Telling a story is the most important responsibility a writer has to the craft.
A writer is the medium between thoughts and the written word. It begins as a rumination percolating through the channels of the mind and morphs into a life-form all its own as it's put onto paper.
Ninety-nine percent of those who dream of writing a novel never reach that goal. It's a daunting task but one that can be attained if approached methodically. The best way to begin this journey if you're new to the writing world, is by writing short stories. There are five good reasons to follow this advice:
- Drafting a short story forces us to choose words that tighten the script, propel the action, and get to the point without sacrificing substance. This magnifying glass highlights brilliance as well as flaws. Never fear standing in the light of either; one corrects, the other encourages.
- It's less crushing for the ego to edit a few thousand words than to slog through a full manuscript. Learning from and correcting ingrained, sloppy behaviors in small increments fortifies new lessons learned and builds confidence.
- Even if you are a novice writer, follow standard manuscript formatting and Chicago style editing, if the goal is to publish a book. Agents and publishers are particular, so why not start with the formats the industry uses?
- Sometimes, a chosen topic runs dry in a few thousand words. It happens. That's the bad news. The good news is, by concentrating on writing a short story, you'll have completed something ready for publication with no angst because it's thirty thousand words shy of a novel.
- If you have expertise in a particular field or love a particular topic, write a series of short stories. As the collection grows, the body of work will help you decide if it's worthy of becoming a book.
How do you determine what to call your manuscript? The Writer's Circle describes classifications as follows: ARTICLE 300 - 700 words; SHORT STORY 1,000 - 7,500; NOVELLETTE 7,500 - 17,500; NOVELA 20,500 - 50,000; NOVEL 50,000 - 110,000; EPIC over 110,000.
I've discovered minimal variations in book length guidelines from one trusted source to another. None to the point that one is better than the other. Basically, the information offered acts as a benchmark to keep a writer focused on the goal. Because the most important responsibility is for the writer to tell the story, these guidelines offer great flexibility. If the manuscript is over the word count for a particular project but the story feels complete . . . this is when the writer passes into the realm of serious editing and that's a topic for another post.
When collaborating with an agent, editor, or publisher, the perimeters may be determined according to their needs, so it's important to ask what they expect as far as word count. If this is a personal project or journal, challenge yourself to write under the guidelines of a short story to improve skills.
When collaborating with an agent, editor, or publisher, the perimeters may be determined according to their needs, so it's important to ask what they expect as far as word count. If this is a personal project or journal, challenge yourself to write under the guidelines of a short story to improve skills.
Whatever your style or story, I wish you much success in your writing goals.
To learn more about award-winning author, Jo Ann V. Glim:
AVAILABLE ON: Amazon.com/author/joannglim
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