Note: This diary was written before the accusations were made at the end of last week. If I were writing it now, I would use a different reference until events are either supported or disproved.
Mostly when we talk here about writing, it’s about longer format, specifically novels. We talk about plot and subplots; main characters and second, third, or lower tiered; story arc and character arc. But, says author Neil Gaiman, in a short story, only one thing needs to happen. Let’s look at that idea.
Neil Gaiman has a fair number of short stories to his credit so he should know. I’ll link to some of them as I address his thoughts and analyses. Just in case you’re wondering about copyright infringement, here’s Neil himself addressing his thoughts on his work being publicly available. Still, I’m not putting the stories here, but linking to them, where they are presumably Neil Gaiman-approved.
To start, you can hear Gaiman’s short-short story, “Nicholas Was. . .” here. Apart from the title, the story itself is exactly 100 words, complete. I’ve heard him read it aloud, with his dry delivery, each of the last three words almost a paragraph by itself. This is faithful to Gaiman’s own interpretation. Listen, and then come back. It literally is about one minute long.
Neil Gaiman asked Roger Zelazny about writing short stories, because, he said, Roger wrote short stories better than anyone Neil knew. Zelazny’s reply: “My best short stories are the last chapter of a novel I didn’t write.” In this spirit, Gaiman believes it’s possible that “Nicholas Was. . .” could be expanded in just that way. However did the POV character end up here?
Gaiman asked people to submit ideas, or questions, and he turned them into a story, one for each month, in the book A Calendar of Tales. One idea he received said, “I wondered if Anne Bonny ever wanted a pirate ship of her own.” And that one idea led to “March Tale.” Once again, go off and listen/watch. He reads it himself, and it’s less than 5 minutes. There’s a transcript in the video notes, if you expand those and you want to read along.
But with “March Tale”, Gaiman thought that, in addition to being the end of a novel, it could also be the beginning of one, if someone from Anne’s past were to enter the story. He explains in detail how the elements would have to come in gradually, not drop suddenly. He understands that telling a story is both art and craft.
And one more of my favorites, “October”. (This is the best recording I could find of Neil reading it himself. Only about 7 minutes, and worth it.) I think it appeals to the Earth Mother I once was, 25 years old with wire-rimmed glasses and bell-bottomed jeans embroidered with flowers and butterflies and psychedelic mushrooms, long blonde hair, and a two year old on my hip. “I’m good.” I’m not sure if this is the end of a story or the beginning of one, because it seems so complete in itself, but the way to determine that is to ask ourselves, “What questions does this bring up?” Ideas? I’m sure of one thing: This doesn’t fall into the “last chapter” category, because it introduces a totally new main character, and you just don’t do that at the very end of a novel.
Questions: Specifically, your questions. Pay attention to any questions that you may have after reading/hearing a short story. How does the ending satisfy expectations and promises from the beginning of the story? Does it feel “finished?” Complete?
What about short stories from other writers? Here’s a list, not at all comprehensive, of stories most of us would be familiar with:
“The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson
“Young Goodman Brown” by Nathaniel Hawthorne (The link may bring up the Table of Contents; look for the story.)
“The Rule of Names” by Ursula K. LeGuin
“The Necklace” by Guy de Maupassant
“The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County” by Mark Twain
And some of my favorites, that I can’t find online:
“Eyes of Amber” by Joan D. Vinge
“Broken Pit” by Philippa C. Maddern (excerpt in my WriteOn! diary of June 27)
“Of Mist, and Grass, and Sand” by Vonda N. McIntyre
(Some of these may be a bit long to include in the diary proper, or in your work for the challenge, unless you’re already familiar with them.)
Science fiction author Eric James Stone (Nebula Award winner) has written a number of short stories, including one published in Analog Magazine, featuring a Mormon lead character. He says there are three reasons to write short fiction.
1. You like doing it.
2. It’s a great way to practice your craft. (You can practice dialogue, snappy endings, building one or two characters.)
3. It’s a way to make a name for yourself and become known as a writer.
(4. I’ve added an extra one. Some stories employ something that may not stand up to a long form. I’m currently working on a story with a POV character who is 2-3 years old. It would tire both me and the reader to carry a long piece with the limited understanding of a toddler. Either she will have to grow quickly; the story will be a prologue to a work about her a few years into the future; or it will stay as a shorter piece of work.)
(Parentheticals are my notes.)
However, Stone cautions that you cannot make a living from writing short stories. Even if you write enough to qualify for professional rates, there aren’t enough places buying short fiction so that it will add up to enough to support yourself. He did have some on Amazon a few years ago, selling for 99¢, with an occasional offer of one for free for a day. He has also published novels traditionally, but there is a very limited market for short stories. I’ve found this, too. Almost no agents will accept short stories or even collections of short stories. They don’t sell.
So look to the reasons for writing them, and decide if it’s a good fit for you and your goals.
How to write in short form? Short fiction counts on the reader being familiar with certain tropes, so there’s less a need for world building. Your readers already know what happens when you rub the lamp and the genie appears to grant you three wishes. Getting into the story late, as close to the end as possible, allows you to keep the story shorter.
Challenge:
Write a vignette short story (super short, please, not a novella; a limit of 1,000 words should do it) that could be the ending of a very good novel, or the beginning of one. Or you can take a myth and make it your own.
And/or: Look at what you or other people have written in previous WO! diary challenges, short stories you’ve enjoyed, or stories in the diary list. Do they raise questions that could lead up to, or away from, this moment? Tell us about that. Where did it come from and/or where could it go? Are there any tropes that the author can safely assume readers will be familiar with? Is there a place even closer to the end that the writer could have used as a starting point?
A note: Consider before you post something from your WIP. Putting it in a public forum like this will limit your publishing options. A publishing house won’t take work that has even a tiny bit of it already freely available. And it will limit your copyright protections. Although you can still copyright the material, you will have to declare that parts have been previously published, and if it’s plagiarized you can issue a take-down notice but you will not be able to collect punitive monetary damages.
WriteOn Fiction Works-In-Progress is the diary series for writers posting chapters and excerpts unrelated to the evening’s WriteOn challenge, and for everyone interested in reading them.
Write On! will be a regular Thursday night diary (8 pm Eastern, 5 pm Pacific) until it isn’t.