What should a short story be?

Question

I have been trying writing short stories.One problem is that I don't know whether they are ok or not . I haven't asked anyone to read them and give me his opinion .Perhaps that's because I'm rather shy of being cricised and this might make stop passing my feelings and thoughts onto paper .

Answer 1

If you are too embarrassed to show your work to people you see regularly, get some folks you only know online to read them.

Perhaps an English Comp teacher could give you a text book answer to your question, but I can't. Short stories are different things to different people. They can be no more than a few paragraphs, to IIRC one ran to nearly 100 printed pages, pretty much a novella. The thing is, short stories tell a complete story, whether it is two pages or 20 pages.

Get your stories in the best possible condition and then ask someone to read them and give you feedback. That is the only way you can fine tune the stories and see if they appeal to others besides yourself.

As for critics, screw 'em! If they could do anything else, they'd do rather than criticize people who do. Even if you do not write well enough to be published now, there is nothing to say that if you continue to learn and polish your craft that you won't become a well known author in the future.

Good Luck, and keep writing.

Doc Hudson

Answer 2

Ask yourself why you write. Do you do it for yourself, or is your goal to be published eventually? If it is the latter then you really need to develop a thicker skin. Writers face rejection (often hundreds or thousands over the course of a lifetime). They face criticism. And they really need people to read their writing and help out before they leap out into the publishing world.

Why does it matter what other people think of your story? If you love it, who cares? Different people like different things, and if you can get your story into the hands of someone who can help it will really be worth it. Try a teacher or professor to start.

There are some things that you can do on your own to improve, while you work on getting over your insecurity about your work. Start by picking up a few collections of short stories and reading as many as you can. There are yearly anthologies that come out, featuring a wide variety of authors, which would be helpful for this purpose. Study them carefully. How are they structured? How are the characters developed? How does the author know when to end the story?

Also, there are many great books out there about writing which you should get your hands on. Here are some of my favorites (your local library should have most of them):
1) "Writing Down The Bones" by Natalie Goldberg
2) "Bird by Bird" by Anne Lamott
3) "On Writing Well" by William Zinsser
4) "How to Write Science Fiction & Fantasy" by Orson Scott Card
5) "On Writing" by Stephen King
6) "No Plot? No Problem!" by Chris Baty
7) "Eats, Shoots, and Leaves" by Lynne Truss
8) "The Elements of Style" by Strunk and White

Just keep practicing! I bet you are better than you think!

Answer 3

Do you really want to reach the end of your life and think about what might have been if you had only had the courage to show someone your work? If you are criticized, it is not necessarily a bad thing. It is often helpful and constructive. I have learned a lot from others who critique my paintings. You need to understand that most of us have received criticism and rejects in the process of growing. Go for it. Write a lot and show your writings to someone who can help. You have everything to gain and nothing to loose.

Answer 4

Most of the stuff that I have sent away to magazines gets rejected. It's a fact of any writer's life; lots of rejection slips. Still, I keep going and every slip I receive I keep because they almost always come with some great advice. Most of the time I get rejection slips that say 'interesting story, enjoyed it, just not what we're looking for at this time. Please continue to send your writing away and thank you for considering us.' You'll never know if you're any good if you don't show your stuff to others. If you're no good, you can improve.