Last year I wrote a short story to be included in an anthology called The First Time. I hadn’t written one of these for the young adult category before, so I had to give it a little . . . some . . . one heck of a lot of thought. And my biggest hurdle was getting started.
I only had a maximum of 5, 000 words to tell a whole story. Yikes! How was I going to do that? I much prefer a comfortable 60 to 80K to develop my characters and let them work through their challenges. But I’d signed on to write the story, so I decided I’d better stop worrying about the limited number of words and get on with it.
So why were these old stories still interesting to read?
The answer popped up the minute I asked that question. The Characters. In Thurber’s “The Catbird Seat” it was Mr. Martin, the mild-mannered, cunning man with murder on his mind. I never could shake the character of Jim Dixon in “Lucky Jim” or fail to shudder every time I thought of Emily Grierson, shuttered inside that dark house in “A Rose for Emily.”
Each of the characters in these stories are memorable. First they have a unique voice. Their word choice is theirs. The way they put these words together in dialog or thought is their way of expressing themselves, and the cadence of their language belongs to each of them and can’t be confused with any other characters in the story.
Then they’re plunged into a situation–AKA a tight spot–and the reader must find out what they will do to get out of it. Will Mr. Martin kill Ulgine Barrows? Will Jim Dixon overcome his first and very bad impression he made at his school? Will Emily keep Homer . . . forever? As we read how each of these characters act and react, we have a plot to keep us engaged in the action, action that’s all about the character.
With all of this information whirring in my writer’s brain I set out to write Premeditated Cat. So far it has been reviewed well, so while I can’t hold myself up to Thurber, Amis or Faulkner, I can thank them for their wonderfully written stories and their inspiration. And since I had such a great time writing the first short story I submitted a second one. It will be published this year in Two and Twenty Dark Tales, and I’m really excited.
LynNerdKelley says
WTG, Lee! What wonderful news! I agree those are awesome covers. I'm not surprised that you were able to write some great short stories because whatever you write is always superb. Even your comments. I always enjoy your witty, funny comments. Hope you have a nice Memorial Day.
Nas says
Congratulations and well done!
Old Kitty says
Yay well done you!! I prefer writing flash fiction – the shorter the story the better for me! I know I'll struggle to write a 5000 word short story! Love how you found your inspiration too! take care
x
Medeia Sharif says
Congratulations.
I don't consider myself a short story writer–I always itch to write a novel–but after entering some flash fiction blogfests in the past year, I've become interested in writing shorter pieces.
Stina Lindenblatt says
I'm not sure I could write a short story. I'm not a fan of reading them. I love to get lost in novel length stories.
Good luck!!! 😀
Southpaw says
I love your website. I played with the header and read your pages. Very nice. I've been through Gilroy. I get it. 🙂
Wow, a story in 5000 words is tough. I think you went to the right folks for help. I love the cover of the "Two and Twenty". I like the premise for the anthology too!
Peaches Ledwidge says
Congratulations. Looking at some of the best writers to help you write the best is smart.
And I couldn't ignore the mention of your work on Amazon. "My two favorites were Premeditated Cat by C. Lee McKenzie…."
nutschell says
Congrats!!! How exciting that must be:) Excited to have you featured on my blog as well (next week!)
Nutschell
http://www.thewritingnut.com
Cynthia Chapman Willis says
Congratulations!!! Short stories are challenging, but revisiting the classics has certainly paid off for you. That's wonderful and exciting.
Shannon Hitchcock ~ Children's Writer says
You certainly went to the masters for inspiration. Congratulations!
Catherine Stine says
That's exciting news. I love the cover of that second anthology!
Jessica L. Foster says
Congrats on the short story. I think we can learn so much from short stories because they do what novels do, only with less words which in my opinion is harder.
Theresa Milstein says
I'm excited for you! Yes, there are some good old short stories out there. There's nothing like a well-crafted, powerful short story.
And what gorgeous covers!
Beverly Stowe McClure says
Congratulations on both your stories. I think it's very hard to write a short story.
Fairday Morrow says
It's so funny how that goes! Stephanie and I entered a short story contest that had to be under 1500 words- and it was not easy. We ended up with a fun Halloween story entitled, Ferry Blackwell Strikes Again. We were able to craft it to exactly 1500 words after basically chopping away all of our hard, descriptive, stage setting scenes. The amazing part is it came out pretty good and stayed right on point. It's actually a wonderful way for writers to learn how to control their words and sentence structure. I look at it as a challenge now, like fitting pieces into a puzzle. I would love, love, love to check out your short stories! ~ Jess
http://thesecretdmsfilesoffairdaymorrow.blogspot.com/
Romance Book Haven says
Congratulations. I love short stories!
Nas
Lisa Gail Green says
Yay!!! Congrats! I love short stories. I love writing for anthologies as well. I wrote those long before I ever knew I could write a novel. 😀
Jemi Fraser says
Good for you! I've never really tried my hand at shorts either. Maybe one of these days… I look forward to reading your story! 🙂
Talli Roland says
Sounds like a lot of fun! Difficult, yes, but fun. 🙂
Lynn Proctor says
wow—i have never written anything as long—wonderful congrats!
Leslie Rose says
Writing a short story makes my lungs constrict. I admire your success with it. Congrats.
Mark Koopmans says
Well done, Lee and super congrats 🙂
PS… Have you ever tried one of Literary Agent, Janet Reid's contests?
She's running one today – you have to write a story in 100 words using certain key words… they're fun to shake off some cobwebs 🙂
Stephen Tremp says
You should be excited! Congrats to you on this milestone.
M Pax says
Excellent! Short story writing is a whole other art. Isn't it? A friend of mine is very good at it. My short stories tend to go long, usually 7,000 words or more.
Ruth Schiffmann says
Congratulations on the upcoming publication of your second short story! Very exciting =)
It's funny to hear how comfortable you are writing 60 – 80k. Those numbers terrify me. I'm much more experienced writing short stories – usually with a maximum of 1,000 words. One of the most challenging things for me with writing novels is not wrapping things up in the first chapter or two. LOL.
E. Arroyo says
Congrats!!!
Darby Karchut says
I was crazy about Premeditated Cat (what a twist at the end!!!) and can't wait for Two and Twenty Dark Tales to come out!
SA Larsenッ says
I am loving the Two and Twenty cover! I hadn't seen it yet. So happy for all of you.
Alex J. Cavanaugh says
Congratulations!
I would certainly feel the pressure of writing a story so short. Not that my books are very long…