Hola Brian, I’m new to the Lunar Awards. Thank you for writing this article. I’m also new writing speculative fiction, I want to learn to write fantasy stories. I was wondering if you have a class on short stories or have any recommendations on books or courses on short fiction writing. I have read On Writing by Stephen King, Save The Cat by Brody, Characters & View Point by Orson Scott, Plot by Ansen Dibell and a few books on writing by John Truby 😅 but nothing specifically on short stories. I would love to write a novel but since I have never written fiction before I’m thinking writing short stories could be a less overwhelming task for me at the moment and a good practice.
Hi Paloma! That's wonderful that you want to write short stories. I think they are a fantastic introduction to storytelling, and not quite as scary as tackling a novel to start. You've already read some great books that will help you in the journey and the only other two recommendations I could think to make are Brandon Sanderson's wonderful teaching series, which you can find here:
Really, the best way to begin now is by writing a short story. Don't worry about quality. Just write and finish a few stories. If possible, join a critique group, and read lots and lots of short stories. Start with literary (there are plenty of collections out there) and then move onto genre specific. I hope that helps, but if you have other questions, feel free to ask!
As a writer who struggles with writing shorter stories as opposed to novels, this was helpful. Because what I struggle with, specifically, isn't great characters with compelling problems, but writing impactful stories. I read your example stories, and I'll be thinking about the impact and message of The Gift for days. I can only point to one or two of my short stories that pack a punch like that. But I'll keep trying, and keep learning. Your piece is a big part of that, so thank you.
Thank you for reading and commenting, Carolyn. Writing those kinds of stories is a great goal to strive for, and it's not always that we can make such an impact on the reader. There are times, though, when I just want to write something fun, or different and play around with technique and sentence structure. Those stories can be entertaining as well. Thanks again for your feedback!
Great read. I'm a rookie, and a have subconsciously incorporated a lot of these tips without understanding why. I'm still "finding my voice" while at the same time being inspired by writers such as Steven Erikson, but I digress.
Thanks for the encapsulating what I was trying to figure out.
That's great you're already employing some of these! Much of that can come naturally through reading other speculative fiction. You sort of get a sense for what works. Thanks for reading and commenting, Andrew. 👍
I've had a difficult relationship with writing short fiction, since you pretty much have to write them if you take creative writing classes in college. Speculative fiction also isn't always welcome there. And I never felt like my ideas really fit within the space those classes allowed. One of my pieces has been at a cursed length where it's too long for most short story publications, but too short for anywhere else.
But now that I'm not being forced to write within restrictive page or word count limits I've warmed up to them a bit, as you can tell from my submission to the first Lunar Awards. I'm more compatible with short stories then I realized, mine just tend to be larger than the space I was given to work with. I prefer writing a story as long as it needs to be.
Also I may have sweated a bit with that mention of talking swords as a hard sell.
Hey William, as far as the hard sells are concerned, those are hard sells because so many people write them, not because they can't be good stories. It's possible there are plenty of well told short stories with those elements that are loved by readers, but that makes standing out from the crowd harder. I don't have hard sells on the Lunar Awards. I'm looking for the best, and if it happens to involve a talking sword, then so be it. 😁
Your experience with short stories in college is not unlike many I've heard. There's this notion that everyone can enjoy literary fiction, while genre has a smaller readership, which makes it harder to judge on merit in classes with new writers and a professor that may not understand the genre in question. As far as the word count, I've read several collections of short stories where the shorts are as long as 10k words. In my experience those overstate their intentions, but it takes lots of practice to refine further. I'm finding now I need a solid 1500 words to craft a great story, but could easily stretch some to 2500 words if I feel it warrants that.
Was joking a bit with the talking sword part, hard to convey tone through text though, and using something like lol didn't quite feel right there.
I'm not a fan of short word counts as any sort of limit or ideal, I'm not a maximalist but I am an anti minimalist. Some professors are just biased against the speculative genres unfortunately. Haven't heard that claim about 'literary' fiction before but it's comical when put against the reality of sales figures. I had a writing professor who didn't know fantasy but was very helpful since he accepted the genre regardless.
Thank you for this informative post! I just joined the Lunar Awards yesterday, and it's great to see that I made a good choice. The tips shared seem simple, such as sticking to the genre, but fleshing them out makes all the difference. Establishing the rules for world building is really important too, especially when you're creating a new universe with fantasy and sci-fi. Thanks again Brian, and I look forward to seeing more of what you have to give!
Very helpful tips, thank you Brian. Love your work.
Thank you, Pennie!
My pleasure
Hola Brian, I’m new to the Lunar Awards. Thank you for writing this article. I’m also new writing speculative fiction, I want to learn to write fantasy stories. I was wondering if you have a class on short stories or have any recommendations on books or courses on short fiction writing. I have read On Writing by Stephen King, Save The Cat by Brody, Characters & View Point by Orson Scott, Plot by Ansen Dibell and a few books on writing by John Truby 😅 but nothing specifically on short stories. I would love to write a novel but since I have never written fiction before I’m thinking writing short stories could be a less overwhelming task for me at the moment and a good practice.
Thank you in advance,
Paloma
Hi Paloma! That's wonderful that you want to write short stories. I think they are a fantastic introduction to storytelling, and not quite as scary as tackling a novel to start. You've already read some great books that will help you in the journey and the only other two recommendations I could think to make are Brandon Sanderson's wonderful teaching series, which you can find here:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvtC9YkI-bnKT9i0smSulYmUX-b0tAhFZ
And then you may find Flanner O'Connor's Mystery and Manners to be helpful:
https://www.amazon.com/Mystery-Manners-Occasional-Prose-Classics/dp/0374508046
Really, the best way to begin now is by writing a short story. Don't worry about quality. Just write and finish a few stories. If possible, join a critique group, and read lots and lots of short stories. Start with literary (there are plenty of collections out there) and then move onto genre specific. I hope that helps, but if you have other questions, feel free to ask!
Thank you for taking your time Brian.
I will start with your suggestion’s.
And yes, that was really helpful.
Have a great day 💫
As a writer who struggles with writing shorter stories as opposed to novels, this was helpful. Because what I struggle with, specifically, isn't great characters with compelling problems, but writing impactful stories. I read your example stories, and I'll be thinking about the impact and message of The Gift for days. I can only point to one or two of my short stories that pack a punch like that. But I'll keep trying, and keep learning. Your piece is a big part of that, so thank you.
Thank you for reading and commenting, Carolyn. Writing those kinds of stories is a great goal to strive for, and it's not always that we can make such an impact on the reader. There are times, though, when I just want to write something fun, or different and play around with technique and sentence structure. Those stories can be entertaining as well. Thanks again for your feedback!
Great read. I'm a rookie, and a have subconsciously incorporated a lot of these tips without understanding why. I'm still "finding my voice" while at the same time being inspired by writers such as Steven Erikson, but I digress.
Thanks for the encapsulating what I was trying to figure out.
That's great you're already employing some of these! Much of that can come naturally through reading other speculative fiction. You sort of get a sense for what works. Thanks for reading and commenting, Andrew. 👍
I've had a difficult relationship with writing short fiction, since you pretty much have to write them if you take creative writing classes in college. Speculative fiction also isn't always welcome there. And I never felt like my ideas really fit within the space those classes allowed. One of my pieces has been at a cursed length where it's too long for most short story publications, but too short for anywhere else.
But now that I'm not being forced to write within restrictive page or word count limits I've warmed up to them a bit, as you can tell from my submission to the first Lunar Awards. I'm more compatible with short stories then I realized, mine just tend to be larger than the space I was given to work with. I prefer writing a story as long as it needs to be.
Also I may have sweated a bit with that mention of talking swords as a hard sell.
Hey William, as far as the hard sells are concerned, those are hard sells because so many people write them, not because they can't be good stories. It's possible there are plenty of well told short stories with those elements that are loved by readers, but that makes standing out from the crowd harder. I don't have hard sells on the Lunar Awards. I'm looking for the best, and if it happens to involve a talking sword, then so be it. 😁
Your experience with short stories in college is not unlike many I've heard. There's this notion that everyone can enjoy literary fiction, while genre has a smaller readership, which makes it harder to judge on merit in classes with new writers and a professor that may not understand the genre in question. As far as the word count, I've read several collections of short stories where the shorts are as long as 10k words. In my experience those overstate their intentions, but it takes lots of practice to refine further. I'm finding now I need a solid 1500 words to craft a great story, but could easily stretch some to 2500 words if I feel it warrants that.
I look forward to reading more from you!
Was joking a bit with the talking sword part, hard to convey tone through text though, and using something like lol didn't quite feel right there.
I'm not a fan of short word counts as any sort of limit or ideal, I'm not a maximalist but I am an anti minimalist. Some professors are just biased against the speculative genres unfortunately. Haven't heard that claim about 'literary' fiction before but it's comical when put against the reality of sales figures. I had a writing professor who didn't know fantasy but was very helpful since he accepted the genre regardless.
Thank you for this informative post! I just joined the Lunar Awards yesterday, and it's great to see that I made a good choice. The tips shared seem simple, such as sticking to the genre, but fleshing them out makes all the difference. Establishing the rules for world building is really important too, especially when you're creating a new universe with fantasy and sci-fi. Thanks again Brian, and I look forward to seeing more of what you have to give!
Hey, great time to join! Welcome, MYINC, so happy to have you here. I'm glad the post was useful and I look forward to hearing more from you.