I’m going to come clean: I don’t write short stories with any regularity. I wrote quite a few in school, but my natural inclination is toward novels. Longish ones. So I know the theory, but not much about the practice.
David Farland, however, knows all about short stories. Not only did he get a huge early career boost from winning short story contests, but he’s been a long-time judge of Writers of the Future. What he doesn’t know about short stories… probably doesn’t matter much.
So for today’s post, I want you to do two things: first, go subscribe to David Farland’s Daily Kick. Once you’re subscribed, you’ll get regular (practically, but not actually “daily”) emails about writing tips you’re going to want to read. I’ve been a subscriber for years and I’m amazed at how much he knows about writing.
Second, read the Kick from this last Halloween, with Five Easy Tips for Writing Short. There you’ll learn about the following tips:
1) Restrict the number of settings
2) Restrict the number of conflicts
3) Cut back on extraneous characters
4) Write as few scenes as possible
5) Write economically
I really can’t possibly say it better myself.
What’s your go-to resource for writing advice?