Ten Tips - Writing Short Stories 

HI, Sarah, and many thanks for replying to me video. I'm SO glad my little film tempted you into trying to write! I really hope you continue to write. Don't forget, Mary Wesley (Camomile Lawn) didn't start writing until she was about your age. She's given you a bit of a line to cross! Best of luck, keep safe and keep in touch!

You can do it - er, writing one a week, I mean, not that you'll manage 52 bad ones in a row. Mind you, I could - I'm rubbish at the whole idea of concision!

I do agree, Kenneth. And I'm a pantser too. I like to have an overall "feel", to get an atmosphere, and to have a rough idea of where I think the story will go, but rarely stick to it. Generally, I believe real characters arrive on the page when they are well-defined and cannot be constrained by the author's master plan!

Many thanks, Silver!

Many thanks, Gristle! Really hope you enjoy the Dead Don't Wait, too!

Whoops. Apologies. As a southerner, I do often make that mistake, seeing equality for the nations across the constituents of the UK. Consider me rapped over the knuckles!

Many thanks, Fabian! Glad you enjoyed it!

Glad it was helpful! Let me know if there are other aspects of writing you'd like me to talk about.

Glad you enjoyed it! I wasn't sure about it at first, but people seem to have really enjoyed it, thankfully! Best of luck with your own writing!

Hi, LaToya, Many thanks for that. It's so difficult trying to make videos which give advice, are relevant, and which don't bore people. I'm really glad if this one helped. If you have questions, do please let me know and I'll see what I can do to help with a video addressing your points, if I can. Happy writing!

Thanks, Dan. Really glad it was helpful!

Glad you like them!

Thanks so much, Sebastian! It's always so refreshing to see that a video has hit the mark, and that people appreciate it! Really glad you've got the bug for writing again - I hope it continues for you! Best of luck.

Glad you like them, Paula - many thanks!

You’re welcome 😊 Really glad it's useful!

I adore Somerset Maugham's stories. People are scathing about him, because like Kipling he was always associated with empire, but for me his stories are about the human spirit. I do admire those who can write good shorts, though. Much harder (I find) than novels!

Glad you enjoyed it!

Many thanks, Lori! Glad it was helpful Sorry to take so long to respond - ill health and deadlines!

Very good points, Oldproji. Concision and brevity is all. Although real experts like Saki and Conan Doyle fitted a lot into their stories, they were experts at leaving things out. I always think that those who are good at writing short stories tend to be poets: they can pick the right words and get the story down. For me, short stories are really hard work!

@@writerlywitteringsThank you so much for replying. Writing is hard work for me too. I think you are right about short story writers being poets. Edgar Allan Poe instantly sprang to mind. His advice for those that write for pleasure, like myself, or for profit, is as sound as it gets. Know the ending before beginning to write. Keep it short (the 'one-sitting' rule). The choice of impression. Choose the tone of the work. Determine the theme and characterisation of the work. Establish the climax. Determine the location. I could never be a professional writer, simply because I am rather slow at it and could never work to a deadline. I enjoy doing it as much as I enjoy street photography and it has been a 'godsend' over these months of lockdown. www.faena.com/aleph/articles/edgar-allan-poes-seven-tips-for-writing-stories-and-poems/

Thanks, Tracie! Any author who introduces a stranger as the murderer in the last pages is a cheat!

Glad you liked it

Huge thanks, Rebecca! You're very welcome, and I'm particularly glad that you and several others have recently started following these writerly videos - I'll have to start thinking of some more topics!

No worries! Glad it was helpful!

You're very welcome! Glad it was helpful. I think I ought to update this with some other comments on writing. Have a great week!

Thank you, Douglas. I do hope you'll pick up a keyboard or pen and paper and try your hand now!

Many thanks for this. I'll see what I can do in terms of more videos on writing.

@@writerlywitterings Alright sir I couldent be happier, if so 👍 Thanks again and be well!

Glad it was helpful!

Thank you kindly, Patrice. Hope it's useful!

Thanks, Minerva! It's really simple, really - my Rolex was a bog-standard watch when I bought it in 1986, and it's been on my wrist ever since. But recently our insurers changed underwriters, and asked for it to be valued. To my horror, I was told that the valuation (an annual requirement) would be some £300; I was also told that I would need a new bracelet (£1,000). Then I was told that the watch was worth over £10,000. I don't want to wear something worth that much on my wrist - I don't want to pay that much to get it insured, and don't want to have to pay that much annually to keep it insured. Then again I see no point in a useful tool sitting in a safe and not being used. So logically the best thing to do is sell it and buy a cheaper watch. So now the Rolex is deposited in Sotheby's, waiting for their next auction, and I have a £50 Lorus watch on my wrist!

I think a lot of successful writers tend to work to that principle - Elmore, Stephen King, Karen Maitland, Iain Rankin - it's one sure way to get yourself interested. Best of luck.

You and I have very similar tastes - although I'd have to add Saki to the mix. I still regularly reread his works on the basis that everything to know about short story writing is in there!

@@writerlywitterings Ooh, thanks for the Saki tip.

My pleasure! Thanks, Paul.

Ah, well the best thing to do is to keep your notebooks! All my first drafts, synopses etc are in my loft. It's got the manuscripts for all my 46 odd novels as well as my short stories and ideas for collaborations! Don't worry about it, just keep them all!

Awesome, John! Thank you so much - I really hope you enjoy it !

Sorry, Amy, I have a terrible sense of humour!

@@writerlywitterings oh it's fantastic!! 😊

@@Amrold You're saying all the right things!

I'll have a think about writing a synopsis - not sure whether I have done a video on that already, but I'll have a check! Best of luck. Yes, all my shorts tend to try to become novellas at the very least, but I force them down in size! I just find short stories often take as long as a novel to write! Best of luck!

Well done! I always find a word count a real issue. I've got to edit my current short down, because incomplete I reached 6,500 before I checked and saw that it was supposed to be 2-4,000! Editing in progress!

I try to judge the length of piece according to how many characters populate the imaginary world. I usually like to give around 500 -750 words per character. Of course, this isn't a precise science, but it seems to work out that way for me. My current story runs for 3750 words and there are 4 main characters in the story and two that appear right at the end.

You're very welcome!

I think the principles of short story writing are independent of genre. To be honest, though, the main thing is to sit down and start writing!

writerlywitterings yes, that is the best advice! Am hoping to have some more finished by the time I can go back to work!

@@alicobby4916 Excellent idea! I'm hoping to have a second short finished in the next week, and then it's back to a new novel. Strange how this lockdown (for authors) really is little different from every other day! Best of luck!

writerlywitterings thank you! I don’t have an excuse not to write at the moment!

You're very welcome! Thanks, Brian!

Hi, Shaif, We are all fine, thank you - although I wish I could watch Poirot like you! My usual routine is somewhat eroded just now, with wife and two children at home all day, but I try to be at my desk for 10.00, work till about 1.00, and then work from 1.30 to 5.00, and from 5.30 to 7.00 - and then from about 8.00 to 11.00 - but the last is variable just now!

No problem - my pleasure

I'll be very happy to - but it'll likely be not until we're out of lockdown. I'm trying to help people shut indoors with small projects that can maintain their sanity just now! Feel free to remind me in August or September. Is there a specific period you're thinking of?

@@writerlywitterings I understand. That's a good idea. As for history, I'm mostly interested in the 12-14th centuries.

Hi, Elisabeth - a longer reply for you! It really depends on how you want to work: whether you are a detailed planner, or whether you are just start writing. If you have all the notes set out, but still cannot start, it could be that you're more like me, and need no notes, but just take a point and start writing. My strong advice to you would be, to set all your notebooks aside. Take one of your characters, and form a scene for him/her. Write that without referring to notes, but letting your research and knowledge of that person fill you. Write it entirely from his/her perspective: what they are thinking, why they react in that way, everything. It could be an argument, it could be the character going to the shop. It doesn't matter. What you are aiming for is a scene that will grip the reader. Perhaps you could write a separate short story to test the water with that character - it's one of the things I try when inventing a new character or story - I write a short story to see how I get on with the character concerned. Try that - you may find it frees up your writing. The other side is, you may only be able to work through pen on paper. Nothing wrong with that, but it does mean you have to write the stories in notebooks first and then type them up later exactly as they are in the notebooks. It's slower working that way, but it may be helpful. Finally, it could be that you are best suited to typing on a keyboard, but you're being distracted by all the other things going on - twitter, facebook, emails etc. You might be better off seeking a second hand computer which you can use as a drafting tool. Buy the machine and remove all email and other software so you can type without distractions. Or look at buying an Astrohaus Freewrite or similar for drafting. I use one, and call it up to my Apple for editing in Scrivener whenever I start a new book. I find it leaves the mind more free to range over different ideas. There are some ideas. Let me know how you get on - and best of luck!

I'm interested in all forms of writing - I'm not at all discriminating - but haven't read their work yet. Thanks for the suggestion, Martin. I'll look them up.

That'll be me!

Many thanks, Brace!

Many thanks, Sunesh, very well! Many thanks for the idea.

I will try to, Paula. I'm very tied up just now with writing and reviews, but I'll try to get to it!

Ah, I think this is one of those cases where you need to just start writing. Advice is all good and helpful, but in your case, make a list of the points you want to get across so you don't forget them, and then think up scenes that would work in each (or several) cases. But I cannot help you by giving themes or storylines - you have to work them out for yourself. All I would say is, if you can think of something that affected you personally, and write it from your point of view, it's more likely to work for him as well. But the main thing is, start writing. Don't worry too much about the way it reads or sounds, just crack on with the writing. It's the key aspect of this!

@@writerlywitterings Got it. Now I know how to start.

If it's a short, I'll tend to try to work it out in advance, but generally no: I fly by the seat of my pants. I'm firmly convinced that if you have a rigidly formed synopsis and write to it, you cannot help but make your characters bend their behaviour to suit your master plan. If you have a general atmosphere and sense of initial direction, the characters respond much more believably. I found that while writing my very first book, and I've seen nothing to change my mind over the years.

I don't, really. I think in the UK you can go to a library, and there you'll find other aspiring writers who would be delighted to help - but I don't know where you live, obviously. You may find a very enthusiastic librarian in your nearest town, but the alternative might be just to search for "writing groups" or something similar on google or facebook? Best of luck!

Hi, Hemant, Really sorry, but there's little I can say. I don't write non-fiction. You have to write and see how it goes, really. But make sure you have all the research in place before you start to write. No editor will accept a book if they reckon it's not entirely accurate. Best of luck!

@@writerlywitterings Mike,Thanks,infact I have drafted the brief layout about 17 chapters with an in-depth research .frankly I am thinking of taking help from internet,is this a good idea or if you can suggest me something better

No - but that is an interesting idea! It's a good way to get the brain working, writing shorts about specific items, and that could be a good one for when I run out of other ideas!

I've tried that - no reply!

Concise.

@@writerlywitterings I am sending this to my son who loves to write. He tends towards dystopian stories.

It certainly seems to be. Too many people are happier to turn off their brains and just watch a show or film.

If only!

It varies every time - usually with an idea, and then I write and rewrite that first sentence time after time until it feels right. Takes three days usually!

@@writerlywitterings Thank you. So it's not weird for me to dozed around in days. I'm 40 this year and it's my 1st time to seriously write a story after a long 15 years break. It's not too late to start again right? To re-start your life is by picking up the happiest part. Once a writer, always a writer, right?

Best thing to do, my friend, if you want to write, is basically to start writing and then keep at it! Good luck!

@@writerlywitterings its been abouts a year... 2 years 4 years ago... something I did was try this new fangled information super highway thing called web 2.0. port 80 (now 443...but) im an older port 119 user (well my/ours were also hidden behind traffic on 27015...old gamers should understand) or NNTP (where this is HTTP[S]) aka Usenet, since.... '87 a few years after my modded, fission n chipped, sideways RAM/eepROMs bbc mod b got a blue bird 300 baud modem... 2 weeks later i' backdoor'ed prestel. (ive yet to get to that) but an ET notebook has been found from the time. one of my escape routes was to Laskys on that salf London high street... when... yeah well, sorry about not knowing where the, and. bobs.... go... yeah im gonna. ive got new playlists to do, some old English dude who wrote well... about nothing but what he did well 20 years later, the answer found me via my magic lamp of learning. this broken fone, my blower i use for only a few things. input outputs its been 12+ hours a day for years now... but im the kid that has to touch the wet paint. to see if the sign is true. just getting better at it everyday at fibonacci (i had to check the speiling) speeds. but words... books_ have joined the rotation... look ive had no idea, i still have no idea. but i am learning to love it... I honestly wish everyone could have had the year ive had... its been my... me best I hope many come to learn... understand... see what 2020 is for all the best... i gots ink to not spill, and it seems i can take pictures and its almost naughty time (18° below up... or down, depends) like i dint say cheers all live the life you want to see (i aint hot time to make it look like i....) /waves... and tips hat

Whoops, sorry.

The main tip is, read loads and write loads. There really is no other way to learn - but if you have specific questions, let me know!

@@writerlywitterings good day sir I am a 16 year old girl . I 've been writing at a small age now I would like to register my stories and poems how can I get it done official? I'm from a Caribbean island Jamaica west indies

I don't really know what you mean by "register". As an author here in the UK, anything I write is automatically covered by "copyright". I own it, and no one can take it and copy or sell it, or I or my publishers can prosecute them. I think (although I'm not sure) that Jamaican law will offer you the same protections. If you're in any doubt, one thing you can do is publish your work on Amazon Kindle Publishing, so that people can see you have written the works.

Hope that helps!

I'm not interested in publishing my stories and poems in my country . Is there any help you can offer me ??

Eh?

@@writerlywitterings imagine Tony is referring to fact that you said the picture on your mug was of England, while actually it was of Britain

@@simonmichaeltanner I thought England was part of Britain? I could make out that part of the blob where England borders the blobs of Scotland and Wales. (Oh that's right, it's the only constituent country now that isn't allowed an identity.)

I'm really sorry - I'm a crime and thriller writer, and illustrators aren't generally needed for people like me - and I tend to mingle with other authors in my genre, not children's authors. However, if you get a copy of The Writers' And Artists' Yearbook, there is a list in there of every children's publisher, along with (often) an editor's name and contact details. If you write to them with some samples, you may get lucky, if one of them has a project she is working on currently? The only other thing I could suggest would be to look through all the agents in the same book, pick out those who have children's authors on their books, and send samples to them as well, you may hit someone who's in need of a n illustrator? All best of luck. I know that illustrating is as hard to break into as writing nowadays. I hope it goes well - let me know.

@@writerlywitterings thank you for you prompt reply! I have that book ( you mentioned) for 2019! - I'll do some digging and... maybe write some short stories of my own - I'm inspired! Thank you!!

@@TJ-cg8mq No problem, and best of luck!

Very true!

Sounds like the first line of a good book! Sorry to take so long to respond - ill health and deadlines!

Hi, Shahriar, I'd love to say yes - but I have a pile of books to review, as well as my own books to write (I am behind on two deadlines just now). If you send me one story - the one you think is best, I will try to look at it over the next few weeks and give you a critique, but it has to fit in with my work. Best wishes

Sure, RU-vid is free for me to use. But that's not the issue. RU-vid is a huge multi-national with millions of users, and they make a fortune out of adverts. The creators who provide the films and make RU-vid all that money by providing videos people want to see make very little - it doesn't cover the cost of production. Take one of my films - it can take up to an hour to record a basic video review, but then much of a day to edit it, render it, upload it, run through all the questions and set up items RU-vid needs - and for all that, I might get a total of about fifteen dollars. That doesn't cover the time I spend, and certainly won't cover the cost of a better microphone, camera, software suite, lighting, or inks, stationery and pens to review. So RU-vidrs tend to ask for support because otherwise we'd have to stop recording. To put it into perspective, I have 10,500 (roughly) subscribers on RU-vid. They bring in about £60 per month if I make four or five films. At the same time I earn over £200 from 38 people on Patreon. Naturally it makes more sense for me to work to keep my patreon viewers happy - and to spend less time on RU-vid. The more people who help with donations, the more likely it is that I can remain here producing videos people want to see.

Very true!