Since we’re about to launch a short story section here at PaperBox Books, I thought it would be a good time to go mention some important aspects of a short story.
Like novels, a short story needs to have a beginning, a middle and an end.
The beginning has to jump right into the story. You don’t have the word count available to do a gradual set-up.
An advantage to those of us who suffer from sagging middles, the path from Point A to Point B is shorter. You don’t have room to introduce more than a sub-plot or two. Even so you still need to keep the pace moving toward the end of the story.
The end of a short story can be tricky. Especially for anyone who is used to writing novel length pieces. There is always the temptation to leave a few loose ends. Unfortunately, this makes it a chapter not a stand-on-it’s-own short story. Endings should make the reader satisified not leave them wondering.
Short stories force writers to be concise without skimping on details. The reader must have an understanding of the world you’ve created for your characters within a small word count.
You have to make the characters just as real as in a full length novel so your readers will care about them and continue to read to see what happens.
Short stories are awesome. They are quick reads to make you smile (or have chills run up your spine) without a lot of time investment.
With the advent of e-publishing they’re even easier to buy than ever before. You can purchase them as a stand alone product instead of having to buy a magazine or anthology.
Authors love it because they can release stories frequently to always have something new for people to read.
So what are you waiting for?
Check out the rules for our Summer Short Story Contest (deadline July 31st).
If you are more interested in having your short story published, check out our submission guidelines.
Sue
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