English Writing for Beginners -- How to Write Short Stories

Author: (USA) Sorensen
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-01-01
Features: Short stories are a special literary genre within the grand hall of literature, with their unique writing norms and techniques. How to Write Short Stories is divided into three parts and thirteen chapters, using numerous short story examples to outline fundamental issues related to short story writing.
Part "Theoretical Preparation" consists of six chapters: Defining and Characterizing Short Stories, Determining the Theme, Character Development, Plot Development, Setting the Scene, and Choosing the Perspective. It theoretically explains the characteristics and essential elements of short stories. First, short stories should create convincing characters. The plot includes elements such as the opening, conflict, climax, and resolution. The scene should align with the characters' personalities, convey a specific theme, maintain a consistent narrative perspective, use dialogue that matches the characters' personalities, and showcase characters, themes, and conflicts through concise and precise descriptions. Employ imaginative language and literary techniques, maintain a consistent tone and mood, keep the length appropriate, and achieve a unique literary effect. The theme is the central idea the story conveys and the soul of the short story. Without a theme, there can be no true creative writing. Short stories provide readers with entertainment while evoking emotions and conveying a theme. This theme is not always explicitly stated; sometimes, it is an insight into life or human nature embedded in the story's words. Themes often stem from the author's personal experiences, such as events around them, their own struggles, or societal issues that trouble them. To convey a clear theme, short stories should avoid overly complex plots. The success of creative writing depends on character development, as characters' actions convey the story's theme. Character development should focus on "round" characters, i.e., the main characters. Specific methods for character portrayal generally include description, actions, and dialogue. These include the character's identity, physical appearance, environment, inner thoughts, behavior patterns, linguistic traits, and how others perceive them. Of course, in character development, describing personality traits is more important than physical appearance. To create vivid characters, the author must clearly "understand" their various aspects to portray consistent and lifelike figures. The plot consists of all events arising from the main conflict, including exposition, opening incidents, escalating actions, climax, subsiding actions, and resolution. During plot development, the author may use flashbacks and foreshadowing to create suspense. Scenes play a crucial role in the plot. Often, the author lets readers infer the scene through reasoning and hints rather than lengthy descriptions. The narrative perspective of a short story determines its theme, making the choice of perspective vital. The traditional writing method for short stories is first-person or third-person. Third-person perspective has three variations: third-person, limited third-person, and omniscient third-person. The limited third-person narrator is not part of the story and cannot access any character's thoughts. The omniscient third-person perspective is almost always the author's perspective, where the author knows everything, sees everything, and understands everything. Regardless of the perspective chosen, the narrative perspective must remain consistent throughout the story.
Part "Putting It in Writing" consists of five chapters, focusing on dialogue writing, the use of description, and the beginning and ending of a short story. First, dialogue is an essential component of short stories. It not only helps in character development but also advances the conflict as characters express their views or narrate events through dialogue. Dialogue can be conversations between characters or internal monologues. To write realistic dialogue, one must listen carefully and observe attentively. Additionally, description is a frequently used literary technique in short stories. Realistic descriptions rely on sensory perception and are essential for accurately conveying information. Descriptions support the story's tone and mood, and some writers use abundant rhetorical devices to make them vivid. Descriptions should use words suitable for the subject matter, employ rich and varied language, avoid excessive ornamentation, and feature diverse sentence structures. In short, descriptions should be concise, powerful, direct, and use the "show, don't tell" approach. Third, one of the highest requirements for short story writing is crafting a striking opening that quickly immerses readers and captures the editor's attention. There are three possible approaches to a short story's opening: using dialogue to reveal characters and scenes while introducing the initial conflict; having the main character begin an action that leads to the initial conflict; or establishing the scene and providing enough details to create an atmosphere. The ending should resolve the plot, show any changes the main character undergoes due to the conflict, and provide readers with a satisfying reading experience. There are various ways to end a short story, such as resolving the conflict, offering subtle revelations, or providing an unexpected twist. Part "Putting It in Writing" also analyzes the entire basic elements of a short story using the example of the short story Potatoes.
The final chapter, "Checking Your Novel," discusses the various questions that can be raised when reviewing a first draft. By reviewing, authors can identify shortcomings in their drafts and make appropriate revisions and refinements until the story flows smoothly, is engaging and readable, and is believable. Additionally, careful proofreading is required when finalizing the manuscript, covering punctuation, paragraph breaks, capitalization, spelling, grammar, and idioms.
Part "Beyond the Basics" consists of two chapters: Master Analysis and Overcoming Publication Barriers. The former analyzes the various elements of the short story The Mark on the Wall by the American short story master Hawthorne, based on the theoretical foundation discussed earlier. The latter offers valuable advice on how to get a work published, such as researching magazines and contacting editors. When reading How to Write Short Stories, readers should grasp the key points of the theoretical sections and closely combine them with the short story examples, avoiding the mere memorization of theoretical frameworks. Additionally, most of the language in the short story examples is challenging, requiring reference to annotations for careful reading to appreciate the author's techniques and methods.