Some questions about short stories:
- Is a short story always about a change in a character? If so is Cinderella a short story? Does she change?
- How long is a short story?
- Is a short story one or many? Does it have one theme, one setting, focus on one character? In general, does the word ONE describe a short story?
- Is it easy to get a short story published? On the Internet?
- Can you make a living writing short stories?
A CHECKLIST FOR SHORT STORIES
- Compelling open _________
- Characterization _________
- Interesting plot _________
- Dialogue natural _________
- Pace good _________
- POV consistent _________
- Protagonist take action _________
- Setting effective _________
- Theme developed _________
Images courtesy of:
- moehidaza.blogspot.com
- cartoonstock.com
Writers Write Daily 
Golly, Ed, what riches you display! Any one of those points was worth a blog. Re making a living out of short stries – FORGET IT. I have won 3 major story comps in Australia (worth > $3K) and been published in 2 huge Oz mags (worth >$3K), but I calculate that over a 20-year period, I have made around A$10.00 a week from short stories.
Better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick, but still …
Best to you,
DdeV
You’ve done well with short stories. I read somewhere that the income for the average North American writer is $4,000 a year. We must be doing this wonderful art for reasons other than money.
Ed
http://edgriffin.net/
Thanks for the good story stuff, Ed. My Hong Kong students are “getting into” Roald Dahl, and I’ve put a link on to http://www.lsform3.blogspot.com
Thanks for the link
Ed
http://edgriffin.net/
Amazing post Ed,Great checklist too i love it 🙂 I totally agree, the opening must be compelling!
One author says your opening should be as compelling as a heart attack. That’s a little extreme, but good point.
I like your web blog. Short, easy to read, quick ideas.
Ed
http://edgriffin.net/
I never thought about it before, but your query about Cinderella’s a good one! I suspect that fairy tales don’t follow the hero’s journey model, which, after all didn’t gain prominence until after Jung’s work was well established. In fairy tales, the good girl remains the good girl, the wicked witch remains the wicked witch, etc. Fairy tales deal in archtypes and archtyes don’t change.
The debate among some writers is whether Cinderella changes. Is the story about a passive female to whom things happen. As one woman friend of mine said, “She’s a wimp before the prince and a wimp after.
The point that Joseph Campbell (thru Christopher Vogler) is that the hero in a story is the person who changes the most. Certainly Cinderella’s condition changes, but does she change?
The rule has helped me a lot –The hero is the person who changes the most.
Ed
http://edgriffin.net/
I read somewhere that your protagonist doesn’t have to change all the time but can simply be revealed for some truth about them. An interesting idea that will probably annoy most academics. Can the change be implied from the events of the story (as in Cinderella over-coming her evil stepmother; a life changing event for sure)? I think at the end of the day someone’s view on the story is simply what they want to get or not get out of it. All this boils down to the question: As a writer, have you written a compelling story for your reader? Whose changes or been revealed doesn’t matter. Was your reader entertained?
Thanks for an interesting opinion, David, and something new (to me, anyway). I agree that a short story must be entertaining, but I do want my hero to change.
Ed
http://edgriffin.net/
Hi, I think your site might be having browser compatibility issues. When I look at your website in Safari, it looks fine but when opening in Internet Explorer, it has some overlapping. I just wanted to give you a quick heads up! Other then that, fantastic blog!
Thanks, Julia. I tried it out and it was okay, but I’ll get a friend to try it. Thanks for the heads up
Ed
http://edgriffin.net/
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