Tuesday 18 October 2016

Things To Know To Submit Short Stories

By Peter Wilson


Learning how to write a novel begins with writing short stories. This is because they do not require as much time and space as the novels do. A typical story is between 200 to 6000 words while a novel is more than this. The more time you spend on a piece of prose, the more you deviate from the short story concept. It should not take you more than 50 hours to submit short stories for a competition.

Every good writer starts with a premise. By the end of the day, it gives a good feeling when what the reader saw at the beginning of the page is exactly how the writing is concluded; this is what a good premise does. The premise does not need to be long but it is important that it carries a powerful message which the reader understands as he goes through the write-up.

Before you start writing your prose, it is important to get your materials ready. Your pencil, note book, biros, dictionary, a comfortable table, chair and anything else to make you comfortable. Organize your ideas and get to work as soon as you can.

Ideas to your story may not come the time you want it. Actually, inspirations for your short story can be gotten anytime. Once your mind is made up to do this, you are encouraged to carry along a pen and jotter where you can note any idea that comes your way. By having many of them, you can come up with a summarized writing that can win a prize.

Character development is perhaps the most critical moment of a story teller. Not defining them well will make the piece of prose difficult to understand and the reader may find it boring. The actions they take should be consistent except when another lesson should be learned from the story.

A small story should not take more than two plots. In fact, with just one plot, the narrator has a better chance of grabbing the prize over someone with two or more plots. Also, the events should not occur within a wide time frame. It is better to write for a season, a month or a year.

The person who tells the story is also important. There are three people who can tell the story you have written: the first person, the second person and the third person. The first person is the narrator himself as he uses the word 'I'. This is an easier form of writing but the writer may have the challenge of explaining hidden facts about his characters. A second person narration includes the reader as a part of the characters as he reads the word 'you' while in the third person, 'he' 'she' and 'it'are the most frequent words.

It is awkward to let your fears prevent you from writing. Every expert once had the same experience of not knowing how to start and the only way they overcame was by writing something down even if it meant editing it later. Only make sure your first line can grab attention and the rest of the matter becomes easier.




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