12 Tips for New Short Story Writers
Here are some tips for all the short fiction newbies out there!
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RELATED VIDEOS:
→How to Write a Short Story: • How to Write a Short S...
→Everything About Submitting Short Stories: • Everything About Submi...
→How Short Fiction Made me A Better Writer: • How Writing Short Stor...
→Specificity and Concrete Language: • Specificity and Concre...
→How to Write and Incorporate Flashbacks: • Using and Incorporatin...
→Symbolism: • How to Use Symbolism |...
→Creating Complex Characters: • Creating Complex Chara...
MY SHORT FICTION:
☾"I Will Never Tell You This" in The Puritan: puritan-magazine.com/never-tel...
☾"Solarium" in Minola Review: www.minolareview.com/shaelin-b...
☾"Barefoot" in The Fiddlehead [print]: thefiddlehead.ca/issue/282
☾"Wishbone" in PRISM international [print]: prismmagazine.ca/2020/04/19/pr...
☾"Wishbone" video reading: vimeo.com/420052282
☾"Cherry and Jane in the Garden of Eden" in The Puritan: puritan-magazine.com/cherry-an...
TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 - Intro
1:08 - Focus on story, not theme
2:15 - Use specificity
4:37 - The inciting incident
5:27 - Minimize the cast
6:35 - Minimize flashbacks
7:25 - Conflict
8:03 - Core event
8:37 - Compress the timeline
9:15 - Active characters
11:04 - Endings and choice
12:42 - Lift
13:27 - Information reveal
MORE WRITING TIPS: • Writing Tips
WRITING VLOGS: • Writing Vlogs
WRITING CHATS & DISCUSSIONS: • Writing & Authortube D...
BOOK REVIEWS: • Recent Reads
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There is now a part 2 to this video! Ft. 15 more short story tips: kzhead.info/sun/edybaLiSmYaijZs/bejne.html&lc=Ugw7iXsz97ZxuDrLuY14AaABAg
Hi! I know I'm late to this but I just wanted to say that this really helped me! Me and my friends are doing this giveaway thing where someone writes a story and hosts a giveaway. This week, it was my turn and I wanted to incorporate something into it to make it more of a challenge. I decided to write a short story and ask them to write me a paragraph on what it was about! They all said yes, so I sent them the full story. Apparently they wanted me to be the writer from now on, so I'm guessing that means they liked it? I'm surprised because I don't usually have the best grades in ELA so I didn't think I would do very well, but I guess I did! Thanks for these tips! 🥰❤️
Thank you I will write you a short story was very short maybe I don't know but yeah
Excuse me if I mess up anywhere cuz I'm not wearing my glasses. If I mess up you can fill in theSomething I come up with right. She was working on a ranch in Oklahoma City . She would help get the cattle back into the. Staples at night it was getting to just about turn winter. She was married to aHorrible who would beat who was about if she didn't get her chores done on the the . She was sitting under an apple tree when I started to she was trying to write stories stories of time when things perfect in her life. She lost her mother in a fire 2 years before she had this man NFL for him not knowing what would become her now. She was saving up money working for another person who lived down the street with his cattle. Trying to save up enough money to get out of her situation. She saw a man walking by with a suitcase looking for a job He had lived in Sussex England I moved to Oklahoma to start his business that he had in the area. But he had worked on ranches when he was a child so he thought that would be good for him while he was there. He had missed Oklahoma City so much where he had simpler times. Because his business and Sussex England had grew he had more worries more on his mind. Her husband had made her do things that she did not like dancing for money. But she didn't mind the dancing so much it was the beatings she grew to love the attention she got from dancing. One day when he was dancing he was there and he cat who caught her eye.. he was fond of her. While back at the ranch after dancing she went straight over to the other ranch hand that she worked for down the street. Hoping to catch not so working. She was raking up the stables when he popped to say hello. When both eyes meds you could see the passion that they felt for one another. She was given a deck of cards that his grandmother had gave to him when he was small because he had good luck with them. That's all I'm getting right now but the cards had meaning two something very powerful that he had always won every hand that's how he came to live in in England. Not knowing that they were magic and that they were more than just. He had become a dealer for gamblers in Arizona. The end right now
I think that my story is pretty boring and playing but hey🎉😢😢😢❤
“Oh, god. It multiplied.”
AHHAHA I WAS GONNA POST THIS EXACT COMMENT
Literally every time I've attempted at a short story
Tolkien while telling his kids a bedtime story
@@K3gelright lmao
"it's okay for the purpose of the story to be to tell a cool story about interesting people" - I really really needed to hear this
I have not written in MONTHS. Quarantine has seriously done something to me.
relatable !
When I retired I started writing short two-sentence flash stories. I found I could expand some of these into longer short stories. I also had an idea for a novel and started to write this-but I wrote some short stories about the main characters-their adventures, their upbringings, and backgrounds-and found I was beginning to weave the characters into stories where they interacted later in life as fully developed characters. Being retired, I have the luxury of writing whenever I want and whenever it takes me, and I am beginning to wonder how I might connect some of these stories into my work-in-progress novel. Don't know if I'll get anywhere with this, but it's fun. It has been like meeting my characters around a campfire (to use this classic metaphor) and letting them tell me about themselves.
Wow. That sounds like a really cool process that has led to a rich understanding of your characters and how to write them. I am a young (26) newer novelist still learning how to write and I'm looking for people who are writing that would be willing to let me read their works. I avail myself to be a beta reader if that's something you would like (even if these stories are just for fun as you said.) I would value anything I could learn from you as you seem to understand character development on a deep level. Would you allow me to read anything you've written?
These are excellent tips, insightful AND practical. So many lists of short story tips I read online are so generic and only offer "technically correct but functionally useless" advice. This is great though, thanks!
Yeah, basically all my "short" stories are now uncompleted novels... Hopefully that will change now :D
The way I make flashbacks in short stories is really just by a small mention of character's past, and have the rest of the story's events relate to the mention, and see how the character reacts. It let's the reader fill in the blanks instead of filling your story with flashback.
I am here for this look, Shaelin. Beautiful earrings. 🙌🏾
she is top tier waifu.
IKR MAN IKR!
@@danramirez8553virgin
@@danramirez8553virgin
I really love videos like these!! I’m a new writer, but I don’t have many resources to learn about creative writing :/. Your videos help me feel excited about writing and less overwhelmed.
Ayeee I love to hear that!
ShaelinWrites :)
Your hair looks so poppin in this vid tho?? Icon 👏🏽✨
Shaelin, I wrote a short story, The Charms of the Land Far last week and received feedback from my writing workshop. I wrote a poem, Garden’s Sweet Song yesterday. I absolutely love writing short stories with all my heart. I have certainly learned so much about writing short fiction throughout my writing journey. I read your short story, Cherry and Jane in the Garden of Eden and it is beautifully written. I will be submitting some of my short stories to Parallax in September. One of my short stories was recently rejected by Agni. I love writing because I enjoy creating stories with sublime words. The mere process of writing is so opulent and enriching. I feel like the quality of my short stories have improved over the years. I love you
"Who is inside." Isn't that always the question, though?
I came as soon as I got the notification! I love writing short stories and your tips are always so helpful :)
I really couldn't understand why you reminded me of 2017 Shaelin until I realised IT'S ZE HAIR You're so precious. And the hair looks nicc
Even my writing instructor told me my story was impossible to tell in 5 pages bc of the characters and events that happen, even though she liked the way it was written. This was helpful so I can just show a glimpse and write my story after the course ends
It's as if you're making videos just for me Thank you very much
SHAELIN YOU ARE A MAGIC WORKER I literally just switched over from novels to short stories
I was just watching your other video on short stories just earlier today. Solid advice, thank you!
I loved this video! I was just thinking of trying to start writing short stories again after a long time writing exclusively poetry so this was exactly what I needed.
Bro. Shaelin! How did you know I was trying to find this sort of video!? Thanks for uploading this!! :)
Great tips! Inspiring video, thank you! I haven’t been writing much, been stuck on a novel which might be thematically too complicated to solve with my small skills, and stressed out about everything else in life. This video gave me a spark to take notes and think about rewriting a short story that I abandoned a while ago. Thank you so much, Shaelin, for these tips and videos, you’re a star ⭐️⭐️⭐️.
Shaelin I’m grateful I found your videos, I’m starting my first “real” effort at 50 yrs old and I find your videos both helpful and comforting! Thank you 🙏
Saw this notification and became INSTANTLY more energized & excited. Thanks for always making such informative & helpful videos. Can’t wait to watch this one 😁
I love your videos on short stories! They’re so insightful!
YES. I've been struggling with the 3rd piece of my MG short story collection WIP cuz it got too big cuz I ended up adding one character/stoyline too many than what I originally outlined. I knew I was in trouble when it went over 4k and the 2nd Act just started. So, I took a long break from it. I know I need to, as my fiction prof said, "be wise with my page's real estate".
I've been following you for a while, I'd love to see you try your hand at interactive narration (video games, role playing). Where the player(s) act as an agent of chaos in the story. Game writers usually separate the story from the interactivity instead of embracing it. I feel like there is so much room for improvement in interactive storytelling.
Nice tips about getting key character traits clear to readers, how and when to reveal intriguing events, note about flashbacks, and how to give information during the short story. Insightful!
I just read Melting Point after this video and found it phenomenal. The story lives and breathes! So rich in atmosphere and voice 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾
Ahh thank you! That story is so old I'm not too proud of it anymore, it's nice to hear that someone enjoyed it :D
your advise is always so effective !!! tysm 💞
Love the earrings!! Thanks for the tips, and for all you do, really~
I listened to this whilst setting up for a writing weekend :) I now have all my notebooks and my keyboard and stuff out, along with a cosy bed to sit on and some comfy clothes.
this was extremely helpful! i'm currently writng short stories for my undergrad thesis and i've been getting in over my head because of how much weight this has on me! i kind of laughed everytime you said something i didn't know i needed to hear, like what i'd done wrong and what i can still improve. i've only recently discovered your channel and i'm looking forward to turning to you for a confidence booster. :)
Very helpful - thanks. I've just started writing short stories and this is solid advice - I always try to pack too much into them and they end up being novels!
I love your channel so much. Your tips are so insightful and UNIQUE. So many of them I've never even heard of before. You bring something new to AuthorTube. Thank you for what you do.
Ahh, short fiction is my favoriteeeee. Your advice is helpful as always
Love your earrings!!! Thank you for the tips, very helpful :)
I thought this was really helpful~~ I get ideas n my head but have a hard time writing them down on paper thank you for outlining it helped me out a lot!! Thank you!!
Thank you so much for sharing these tips. They are so valuable. Whoever reads this: Have an amazing day! Focus on what is important to you and don't hesitate to get to the point in future where you will have made it reality
I'm participating in a write-a-thon right now and I have to write a story each week, so this video was really helpful.
What's an inciting incident? An action or event that changes the course of the story. Example: The protagonist punches a police officer and flees. For short stories, you might as well think about starting with the inciting incident and then providing exposition at the start of the or throughout the rising action. This could be the protagonist explaining to a fellow outlaw all at once or revealed in pieces why he doesn't go out during the day and why he wears his hood up. Reversing the order of inciting incident and exposition is called in medias res and it's effective b/c you start with something exciting then you get to some slower talky-talky bits. Mixing exposition and rising action means you don't actually have slow talky-talky bits that overstay their welcome and your story doesn't have excessive lulls. Give the exposition using show don't tell or pick a dramatic tense moment for a juicy confession. All exposition should be done by the climax and that awful french word "denoument" unless you intentionally want to have an unanswered question just sitting thee the whole time, like "why did you punch the cop?" Questions keep people reading.
This video helped out so much. Thank you
I loved these tips! I'm gonna watch it a second time.
This is so helpful. I’m screenwriting for short films
Finished my Novel's First Draft yesterday and was rewatching your short story videos this morning
ayeeee congrats on finishing your draft, that's amazing !
Love the earrings and the advice. Thanks
I forgot about this video, but rewatching it I realise the ideas I subconsciously took away were to thank for my first successful (i.e finished lol) short story. so thanks shaelin!
Shaelin, thank you for your help! I’m embarking on my first real attempt at writing a short story at 50 yrs old! Also my surname is very similar to your first name which I find interesting. 🙏
This is so helpful! Thanks
It would be really cool if you could make a video just based on the actions and motivations of the characters in short stories, because I’m really struggling to make them feel like real people. P.S you make the best content ever!
This helped me a lot! Thank you very much :)
such great advice :) thank you!
Damn, it was FINALLY something new, new theory on writing that is not 100% obvious. Thank u✨
Great tips. I'm working on improving my Short Fiction, and your videos help. 😃💖💝
Thank-you so much for this.
Shaelin, big thanks!
Very helpful! Thank you!
Solid advice. Enjoyed this video.
I want to let you know this video was a tremendous help getting the opening paragraphs of my first story written! I'm feeling very enthusiastic! Thanks so much!
This video give me so much help!! thank you for the tips!
Happy it helped!
Thanks for the tips.
Very helpful tips!! Thank you ☺☺
3:55 The smile oh my god
Go back to investigating Light, L
ohh i didn't realize it's better to keep a small cast. I didn't realize but now it makes sense.
Great advice with examples!
Thanks for this video!
THE MINIMIZE THE CAST ONE!!! SO TRUE!!! This always happens to me; side characters steal my outline, as my friend says XD I also tend to get distracted by what I call the "worldbuilding science". By this I mean I can't be satisfied by any event that hasn't been explained: for example I have a story where a character from the past ends up in the present time, but I started getting super distracted by stuff like "oh man, how did she register for xyz? How is she paying rent? How did she know how to fill out the forms for abc?" :') Then, as I try to explain it to myself and start writing it all down, it turns into a novel ...
Thank you!
Hi, new here, I just wanted to thank you for the tips. I come from a background of novel writing, and I am really struggling to keep the stories I'm trying to write short and precise.
great tips, very helpful! Thank you :)
Thank you💕
Loved Cherry and the garden of Eden: it's your BLOODY best one...
Thank you!!
ShaelinWrites i also adored it!!! it really inspired me to write more short stories than i do which is why i’m on this video lol
Hi, My question is I have a paperback book already on Amazon with short stories, can I separate each of the stories and publish them seperatly with different Titles and covers as an ebook?
I only have one flashback in the story I'm writing and it's near the end.
I wanna use short stories to inspire me to write my book and to polish my writing skills
Wow, I learned some new things. Very cool video.
You look so pretty in this video!!
Rip Kudzu Girls, I want to read it so bad. I hope it ends up working out. So excited that Beautiful Animals and HMUTISTL are getting published, though!
Fantastic tips!
I'd just like to thank shaelin for adopting this little orphan baby into her universe
This is literally soooooo helpful oh my goddddddddddddddd!!!!
Speaking of your favorite tips from professors, I wouldn't mind a whole video of those....I wouldn't mind at all just sayin
These tips are amazing!! Also, you are absolutely gorgeous.
The main aim of short stories usually consists of one sentence for a draft usually a question what if? Subject a concoction and for any writer to find a bit of a story in it but when it comes to mystery and this sounds cheesy try and go after particular small talk riddles you know like give a twist and when it comes to plots make sure you add a twist just like real life person A wants a car that the neighbor has steals it frames it writes it off but person B the neighbor is now the main protagonist for wanting his car back something drastic happens whereas in novels it takes a certain build up for the tension to erupt in short stories you have people, with short fuses funny thought
I haven't ever written a short story (or really any sort of prose), but I do want to eventually. Regardless, I enjoy your takes. opinions, and tips on writing xD Thanks for another interesting video! :D
I hope this helps when you give fiction writing a try, you should give it a go if it's something that appeals to you!
@@ShaelinWrites I do think this will help :D I will definitely give it a try one day.
Those earrings makes you more beautiful
I have an idea for a story, but I'm not entire sure how it'll go. -I mean, I know how I want it to start and to end, but everything in between is sort of a question mark. -Though I do know what I want the story to entail, getting it onto paper is the brain tester. I've worked on writing it some in the past, but never really got past the first 2 or 3 chapters. I was also doing it like my story lines: having select story points in mind, but everything before, after, and in between, I just make up as I go. Though I'm wondering if I'd have better luck with trying to make it a series of short stories. Kind of like a written down book form of TV show episodes, except each short story is like a direct continuation of the last.
May you do more write with me's? I loved them!
They require kind of a perfect scenario to write (aka a piece of writing that I'm okay sharing in detail before publishing) but if something comes up I'd love to try one again!
@@ShaelinWrites Okay, thanks for responding!
"Oh God- it multiplied" 😂
That kudzu girls story sounds interesting.
Love it. Could you please consider making a video on writing novelettes? My short story is reaching novelette territory and it's only halfway done.
I'm not really qualified at the moment since I've never written one, but if I ever do I'll try to make a video about it!
@@ShaelinWrites Thanks!
Shaelin, I just finished writing a short novel, I am wondering if you publish book?
3:50 - My daughter writes short fiction and novels and she never names her characters. They introduce themselves to her. They tell her their name.
It love it when your voice cracks on the high notes. I don't mean for this to sound insulting or derogatory but you sound like a 13 year old boy going through puberty. I LOVE ALL YOUR VIDEOS! They're great! (Now I have to hear some of your current stuff to hear how your voice has changed over the last couple of years!)
I have an overdue exam hope this helps 😭😭
i love your earrings!!!!!!!!
Its hard to listen to your words and look at you at the same time. I cant focus due to being in love😍😍😍
Hmm... I'm new to short stories, so this should be helpful. I'm not sure I really agree with the tip that characters should never just be talking without also doing something, though. If the conversation isn't very interesting, then sure add an action, but at least in a novel, the reader should be invested enough in the characters that them "just talking" won't be boring. And if it IS boring, maybe you don't need that scene in the first place. Idk, I just think saying "add an action for them to be doing" is only going to help some of the time, and in short stories wayyyy more than in novels.
It wasn't an 'always/never' kind of tip, just something that can be helpful and that I find helps me!
It wasn't until watching this that I realized that I'm actually working on my Third short story. lol.
On which app do u write on and do u have a Grammer correct app ?? Or something else