Creative writing - Mike Sanders 2014
Story versus plot
The lifelike short story
Short-form genres
In this chapter
· Story organization
· Individual scenes and summarization
· Story background and the flashback technique
· Word volume
Short stories are one of the best forms for new writers to hone their craft. However, they’re not necessarily the easiest option. It takes a great deal of skill to write a good short story that’s effective.
For one thing, you have to curtail any tendency to ramble on. Not all fiction writers need to be novelists, but if you have a gift for fictional brevity, the short story is for you. F. Scott Fitzgerald, for example, was quite comfortable (and gifted) as a short story writer and only produced the occasional novel out of pressure from his publisher and his own financial stress. Other gifted short story writers, such as Raymond Carver, never wrote a novel, although it likely would have made more money than any of their short story collections.
Although payment for a single short story published in a magazine hasn’t changed much since Fitzgerald’s time (the 1920s), they are still written and published at an astonishing rate. And if a book editor or agent admires a short story you have published in a magazine, they might contact you about the possibility of writing a novel. In other words, short stories can function as prose auditions. Of course, if successful, you then face the Fitzgerald/Carver conundrum and have to decide whether to stick with stories or try out the longer fictional form.
So what is a short story? Short stories can be anything from 500 to 6,000 words. Typically, they’re shorter in large-circulation commercial magazines and longer in smaller-circulation literary venues. Anything under 500 words tends to be labeled “flash fiction” (a form I address in the next chapter). Anything over 6,000 words is moving into novella territory. I would argue that a short story is something that can be read comfortably in one sitting and doesn’t leave you starving or bloated.
DEFINITION
A short story is a brief piece of prose fiction, usually possessing few characters and aiming at unity of effect.
A short story is a slice of life. As such, you should narrow the time frame and geographical location of the piece. One plot, two or three characters, and no more than two locations (one would be better) are the limits for most short stories. If this seems too tight a fit, perhaps you should be writing a novella or a novel.
Start your piece as close to the turning point or climax of the story as possible. Most writers take a paragraph or so to find their feet. On a second reading, they delete the first paragraph as unnecessary exposition or padding.
Your first sentence is crucial; it should be filled with energy, intrigue, and forward momentum. The reader should be stopped in his or her tracks and not able to turn away until they’ve read the whole thing. The first sentence should raise questions that need to be answered. Take, for example, these openers:
“None of them knew the color of the sky.”
—Stephen Crane, “The Open Boat”
“The grandmother didn’t want to go to Florida.”
—Flannery O’Connor, “A Good Man Is Hard to Find”
“A man stood upon a railroad bridge in northern Alabama, looking down into the swift water twenty feet below.”
—Ambrose Bierce, “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge”
Every short story should have an opening that’s developed to build tension, that reaches its climax toward the end, after which there is a rapid conclusion. In a short story, you shouldn’t spend too much time in the “first act,” where development, setting, and exposition take place. Rather, start your narrative as close to the initial crisis as possible.
Your story should follow that arc by allowing your character to face obstacles, setbacks, and minor victories on the way toward reaching the dramatic climax and bringing resolution.
Story versus plot
A plot is not a story, nor does every story have a strong plot. Good writers know the importance of both plot and story, especially before they dare to write a story with a “weak” or “thin” plot. Any plot can feature a love story—that illustrates the difference. Plots are events, whereas stories reveal how characters react to those events.
Contrary to many general-purpose dictionaries, a plot is not the main story of a work. Rather, a plot can be summarized without specific names or settings. The search for a murderer is a plot. Surviving a natural disaster is a plot.
DEFINITION
Plot is the series of events providing conflict within a story.
The plot is sometimes called the spine of a story. It constitutes the action, while the story is made of the emotions associated with the action. A plot can be caused by the emotions of characters, but the action is apart from the story. Plots are the results of choices the characters make; the characters take action (or don’t), and events occur as a result.
The beginning of any story ends with the introduction of the primary plotline. The middle ends with a climactic showdown. Many writers map out their plots, like a timeline. This helps them see where choices are made and actions taken, so they can pace the story.
It should be possible to state most good plots in one or two sentences. The primary plot remains simple, although the story may be complex. Almost all of Shakespeare’s plots are very simple, but his plays have wonderful depth. Think about some of your favorite stories and how simple the primary plots are.
The plot of a work is the basic conflict, either from which or alongside other conflicts are created. An effective plot contains at least one major conflict. Generally, if you can’t state the plot in a 12-word sentence, you have no idea what the primary plot is. If you are the author, that’s a bad sign. There are only three or four simple plots used in most books or films:
· Man versus man
· Man versus nature
· Man versus self
· Man versus man’s work
Remember, these are the most prevalent conflict models, and highly complex stories do exist that include not only elements of several of these conflicts, but also others.
A man-versus-man plot features a central character and an opposition character as the primary actors. The central character has a goal, and the opposition is going to attempt to stop the central character before he or she obtains that goal. Meanwhile, a man-versus-nature plot features a central character against a natural event or other phenomenon that threatens the character or something important to the character. These stories are about a search for inner strength. Nature is not a “moral” entity; it simply exists. To overcome nature requires something internal; a character must rise to the challenges nature presents.
Generally not the source of a primary plot, internal struggles are commonly story elements that are considered subplots. Because the most interesting character has some manner of internal flaw (an emotional issue to discover and conquer), there’s an element of man versus self in many great stories. On the other hand, it’s a cliché of sorts, but narratives like Frankenstein and most science fiction delve into the risks of technology without morality. When we create, we seldom think of the consequences. In modern stories, the “work” might be pollution or illness. These are morality plays, as the stories aim to caution readers against a complete faith in their creations.
WRITING PROMPT
In your journal, make a list of possible story ideas under each of the four conflict types.
As opposed to plot, a story is built upon the conflicts created by the plot, unless the work is experimental or, in some cases, philosophical. Stories are plot-driven or character-driven. A plot-driven story captivates readers or audiences through the excitement of events. The characters are important, but the action takes precedence. Character-driven stories rely on interesting characters and their responses to situations. The situations arise from the plot, but readers remember the characters.
A story rests upon the foundation of a plot; it is the emotional reactions of and choices made by various characters or groups. The choices move the story to plot points, while each plot point creates yet another choice and the accompanying emotional issues. When you make a choice, some emotion is involved. The choice results in more actions and reactions, leading to yet another choice. That’s how both life and a good story work.
Contemporary stories, in all forms, tend to start quickly and end even faster. The middle of the story is two thirds or more of the work. As a result, you have ample opportunity to explore subplots and twists.
With some exceptions, readers and audiences expect stories to start quickly. They don’t want to wait for a story to capture their imaginations; they want to interact with the story immediately. Audiences like a challenge. However, they don’t want to be guessing what the storyline is.
Dramatic endings don’t drag or feature lengthy commentaries. By the climax of action, any social commentaries are out of the way. Only a small number of issues remain unresolved, allowing audiences an opportunity to enjoy the ride.