In this feature, I’ll be looking at “advice” for writing short stories – not from me, but from other short story writers. In speculative fiction, “short” has very carefully delineated categories: “The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America specifies word lengths for each category of its Nebula award categories by word count; Novel 40,000 words or over; Novella 17,500 to 39,999 words; Novelette 7,500 to 17,499 words; Short story under 7,500 words.”
I’m going to use advice from people who, in addition to writing novels, have also spent plenty of time “interning” with short stories. While most of them are speculative fiction writers, I’ll also be looking at plain, old, effective short story writers. The advice will be in the form of one or several quotes off of which I’ll jump and connect it with my own writing experience. While I don’t write full-time, nor do I make enough money with my writing to live off of it...neither do most of the professional writers...someone pays for and publishes ten percent of what I write. When I started this blog, that was NOT true, so I may have reached a point where my own advice is reasonably good. We shall see as I work to increase my writing output and sales! As always, your comments are welcome!
Without further ado, short story observations by Neil Gaiman – with a few from myself…
Twenty-three years after its publication, I FINALLY read Neil Gaiman’s novelette, CORALINE. OTOH, I DID read his AMERICAN GODS eight or nine years ago (a mere nine years after its publication). While I’m not a new convert to his writing, the two books – one for adults, the other for younger…adults (it wasn’t for the faint of hear by any means!), I wanted to look at his writing advice and see what I can learn and apply to my own writing. I also want to see if I’ve been doing things right!
1) To start out, I’ll share this most glorious truth from him: “…we convey truth with stories, which is fundamentally the most gloriously giant contradiction that you can ever imagine.” Why is it a contradiction? Because in even more simple language, he – and anyone who has ever written a word of fiction – are trying to share TRUTH using out-and-out LIES!
I have been committing socially approved LYING! And I find myself among a truly amazing list of people – and among them, some are some TRULY AMAZING LIARS!!! Intending no disrespect, Jimmy Carter is a LIAR!!! (The Hornet's Nest: A Novel of the Revolutionary War (2003)! Enea Silvio Piccolomini (who later became Pope Pius II) wrote wild lies in a tale of a novel adultery in 1444 before taking holy orders). Ted Geisel, WWII humorist and political cartoonist became a popular writer telling crazy lies to little kids! Conan Doyle, a prosperous doctor wrote lies about a detective who never existed and never would! He’s a LIAR!!! He even made up stupid words!
Salman Rushdie is an Indian-born British and American novelist. He combines fantasy with historical fiction and in 1988, a religious leader in Iran ordered all Muslims who believe as they do to assassinate this fiction writer. They agreed – he was telling lies to the world and he needed to die. All because he likes writing fiction.
I do, too! Just…nobody has ever tried to kill me for my fiction. I don’t think that ever happened to Neil Gaiman, either.
Anyone who writes fiction is, as Gaiman writes, “…taking people who do not exist and things that did not happen to those people in places that [don’t exist], and we are using those things to communicate true things to kids and to each other.”
2) “I wrote short stories and sent them out to places that could conceivably publish them, and they all came back. And I looked at the stories which went out and came back and went out and came back, and I thought, ‘Okay, well one of two things is true here. Either I’m not good enough or I don’t understand the world, there’s stuff I don’t get, there’s stuff I need to know.’” -Neil Gaiman
Sometimes, just knowing the “superstars” simply gives me peace. It’s also not that I HAVE no publications. But as you can see over there on the right, it’s been a while since I made a major sale. I am at a point where I’m…discouraged.
3) “Everything you encounter in life has the potential to influence your work: overheard dialogue in a coffee shop, that song on the radio you can’t get out of your head, the television scene that perfectly depicts the sexual tension of a first date. Don’t limit yourself to only the influences in your genre. Drink from a wide-brimmed glass of creative inspiration.”
I CAN say that I’ve followed this bit of wisdom! Do I still read science fiction? Sure – but I read lots of other things now as well. In the box in the bathroom alongside the toilet: October 2024 Writer’s Digest; Personal Collection of writing articles; WITH CHRIST IN THE SCHOOL OF PRAYER (Christian Theology); THE THREE POUND ENIGMA (Medical Books/Medicine); CORALINE (Children’s Fiction); so…a few things that I read besides science fiction.
Also, my life has been fairly interesting: night supervisor for a home for the profoundly physically and mentally handicapped young adults; CNA for two different nursing homes; visited Haiti as a missionary; camp counselor; camp director; traveled with Christian bands twice (once when I was 20-ish all over Minnesota, N,S Dakota, Iowa, and Wisconsin; later when I was 25-ish from the Rockies to New York City then to Nigeria, Cameroon, and Liberia: military overthrow of the Nigerian government while we were there; attempted military overthrow of Cameroon’s President-For-Life; taught at private, public, and charter schools: science-plus whatever was needed for 21 years; school counselor for 10 years at an inner-ring suburban high school; taught all levels: middle school, high school, English Language Learners; Special Education; International Baccalaureate; husband of 38 years; grandfather for 15 years; father/father-in-law/foster parent; published writer…
Anyway, I’ve had a few…unusual life experiences that find their way into my stories.
4) “Don’t tell readers how to feel…I would rather you just felt it. I will tell you what happens, and if I leave you crying because I just killed a unicorn…and I’m gonna break your heart.”…Many professional authors preach “Show, don’t tell.” Even though that advice is commonplace, Gaiman’s unique spin on that advice is more memorable than most…Create emotion in the scene without dictating emotion. Give readers a reason to care about the characters and the events they read, and their emotions will follow.”
Whoa…I guess I never thought about this. HOWEVER, I’ve had people accuse me of manipulating them in classes I teach or stories I write. I think there’s a difference between telling a story and having someone experience it; not digesting it for them. I am guilty of doing that kind of messing with my readers.
I have been manipulated by an author – and I HATE it. It’s like when you watch broadcast news. I loathe when the reporters, the station managers, and the company arranges, cuts, and focuses the news on what they WANT me to feel. Lately, it seems that broadcast journalists have bought in almost entirely to the aphorism, “If it bleeds, it leads…” Journalists, who claim that they are impartial are no more that people with a job. They may have had a bit of training, but their JOB is to sell papers; or views; or clicks; or downloads; or reels. They will ABSOLUTELY report the news – but they will repackage the facts to get a maximum amount of emotional voltage. Movies do the same thing.
And before drawings, paintings, celluloid, the internet, and computers? There were writers. It’s my job AS A WRITER to “…I will tell you what happens…and I’m gonna break your heart.”
WOW. I learned a lot about how Gaiman writes and how I do it, too.
References: https://bobbypowers.com/neil-gaimans-top-13-writing-tips/
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