
The Long And The
Short Of The
Short StoryCongratulations! You’ve spotted a great
short story competition and decided to enter. You’ve had a go at a few
short stories in the past and you’ve been wanting to tackle a novel for ages, but the idea was way too daunting so you’ve just shoved that to the bottom of your life’s “To Do” list. A
short story is a much better idea, isn’t it? It’s just like writing a novel only
shorter. Right?
Not exactly!
It’s been said that it’s not that a
short story is long, it’s that it takes a long time to make it
short. The idea that a
short story is just a mini novel is an idea that will mean certain death to the success of your
short story, before you’ve even written the first sentence.
There is an art, and a process to writing a
short story, just like there’s an art and a process to writing a novel, a non-fiction book or an essay. Success is a matter of knowing the basic principles, and then applying these to write the best
short story you’re capable of.