I have been trying a new way of outlining short stories. I wanted to see if it would make the process of writing any more efficient. The idea is simple. I find 7 points in the story I want to tell to get from the hook to the resolution. Each of these points are the beats and the movement of the story.
I then come up with seven points between each of those major beats. The idea is to decide how each of those beats will unfold. I try to keep the ideas to 7, but if need be, I can go longer.
So 7 beats times 7 points per beat means I will have 49 Steps in my story. If each of those steps are about 100-200 words each, then I will have a short story that is 5,000-10,000 words long. Not too shabby.
Showing posts with label short. Show all posts
Showing posts with label short. Show all posts
Saturday, February 2, 2013
Sunday, October 7, 2012
Finish and Submit Something You've Already Written
After finishing and submitting the last two flash fiction pieces, I wanted to try something a little bit longer. I came across an anthology wanting short stories between 7,000 and 10,000 words. The theme they were exploring was fights. They wanted to read stories about battles, arguments and fights of all kinds.
I sat down and thought about it. I wanted to come up with something that would make a great addition to the Anthology. I took long walks with the dog thinking about it. I sat at the dining room table with my composition book and worked on a brainstorm tree, hoping something I wanted to write about would come out of it. Needless to day, I didn't find anything worth my while. There were a few good sparks, things that might develop into something later, but nothing that intrigued my passion right at this moment.
This morning, I was thinking about the challenge again, trying to figure out what I wanted to write, when the thought of a piece I was already working on; a piece I intended to turn into a novel popped into my head. What I was writing was a battle between two foes and what their battle was doing to my main character. The thing was, I was already planning to make this section of the novel independent. It was already going to be about 10,000 words. Now I have a reason to finish it and focus it to meet the requirements of the Anthology.
I wonder how many other pieces I can go back to and adjust them to fit what magazines and anthologies want to offer in their markets. Don't get me wrong, I still plant to write new pieces, but when something doesn't come to mind right off the bat, I should be able to find something else that I trunked or is still waiting to be sent out again.
I sat down and thought about it. I wanted to come up with something that would make a great addition to the Anthology. I took long walks with the dog thinking about it. I sat at the dining room table with my composition book and worked on a brainstorm tree, hoping something I wanted to write about would come out of it. Needless to day, I didn't find anything worth my while. There were a few good sparks, things that might develop into something later, but nothing that intrigued my passion right at this moment.
This morning, I was thinking about the challenge again, trying to figure out what I wanted to write, when the thought of a piece I was already working on; a piece I intended to turn into a novel popped into my head. What I was writing was a battle between two foes and what their battle was doing to my main character. The thing was, I was already planning to make this section of the novel independent. It was already going to be about 10,000 words. Now I have a reason to finish it and focus it to meet the requirements of the Anthology.
I wonder how many other pieces I can go back to and adjust them to fit what magazines and anthologies want to offer in their markets. Don't get me wrong, I still plant to write new pieces, but when something doesn't come to mind right off the bat, I should be able to find something else that I trunked or is still waiting to be sent out again.
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