~ 1,000 - 7,500 words
The ’regular’ short story, usually found in periodicals or anthology collections. Most ’genre’ zines will feature works at this length.
Novellette
~ 7,500 - 20,000 words
Novella
~ 20,000 - 50,000 words
Basically anything over 50,000 words qualifies as a novel.
I just completed the first draft of "The Whale's Lawyer."
Just shy of 7500 words. 14 chapters, written in 7 days and strangely complete. I really wanted it to be a novella, but it's apparently just a short story.
The idea was to "speed write" a short novel or novella incorporating the writing tips printed earlier (copied below), but it seems like everything that needed to be said was in there at 7500 words-subject to a few edits. Go figure.
For those of you who read my blog, it is "the monster" with a fish added.
For those of you who read my blog, it is "the monster" with a fish added.
Character: To make a great character, start with a personal quirk that will
stay with the reader. Eliminating all thought words (he thought) and put
in behavior which shows the thought and behavior can include action, body
language, memory. It's show, not tell. What are the motivations of
characters not facts for historical fiction.
Voice: 1 page of most interesting narrative voice-make it someone you'd want to know, good or evil. Deeply about personality; about point of view. What they want to convey is conveyed largely through the tone of voice.
One technique to help with the voice is to have constant surprise. This jolt can come from a turn of phrase, description not heard before; make them sound more interesting than a real person or easier to understand. Quirky people saying unexpected things in unexpected ways. Whenever anyone talks, make sure there is necessary meaning, not a slump. And while quirky don't go too far. e.g. "History doesn't repeat itself but it does come awfully close."
Creating Page turning momentum: Some form of tension (a question that needs to be answered or conflict that must be resolved). Avoid activity vs action. Necessary action only, that thrusts forward the story. You're not going from one room to another unless there is a reason. Yearning is another technique-this must be palpable-a deep place. If not yearning, then fear-of something people understand, like poverty. Passion, how about passion, isn't my personal story driven by passion, one that has lasted my whole life? If not passion, the desire. I want therefore I am.
Start the story-1-3 sentence tag lines, a strong lead in. What does the story mean to the writer in summary: Here's the tag line: Stealing the gold casino; desperate people risk everything with a storm coming to steal the skimmed, untaxed winnings of a corrupt casino operator.
Here are some other examples: Boy meets girl, she's a fish, Titanic in space
In my case, the lawyer's client is a whale.
Voice: 1 page of most interesting narrative voice-make it someone you'd want to know, good or evil. Deeply about personality; about point of view. What they want to convey is conveyed largely through the tone of voice.
One technique to help with the voice is to have constant surprise. This jolt can come from a turn of phrase, description not heard before; make them sound more interesting than a real person or easier to understand. Quirky people saying unexpected things in unexpected ways. Whenever anyone talks, make sure there is necessary meaning, not a slump. And while quirky don't go too far. e.g. "History doesn't repeat itself but it does come awfully close."
Creating Page turning momentum: Some form of tension (a question that needs to be answered or conflict that must be resolved). Avoid activity vs action. Necessary action only, that thrusts forward the story. You're not going from one room to another unless there is a reason. Yearning is another technique-this must be palpable-a deep place. If not yearning, then fear-of something people understand, like poverty. Passion, how about passion, isn't my personal story driven by passion, one that has lasted my whole life? If not passion, the desire. I want therefore I am.
Start the story-1-3 sentence tag lines, a strong lead in. What does the story mean to the writer in summary: Here's the tag line: Stealing the gold casino; desperate people risk everything with a storm coming to steal the skimmed, untaxed winnings of a corrupt casino operator.
Here are some other examples: Boy meets girl, she's a fish, Titanic in space
In my case, the lawyer's client is a whale.
No comments:
Post a Comment