How to Develop (Imaginative, Insightful & Credible) Short Story Ideas

HOW TO DEVELOP

(IMAGINATIVE, INSIGHTFUL & CREDIBLE)

SHORT STORY IDEAS

JERRY DUNNE

Smashwords Edition

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Copyright © 2013 Jerry Dunne. All rights reserved. No part of this ebook publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission from the author.

Thank you for respecting the author’s copyright.

How to Develop (Imaginative, Insightful & Credible) Short Story Ideas

Visit the author’s blog: http://www.jerrydunne.com

Books by Jerry Dunne

Chatter & Squeal Racing Series

ON GEORGE’S DAY

HERE COMES THE ROOSTER!

Cop Girl Mystery/Detective Series

COP GIRL UNDER FIRE

COP GIRL TRACKS PETNAPPERS

COP GIRL CHASES SMOKING WEASEL

Short Story Collection

MY STINKY PARENTS AND OTHER STORIES

Non-Fiction

HOW TO WRITE CHILDREN’S SHORT STORIES (FOR THE MIDDLE READER)

HOW TO DEVELOP (IMAGINATIVE, INSIGHTFUL & CREDIBLE) SHORT STORY IDEAS

Collection of Sayings

SAYINGS (INSIGHT, HUMOUR & IRONY)

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER 1

Analysis

THE STORYTELLING ELEMENTS

THE 3 ACT PLOT ARC STRUCTURE

CHAPTER 2

Sayings

THE SAYING

ANALYSING THE SAYING

A PLAN BASED ON THE ANALYSIS

THE STORY

SO WHAT’S THE STORY’S THEME?

OTHER TYPES OF STORIES

ANALYSING ANOTHER SAYING

IDEAS OUT OF WORDPLAY

AN EARLY DRAFT PLAN

ANOTHER IDEA

ANALYSING A THIRD SAYING

AN EARLY DRAFT PLAN

ANOTHER IDEA

SUMMING UP

CHAPTER 3

Fables

THE FABLE

ANALYSING THE FIRST FABLE

THE SAYING

A SHORT STORY IDEA

THE STORY

OTHER TYPES OF STORY

ANOTHER IDEA

THE SECOND FABLE

AN IDEA BASED ON THE FABLE’S ANALYSIS

ANOTHER EARLY DRAFT PLAN

THE THIRD FABLE

THE MODERN FABLE

HOW ABOUT A SAYING?

SUMMING UP

CHAPTER 4

Poems

WHAT DOES POETRY OFFER US?

THE FIRST POEM

A SUMMARY OF THE POEM

ANALYSING THE POEM

HOW ABOUT A FABLE?

STORY PLAN

THE STORY

A SUMMATION OF THE STORY

ANOTHER IDEA

THE SECOND POEM

THE ANALYSIS

A SAYING AND TWO FABLES

FIRST STORY IDEA

SECOND STORY IDEA

SUMMING UP

CHAPTER 5

Fairy tales

THE FAIRY TALE

WHAT DOES THE FAIRY TALE OFFER US?

RUMPELSTILTSKIN

AN ANALYSIS OF THE FAIRY TALE

A SAYING AND TWO FABLES

PLAN A STORY

THE STORY

OTHER IDEAS

EXAMPLE 1

EXAMPLE 2

EXAMPLE 3

IDEAS FOR A CHILDREN’S STORY

PITCH

SUMMING UP

CHAPTER 6

The historical narrative

WHY SHOULD WE LOOK AT HISTORY?

A TECHNIQUE FOR MINING THE HISTORICAL NARRATIVE

THE HISTORICAL EXAMPLE

SUMMARY

THE ESSAY: THE PLOT-DRIVEN CHARACTER FLAWS OF CHARLES 1

ANALYSING THE ESSAY

THE PHYSICAL ANCHOR

THE STORY PLAN

THE STORY

A SAYING AND TWO FABLES

AN ALTERNATIVE TO WRITING THE FABLE

AN EARLY DRAFT PLAN

A COLLECTION OF STORIES

THE FLEXIBILITY OF THE MINING TECHNIQUE

THE FIDDLE

GALILEO AND THE TELESCOPE

ADD SOME POIGNANT QUESTIONS

SUMMING UP

INTRODUCTION

The aim of the book is to show the writer how to analyse methodically certain types of source material with the purpose of using it as both an inspiration and a guide in the development of imaginative, insightful and credible ideas for the short story. The source material used here will consist of five different types of literature: the saying, the fable, the poem, the fairy tale, and the historical narrative (modern texts written by historians).

Each type of source material offers a different representation on a mix of character, conflict, theme, point of view, plot, structure, setting, drama, imagery, style, language, irony and humour. Each expresses itself in a fundamentally different way: the saying offers us a universal truth in a witty, ironic and incredibly pithy way; the fable’s tiny tale highlights a specific human flaw through simple characterization in order to express a clear message; the poem inspires and enlightens through imagery and lyricism, creating fresh and deep nuances of emotion, thought and ideas; the fairy tale shows us human nature in a stark and fantastic way which appeals to some deep instinct in us to support the struggle of justice; the historical narrative highlights our human condition on both an individual and a collective level (social, cultural, political, for example) in a factual manner and within a setting unlike our own by default of it being situated in the past. Clearly, each type of source material promotes a unique approach with regards to inspiration and guidance in the development of short story ideas.

The short story has evolved out of literary forms such as fables, legends, myths, fairy tales and parables, all of which started in the folkloric oral tradition. Poetry is an ancient form of literature whose influence on the short story is apparent through its economical and structured use of language, imagery, rhythm, style devices and even character and storylines. The creative intuition and techniques behind many short anecdotal tales, proverbs, sayings and jokes have also contributed to the short story’s development, especially in their use of irony and the twist. By drawing on the older literary forms as inspiration and guide for the creation of our short story ideas, we will come to understand fully what core literary elements the short story shares with these older forms, and also what advances have been made in the modern short story over these older forms; and by working in an analytical and methodical manner directly with our source material we will be able to combine their strengths of technique and creativity with both the strengths of the modern short story and our own imaginations in order to create fresh and effective stories. Once our skills are honed using the older sources, we will move on to the modern historical text where we can draw on very deep levels of character detail, theme, storyline and even plot to give our story ideas and plans an added dynamic boost.

HOW TO USE THE BOOK

The best way of approaching the book is to read it through once so as to gain an overall impression of the techniques and methods used here. After this first reading, the reader can proceed to work carefully through the chapters. The chapter layout is deliberate. The reader gains knowledge, experience and skills in working with the shorter literary forms before moving on to the last and most difficult chapter.

Chapter 1 gives a breakdown of the short story’s storytelling or literary elements and explains the 3 act plot arc structure. As our analytical technique involves focusing on these storytelling elements throughout the book, and as we will also use the 3 act plot arc structure throughout as a means of structuring the early draft plans and short stories, it would be better to have a good understanding of this chapter before moving on to the body of the book.

It is really recommended that the writer grows familiar with each chapter before moving on to the next, and in particular, that the techniques and methods of the earlier chapters are fully understood before tackling the history chapter. This last chapter has been included because it is the next step on from working with the much easier to manipulate literary material. Once we learn how to handle the historical narrative well, we can apply our newly acquired knowledge and skills to any other type of written material, short or long, suitable for our objectives.

*

I hope like me the reader will come to celebrate the fact that there exists a vast amount of literary sources from which we can take inspiration and guidance for a never ending amount of imaginative, insightful and credible ideas for our short stories. But I would go even one step further and suggest that the awareness and skills the writer will develop as a consequence of using this book will enable him or her to discover effortlessly great short story ideas out there in the living, breathing world, too.

NOTE!

This book does not teach craftsmanship. It is not a ‘how to write short stories’ book. We will not teach character development, pace, ‘SHOW’ not tell, and so on. The book is aimed at those already familiar with the rudiments of fiction craftsmanship. Some aspects of craft will be considered, especially plot arc structure, but only to a limited extent and only where it impacts directly upon the development of our short story ideas in the early draft stage or in the five short story plans.

CHAPTER 1

Analysis

Here we examine the short story’s storytelling elements and the restrictions placed on them in comparison to those of longer pieces of fiction. We also look at the 3 act plot arc structure which will help us structure our short stories and early draft plans.

THE STORYTELLING ELEMENTS

The main storytelling elements consist of character, point of view (POV), plot, conflict, theme, drama and setting. Many of the best stories will also include irony and a twist.

Character definition and development is limited in the short story, and must be completely plot and theme related. Character depth is more hinted at rather than drawn. However, complexity of character is a given and must be three-dimensional. The stereotype belongs to the fable. Usually, one major protagonist is in conflict against one major antagonist. The protagonist, as well as the antagonist, are almost always human, though the antagonist can also be an ideal, an urge, an emotion (like guilt), a psychological, a social or a cultural trait or disorder. As the reader is not making a big emotional investment in the story because of its short length, unlike with the novel, the writer has room to experiment. Character does not have to be particularly good or morally upstanding, and the ending may be unhappy. For example, our heroine’s life may end in tragedy. Or, in the ending of a crime story, the baddie may come out on top; and, if it happens in a fashion which is believable and unexpected, the reader will be happy in a way very unlikely with the novel.

Point of view (POV) is obviously restricted in the short story to one, possibly two perspectives.

The plot will have a beginning, a middle and an end. If there is no plot and no conflict, there’s no story. It’s a vignette or an anecdote or a sample of a story, or some other piece of writing. Of course, the plot does not have to be linear. We could start the story with the resolution and work backwards. The plot will often be broken into scenes. Each scene can be viewed as a piece of a jigsaw that fits perfectly into the overall plot structure. Plot strands or subplots are considered a no no in the short story, though you might make an argument that in the longer length short story (10, 000 words) you have some leeway for it. But if this is the case, the plot strand should only develop on the theme and the main plot.

Once we have the set-up (see plot arc structure below) the story’s conflict should begin with the inciting incident and continue until the climax in the third act. Conflict has no particular restriction in the short story in and of itself. Other elements will naturally restrict its development.

The theme is the message or philosophical angle in the story. It is a very powerful element of the story, particularly when it is a timeless and universal theme. Sometimes it’s obvious what the theme is, sometimes not. Most themes can be explored reasonably well in the short story but are done so in a much tighter and more specific way than in the novel.

Setting may be incidental or critical to the story. If the setting is not necessary for character, plot or conflict development, or for the creation of tension or suspense then the setting is incidental and described very briefly. A critical setting may be important to character, plot or conflict development, and if so, then the setting will also help evoke mood and build tension and suspense. Descriptions of critical setting should be used strategically and sparingly in the short story.

Drama is conflict fuelled by the addition of moral choices. Most modern fiction has drama as an intrinsic element of the story, unless the story is aimed solely at humour.

In particular, irony will be an important part of the story when the theme is based on a plot-driven universal human flaw(s). The character’s or characters’ flaw(s) will push the action that will create the conflict, and the irony will rise out of the conflict, exposing the human flaws in an ironic light.

Irony and the twist are closely related. The twist usually arises out of the irony which means the twist will come naturally and not appear to be forced.

Although it is not really a storytelling element as such, we will mention time period here as in the short story it is generally restricted to help keep the story focused, intense and immediate. A short time period is less likely to introduce new scene or character. However, if the main storytelling elements are kept tightened, the time period may stretch, and the story may still keep its focus. Much depends on the type of story and the skills of the storyteller.

The restrictions on number of characters and character development, POV, plot, setting and time period imposed on the short story help to build a clear and intense focus on a single ‘issue’ or ‘concern’, unlike in the novel where the focus can involve many characters, plot-strands, POVs, settings and a lengthy time period. The single ‘issue’ or ‘concern’ is usually an isolated or self-contained event or incident of some sort. This concentration of focus is designed to create a powerful influence on the reader’s psyche that will keep the purpose or message of the story in the reader’s mind long after the reading is over.

THE 3 ACT PLOT ARC STRUCTURE

The plot arc for the short story can be structured like a 3 act play and like in a play the acts are divided into scenes.

Act 1

Start with a set-up. A set-up can be viewed in a simple way: introduce a protagonist within a setting where a problem is about to hit him. What triggers the conflict’s story and kicks the plot into gear at the same time is known as the inciting incident. This incident or problematic situation will be something that both disturbs and challenges the protagonist. It comes as close to the beginning of the story as possible. Once character and setting are introduced in the set-up, the inciting incident should happen. The end of the inciting incident signals the end of the first act.

Act 2

This is the main body of the story. Here we are placing scenes that develop character, plot and conflict in a smooth and logical manner and the tension must always be rising, even in quiet periods of reflection; which means that the stakes are rising for the protagonist and that everything is heading toward a final and