Common Errors In Short Stories
The title of an article in the August The Writercaught my attention, “How to fix 3 common fiction errors.” I didn’t read the article before I wrote what I thought were the most common errors found in short stories, in fact I didn’t read the magazine’s until after I wrote mine. I wanted to see if anything overlapped.
If we are going to treat our writing seriously, then we have to be serious about improving how and what we write. Rather than resist suggestions and ideas because we don’t want to take the effort needed, we have to force ourselves, if needed, to take those extra steps to write better stories. One step is to avoid and erase errors. I may not be able to cover all the possible errors, but the following are some of the mistakes to avoid.
Too much detail and information. Remember, short stories are short. If too many sub-plots, too much information, too many characters find their way way into the story, the length moves from short story to novella or novel. A short story needs to be more compact and concise than either a novella or novel. Therefore, the writer needs to decide on one plot, one major conflict, and what details are absolutely necessary to move the story along.
Too much exposition at the beginning. We have a short (pun intended) time to catch the attention of a reader. Therefore, a writer needs to “hook” the reader immediately. Starting with some action is one good technique. If action can’t be used at the very beginning, then have some within the first three or four (and that’s stretching it) paragraphs.
Confusion. Mixing format, construction, thesis, structure, or points of view results in the reader being confused. Also not following the guidelines for the genre can result in readers who expect certain elements that are missing or misused. Having the mechanics correct is a must.
No originality. There are no new basic ideas left, true, but each idea can be addressed differently. A writer should be able to “twist” the old idea in a new way or concept.
Not researching. Even stories need to have correct information. Placing a real town in the wrong part of a state causes a lack of credibility.
*Picks up article and reads it.* Interesting: I have five errors to avoid, and this article has three. Two points slightly fit with one of mine: Confusion. Peter Selgin, in his article (”The usual SUSPECTS,” The Writer August 2007), states that mishandling of viewpoint is one of the largest problems. His second error is the failure to distinguish between background, flashback, and present story: ah, confusion. His third problem is the withholding of information or failure to provide vital statistics, that a story writer’s job is to tell stories, not hide them.
Hopefully the given errors to avoid will help authors write better stories.
After teaching composition for twenty-five years and becoming an author on http://www.Writing.Com/ a site for Poetry, Vivian Gilbert Zabel, also writing as V. Gilbert Zabel, produced Hidden Lies and Other Stores, Walking the Earth:, and The Base Stealers Club, which can be ordered through most book
Tags: errors, short_stories, solutions, writing_tips