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SECOND PLACE
The Perfect Short Story
By Fred Venturini
Patoka, Illinois
The short story is a favorite of authors
and readers alike for one simple reasonóitís
short. Readers can soak up a short story before
bedtime, and authors can whip one up in a single sitting. Short
stories can be written without as much frustration
as a novel. A 5,000 word piece is much easier
to polish up into publishable material than a 500,000
word piece.
The reasons for preferring short stories are numerousóbut
what differentiates a good story from a bad one? What
differentiates a great one from a good one? Further,
what makes a short story a legendary one, buffed to
such a high gloss that itís studied in a high
school class?
Writing is a craft because of the attention to details
and the patience required to ìcraftî something
into perfection. This is often a wild goose chase,
as perfection is something that by definition can never
be reached, and is defined differently by the masses. In
writing, every reader and the author of a particular
work will have a different vision of perfection, further
proof that attaining it is a futile attempt.
Yet this pursuit of perfection is what can make writing
great, even if it isnít perfect. And there
are those rare stories that have many of the masses
agreeing on just how great it is. To make a story
this good, there are six ingredients. Five of
which can apply to making any good story, the sixth
and most difficult to come by is what truly makes a
story great.
First, like any good piece of writing, a short story
needs a clear theme. To make a short story sing,
to make it resonate beyond the words, the underlying
theme needs to be established. This of course
isnít the plot or the characters, but the force
that drives themóand the message that you want
to hammer home as an author.
Again, all good writing has focus. The short story
requires a narrower, more microscopic focus because
of its length. One must fight the temptation to
branch off into subplots and meanderings. Otherwise,
you have the seeds of a novel or a pile of ideas that
become confusing and meaningless.
A good short story has an optimal time spanóa
short one. If you cover years upon years of a
personís life in one short story (which Iíve
read) despite the quality, the story feels underwritten. The
most effective short stories focus on that one pivotal
moment in a characters life (I tend to prefer the tragic
ones, or the most interesting momentsóthe ones
at the end of someoneís life) that can simultaneously
illustrate who the character is, who that character
will be, and what the theme is. The time span
in a short story is best defined as catching and bottling
those important moments in someoneís lifeósomething
that will reflect their entire lifespan, not illustrate
it word by word. Often, after a good short story,
youíll find yourself filling in what happens
after and before the story in your own mindóa
good story leaves you wanting more. Thatís
because of the quality and choice of time span.
Characters make up the meat of just about any story,
and just about anything can be a character, from an
old house to nature itself. In a short story,
characters must be chosen wisely, and must be kept
to a minimum. Each character delivers a new layer
to a story, and having too many layers in a short story
can be fatal to its quality. For the sake of keeping
focus, a short time span, and a discernable theme,
reduce the number of unnecessary directions that you
take the readeróthis is best done by having
only enough characters to properly populate the story
and deliver the theme. Is the bartender who watches
the bar fight as important as the two participants
who will have their lives changed? You might want
to cut the observer out . . . unless of course heís
the focus of the story. This is a question I am
currently struggling with, and a question you should
all pose to yourselves as it applies to your work.
Another useful writing guideline takes on a great importance
in the short storyómake every word count. There
should be no unnecessary asides, banter, or development. Make
each word a twig that builds the fiery intensity of
your theme. Make each word a drop of blood that
brings your characters to life. If a word doesnít
serve a purpose, think about putting it in the scrap
pile. Your writing will be more streamlined and
thusly, more effective.
Letís assume that youíve followed these
guidelines. You have a clear theme, focus, a short
time span, an optimum amount of characters, and every
single word counts. Does that mean your story
is perfect? No, it doesnít. The last
ingredient cannot be accomplished by sitting at a desk
polishing your story. The final ingredient is
the theme itself, and the ingenious way itís
delivered. The soul of the story, if you will. Some
of them will be good, some bad, some legendary.
To illustrate this elusive ingredient, I point you
to Edgar Allan Poeís ìCask of Amontillado.î He
has all five of the things Iíve mentioned above. Iíve
even read that it is the quintessential ìperfectî short
story, but the soul of the story is what makes readers
remember it. The story is interesting, thought
provoking, and chilling to the very core.
Simply put, you can wax a 1988 Dodge Colt all you want,
but it will never be able to compete with the freshly
waxed 2003 Lexus. The clay from which you mold
your story must be of the highest qualityóand
then you must apply the five other ingredients to make
the soul of your story shine with a high gloss.
A good writer can identify which of his or her ideas
have the potential for greatness. Sadly, this is sometimes
only after the first draft of the story is written. And
while I can quickly list what makes a short story a
great one, as a young and impressionable writer, I
have trouble practicing what Iíve just preached. But
Iím trying. You should try too. By
examining your short stories, combing for the six ingredients,
I guarantee that it can only improve them, and perhaps,
just maybe, help make it the next legendary short story.
Copyright (c) 2003 for the
author, all rights reserved.
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