Short story writers: how do you write your first draft?

[AnnieSummerlee]

Hiya everyone. I'm writing a blog post for an event of sorts, and I'm interested in knowing if anyone has any particular tricks/rules that they follow when drafting a short story. If you don't write short stories but think the process (of writing novels or poetry etc) is similar, feel free to share!

 

[Hannah Faoileán]

By short stories, how short do you mean? I usually write very short i.e. flash fiction or under 1000 words, generally to competition or other submission wordcounts.

I decide on a theme, a basic storyline and mull it over in my head. I decide what the beginning and end will be and what kind of agency my main character has. Once the story is pretty much fully formed, I write it. Then I put it aside and go back to it days/weeks later so I can read it with fresh eyes.
I do a writing exercise a week based on some prompt or a first sentence. Some end up as just useful exercises, but some turn into flash fiction stories.
I've written a couple of longer shorts, but I like the flash fiction form, and it doesn't take much time or brain away from my novel writing.

Poetry: I don't sit down and try to write poetry, but every now and then, the muse hits me with one, and I write it down. Then I leave it and go back to it after days/weeks with fresh eyes and tweak. That's when I consider assonance or alliteration; are the stressed or unstressed syllables in the right places; is there a more suitable word choice etc. Sometimes a line is off for some reason, so I put it away and come back to it months later. I can usually fix it then.

 

[Brayati]

Ah, the short story. I don't do flash pieces, but even for shorter shorts, I do some form of build. What that means is that the end has a resonance with something that flows throughout the story, and each 'event' or 'happening' in the story is foreshadowed and notable as the incitement to the event/happening. For example, if a number is seen on a board, then something in the POVs internalisation/dialogue will comment on that number if it plays a part in the story, and of course, it will play a part in the story - or it wouldn't be there.
666, I see on the end of the phone number on his card. That's the first thing in the bin on my way out. Second is the smell of his breath, lingering like snake piss in the air. This man isn't what she seeks. Death, yes, evil, no.

There must be a plan, a reason for everything, and the end must be satisfying in some way. Either it answers the questions raised, or it gives the real reason for the question and reshapes perception, or it makes a lie of the character's raison d'etre.
A story with no meaning isn't a story, nor even a slice of life. Everything has a reason to be, and more so in a short piece. To leave a reader scratching their heads is to lose a reader.

 

[Peyton Stafford]

I try to write short stories, but they usually come to 10K words or more, so they are novelettes. At the moment, I am paring 10K+ down to 6K for a contest.

By short stories, how short do you mean? I usually write very short i.e. flash fiction or under 1000 words, generally to competition or other submission wordcounts.

I decide on a theme, a basic storyline and mull it over in my head. I decide what the beginning and end will be and what kind of agency my main character has. Once the story is pretty much fully formed, I write it. Then I put it aside and go back to it days/weeks later so I can read it with fresh eyes.
I do a writing exercise a week based on some prompt or a first sentence. Some end up as just useful exercises, but some turn into flash fiction stories.
I've written a couple of longer shorts, but I like the flash fiction form, and it doesn't take much time or brain away from my novel writing.

Poetry: I don't sit down and try to write poetry, but every now and then, the muse hits me with one, and I write it down. Then I leave it and go back to it after days/weeks with fresh eyes and tweak. That's when I consider assonance or alliteration; are the stressed or unstressed syllables in the right places; is there a more suitable word choice etc. Sometimes a line is off for some reason, so I put it away and come back to it months later. I can usually fix it then.

Very disciplined approach. Poetry springs from the heart, though I bet there are writing blogs about how to do it by a formula, just like about writing novels. Step one. Step two. Nevermind your feelings. Like we were taught in school, when we decided we hated English lit and opted to pursue a degree in AI.

 

[Peyton Stafford]

To clarify, I write stories. The muse shows me stories. I write them. It's all up to her. Contests? Find one that fits me or you. Not the other way around. I am not, and you are not, a hooker.

Maybe not for you, but for me the story is the essence. Agonizing about blurbs and synopses and how seductive they may be to an imaginary audience of agents makes me puke. I am not writing porn. Neither are you.

Why don't you just show us your blog post and go from there?

 

[Pamela Jo]

To clarify, I write stories. The muse shows me stories. I write them. It's all up to her. Contests? Find one that fits me or you. Not the other way around. I am not, and you are not, a hooker.

Maybe not for you, but for me the story is the essence. Agonizing about blurbs and synopses and how seductive they may be to an imaginary audience of agents makes me puke. I am not writing porn. Neither are you.

Why don't you just show us your blog post and go from there?

So much easier to sell porn, that's the problem. I do think you have a place in the experimental and erotic magazines out there. Damn the commercial, fullspeed into the unknown.

 

[Pamela Jo]

I pants short stories. Maybe I shouldn't, but like poetry they start with an image, a feeling and go from there. I can't imagine outlining them the way I do a novel.

 

[AnnieSummerlee]

By short stories, how short do you mean? I usually write very short i.e. flash fiction or under 1000 words, generally to competition or other submission wordcounts.

I decide on a theme, a basic storyline and mull it over in my head. I decide what the beginning and end will be and what kind of agency my main character has. Once the story is pretty much fully formed, I write it. Then I put it aside and go back to it days/weeks later so I can read it with fresh eyes.
I do a writing exercise a week based on some prompt or a first sentence. Some end up as just useful exercises, but some turn into flash fiction stories.
I've written a couple of longer shorts, but I like the flash fiction form, and it doesn't take much time or brain away from my novel writing.

Poetry: I don't sit down and try to write poetry, but every now and then, the muse hits me with one, and I write it down. Then I leave it and go back to it after days/weeks with fresh eyes and tweak. That's when I consider assonance or alliteration; are the stressed or unstressed syllables in the right places; is there a more suitable word choice etc. Sometimes a line is off for some reason, so I put it away and come back to it months later. I can usually fix it then.

I'm including everything from micro-fiction to around 1000 words. I usually write above 1000, but for the sake of the blog in question, it has to be 1000! I love the idea of doing a writing exercise a week. I used to write short stories frequently, but I've been so caught up in my novel recently that I've not been able to write anything new.

What that means is that the end has a resonance with something that flows throughout the story, and each 'event' or 'happening' in the story is foreshadowed and notable as the incitement to the event/happening.

I love this! I used to be a member of an in-person workshop, and this is what our instructor brought up. There has to be a driving force in the story to make the ending feel inevitable, and everything we include must have purpose.

Why don't you just show us your blog post and go from there?

I haven't started yet! I'm doing a combo of reading craft books and getting a sense of what they say on the subject and asking people on here. It's for an annual writing event based on short story prompts. I'll share a link to their site once it's live!

I pants short stories.

I do that half of the time. Sometimes I'll start writing without even a hint of what it will be about, and then see what the first draft tells me. But others I get the idea and will either work on it like @Hannah F does, or write the first draft asap, depending on the idea.

Anyways, thanks, everyone! I loved your answers.

 

[Peyton Stafford]

So much easier to sell porn, that's the problem. I do think you have a place in the experimental and erotic magazines out there. Damn the commercial, fullspeed into the unknown.

I did not mean to say that commercial fiction is porn. Stephen King, for instance, is commercial, but in his book on writing he said he starts stories not knowing where they are going. That's how I try to write, though I don't have his talent. If other writers want to write in a more planned and scientific way, that's fine with me. Sorry if I was ranting.

 

[Pamela Jo]

I did not mean to say that commercial fiction is porn. Stephen King, for instance, is commercial, but in his book on writing he said he starts stories not knowing where they are going. That's how I try to write, though I don't have his talent. If other writers want to write in a more planned and scientific way, that's fine with me. Sorry if I was ranting.

Ranting is allowed on here. In fact I think it's the norm. I would call you an intuitive writer. I thought the rant was on all the marketing stuff we have to do AFTER writing. If only stories about middle-aged ladies and murdering chihuahuas were as easy to sell as Porn.