaniel Hawthorne and his book of 1837 told Tales. For Edgar Allan Poe, who called them "prosaic tales," the fact that short stories could be read in one sitting was the key to the form. It's from the reader to have a continuous experience of a fictional world.
As a recent genre, in a short story there are few formal elements that are not shared with the novel. The task for the author of short stories is to develop the main elements of fiction - the character, the plot, the theme, the point of view, etc. - from about ten to twenty-five pages. (The shutdown for most magazines is 10,000 words.) In order to cope with this country, the authors of short stories usually follow, consciously or unconsciously.
1. To write a short story you have to use several characters and stick to one point of view You simply will not have room for more than one or two round characters. Find economical ways to characterize your hero and briefly describe the secondary characters. The presence of only one or two main characters, of course, limits your ability to switch prospects. Even if you are tempted to try it, you will have problems with the implementation, in a balanced way, of more than one point of view. (Click here for information on choosing a viewpoint.)
2. To write a short story you have to limit the time frame when writing a short story While some storytellers come up in time, your story has the greatest chance of success, if you limit the time frame as much as possible. It is unrealistic to cover the life of the character for twenty-five pages. (Even a month can be a problem.) By limiting the time period, you allow more focus on the events included in the narrative.
3. To write a short story you have to be Selective As in poetry, a short story requires discipline and editing. Each line should either create a character, or promote an action. If it does not do one of these two things, it should go. William Faulkner was right to advise writers to kill his darlings. This advice is especially important for authors of short stories.
4. To write a short story you have to follow the usual structure of the story The standard narrative rules, which we all studied in our school literary classes, are applicable to writers. Although you may not have room to hit every element of the traditional story structure, you know that the story roughly consists of narration, conflict, growing action, climax and denouement. No matter how you experiment with the form, something must happen in the story (or at least the reader should feel as if something has happened). Actions such as conflict and resolution achieve this effect. The storytelling story may seem magical, but the building blocks are actually very specific. As with any type of letter, the beginning and the end are the most important parts. Make sure that your first and last lines are the strongest in history.
5. To write a short story you have to know when to break the rules As in all rules, they must be broken. Alexander Style notes in his opening speech the Art Gallery dedicated to Gotham writers that the story is amenable to experimentation precisely because it is short: structural experiments that can not be sustained on three hundred pages can work beautifully in fifteen. And today the lines between genres, such as a story and a poem, are blurred in spectacular directions. Keep in mind, however, that telling your story is still the most important thing. If breaking the rule allows you to more effectively tell your story, by all means, break it. Otherwise, think twice or, at least, be honest with yourself if the innovation does not succeed.
By following these rules, you must successfully complete your stories. If you find that your story is overflowing these boundaries no matter what you are doing, think about expanding it into a novel. A brief history is not for every story - or for every writer. For more information, see "Six Signs". Your short story wants to be a novel.
