Writers Help!!! - What is the definition of a short story? Is it a sample of a story?

Question

Does it have to have a definate beginning and end, or can it be just a sample taken out of the middle. Can it be just enough to tell the reader the plot? I have a 4 page sample, if you will call it. It is the middle of a story, no beginning or end. I want to use it to get the interest of publishers and hopefully get my book published. Should I add more to this sample? How do I do this without giving the whole thing away? What do people expect when reading stories from aspiting authors in need of a publisher?

Answer 1

Determining what exactly separates a short story from longer fictional formats is problematic. However, short stories tend to be less complex than novels. Usually, a short story will focus on only one incident, has a single plot, a single setting, a limited number of characters, and covers a short period of time

Answer 2

To start, a short story is a definite story with a beginning, middle, and end, and usually isn't any longer than 50 pages. On average, a short story is gerally conceived as a 1-15 page piece, usually shorter in most cases.

But in your situation, I presume you have finished a whole novel, or whatever it is that you are writing? Four pages is not enough for publishers because in those four pages, unless it's the "set-up" or beginning, which describes the situation for the rest of the novel, or unless it's a climax or resolution, publishers would probably want to see if the whole book is consistant throughout; meaning that it's written well throughout and the story is good the whole way through. Now, what I suggest if you are really serious about publishing your work, is to set-up a meeting with a publisher.

I'm not completely sure how copyrighting works, but it is definetly a good idea to look into. And in any case, get a manager or lawyer to help you with copyrighting and to make sure you are not on the raw end of the deal financially.

I hope this helps, I'm sure someone more informed on this topic will help you along.

And sell a lot! lol.
Good Luck!

Answer 3

A short story is just that, a story that is short. It can be anywhere from about 1200 words to 15,000 words, depending on who you ask. It's the full story, beginning, middle and end. It's not part of a larger work.

When submitting a query to a publisher, they typically like to see the first three chapters of your novel, a query letter (which is like a cover letter) and a synopsis or outline of the full story. You do not ever send the middle of the story or a partial chapter. Editors at publishing houses need to know how the story ends, you do not keep it a secret from them. Hence the reason they request a synopsis. They want to know that 1) you can write well and 2) you can construct a decent plot. What they really want to see is extraordinary writing and a unique plot.

Hope this helps.

Answer 4

Short stories usually have a definite beginning and end. It is also usually intended to be read in one sitting, so there has to be an entire story line present. You can take a sample out of a referenced work as long as it has the required alpha and omega. Most of the time, the story from a referenced work is an account of an entire event. So as long as it isn't a choppy fragment of a story, just about anything goes for the "short story" category. Good luck! G'day

Answer 5

1. What genre do you write? Fantasy with a hint of romance at times and I have written a horror novel. At times I write realism. 2. What is your latest short story about? Short? Well it was about this man on a date with a woman. They are mugged and she is shot. When the ambulance comes she is taken and he sees a man, an angel. When he turns, his lover is gone. 3. Have you ever published in a magazine r something like that? If so where? I finished two books, one is in the works to be published and will be out November 4th as Gray Wings. 4. How many pages do most of your stories end up being? Hmm..well one was 300 and something and the other was 174

Answer 6

Short story

A short story is a form of short fictional narrative prose. Short stories tend to be more concise and to the point than longer works of fiction, such as novellas (in the modern sense of this term) and novels.

Short stories have their origins in oral story-telling traditions and the prose anecdote, a swiftly-sketched situation that comes rapidly to its point. With the rise of the comparatively realistic novel, the short story evolved as a miniature, with some of its first perfectly independent examples in the tales of E.T.A. Hoffmann and Anton Chekhov.

Many authors today release compilations of their short stories in short story collections.


Elements and characteristics

Short stories tend to be less complex than novels. Usually, a short story will focus on only one incident, has a single plot, a single setting, a limited number of characters, and covers a short period of time.

In longer forms of fiction, stories tend to contain certain core elements of dramatic structure: exposition (the introduction of setting, situation and main characters); complication (the event of the story that introduces the conflict); rising action, crisis (the decisive moment for the protagonist and their commitment to a course of action); climax (the point of highest interest in terms of the conflict and the point of the story with the most action); resolution (the point of the story when the conflict is resolved); and moral.

Because of their short length, short stories may or may not follow this pattern. For example, modern short stories only occasionally have an exposition. More typical, though, is an abrupt beginning, with the story starting in the middle of the action. As with longer stories, plots of short stories also have a climax, crisis, or turning-point. However, the endings of many short stories are abrupt and open and may or may not have a moral or practical lesson.

Of course, as with any art form, the exact characteristics of a short story will vary by author.

Answer 7

It's not a sample of a story, it's a story that's short.

Answer 8

its not a sample at all, its just not a novel or a book, it has a beginning, a middle, and an end.

Answer 9

Google> skit

Answer 10

plain and simple a short story is short and simple