Kate Foster Professional Editing Services
  • General Blog
  • What Authors Say About Us
  • #EditFoster Blog!
  • Talking Middle Grade
  • THE REJECTION CARE PACKAGE

Cracking the Code by Megan Manzano

7/2/2017

1 Comment

 
It is with great pleasure I welcome short story writer (and novel dabbler) Megan Manzano to the blog today. She's talking about a topic I, along with a fair number of writers, struggle with, and that's writing short stories.
​
Short stories seem to have two distinct views in the writing community. There are authors who write and enjoy them and authors who ask, “How do you write a short story? How does it not become a book?”

I’ve gotten the latter question often since I predominantly write short stories and have several of them published in literary magazines. Short stories come easily to me. They start off as a word or line in my head and branch out to a larger idea. Often, the idea is not big enough to be a book or would zap all my energy if I tried to make it into one. The benefit of using an idea to create a short story is I get to explore the characters, the world, and the meat of the plot without having to build up to it.

One of the biggest pieces of advice I’ve gotten as a writer is “start your story in the middle”. Don’t lead your reader through an abundance of backstory and miscellaneous details. Throw them into an event and let the world fill itself out. For books, this can take hundreds of pages, even several books. Short stories are like a snapshot. You have what you want yourself and others to remember and then it’s over.

There is a freedom that comes from writing short stories. I don’t necessarily have to explain everything. I can choose what I want to reveal as long as it guides the story forward and my reader is still able to understand the conflict and the motivations of my characters. It does get tricky when I can’t figure out exactly how to end a story or I ask myself if I’ve done the story justice. A lot of my experience with short stories has come from practice and little to no planning.

Yes, I must make a confession: I don’t outline or plan. I am pantser if you will. Laying out details for my story hinders my creative process. I like the unpredictability of not knowing if my initial idea will remain the same or change. I like being surprised. I like not placing a limit on the words I’m putting on the page. I do tend to have a conclusion I want to reach in my head. It usually pops up when I begin writing, but I don’t question how I get there unless it makes absolutely no sense when I read it over.

Another habit I have is I write short stories in one sitting. This does not apply to all of my short stories, but it applies to ninety percent of them. Short story ideas are fleeting in my head. If I don’t get them on paper, they won’t be as strong the next day or the day after. They won’t have the same muse pushing them forward, weaving my words together without effort. It makes for some intense pressure as a writer, but it also presents a fun challenge. Can I finish a story I haven’t planned, that possibly has an ending, and no idea how I’m going to get there? Yes, most of the time. There are always instances where these ideas get left in my work in progress folder with the hope I return to them in the future. 

Writing my first book – the novels I wrote as a child filled of ghosts and time travel and talking babies don’t count – has presented its challenges. In the beginning, I had the same muse I get for short stories. I was finishing whole chapters in a day. Now, that initial spark has died. I love my book and my characters, but the writing process is much slower. I write in bits and pieces or it will be a few days or weeks until I finish a chapter in a single sitting. This is when I realized what kind of writer I am, the contrast between how I write short stories and how I write my book. I think writers tend to have the opposite problem, but nonetheless, I plan on finishing my book. Most of it is done and then I will go through the crazy process known as editing. My journey just takes a bit longer than it would for others.

I do recommend writing short stories even if they don’t go anywhere or get published. They can be a great tool to explore your style as a writer as well as test yourself on how you can cut details and extrapolate plot. They may not be for everyone, but I wouldn’t rule it out until you give a shot. You may realize you like them or if you are the type of author that likes writing a book, you may find a foundation for a new one.
​
Xx
Megan
Picture

Megan Manzano graduated college with a Bachelor's degree in English. She has been published in several magazines: Maudlin House, Firefly Magazine, Fantastia Divinity Magazine, and Twisted Sister Lit. Her favorite activities include reading, blogging, finding ways to travel, editing, and expressing her imagination through writing. It is also worth noting she has an unhealthy obsession with dogs and wants to have many in her future. 

​Follow and find out more about Megan here!


​Twitter: Twitter.com/Megan_Manzano
Website: meganmanzano129.wordpress.com
Facebook: facebook.com/meganmanzanoauthor
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeq3cFW7Dm_4IbCfSm6B72g
1 Comment
ultius scam link
26/8/2019 04:41:21 am

General blog is cracking for the full use of the offer for the parts for the candidates. The block is insured for the sufficient use of the offers. The tool is done for the advancement for the challenges. The mutual ray is opened for the factor analysis for the themes and students in the field.

Reply

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Want to guest blog or be interviewed? Got a cover reveal or book coming out? 

    Get in touch today!

    Archives

    January 2021
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    November 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    December 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly
Photo used under Creative Commons from bovinum
  • General Blog
  • What Authors Say About Us
  • #EditFoster Blog!
  • Talking Middle Grade
  • THE REJECTION CARE PACKAGE