The majority of my blog posts are opinion pieces but I’ve
been hesitant to give writing advice, because let’s be honest, who the hell am
I to give writing advice? I still don’t have an agent or a publishing deal. I don't know about you, but I tend to roll my eyes at so called experts explaining things to me when
I’ve never heard of them. That said, I have written and sold my share of short stories. Over the
past six years I’ve written around two dozen shorts and sold 15 of them. To be
sure, there are more prolific short story writers, more talented short story
writers, and more prestigious magazines than the ones I have been published in,
but I do know something of the topic I am about to write. So with all that said
if you’re new to writing and/or selling short stories I hope the advice below
offers some assistance.
Avoid clichés
There are a million story ideas you might come up with, but
some of them have already been done a million times. Editors know this
better than anyone. They’ve had to slog through those same/similar stories
again and again. Boring! Editors want something unique. They want a new spin on
that old tale, something that will intrigue the audience. Not sure which
stories are particularly stale? Strange
Horizons provides a handy list of Don’ts for those of you who write sci-fi
or horror. I bet you can find similar lists on other leading literary sites.
Hook them early
The first two sentences of your story often make or break
you. Editors’ slush piles tend to be large so their patience is often limited.
If you make them wade through paragraphs of exposition before they get to the
good stuff, chances are, they’ll pass on your story. Furthermore, many sites
only provide a sentence or two of preview on the main page, hiding the rest of
the story behind a link in order to make the best use of valuable site real
estate. So even if the site purchases your story, if your first sentence or two
doesn’t hook the reader, guess what? The reader never clicks the link to read
the rest of the story. Want some examples of some great opening hooks? Try this
one and several of these.
Create a story arc
Every short story, whether it’s a 10,000 word tale or nano fiction
needs a solid plot and/or a character that changes. I wrote about this in more detail
recently here. In short, entropy = death. Short stories aren’t just scenes, but
tales that need a beginning, a middle, and an end. The reader needs to be taken
on a journey of some sort. It doesn’t matter how interesting your setting or
character is if nothing happens to engage the reader.
Stick the landing
Okay, you’ve chosen an interesting story to tell; it’s got a
strong opening to get the reader’s attention, and it includes an arc from
beginning to end. What’s left? You need an ending that’s at least somewhat unpredictable
and more important, one that’s memorable. The best stories make us think and stick
with us long after we’re done reading them. If the reader sees the ending
coming long before it arrives, it won’t pack much of a punch. If the ending
feels too much like an ending the reader has read before in other stories, same
result. Want an example of a perfect 10 landing? Try The Egg by Andy Weir.
Know the market
Finally, your story is done. You’ve written it, edited it,
reread it more times than you care to admit, and it checks all the boxes above.
Now you want to sell it, but how? You need to research paying markets, make yourself
a list, and become familiar with what they're looking for. Submit often and don’t
get discouraged by rejection. We ALL get rejected. One of my stories was
rejected 17 times before I found a buyer. Keep trying. I keep three separate
lists on my hard drive, horror, sci-fi, and literary. I update them monthly as
sites are born and die. To start your own lists, I recommend beginning your
research with The Grinder for a wide
variety of markets and Dark Markets which focuses specifically on horror.
Good luck and if you have questions, feel free to post them
below in the Comments section!
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