Short stories, Part 2 of 2

How do I write one?

If you haven’t read it yet (or just want to read it again), click to read Part 1.

Let’s dive into a few specifics on crafting a short story, and take a look at how these bits relate to, or differ from, writing a novel. We’ll touch on:

• Characters

• Mood, tone, style

• Story structure

• Involving the reader

• Fiction laboratory

Photo by Hannah Olinger on Unsplash

Characters

Similar to time span (discussed in Part 1), the general rule-of-thumb is to reduce the number of characters and tighten the focus on the main character and possibly one other.

There might be a handful of additional bit players, or even a crowd (like the townsfolk in Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery”). But there aren’t typically multiple, fully developed, secondary characters.

You can use a more omniscient narrator to look down from above at multiple characters. But I’ve often found that the omniscient voice creates more distance between readers and the characters. This is true in a novel, but can be more problematic in a short story because there is such a word count and time constraint to connect readers to a character.

If readers never connect with your main character, the story can feel a bit drab and distant.

As always, there are exceptions. It all depends on the writer’s execution and skill.

Think about the use of names alone. If you’ve got five or ten important characters in a 3,000-word story, will readers even be able to learn all those names and keep them straight?

In my opinion, most short stories are enhanced with a tight point-of-view, focused on/through a single character, whether you’re writing in first-person or third. There may not be enough space to bounce the point-of-view and perspective around to multiple characters.

Two point-of-view characters… maybe. Even if there are only two characters in the story, you might find the story is better served by keeping the entire story in the point-of-view of only one of those characters.

There’s just not a lot of time to connect readers deeply to multiple characters.

Once again, there are always exceptions.