April 23, 2017

POSSIBLY IRRITATING ESSAY: How the HECK Can I Write Better Short Stories?????

Using the panel discussions of the most recent World Science Fiction Convention in Kansas City in August 2016 (to which I was invited and had a friend pay my membership! [Thanks, Paul!] but was unable to go (until I retire from education)), I will jump off, jump on, rail against, and shamelessly agree with the BRIEF DESCRIPTION given in the pdf copy of the Program Guide. This is event #2534. The link is provided below…

Watch the video, too! It better explains what I think probably happened at this event:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihKdqk_WJOI  

Editing and Crafting the Short Story: Writing on the small scale requires precision of detail from concept to completion. What do you need to know about openings, character development, narrative arcs, endings and more that will make your short fiction pop?

Ellen Datlow – Fiction editor at one time or another of: OMNI Magazine, SciFiction, Nightmare, Subterranean, Tor.com, countless anthologies, essays, BEST OF’s, and…like everything…
Alex Shvartsman – editor of UNIDENTIFIED FUNNY OBJECTS, and writer of dozens of short stories…
Ms. Lynne M. Thomas – SpecFic librarian, archivist, editor of APEX Magazine, and is currently co-editor-in-chief of UNCANNY MAGAZINE…
Neil Clarke – founder and editor of award-winning CLARKESWORLD online magazine…
Sheila Williams – Editor of ASIMOV’S…

OMGosh…

I can’t even begin to imagine what this session was like. The image that leaps to mind is the attendees are like the people near an oil test-drilling, expecting nothing – when the drill hits an unexpected deposit of crude oil and gases then uncontrollably gushes out of the ground…like the video above.

Sorry I’m using so many ellipses, but it’s intentional. There’s no telling you how deeply I regret not having seen or heard this session. I tried to find some kind of recording of it, but it doesn’t seem to be easily accessible.

So, I’ll punt. The subjects covered are ones that, on the heels of my most recent rejection: “Unfortunately, this story is way too long for our purposes, and the science fiction content is desperately thin. I'd suggest, if you have the desire, cut it down to the bare essentials, which should be around 5K or 6K words, develop the gMod science more, and I think it would make a terrific story…” makes me wonder what I’m doing wrong.

This editor, whom I’ve worked with several time, makes some valid points, as the story is nearly 10,000 words long. But…but…but…my intent was to show how a single technological development would affect the LIVES of characters in a story. The title even summarizes what I was trying to do: “The Daily Use of Gravity Modification in Rebuilding Liberian Schools”.

Cutting out half of the story – and I know exactly what needs to be cut and “how” the gravity modification technology works in the story – would leave it a rollicking adventure but would eviscerate or even eliminate entirely – how the characters FEEL about using the technology. It’s a story about the people, not the technology…

This group would have had so much to say about “What…[I]…need to know about openings, character development, narrative arcs, [and] endings…” As I can’t listen to them, I’ll grab some wisdom from the internet.

Advice for openings from here: http://bekindrewrite.com/2012/05/04/the-21-best-tips-for-writing-your-opening-scene/ The best sentence in this article: “Understand the promises you are making your readers – both emotional and intellectual – and be prepared to follow through (will the ending meet the expectations you encouraged your readers to have in the beginning?)” from Nancy Kress

Advice for character development from here: http://rickriordan.com/about/advice-for-writers/. The best sentence in this article: “Remember, plot is what the characters do next.” From Rick Riordan

Advice for narrative arc from here: http://www.dailywritingtips.com/how-to-structure-a-story-the-eight-point-arc/ The best sentence in this article: “At some stage, your protagonist needs to make a crucial decision; a critical choice. This is often when we find out exactly who a character is, as real personalities are revealed at moments of high stress…this has to be a decision by the character to take a particular path – not just something that happens by chance.” From Nigel Watts

I think endings are self-explanatory, though I will add this from my own experience – the ending needs to reiterate the opening, giving an answer to the promise of the first sentence/paragraph/page. Last of all, something from Nancy Kress again: “I…love her focus on the implicit promise of a story, its necessity, and how it works…[recognize] the existence of the implicit promise and [understand] how to nurture and develop it to completion.”

Like I said, I wish I’d been there. I wasn’t, but I imagine the group might have said the above in some iteration or other. I WILL keep looking for a transcript or video of this session!


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