Thursday's Links to Writing & Marketing Blog Posts

A STRUCTURE FOR SHORT STORIES

By: Karen Woodward

I was going to take a break from talking about story structure but I came across a fabulous post by Chris Winkle over at Mythcreants, “Outline a Short Story in Seven Steps,” that I have to share.

I encourage you to head over to Chris Winkle’s site and read his article for yourself, what follows is what I’m going to call ‘a creative summary.’ Inevitably, I’ve filtered his ideas through my own point of view. One of the results of this is that CW’s seven points have blossomed into nine.

1. Create a problem.

This problem will be the central conflict of the story. I like to think of this as ‘the engine’ since this is what drives the story forward, as well as what will initially grab the readers curiosity. Additionally, this problem is what propels the protagonist to action.

CW advises writers to make this problem neither too easy nor too complex. He writes:

“... if you choose something trivial, you’ll work harder to make it meaningful, and if you choose something daunting, you could struggle to find a solution.”

Instead: “Look for a significant problem that can be solved by one person, in one scene.”

Great advice! I’m realizing why so many of my short stories morphed into novellas or novels: I have the habit of using problems that are much too big.

2. Create a character (the protagonist) to have this problem.

. . .

Read the full article HERE!

~*~

If you missed my writing & marketing tweets and retweets yesterday, here they are again:

1. Seven Key Elements of Pacing Your Novel--Plus a Mystery Box of Four Books/ARCs http://ow.ly/KcWdz
2. » Are you a Wannabe Novelist? Here are Five Writing Mistakes You’re Probably Making http://ow.ly/KcWmc
3. I rewrote my novel through a critique group but I’ve lost my way | Nail Your Novel http://ow.ly/KcWrf
4. Five Tips to Create a Winning Author Team - Where Writers Win http://ow.ly/KcWFx
5. Writing Your Character’s Thoughts | Linda S. Clare http://ow.ly/KcWLf
6. Why and How to Track Your Submissions « Flash Fiction Chronicles http://ow.ly/KcWPD
7. How to Tell if Back Story is Sabotaging Your Novel http://ow.ly/KcWV0
8. Productivity Tips for the Scattered Writer - Elizabeth Spann Craig http://ow.ly/KcX6w
9. How to Discover Analytics With the Google+ Dashboard | Social Media Examiner http://ow.ly/KcYg2
10. Surprising Tips for Getting Attention in Mass Media - Jeffbullas's Blog http://ow.ly/KdxZ2
11. Need More Time? Read These Tips to Maximize Your Social Media Efforts - Peg Fitzpatrick http://ow.ly/Kdy7Q
12. How to Add Pinterest Descriptions to Your Images http://ow.ly/KdyDz
13. How to get more views on your blog | Chris Hill http://ow.ly/KdAbz
14. What the Art of Storytelling Can Teach Us about Marketing by Jason Kong — The Book Designer http://ow.ly/KdAOT
15. Karen Woodward: A Structure For Short Stories http://ow.ly/KdAY4
16. Tips for Writing Non-Converging Parallel Plotlines » Writeonsisters.com http://ow.ly/KdB3k
17. Has Your eBook Been Pirated? What To Do: Step 1 | Molly Greene: Writer http://ow.ly/KdBhT
18. The Writers’ Room is always available for writers to work | The Passive Voice | http://ow.ly/KdBnf

Happy writing and running, Kathy