Noirllyn

For the longest time, I've had a problem with verbosity, and I suppose overwriting, in prose. The other day, I sat down to write a story with a 3,500 word limit. The first time I hit the word counter I was almost at 5,000 and nowhere near done. Essentially, whenever I try to write a short story, it quickly progresses to the size of a novella or the first few chapters of a novel.

The bigger problem, though, is that I really don't have much to delete from these things. I could shave a few hundred words off here and there if I really squeeze it, but other than that, the descriptions are necessary and the language is rather specific. Even when I let “tightening” freaks look over things, my stories are still “plus sized” if not novellas. I think the problem is actually that I think of such large plots that they cannot be fit into short stories with the same effect.

How do you decide on the appropriate/realistic length of a story and make sure that you stick to it? How do you determine whether a story is going to be a short story or should be a novella or novel–or do you just write and things end up whatever length they are? How do you reduce your wordcount when you feel like you've exhausted routine procedures?

Should I give up on the idea of writing a short story, or is there some sort of way to assure that my story will... be short?




Anyone else have this problem?

__________________

JosephB

I used to have this problem. Reading helped me more than anything. Check out Raymond Carver, Amy Hempel or Grace Paley. Short story writers that pack a wallop with very few words. There's always Hemingway, too.

__________________
"The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources."
-- Albert Einstein

"I am really only interested in a fiction of miracles."
-- Flannery O'Connor

Flintenspiel

I seem to have an exactly opposite problem. I can't stretch out a piece, but I can write a short short like nobody's business.

As far as cutting and deleting go, I was taught an exercise for trimming the length of a story. Take it in steps: first, set a marginal goal--a story with a limit set at say, 3500 words. then, you trim it until its, say 3000 words. Then you trim it to, say 2500 words, etc etc. by then, you start getting the hang of what is very important to keep, and the stuff you can remove. It can be quite a painful process, these are your words and sentences and ideas. You put them there, why should you remove them? Its actually surprising what you can remove when you really sit down and try.

Also, I'm sure you can find people here that will be more than willing to help you cut lengths.

SevenWritez

Could you please post snippets of this story so that I may attempt to edit it? I don't mean this as a challenge, as I have a genuine interest in editing papers (so long as they're not mine, of course--I fit into the category of writer who hates every damn thing he puts out). The thing is, you may think the details are neccesary, while in truth they are not. And no, don't give up on your short story. Have someone look at this gargantuan piece and see if they can cut it.

Just Jim

I think you answered your own question:
Before you start to write, ask yourself "what is this story about?" If it's big and complex, then ask yourself "But what is the essential story?" Reduce it to one main character, one problem or situation, and two or three scenes. Then, write only what is necessary to support that small plot.

You can still go back and use the big plot to write your novella, but your small plot should not require 5,000 words.

__________________

http://jimsstories.wordpress.com/
__________________
The Oddville Press
Accepting short stories, poetry, and art.

Mike C

indeed. Cut the crap. Forget the plot. Focus on an event, a person, not a grand sweep of history. Think snapshot, not movie.

__________________
My writing
My Photo Blog
Web design for Writers
The Oddville Press

strangedaze

Agree with Mike and JJ - plot would be a good place to start. You might also have a problem with over-description, too little dialogue, too much contemplation or maybe you just go on tangents that are pretty but pointless. You could post something and have everyone look at it to make sure it's not a stylistic issue. If it is plot related, then do what Mike says: focus on a single event, person, etc.

Out of curiosity, what tense and POV do you usually work in?

__________________
His sins were scarlet, but his books were read.

Noirllyn

Thanks for replying, everybody. I'll post a few segments soon.

If I absolutely need more than three scenes or so, I shouldn't think of something as a short story? I know technically I never "need" three or more scenes, but I mean, if I don't see a point in writing a specific story unless I cover a certain intellectual/chronological area?

I suppose time lapse be a good indicator of the necessary length of a story, too? I find that most of my stories take at least a week for my characters to get through, usually months and years. I've never tried to put a story of years into short-story length, but I'm noticing, now that I look back on my short stories that were of acceptable lengths, most of them only took a day (or less) in story time.

As far as POV and tense, I usually write in past tense and switch between third-limited and first person.

__________________

Mike C

Try a single scene or a single day, and work from there.

__________________
My writing
My Photo Blog
Web design for Writers
The Oddville Press