Short Story Primer?

[jallenecs]

My writing has always been geared towards writing novels. My ideas are novel-sized, my writing is novel-sized, my mindset is bent toward novels. In thirty-plus years of writing, I have written maybe twenty short stories, and I'm not entirely clear how I managed that. I sold several of those short stories, but I just don't have the chops to work consistently in that framework.

But I adore short stories. I adore reading them, I have enjoyed every one that I've written, and I'd really like to try and write more. I find them satisfying in a way that novels aren't (novels are fun to write, too, just different).

I think of them in photographic form, if you follow me. A novel is a huge panorama, with plenty of room for lots of details and lots of story. A short story is a very tight focus image, extreme close up. I can't figure out how to consistently get that tight focus. My ideas don't lend themselves to short story form. It's something I want to learn.

Obviously this forum is not the place to get an education on how to write a short story, or how novel ideas are different from short story ideas. But can anybody point me toward a book or webpage where I can learn more?

[Erik M]

I just look at those authors that I think write a great short story and see what they do. Some of my favorites are Vonnegut, Louis L'Amour, Poe, Lovecraft, and others. They all have a different approach that worked for them, but some things are consistent. Short stories start near the end; there is little in the way of fluff; the fate of the world rarely hangs in the balance. Your analogy of snapshot vs panorama is pretty apt.

[Kate Thornton]

You are out of my area (Southern California) but I sometimes teach a short story writing seminar through the Los Angeles Chapter of Sisters in Crime. I gear it toward mystery writing, but the basics are the same. Why not contact your local SinC chapter and see if they have any short story panels, classes or seminars coming up?

In a nutshell, here's how we do it:
A short story has a beginning, a middle and a satisfying (to someone) ending. One main idea. No more than 2 main characters and 1 or 2 subordinates if necessary. You can describe the storyline in one sentence. Characters drive a short story. Dialogue is optional, but ending is important. Oh, and the fate of the (admittedly small) world always hangs in the balance!

.

[RobJ]

Obviously this forum is not the place to get an education on how to write a short story, or how novel ideas are different from short story ideas. But can anybody point me toward a book or webpage where I can learn more?
Really depends on where you're coming from with your writing, but you could try Short Circuit from Salt Publishing:

http://www.saltpublishing.com/books/sgrw/9781844717248.htm

in conjunction with reading a lot of quality short stories by different authors.

[Sitka]

There are many books on writing short stories that you could probably get from your local library.

Perhaps better than the "how-to" approach, IMHO, is just reading them. A lot of them. After you read a certain story think about why it worked (or didn't work) for you. Look at the structure of it, etc.

You wrote:

"I can't figure out how to consistently get that tight focus. My ideas don't lend themselves to short story form. It's something I want to learn."

I think all of the above will start to happen organically once you read a lot of stories. Also, don't think beforehand too much about "plot" --- many great stories really just hinge on a single action or moment.

Also, think about how writing is an act of discovery (at least it is for me). Which is to say that many times I have started with something that I thought was just a sketch or a "short short" and it revealed more than that when I was in the process of writing.

Good luck!

[eva3taylor]

Try MIT's open courseware. They have an excellent class on writing and reading short stories you might enjoy.