Hatrack River Writers Workshop: Can it be done?

This is topic Can it be done? in forum Open Discussions About Writing at Hatrack River Writers Workshop.

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Posted by Zero (Member # 3619) on :

Ihave to write a shortstory that is about 7-15 pages. I have a story that I have been working through in my mind for almost a year. I'd like to hit two birds with the same rock and condense my idea into this short story. Except it is a long and complicated plot that really demands a novel, or two. Is there a proper format to do this, or are some stories simply impossible to truncate into short form? (Without too much quality loss)

Posted by Christine (Member # 1646) on :

It really does depend, but I find that most of the time you choose the format to fit that story and not the other way around.

Posted by hoptoad (Member # 2145) on :

A short story should encapsulate only one or two themes.
'Complicated' usually doesn't work.

[This message has been edited by hoptoad (edited March 05, 2007).]

Posted by RMatthewWare (Member # 4831) on :

When I get ideas for the story, they almost demand what format in which they must be told. If it is pretty simple and straight forward: short story. If it is complex with several ideas interweaving: novel. I think the only way you can condense an idea that is demanding from you at least two novels, you must strip it down to a few bare ideas and scrap the rest. Personally, I wouldn't do it. You have to stay true to your story, which is really staying true to your self. Whenever you force an idea, you risk killing the spirit of the story.

Matt

Posted by dee_boncci (Member # 2733) on :

7-15 pages is pretty short for something complicated plot-wise. You could try to pare down the number of characters and plot points, but it sounds like an uphill struggle.

Posted by tnwilz (Member # 4080) on :

I've faced this same issue. I agree with what everyone has said here.

Posted by Alethea Kontis (Member # 3748) on :

My philosophy: anything can be done.

"Sunday" was originally conceived for a short story contest in my Writers Group. But the idea kept growing and growing and growing...

It was when I finally admitted to myself that it had to be a novel that I knew EXACTLY how to make it a credible short story. I knew what I could cut from the main plot that the reader didn't need to know...without feeling like I was doing the story itself a disservice. After all, I was going to put everything back in when I wrote the novel.

It's amazing -- the more you edit, the less you realize your reader needs to know to advance the plot.

The story won second place in the contest, and went on to be published in Realms of Fantasy.

The novel I'm currently 7 chapters into.

It can always be done, if you want to do it.

[This message has been edited by Alethea Kontis (edited March 05, 2007).]

Posted by Zero (Member # 3619) on :

I feel like there is a lot of my story that is very important that would have to be changed or left out, which is a disservice. But I want to try anyway, maybe this will help me to better capture my image of what happens.

Also, not having read many short tories and written none, how does the short-story prose generally read? Is it common to go glide past whole events in simple lines and paragraphs, instead of "bringing the camera in close," to establish character through dialogue, etc. ?

Posted by RMatthewWare (Member # 4831) on :

The difference between a short story and a novel is primarily length.

Seriously.

You still have character development and plots, you're just seeing a snippet of life. A novel is longer, more plot lines, more development, slower pacing. A short story isn't really a quick novel, it's a smaller section of story.

Matt

Posted by LaceWing (Member # 3957) on :

quote:
. . . are some stories simply impossible to truncate into short form?

It can be a matter of what the reader needs to experience to get it. If the reader needs to linger, the story needs to be longer. You could think of ss as selected frames from a movie.

It would be good experience to try and learn from, so go for it.

Posted by Pyre Dynasty (Member # 1947) on :

I agree, give it a try. Then come back and report.

Posted by hoptoad (Member # 2145) on :

Short stories are as different to novels as poems are to short stories.

A short story requires greater economy of language than that required when writing a novel. They take, in my opinion, considerably more patience and rigour than the same length of prose in a novel.

Short stories are 'where the rubber meets the road' when it comes to assessing and developing your skills as a teller of tales.

Start by reading some short stories. Pay attention to the craftsmanship displayed in word choice. Notice the absence of extraneous structural elements that do not go to the heart of the story. There are no sub-plots in short stories.

It shouldn't take long... short stories are by their nature short.

[This message has been edited by hoptoad (edited March 06, 2007).]

Posted by hoptoad (Member # 2145) on :

PS:
To be more explicit: I think that formulating a short story is a different process and requires a different approach to writing a novel.

A short story is NOT simply a truncated novel. Neither is the process just a truncated version of the novel writing process.

Certainly, you can start writing a short story and in the writing have it expand into a novel. However, rarely do you start writing a novel and end up with a short story. Rather, you wind up with an unfinished novel on your hands.

Because the investment of resources, time and scope are different, you are better off planning a short story as a short story from the start and a novel as a novel from its beginning.

Posted by InarticulateBabbler (Member # 4849) on :

I'd advise reading some short stories before trying to write one. You'll find there are a wide variety of styles.

If you really must try to condense your novel idea, I would suggest that you focus on one character and one of his/her side-tracks. That way you save the integrity of your novel, but can still play around in the milieu that you're so anxious to get to. In this way, you can kill two birds with one stone.

[This message has been edited by InarticulateBabbler (edited March 07, 2007).]

Posted by dee_boncci (Member # 2733) on :

What I would try to do is identify the stories climactic scene and examine it stand-alone. Then identify the absolutely required development and work it into 1-2 scenes leading up to the climax. Then you can have a brief opening scene, and a brief closing scene for 5 total. If you can keep them to 3 pages each on average, you will be at about 15.

I would also strive for minimal number of characters and minimal number of scene locations. Both of those take a certain amount of "overhead" to set up, which will take space.

This probably necessitates some degree of plot simplification (how long would a synopsis of you envisioned novel be?), and might actually turn into a somewhat, but not entirely, different story.

Posted by Rommel Fenrir Wolf II (Member # 4199) on :

Anything can be dun if you set your mind to it, and work to achieve it. That is what I learned in the Army.
Rommel Fenrir Wolf II

[This message has been edited by Rommel Fenrir Wolf II (edited March 07, 2007).]