Can't Write Short Stories

AllyKitten · Jun 10, 2012

I've tried countless times, but I have never managed to write a short story. I have come up with a few short story ideas, but I have this tendency to add more details and subplots until it is impossible to call the future story anything other than a novel. When I come up with a new idea, my brain starts working overtime. How exactly do you write a short story?

Kerosene · Jun 10, 2012

I used to be the same until I changed my writing style.

Your problem is that you're trying to load up the reader with information, making it into a longer story.

But think of a short story as a chapter within a novel. All it needs is a define beginning and end.

For a short story:

Only one plot (most of the time)
A small cast of characters.
A define situation.
Quick opening, quick end.
A already established world that you're "jumping" into.

virtue_summer · Jun 10, 2012

AllyKitten said:
I've tried countless times, but I have never managed to write a short story. I have come up with a few short story ideas, but I have this tendency to add more details and subplots until it is impossible to call the future story anything other than a novel. When I come up with a new idea, my brain starts working overtime. How exactly do you write a short story?

Don't do that? It might sound glib, but it's true. Instead of expanding, narrow down and focus.

SomethingOrOther · Jun 10, 2012

Try coming up with a climactic event and starting as close to it as possible--closer than you'd think sensible. Because of your tendency to add many details, you'll find a way to round it out.

I'm assuming the first thing you usually come up with is an initial situation. That's a valid approach, but thinking of a climax first might work better for you.

And try writing a few Drabbles.

Also, try not to go deeper into backstory than necessary. As a general rule, keep moving forward, like this kitty:

Unimportant · Jun 10, 2012

AllyKitten said:
I've tried countless times, but I have never managed to write a short story. I have come up with a few short story ideas, but I have this tendency to add more details and subplots until it is impossible to call the future story anything other than a novel. When I come up with a new idea, my brain starts working overtime. How exactly do you write a short story?

Lots of people don't write short stories. There's no law that says you have to write one if you don't want to or if it's not a form that comes naturally to you.

If you do want to write one, you can try outlining it and then writing to the outline:

You have one main character. She has one major problem. You introduce this in the first scene, which is 500 words.

She tries to overcome the problem and fails. Now things are worse. This is a 1000 word scene.

She tries again to overcome the problem and fails again. Now things are even worse. This is a 1000 word scene.

She tries a third time to overcome the problem and succeeds, though her success comes at a price. This is a 1500 word scene.

dangerousbill · Jun 10, 2012

AllyKitten said:
I've tried countless times, but I have never managed to write a short story. I have come up with a few short story ideas, but I have this tendency to add more details and subplots until it is impossible to call the future story anything other than a novel. When I come up with a new idea, my brain starts working overtime. How exactly do you write a short story?

Not surprising.

I can write short stories, but the temptation to expand them into novel form is almost irresistable. In fact, I've used short stories to test characters or plot ideas before planning a whole novel.

In short stories, there is usually no or little character development and a single, simple plot.

Unimportant · Jun 10, 2012

dangerousbill said:
In short stories, there is usually no or little character development and a single, simple plot.

Yup. Thanks to my undeveloped, simple brain -- every time I try to write a novel, I get to The End within 5000 words!

I am all admiration for anyone who can carry a 100K word plot around in their head, let alone get the thing written.

Orchestra · Jun 10, 2012

See this current thread about this very subject.

Drey of Boon · Jun 10, 2012

Reading lots and lots of short stories was crucial for me. You have to approach them from the perspective of being a very different form of writing to a novel, and not everyone is comfortable with the format. It certainly didn't come easy for me.

But there's no better way to learn how to strip the flab from your writing than bashing out a couple of short stories.

Tinman · Jun 10, 2012

WillSauger said:
But think of a short story as a chapter within a novel. All it needs is a define beginning and end.

Kitten. Expanding on what Will wrote, one of the things that has helped me write shorts is to take a minor character from a novel and expand on what happened to them -- a short sequel or prequel of sorts. This might also help you from going off on tangents in your novel that have little to do with the plot just because a character or scene sounds interesting. Instead, save it for a short.

Good Luck!!!

DancingMaenid · Jun 11, 2012

Well, first of all, it may be partly that short stories aren't your thing. If not, that's all right. But even so, I can understand wanting to learn to write them.

I'm also inclined to keep expanding on my ideas until they grow to be monstrous. I'll come up with subplots, give my minor characters backstories, you name it. But personally, I'm not bothered by the idea that a story I write, whether it's a novel or a short story, might only be part of the "whole story" I have in my head. I know I develop my stories and characters more than I "need" to, but I don't mind.

I've written short stories about characters from a novel of mine that didn't work out. I did it by isolating parts of those characters' stories that could stand on their own, and developing them.

I definitely recommend reading more short stories to get a sense of how they're structured. But also, it might help to imagine how those stories might be different if they were novels, or parts of novels. Don't know if that would help you or not, but I find it helps me put the difference in perspective.

Also, when I write with a specific word count in mind, I do try to hone in on an idea that I feel I can make work well in a story of that length. If you find that you can't imagine scaling an idea down so that it'll fit in a short story, it might be best not to force it.

seun · Jun 11, 2012

If short stories aren't your thing, that isn't the end of the world. You should follow the advice you've been given here and if short fiction still doesn't work for you, then stick to what you're good at.

Silver-Midnight · Jun 11, 2012

The first piece of advice I can give is read them. They don't even have to be in genre; they can be literary fiction. If you need a place to start, try here: http://www.americanliterature.com/sstitleindex.html
or even here: http://www.online-literature.com/author_index.php
(With the second site, you just have know what author you're looking for.)

Second, most short stories have one plot line. I don't want to say it can't become complex or "sticky". I can't even really say that it can't have adverse reactions or "Gotcha" endings that the reader doesn't expect coming. They can. Just keep in mind, that's it's that the one central plot line.

As far as length goes, it really depends. A short story goes a little over 7K I think. (Anything over that is considered a novelette I believe). You can think of it as a chapter of novel, but I think that would depend on how long you make your chapters. If you write short chapters, like around 2K or so, it may be harder to do that. However, if 7K is normal chapter length for you, then that works fine.

Shaded · Jun 11, 2012

I have this problem too. For the most part, i've given up on the idea that I can even attempt to write short stories.

Is there a particular reason that you want to write a short story, or are you just trying to write one for the sake of it? If it's the latter, I wouldn't push it too much.

Isabella Amaris · Jun 11, 2012

Yeah, sometimes it's just a matter of style; no point pushing yourself to the point of frustration if you have lots of novels in you instead of short stories....

Otherwise, if you want to try for one still, you might find this helpful: I sometimes think of short stories as a 'moment' in time... as opposed to a novel which is practically a lifetime, or significant portion of a lifetime. I find that thinking about it this way helps me not to overdo the sub-plotting, though there's no harm of course hinting at something just on the edge of the main story (you could always develop it into a novel later)... Hope that's helpful! And of course, read lots of short stories! Best way to catch the style of the thing, methinks. All the best

lorna_w · Jun 11, 2012

I don't see the problem. If you ever want to make a living at writing, short stories won't pay the bills anyway. So that's good news for you that you already prefer novels. We all have things we can/do write. It's good to find your forte. I love reading a good, complicated spy thriller, but it isn't in me to write one. And that's okay. One human being can't write nonfiction plus plays, poems, stories, novels, trilogies, in every single publishing category. It just isn't humanly possible. Even Isaac Asimov, so far as I know, never wrote heroic fantasy or a Harlequin Romance or an opera.

If you're stuck in a situation where you must, as in a creative writing class at a university, take the opportunity to write a bit of backstory on one of your characters. Think of a general, contained topic like these:

- the day MC lost his/her virginity
- the death of MC's first pet
- the most embarrassing moment in MC's life
- MC will always regret the time s/he...
- the child MC was shocked when s/he overhead the parents saying...

TumbleHome · Jun 11, 2012

I throw my hat into the style ring... if it's trouble and you've already got novels down, who push yourself? I'd LOVE to be able to write a novel, but so far it's all novellas and shorts- and I get told constantly to give up because "no one wants to read short stories anymore." Sigh.

So... don't stress yourself. Keep the possibility open and write down ideas, but it sounds like your brain might just need to get out the lengthier works at this particular time.

Jamesaritchie · Jun 11, 2012

AllyKitten said:
I've tried countless times, but I have never managed to write a short story. I have come up with a few short story ideas, but I have this tendency to add more details and subplots until it is impossible to call the future story anything other than a novel. When I come up with a new idea, my brain starts working overtime. How exactly do you write a short story?

The short answer is that you stop adding subplots and detail. There's no reason you have to do either. Start as close to the end of the story as possible, and use as few characters as possible.

And read a few thousand short stories, of course. We write anything largely through imitation of what we read.

Ken · Jun 11, 2012

... a large part of writing is control. It's not only a matter of getting words down, but keeping words and developments out. Just because you can come up with them on the spur of the moment without much effort doesn't mean you should include them.

Restraint is an important skill. G'luck.

my 2 cents

L.Blake · Jun 11, 2012

I can't write a short to save my life and I'm okay with it.

virtue_summer · Jun 11, 2012

lorna_w said:
We all have things we can/do write. It's good to find your forte. I love reading a good, complicated spy thriller, but it isn't in me to write one. And that's okay. One human being can't write nonfiction plus plays, poems, stories, novels, trilogies, in every single publishing category.

Who said anyone is trying to write in "every single publishing category"? Maybe the OP just wants to write a short story, for whatever reason. And a lot of writers do end up engaging in various types of projects over the course of their careers. Stephen King has written short stories and novels and essays. Ray Bradbury wrote short stories, novels, poems, screenplays, etc. Novelist Tananarive Due started out as a journalist. Asimov may not have written in every category, but he was known for his nonfiction as well as his fiction.

Honestly, it disturbs me that so many people carry the attitude that if you're having trouble with something that means you should give up. Would we tell an aspiring musician that if their first lessons go badly they should forget it? Writing is a craft and takes time to learn and if you're used to one form (novels) it can be difficult to transition to another (shorts). That doesn't mean you shouldn't do so if you want to. It means you realize things take time to learn. Novels are no exception either. A lot of novelists wrote multiple manuscripts before they managed to sell a novel. Should they have decided that because those early manuscripts didn't work it meant they should give up?

celticroots · Jun 11, 2012

virtue_summer said:
Who said anyone is trying to write in "every single publishing category"? Maybe the OP just wants to write a short story, for whatever reason. And a lot of writers do end up engaging in various types of projects over the course of their careers. Stephen King has written short stories and novels and essays. Ray Bradbury wrote short stories, novels, poems, screenplays, etc. Novelist Tananarive Due started out as a journalist. Asimov may not have written in every category, but he was known for his nonfiction as well as his fiction.

Honestly, it disturbs me that so many people carry the attitude that if you're having trouble with something that means you should give up. Would we tell an aspiring musician that if their first lessons go badly they should forget it? Writing is a craft and takes time to learn and if you're used to one form (novels) it can be difficult to transition to another (shorts). That doesn't mean you shouldn't do so if you want to. It means you realize things take time to learn. Novels are no exception either. A lot of novelists wrote multiple manuscripts before they managed to sell a novel. Should they have decided that because those early manuscripts didn't work it meant they should give up?

^ This.

Orchestra · Jun 11, 2012

A proficient creative writer is able to write absolutely anything, given enough resources. If you have trouble transitioning from novels to short stories, a relatively short jump as far as different forms of writing re concerned, you're either lacking the talent or not putting in the work. You don't have to excel at everything but I have trouble taking a writer seriously if they can only manage a single form.

JRVogt · Jun 12, 2012

One of the more interesting pieces of advice I've received about writing short stories came from James Van Pelt (check out his short story collections. They're awesome).

What he told me was to approach each short story as holding a portion of the Hero's Journey. Don't know what that is? Basically it's an underlying pattern that can be found in the majority of stories out there, no matter what medium they're told through. Look it up for more detail, as it's a long discussion for another time.

Anyways, his point was that a short story doesn't, and often can't, incorporate the amount of character evolution, plot, and so on, that, say, a novel can. A novel can hold a complete journey, but a short story will often hold just one or two segments of the journey. If you focus on just the Call to Adventure part, or just the Crossing the Threshold part, it can help you write a more contained, satisfying story rather than trying to cram the whole journey into a few thousand words.

Still working on it myself. I always tend to stretch ideas out to novel length, but I want to be able to get more comfortable with short stories in the long run.

Cathy McDowell · Jun 12, 2012

AllyKitten said:
I've tried countless times, but I have never managed to write a short story. I have come up with a few short story ideas, but I have this tendency to add more details and subplots until it is impossible to call the future story anything other than a novel. When I come up with a new idea, my brain starts working overtime. How exactly do you write a short story?

I love your question. I started out by saying "I'm going to write a novel" So far I've written 19 short stories!

I can't turn one of them into a novel.

It's all good. If we were all the same type of writers and all wrote novels we'd be living in a very boring world. :Shrug:

Can't Write Short Stories

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