Secrets to writing a short story
51I'd like to share some of my secrets - those that I can identify anyway. In an e-newsletter I got recently on writing, it was stated that sometimes the rules should be ignored and a writer should "write from the heart." Well, I suppose I do this without even thinking about it. Don't get any misconceptions, though, writing has to at least a certain extent, become second nature to me. Part of that comes from my college level English classes taking me from a C level writer to an A level writer. The rest has been practice and a great deal of research. I was actually tested on grammar and punctuation and had to have a grade of 70 or higher.
It's true that an author should "write from the heart" but should also be knowledgeable about their topic at the same time. For example, my own short stories feature characters with a mythological background. To make sure I used appropriate mythological figures, I did a great deal of research to make the characters the most effective possible.
Essays are not just some dumb assignment English teachers give us to annoy us - they're important practice, believe it or not. For what is a story, article like this one or even a newspaper article if not a different form of essay?
A favorite analogy that makes a great deal of sense that my English 101 instructor used was this: think of an essay like a hamburger - two buns, meat, lettuce and tomato, right? The top bun with the nice sesame seeds is your introductory paragraph with the topic sentence and hook. The meat, lettuce and tomato of the essay are your supporting paragraphs which feature quotes, and transitions to help discuss the topic or prove the point. The final paragraph is your other half of the bun. That bun is a simple recap of your sesame seed bun but not any less important. So, how does this apply to a story?
Simple. A story also needs a hook and topic or you lose the readers immediately. There's your first bun again. Your meat, lettuce and tomato are all the actions of the characters and your climax to make the story its most exciting. Your last bun may be a bit of a recap to help readers remember better some of the most important action in case you want to write a sequel. See now why an essay is so important?
The rest of it is the same as everything else in life: practice. The wisest saying I've ever seen was this: practice makes perfect. Though it's not completely true. The best writer in the world will never be done practicing - ever. Nothing is ever perfect and all practice does is bring you closer to it, but perfection should never be considered attained. Practice is an on-going thing and completely never ending.
With all that said, here's hoping that other young writers like myself will see the importance of an essay and practice constantly, never satisfied even with an A+ grade in school!
