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Tagged:Β Advice, contest, help, Short Story
- This topic has 110 replies, 10 voices, and was last updated 6 years, 11 months ago by Emma Flournoy.
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February 2, 2017 at 9:54 pm #25376
Hi, all!
I wasnβt sure whether to post this in Short Stories or here, soβ¦ Yeah. Anyways.
I am wanting to enter a competition thatβs here in Australia, and one of the requirements is for it to be no more than 1,500 words. Normally Iβd say thatβs crazy, however the prize has encouraged me to try the challenge.
Iβve written a short story before, but itβs longer, so I canβt submit that, plus this contest asks for a specific theme: Light. Whether literal or figural or whatever.
Anyway, do any of you have any tips on how I can write a short story without rushing the plot or feeling constrained?
Any input is greatly appreciated! π
@daeus @bluejay @kate-flournoy @emma-flournoy @northerner @dragon-snapper- This topic was modified 7 years, 2 months ago by Louise Fowler.
Currently reading Les Miserables
February 3, 2017 at 8:05 am #25378Umβ¦Well, I can honestly say that I donβt know too much about writing short stories, especially not 1,500 word short ones. Yeah, that definitely is crazy. Probably why there is a reward in the first place. π I had to write a short story once that was only 1000 words, and I managed to keep it down to 900. I really just wrote down whatever came to my head.
To save on words so you can develop more of the plot, Iβd try to stay on the small side of descriptions, adjectives and adverbs. I donβt know what you have in mind to do with the light, but it may help to keep the words down to the minimum if the conflict was indeed figural.Good luck!
*reads post* Huh, I hope at least one word of that was helpful.
πβ β β ENFP β β β
February 3, 2017 at 8:06 am #25379β β β ENFP β β β
February 3, 2017 at 8:24 am #25380@perfectfifths What I would recommend is donβt think of this as if you need to plan a plot. Plot carries the connotation of something big. Just write one scene (i.e. a firefighter rescues a girl from a burning house.) Itβs really not that hard to keep one scene short.
The thing then is making the scene meaningful. You can think of this scene as the climax of a characterβs life or a season in their life. This means you will need some backstory. If you want to skip the backstory and save some time though, thereβs this article that might help you: https://www.helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com/boba-fetts-guide-writing-cool-characters/
π’π’π’π’π’π’π’π’π’π’π’π’π’π’π’π’π’π’π’π’π’π’
February 3, 2017 at 8:45 am #25382What @dragon-snapper said. Focus on vivid verbs for writing. Hereβre some initial thoughts, @perfectfifths . . .
βThe plot will be prime in a super short story.
βCharacters have to make choices.
βA short story is like a one-act play or a short film. Every moment escalates the story until you reach the climax at the end.
βKeep dialogue sparse. But keep the vital parts.Remember that restrictions lead to greater creativity. So even if youβre not going for a contest try to restrict yourself once in a while.
I blog on story and spiritual things at mkami.weebly.com
February 3, 2017 at 9:20 am #25383@dragon-snapper (Having just seen the BFG, your name sounds like something he would say π ) Yes, I have gotten the advice of keeping minimum description, etc, that is something I will keep in mind as I write.
@kate-flournoy *waves away smoke* *cough cough* I look forward to it!
@daeus Ah, I hadnβt thought of that before, writing a scene rather than a plotβ¦
@mark-kamibaya All right-y, will also keep that in mind, Thanks for the advice.Iβm wondering if I should write out the scene to be as long as I like (within reason) and slowly cutting it down each time I go through and edit it. Would that be a good method?
Currently reading Les Miserables
February 3, 2017 at 9:33 am #25384@daeus Wow, that article on Boba Fett was, wow π I never realised before you can develop so much character with one line/thought/action/look. Thanks for that!
Currently reading Les Miserables
February 3, 2017 at 9:37 am #25385@perfectfifths. I know. Itβs pretty sweet.
π’π’π’π’π’π’π’π’π’π’π’π’π’π’π’π’π’π’π’π’π’π’
February 3, 2017 at 9:42 am #25386@daeus Oh, and the blogger is a Christian. Bonus! I always love finding Christian writers β itβs a wonderful mix, isnβt it? π
Currently reading Les Miserables
February 3, 2017 at 9:46 am #25387@PerfectFifths umβ¦ wellβ¦ what they said. π Thanks guys.
Iβll come back if I think of anything else. π@perfectfifths Yep. Sheβs pretty sweet. A lot of people around here read her regularly.
π’π’π’π’π’π’π’π’π’π’π’π’π’π’π’π’π’π’π’π’π’π’
February 3, 2017 at 10:03 am #25389@kate-flournoy No smoke? That was anti-climatic π π
@daeus Coolies; I should probably check out her blog more. Any posts you recommend reading in particular?- This reply was modified 7 years, 2 months ago by Louise Fowler.
Currently reading Les Miserables
February 3, 2017 at 10:29 am #25391@perfectfifths Not particularly. Most all of them are good.
π’π’π’π’π’π’π’π’π’π’π’π’π’π’π’π’π’π’π’π’π’π’
February 3, 2017 at 12:49 pm #25396@PerfectFifths Looks like youβre in good hands. π
To your last question thoughβthat sounds like itβd work, as long as you donβt make it too long to begin with and then donβt want to cut so much.I hope you win. π
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