Should I start with short stories?

satyesu

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I have a real conceptual problem with short stories. I'm pretty obsessive-compulsive when it comes to worldbuilding, character development, etc; I don't want to do a throwaway (exaggerating for effect) story when I can go deep with a novel. I'm not a greenhorn at writing prose; I've been writing since my single digits. I just don't finish things. But I hesitate to write shorter pieces if they just don't catch my passion, because I'm unlikely to finish them if I'm just using them to hone my craft and not because I love the stories. Should I write them anyway? Will my first novel(s) likely be trash if I don't?
 

katfeete

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I have never had much luck with short stories. Like you, I naturally go deep — shorts are (with a few exceptions) unsatisfying for me to read, and even more unsatisfying for me to write. Almost a quarter century after I first started trying to write seriously, I have started dozens of short stories, but I can count the number I’ve finished on the fingers of one hand. Sure, you have to crank out less words, but creating a story that works is no easier than a novel. And if you haven’t the passion or the interest, it’ll show on the page.

My first novel was trash, as most first novels are, but I don’t think the trash short stories I tried to write first either helped or hurt. Novels and short stories are different beasts. Learning to write one can help you write the other, but starting with the one you’re not drawn to and passionate about is starting on hard mode, and this writing thing is hard enough without giving yourself more hoops to jump through.
 

JJ Litke

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There’s no requirement to write short stories first, or at all. But you said you don’t finish things—that’s a big problem. One of the pluses of shorts is they don’t take as long, so it’s not much risk to give that a shot. That could be helpful for learning to get projects completed.

As far as worldbuilding goes, a short story can have a world every bit as deep and rich as a novel. If you don’t think so, go read Beneath Ceaseless Skies—I haven’t looked at the past couple issues, but they’re usually consistently top notch, all of it second-world SFF.
 

lonestarlibrarian

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One of the things that's nice about short stories is that there are a lot of anthology markets for them, depending on your genre. (Romance, fantasy, sci-fi, mystery are the first that come to mind.) They might pay $25 or they might pay $500, but it's nice to (a) have the deadline, (b) have the challenge of writing something that someone wants to buy that incorporates specific elements, and (c) have the experience of working with a variety of different markets/editors. So it's more like a mental exercise than it is a substitute or replacement or training.

We've all read novels where the author was obviously trying to write to a wordcount. It might have been a decent story, if it had gotten to the point, or had had the excess trimmed significantly, or a plot point obviously only existed to add five more chapters to the story but ultimately didn't do anything useful. So the inverse is a nice exercise--- can I write something compact and fulfilling in 2,000/5,000/10,000 words?

But ultimately, novels and short stories are different beasts. However, you might write them for different purposes--- one because it's what you want to do; the other to build up your writing credits and get the confidence boost of completed projects that someone likes enough to pay you for.
 

cool pop

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Writing short stories has nothing to do with novels. It's two totally different animals and formats. If you want to write novels then practice writing those and become the best novelist you can. Only write short stories if you want. I write both but mainly novels and novellas. Longer books most likely will be your bread and butter. Life is too short to be writing something you have no passion for. Also, if you are trade publishing good luck getting a publisher to sign you with a short story.
 
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Brightdreamer

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Is it a throwaway if it helps you learn to finish? If it teaches you something?

The idea that shorts are a stepping-stone for a novel career... isn't particularly true anymore. They are somewhat different animals, but both do involve using the same tools, if in different ways.

I suggest reading some short stories. Read enough to figure out if you think you could do the same, or if you just are a novelist at heart.

Then maybe try writing one yourself. If you finish or not, you'll still have learned something. Everything you write teaches you something.
 

stephenf

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If you want to write better , write every day . Finishing things is important . Writing short stories can can help develop the habit of finishing things. Try reading some short stories and rewriting your own version. The object of the exerciser is to understand the basic idea of a beginning and an ending .
 
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Lakey

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Writing short stories has been great for me, an aspiring literary writer. But here’s the thing: I love them and I want to read and write them. That is essential. I don’t think you can make yourself do it, like homework, just because you think you should. To get the benefits that writing stories has brought to my writing, I’ve had to put a ton of work into revising and improving them. If I just dashed off a story and moved on to the next one, I wouldn’t have learned from them. You can’t put that kind of work unless you really want to create great short stories. In that sense, they aren’t easier than long works—they are different. I really liked the comment above that said they aren’t training wheels for longer stories.

That said, writing short stories has made my writing better in ways I can apply to the novel. Short stories help me practice making every word count, being super-efficient with characterization and scene-setting and every aspect of the craft, other than plotting and pacing a longer work. After working two 6000-word short stories down to 5000 words for publications with that word limit, when I returned to my novel, I was able to make its scenes tighter and more efficient too. That I have more room to expand in a novel doesn’t mean I want my writing to be flabby and inefficient there!

There is also the satisfaction of completing a work, being able to show someone a self-contained, finished thing. I’ve shared bits and pieces of my novel but it will be a long time before I invite (or ask) anyone to read the whole thing. But with a short story I can get feedback on an entire work. And I can submit them—that comes with frustrations of its own, but a string of near-misses lately (contest long-lists, personalized rejections) helps me believe that I’m on the right track. I couldn’t get that kind of external feedback about my novel in its current state.

:e2coffee:
 

The Second Moon

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I feel the same way you do (wanting to do deep into world-building character development) but novels are too much for me, so I write linked short story collection series. I have one series planned that is 10 books long and one planned that is 9 books long.

Anyways, we all are different, but maybe try writing two linked short stories and see how that works???? Maybe you'll like it better than novels. I'm not saying you should give up on your novel (about a soul, if I remember correctly. It sounded cool to me. :)) but maybe try writing two linked short stories and see how it goes.

Just my suggestion.
 

Friendly Frog

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If you don't like writing short stories, trying to write them just because may turn out to be a needlessly frustrating experience. And as others have said, writing short stories may not improve your writing. But just writing will, regardless of the final length of the story.

Sounds like your issue is not that you can't do short stories, but rather that you can't finish things. Perhaps a better excercise in that case may be to focus on story endings, not on their length.
 

mafiaking1936

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If you want to write a novel, short stories set in the same world as the novel can be great world-building all on its own. I'm finishing up the first draft of my second novel right now, and though it follows the first, it includes many elements which would never have developed without the short stories I wrote in that world in between writing the novels.
 

indianroads

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Writing short stories can break a writer of over doing the prep work.

It's easy to get caught up in character profiles, world building, map making, and detailed plot lines. At some point you just have to set all the prep aside and jump in. Short stories are... well, short, so there's isn't a ton of prep work needed; in fact, I usually just jump straight into the writing.

Writing short stories can get you used to taking the deep breath and diving in.
 

WeaselFire

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You should start with the beginning and keep writing until you get to the end. If it's short, fine. If it's longer, also fine. Every writer is an individual and thus every story is individual as well.

Jeff
 

LadyRedRover

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Something that I've found invaluable in regards to writing short stories is they take less time than novels and run you through the entire writing process.

I finished my first novel after working entirely on (and not finishing) novels for 5~ish years and I felt so lost during every part of the writing process, even though I'd written for most of my life. When I was done, I was burnt out from writing novels and turned to short stories to keep writing.

In that time, I learned how to write an ending, how to develop my characters in a consistent way, what made a good story and how to bend story structure into something interesting. I learned about personal and external stakes and how to add layers to a narrative. I learned how to edit and revise and submit to publishers or critique. I've gone through every part of the writing process multiple times and have learned how to do the work of writing because of short stories.

I'm working on my second novel now, which was inspired by a series of short stories I wrote last year. And, while it's a different process, I'm coming to the work a lot more confidently and with more self-assurance than I did my first one. It's easier and faster because I put the work into learning the craft. Short stories are their own medium, but if you have trouble finishing or navigating the writing process, they can also be immensely useful to your novel-writing.
 

veinglory

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I, personally, did start with short stories. It helped me develop basic skills, practice the submission, editing and marketing process, and built relationships with publishers I later sent novels to. So it is an option, but not the only one.
 
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Woollybear

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The only thing that works for me, so far, along this line of thought, satyesu, is to use shorter stories to fill in the holes of my novels. In other words, I'm like you in what I want out of writing, and short stories isn't really it. On the other hand, there are times in a novel where you can't go into such depth on a particular point (don't really have the room or need for it) even though more exists 'there,' in-world.

(For example, take LOTR. There's a reason Aragorn, in his past, became a strider or whatever, but I don't recall ever seeing that part of his story laid out explicitly. You can imagine an entire story around those events.) Characters should definitely *have* back story--that's what shapes them. But the back story might not belong in the novel.

In my current manuscript, which is a sequel and novel length, I'm leaving out two important secondary characters from the first novel. This creates a hole in the storyline, because everyone reading this book will expect those characters to be in it. But to include them is more cumbersome than I want--this isn't 'their' story, and there are too many new characters in this manuscript already.

So, I need a reason for why these past characters are not in the story.

Maybe they died. No, that's too easy of an answer. Turns out, they're not in the sequel because they've gone off on their own sort of 'quest.' And that quest will become its own standalone 'shorter story' sometime later this year. Meanwhile, in the sequel, a sentence or two will explain their absence. Problem solved.

So do what your heart tells you. There's a variety of ways to write differently-lengthed stories. For me, ideas for shorter stories usually arise when I have something in a novel that needs some 'splainin'.
 
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vicelimmer

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Hello writers!

I am inspired to write, any tips on how to start writing? Is there any standard proforma when it comes to writing stories? TIA
 

Bufty

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Welcome, vicelimmer. The best tips or standard pro forma you will find are what you learn from reading books of the kind you wish to write.

If, as you say, you feel inspired to write - the best tip I can give you is just start to write. You don't mention what type of stories or novels you want to write but if you have a basic knowledge of grammar, and can express yourself clearly you are more than half-way there.

Try saying what you mean and mean what you say.

Keep to the point and aim for clarity and flow.

Browse the Share-Your Work Forum here. You can comment on posts if you wish but cannot open a new thread in that Forum until you have 50 overall posts. (Don't rush to get those 50 posts in :Hug2:)

We can learn a lot about our own writing habits from observing the work of others and spotting what strikes us as maybe off or not quite as clear as it should be.

Have fun - :welcome:
 
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talktidy

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I write what I feel compelled to write. Sometimes that is stuff I know is going nowhere and is destined only for my fragments folder.

In recent times, I have become a little more disciplined and try to fashion a workable ending before I make a start. That has also meant a promising project gets chucked into my fragments folder, if I cannot knit the plot threads into a finale that stands up to mild scrutiny and is not lame as hell.
 

benbenberi

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The advice that a would-be novelist should start by writing and publishing short stories dates back to a time when (a) there were a lot of professional publications where a writer could sell short stories and (b) having a list of published short story credits was a useful & sometimes necessary way to attract the attention of an editor when you were trying to sell a first novel. Neither is true anymore. The market has changed to the point that short stories are largely irrelevant to launching a novelist's career.

That's not to say you can't learn valuable things from writing short stories. You certainly can. Many writers do. But the craft of the short story is not the same as the craft of the novel, and becoming good at one won't necessarily help you get better at the other, any more than writing haiku would be necessary training for writing epic poetry. So don't sweat it.
 
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veinglory

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It becomes relevant here and there. I started when epublishing M/M was booming and anthologies were popular -- a new niche for old advice. There are still areas where short stories are popular. Erotica and horror being examples.
 

Laer Carroll

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I am inspired to write, any tips on how to start writing? Is there any standard proforma when it comes to writing stories? TIA

You might want to submit a separate thread with this as the question or topic you want explored. But Stephen King answers it best in my opinion: READ MUCH / WRITE MUCH. The first will educate your subconscious, the second will be partly practice in listening to your subconscious while writing.
____________________________________________

As for the comment that short stories and novels are two different art forms, I don't go along with that popular way of looking at things. The way I write I use exactly the same tools and models for stories. The short story FOR ME just has fewer scenes and characters and a simpler problem to solve or goal to reach.

For that matter a trilogy or longer work is exactly the same. That is my experience for just completing one: the three books you see in my sig.

This is my opinion. If you want to disagree, fine. That might even form the basis for a new thread in this forum. But I'm not interested in pursuing it.

I write what I feel compelled to write. Sometimes that is stuff I know is going nowhere and is destined only for my fragments folder.

I think of my fragfolder or shelved works as a treasure chest. Lots of time months or even years later I will discover something that turns into or inspires a completed successful work.
____________________________________________

Back to the original post. Each of us is different and are in different circumstances. Do what feels right FOR YOU.

In my case short stories and novelettes come to me that are inspired by my novels. They might star a secondary character. Or a situation just lightly developed in a novel. I think of them as "fill in the cracks" works. Each is a complete story which can be enjoyed without having read anything else in the universe in which my other works exist. But they enrich the other works and are enriched by them.

They've turned out to bring a fair amount of money. I suspect partly because my readers get invested in the universe after reading one book and want to explore it further. Whatever, over the years as my output mounts my income continues to grow. Every book or shorter work I put out ignites new interest in the previously published works. Often I'll get emails asking when I will write a sequel to one of them.

That's what happened with The Eons-Lost Orphan. I had no intention of writing a sequel. Then one reader kept asking me and to shut her up I wrote The Orphan in Near-Space. Still more emails irritated me enough to write another sequel Travels of the Orphan. I thought that would end the questions, as I discovered how to turn the third book into the end of a story arc I'd accidentally introduced in the first book.

Well, it worked. But recently I got emails about two other works: when will we see more X or Y? And they inspired me to work on both at the same time, switching between them as my inspiration flags on one.

Having fans, or maybe I should say READERS, is a two-edged sword!
 
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