Most short stories are about a main streak doing or motility something. When writing the short story it is vital to inaugurate the shape ' s relevant personality essence and underlying motivation in a quick, precise, fashion and thereupon let the lion ' s share of the story be about the doing. Here are some suggestions.
The longer the story, the more space you can earmark to characterization when writing a short story. Owing to a rule of dispense, unless it is strictly a spirit study, expend no more than 1 / 16 of the space establishing the complex ' s description.
In novels, a standing ' s personality can be demonstrated in that he or skirt is shown interacting with others or with aspects of the footing ( kicks dogs, hugs old women, gives to a charity, drives carelessly, crosses the journey with concentrated caution, and so on ). The preacher comes to make out the nature of the character by interpreting its actions even if never actually described. In a novel, an evil monster of a person may never be referred to in those terms. In a short story you can bet it will be! When writing the short story, crisp, definitive, adjectives and adverbs placed early in the piece are essential. Get the character established quickly and then keep him true to it as the story progresses.
I once had a creative writing teacher who hated adjectives and adverbs, contending they were a lazy author ' s way of doing what the larger context of the story should establish. I never fully agreed with that but she was a very successful author ( of novels! ). I especially disagree when writing the short story in which space for expository description is so severely limited.
Let ' s examine some examples of quick characterization as might be used in writing the short story.
In a novel one might begin with: The man sat alone on the porch in the rocking chair. It might imply a reclusive old man who was relatively inactive or tired, but the reader wouldnt know those things for sure until the author expanded the concepts. When writing a short story that sentence might become: The gaunt, gray haired, old man sat alone on the porch, motionless in his rocker, the mere thought of making it move exhausting him.
Another example from a novel: Mary went for a walk. It will take much elaboration for that information to become relevant to the story. When writing the short story that might be used as a grand opportunity for some crisp characterization. Mary, who had long since seen 80, pulled the red kerchief tightly around her gray hair, securing it against the morning breeze as she entered the familiar park in which she had played as a child.
One more as it might appear in a novel: Jasper was an unattractive man. When writing the short story that might become: The old man hated his name Jasper the same way he hated his high, wrinkled brow, narrow, sunken face, large nose, pointed chin, and over sized ears. By turning those original five words into 27 you have provided the reader with the equivalent of perhaps several pages of useful information as it would evolve in a novel.
Sometimes a single modifier can make the character. Transform the phrase, Her approach to life was consistent, into, Her upbeat approach to life was consistent. That one word addition changes the characterization from perhaps a rather bland person who may have been in some intransigent rut, to that of a perky person most us would like to meet and be around.
When writing the short story it is important to bring your character ( s ) into vivid focus in one or two precisely crafted sentences. The more character ' s there are the less space you have to allot for each.
