On Writing Short Stories…
As has become tradition with my blog, I like to use short stories as a writing exercise as well as a chance to engage readers with one of the worlds I’m slowly building with them. It’s a fun chance to grow the universe through tiny vignettes and moments of importance around it. It’s hard to allow for the length of the story to simultaneously tell an actual story, introduce the characters, get a feel for what’s happening, and grow the sci-fi universe they are told in, all in under a thousand words on top of the thousand words I must write each evening for my novel.
On the subject of word counts, I will need to take a moment to explain my thinking on changing up the format of short stories to three a week instead of two a week. You see, I’ve come to understand the universal truth that can smother an aspiring writers dream, and that is actually writing. It’s a lot of work, and I mean a lot. I’m not some gifted and natural writer, and I’m coming at my entire process for writing a novel with the understanding that 95% of the actual storytelling and pacing will occur with the editing process. Editing is going to be a long and involved nightmare, one which even upon the completion of the novel (sometime in October, 78,000 word goal) will take the better part of six months to do.
So, with that in mind, I must practice. As such, I must double down on the of telling stories, as that is the only path available for me to get better at it. Writing is never something that will come naturally to me, and I’m going to have to be a prolific writer in order to consider writing as a full-time career. So, each of the short stories I tell will double in length and become bare minimum two thousand word stories. And I will continue to preface each of those stories with a chance to explain my thought process and any changes to the blog. It’s a good chance for us to get to know one another, and it’s extremely important to help establish an audience for when the book is ready to be launched. That might take years, and it just so happens a good blog following takes the same amount of time. In addition, I will begin writing my blog a day in advance to allow for greater editing and polish.
Short stories are an odd format for me. Honestly, any writing is an odd format for me. The most I’ve ever done to date are college essays, and those are not done in the same style as literary work. A short story must be it’s own encapsulated novel. Beginning, middle, end, and some form of drama or tensions building within which leads to the ultimate culmination of the tale. Short stories are their own form of art, almost tangential to regular novel writing. I feel like I’m training for a triathlon when I work out my short story muscles. Sure, swimming is part of a triathlon, but it’s a completely different set of muscles from riding a bike. The exertion with training to swim helps in the general sense of muscle building and physical stamina, but as far as cycling is concerned it’s not entirely relevant. It’s something I have to do, as the triathlon of writing a novel requires what it requires, my abilities notwithstanding. It’s simply something to ponder as I hone my training regimen.
Eventually, I will ramp up my short stories to three days a week instead of two. I might branch out from Sci-Fi and go into Fantasy. The first novel I began was in the Fantasy genre, but it feels like a story which requires a more deft hand than where I currently am. I want to do my first idea justice, so I feel like writing another novel and working on Fantasy short stories is a great way to prepare for the mountain I’d like to climb. I think that’s another thing that so many aspiring writers run into: Writing is a long game. Sure, you can take shortcuts and cut corners, but in the end you’ll only be robbing yourself. You have to be patient, willing to learn, willing to practice, and be willing to maintain the Grand Plan while you work up your abilities to be equal to it.
Introspectively,
Justin
