Characters doing normal things

I've tried. I once tried to write a reunion or a first meet, but something crazy always happens. Honestly, I'd feel quite bored if my characters were just shopping. I'd need something meaningful to happen. Personally, I'd feel like I wasn't getting anything done and just running in circles.

Not every story is about saving the world. Some stories can be simple in coming-of-age or contemporary or humor...or you get the point.

And if you don't want to get published, then write what you want to write. Although it might be hard to plot/outline when you don't have a traditional story (beginning, middle, ending, obstacle, antagonist, goal, etc.)

Short stories can be about lots of different subjects conveyed differently. I've recently written a short story about 2 couples just having a chat at the end of a dinner on a summer night, but there is a lot of subtext which means that within a short story the narrative reveals a lot about the dynamics of the relationships and an insight into the character of the MC. Plus the MC is not the same by the end of the story so there is development. I actually enjoy writing short stories about normal moments in life that can carry a lot of meaning.

Susan Minot and Raymond Carver wrote a lot of short stories about little moments in life. Short stories don't have to be about big events to be meaningful.

Elle. said:

Short stories can be about lots of different subjects conveyed differently. I've recently written a short story about 2 couples just having a chat at the end of a dinner on a summer night, but there is a lot of subtext which means that within a short story the narrative reveals a lot about the dynamics of the relationships and an insight into the character of the MC. Plus the MC is not the same by the end of the story so there is development. I actually enjoy writing short stories about normal moments in life that can carry a lot of meaning.

Susan Minot and Raymond Carver wrote a lot of short stories about little moments in life. Short stories don't have to be about big events to be meaningful.

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That's true. Your post reminded me of a cute short story I read for class today. It was about a blind man staying at a house and the MC learning to accept him.

The Second Moon said:

So, I ask you have you ever wanted to write fun stories about your characters doing things that are ordinary instead of saving the world? Did you do it? Would you do it?

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I do that practically all the time. Saving the world is usually a big ask for me to fit into a short story.

So I write about a lot of ordinary things: people chatting with their neighbours, someone getting a gift, a person starting a new job. But since I almost only write SFF-stories, they're never entirely routine. The chatting neighbours are maybe one human and one dryad who have known eachother for years. The person getting a gift actually gets a magical key that stops time in a room if she uses it in a door. She uses it for keeping cookies longer rather than adventures. The guy getting started on a new job may find out all his co-workers are really selkies in disguise who really dig the company's location next to the harbour. (Very short commute times!) That sort of thing.

One of the first short stories I ever read was about an old lady making a cup of tea. Not much, eh? But she was a very old, frail, lady, and she very much wanted a cup of tea by the fire, and didn't want to wait until some sort of caregiver returned. The tension, as she struggled to get the pot and the water, and the cup and the tea, and a cloth for the tea-tray, and being ever so careful with the hot water, etc, was remarkable. Enough that I remember the story 45 years later. I have regrettably, forgotten the title and author, but it was in a collection of classic short stories, along with 'Miss Brill' by Katherine Mansfield.

Yes, if you can find the tension in whatever you've got going on, it will hold a reader's attention.
Your shoe sale story sounds like it has lots to work with. Good luck.

I think characters are more believable when they do ordinary things. Drama can be subtle. Trips to the laundromat can be dramatic. Tension can build over who can get the best dryer. Crying babies can be annoying. Public restrooms can be an ordeal. Walking alone down a sidewalk can be magnificent. Adventure is in the eyes of the beholder.

Yeah, I've done exactly what you describe. I used to do it a lot more as a way to experiment with my characters. How does Jack respond when he's surprised by another driver running a red light? Does Ricky make decisions easily, or does he hem and haw? How does Mary respond to a dirty joke? They were basically character profiles. At the time, I needed to see my characters as complere people before I could use them in scenes. As I got better at writing (I'm not suggesting people who do character profiles are bad or inexperienced writers, we all have dozens of tools we can all use at any time) I did this less and less, but I still do when I'm particularly stuck and need to know my character better.

Characters, to be characters which work for a reader, should always do "normal" things. What needs to vary in a story is the situation, the problems, the obstacles a character may confront. Those can be off-the-charts abnormal, but the character's reactions to them need to be what any "normal" person would likely do. I went hiking in the local woods today for a couple of hours. Now, our local woods contain two flavors of bears and large moose (the bulls often pretty irritable at this time of year). I rarely encounter these creatures, but it has happened a half-dozen times in the 27 years I've lived where I do. How do I react when this happens?

Normally. I get the hell away from them as quickly as I can. That's what a normal person would do (I hope). The same thing would apply to a normal person encountering a dragon or a scary alien.

Now, if you are not writing about fantasy or SF situations, "normal" characters still can encounter abnormal situations. Alfred Hitchcock made a movie career out of plots involving exactly these kinds of things. Realistic, and often creepy as hell.

The writer I can think of who most epitomizes writing about the "normal" person having "normal" experiences is Virginia Woolf. You might take a look at some of her work.

caw

My most recent published story is 1000 words of a couple who eat different kinds of ice cream. Not a lot happens.

Microtension is a thing. So are emotional arcs. That's all that is required.

Gonna echo Virgina Woolf recommendation above. Much of "Mrs Dalloway" is spent on a woman going shopping.

I dont think you understand.. Its a story, if u write about mundane life then u pretty much will be finished real fast. Think of it as an analytic story of max 50 words that describe an event.
Ofcourse something have to happen, a story is most enjoyd the longer it takes for it to unfold. But something must happen.
What i thinhk yuo have in mind i creating a story about a person that goes through something such as highschool and describes her own life and thoughts and shares this with the reader. Its mundane but u can bring it in a very nice way. I always enjoyed those stories.

Honestly, this is my favorite kind of story (if done right, obviously). Origin and/or saving the world stories might be the most exciting, but they're also the least relatable -- I know I personally can't pick out any particular "origin" in my life... or any time I saved the world.

So yeah, everyone here is right that there still needs to be conflict and a beginning, middle, and end to carry a narrative, but that doesn't mean it needs to be action-packed or mega climactic. I know I said a similar thing in a previous thread, but I always wanted a Harry Potter book that was just your average students hanging out and going to class in Hogwarts, sans any Dementors or Voldemort.

Slice of life genre is very popular in western literary fiction, ya contemporary, and anime/mabga settings