Ever sat in front of a blank page and waited for inspiration to come? Well, there’s a chance you will be waiting all day. But luckily enough, you’ve got a prompt.
Prompts are going to work differently on different writers. Some might just see an aesthetic, others will have a complete story, from start to finish, spring to mind a few seconds after setting eyes on the prompt.
But even when you have an idea, you might not yet have a story. An old writing mentor told me to imagine ideas as seeds. They might germinate on their own, or they might need some outside help. Whether it’s your personal experiences, a fun fact you read about earlier, there are plenty of things that can give that initial idea legs.
Sometimes a single idea is not enough. Maybe you have an old short story that’s been sitting in your notes app for months, but you’ve not been able to write it because it was missing something. Well, maybe this year’s prompt is that missing piece.
Try to squeeze as much out of the prompt as you can. Revisit it and write down different ideas that spring to mind when you see it, and wait and see where they take you. But there’s a chance that the prompt will grab you by the hand and force you to start writing before you’ve even stopped to think about it.
To outline or not to outline
So, now you have your ideas brewing into stories, it’s time to write them. Unlike novels, short stories, at least those under a thousand words, probably don’t need outlining. But it all depends on the kind of writer you are. A pantser will find out what happens in the story as they write it. A planner might spend some time outlining the plot points before getting down to business. A short story might not have more than one or two plot points. It all boils down to how much you’re squeezing into a short story. It can be an impression, or it can be an entire life.
Outlining is a purely personal preference in this case. But something I do recommend, if you’re stuck, is asking your protagonist some questions. Get to know them before you start writing. You may want your protagonist to have changed by the time the story ends, and in that case, you’ll have to figure out who they are, and why they act the way they do at the start. But what about characters that don’t change? Well, even if they don’t evolve, the reader’s impression of them might. We’ll get into this more once it’s time to edit, but it’s worth thinking about before getting started.
Unlike novels, short stories generally have just a few characters, and you’ll have to make the most of them with just a few details. What someone is interested in, what they smell like, any offhand comment like that can bring a character to life much quicker than a chunk of description. Unless, of course, your short story is a portrait of a character. It all boils down to your intent.
Plot, what plot?
Generally speaking, with stories under a thousand words, your goal will be to write a single scene, a peek into someone’s life, that will show us a much bigger picture. But guess what? For your drafting period, you don’t have to write a thousand words. You can go beyond that word count, or you can write less. Let the prompt take you wherever it does, and once it’s time to edit, we’ll figure it out.
Here are a few structures you can keep in mind when writing:
The multiple-beat story: A short story with separate scenes leading to a conclusion. A distinguishable beginning, middle and end. Usually more common in longer pieces.
The single scene story: the entire story encapsulates just one scene. It can be a flash (get it?) or it can be something that lasts a couple of hours (or years).
It can be reactive: something happens to our character, or to their surroundings, and the story tells us something about this person/place based on how they react.
Your story can be centred around a revelation. Something is happening to our main character, there’s a force driving the story forward, but we don’t know what or why. This information is intentionally kept from the reader until the last paragraph or even last line.
Finding Time to Write
So, now you’ve got your idea, your story, your plot or lack-thereof. It’s finally time to get down to business and write! But where, exactly, are you going to find that time?
In an ideal world, here’s what I’d say: wake up at five a.m., when your flat is quiet and not a soul can disturb you. Make yourself a nice cup of coffee, and pour out as many words as you can in your designated writing space.
But we don’t live in an ideal world. The majority of writers have day jobs, maybe kids, and a whole list of things that keep us from waking up at five. But you will find time.
Some writer block-out several hours a week and keep that time specifically for writing. Some write every day, others whenever inspiration hits.
Just find fifteen minutes, half an hour, time that you can squeeze out during your break, during your commute, or before going to bed. Whip out a notebook while eating dessert. Try new things and see what sticks.
But what about procrastination? Well, sometimes imposing a deadline can help. Writeordie is a somewhat (extremely) stressful tool that will threaten to wipe everything you’ve written if you stop writing, but it’ll force you to write as much as you can, like, say, 1000 words in 30 min. And if you don’t want to deal with the stress of Writeordie, you could try the Pomodoro method, which typically consists of writing for 25 minutes, then have a five-minute break. You can use a timer, or search for Pomodoro videos on YouTube, where you’ll find plenty of timers with background music to keep you focused.
No editing allowed (yet)
So, now you’ve finally started drafting. Now you just need to make sure you don’t edit.
Depending on the kind of writer you are, this might be the easiest or most difficult part. With first drafts, what truly matters is getting it on the page. Whether you’ve outlined your story, whether you’ve talked to your characters, or whether you’re just going where your pen takes you, what truly matters at this stage is writing from start to finish, and then stepping away. Just know that it might not be good yet, and that’s fine.
Close your notebook (if you have one), or save your files. And you’re done!
Check back next week, and we’ll have a chat about self-editing!
Written by Annie S.