He is an awesome writer and his on writing great.
If you're not sure about fantasy try; The Talisman which is kinda half horror, half fantasy and is just a great read (as is the sequel The Black House)
The Eye of the Dragon is also a great little fantasy, kids story,that's also sort of adult
Quote: Judgement Dave @ 13th December 2013, 1:21 PM GMT50 shades may have changed things but it used to be that 'the lead coming in the back door' was the more exciting bit.
There's a lot of that in 50 Shades, isn't there? 
Quote: Matthew Stott @ 13th December 2013, 1:44 PM GMTKeep it streamlined; get an idea and stick to it.
This is what it boils down to, for me. A short story is like a sketch, best if it works on one idea, and deosn't mess about with extraneous data. This is why the form is so beloved of SF writers, they can throw some ideas up for consumption without having to do tedious things like explain all the science, or describe a whole planet's eco-system and societal constructs.
I think 3 act structure is definitely otpional, loads of great short stories just riff on one idea, and are light on plot: again, sometimes you want a sketch that logically gets from A to B with a tidy punchline, and sometimes you want one which is basiclaly just John Cleese listing all the cheeses they could think of, and then shooting someone. 
Quote: Blobster @ 13th December 2013, 2:09 PM GMTTry reading Stephen King's book on writing, oddly enough titled "On Writing". The audio version read by the man himself is best, as the inflections and verbal nuances help to bring out what's truly important. If nothing else, it will have great procrastination value as you stall beginning the beast. Good luck.
On Writing is very good, and King is a very good writer. I actually, perhaps controversially, think he's a pretty bad story-teller, and his plots are cumbersome or nonsensical, and leadenly worked through; however, he has a great Dickensian way of giving even his tiniest characters a rounded feel, and I think he might be the best writer of the rhythms of natrual dialogue in the twentieth century. Sorry, that's off track, but interesting.
So once you've written the short story, what do you do with it? Put it in a draw, feed it to the dog, send it to a publisher, drunk yourself to death?
Quote: Lee @ 13th December 2013, 3:50 PM GMTSo once you've written the short story, what do you do with it? Put it in a draw, feed it to the dog, send it to a publisher, drunk yourself to death?
Send it to radio 4, if it's finished by February.
Quote: Lee @ 13th December 2013, 3:50 PM GMTSo once you've written the short story, what do you do with it? Put it in a draw, feed it to the dog, send it to a publisher, drunk yourself to death?
Well, it lets you practice your prose work. You could put it out yourself (Your website/self-pub it on Amazon maybe) and if you look into it there are a lot of magazines, literary journals and websites that will publish them. Some of them will even give you a few pounds.
Thanks all!
Get an idea.Start writing it preferably in first person (easiest way to write prose) as the main character.Try to end with a nice resolution at a logical point where you've said all you can say on the subject.
And write in present tense always, even if it's set in the 1970s as so many short stories are; do NOT give it a plot or make it about anything important! DO make it banal and mundane, have as many female characters as possible, and always make your 1st person narrator female. You must use profanities wherever possible and it's unadvisable not to include some sex, especially if it's just the narrator waffling on about it. Use pretentious language wherever possible and don't worry if your story sounds contrived, they all do.
Don't let your characters do much, it can be just one long stream of self indulgent twaddle as long as you follow all the above rules. If really stuck for ideas just follow all the other successful short story writers of the last 20 years and set your non story in an impoverished African village where your heroine prattles on sententiously about her hardships. Then just sit back and await calls from Radio 4 and Virago. Can't go wrong.
Quote: Jennie @ 13th December 2013, 9:46 AM GMTHaven't really got a clue where to start
Then you've been well informed.
Quote: Jaicee @ 14th December 2013, 2:31 PM GMTStart writing it preferably in first person (easiest way to write prose) as the main character.
I quoted the line and readied my twitching fingers to tap out a suitably withering response. In the end I couldn't really think of anything, withering or otherwise; which was a bit worrying as I liked to think of myself as something of a writer. I shook my head and went for it-
'Easiest? I imagine it depends entirely on the person writing. The idea that tackling prose in the first person is in some way 'easier' than in the third person seems a bit, well, obviously untrue.'
I stopped and read back what I'd just typed. Terrible. I moved a finger towards 'Post Reply' anyway. Life's too short and my cup of tea was getting cold. My own damn fault for leaving it sitting for so long. When will I learn..?
It's easier for me to write prose in first person. But that's because I, like most bad writers, am a narcissist.
Also because writing in the first person means you don't have to do the wanky "he had shimmering eyes and glossy hair, the snow fell on the grey moors" type descriptive stuff as much. I'm very bad at that bit, as you've just read.
Quote: Alfred J Kipper @ 14th December 2013, 3:55 PM GMTAnd write in present tense always, even if it's set in the 1970s as so many short stories are; do NOT give it a plot or make it about anything important! DO make it banal and mundane, have as many female characters as possible, and always make your 1st person narrator female. You must use profanities wherever possible and it's unadvisable not to include some sex, especially if it's just the narrator waffling on about it. Use pretentious language wherever possible and don't worry if your story sounds contrived, they all do.
Don't let your characters do much, it can be just one long stream of self indulgent twaddle as long as you follow all the above rules. If really stuck for ideas just follow all the other successful short story writers of the last 20 years and set your non story in an impoverished African village where your heroine prattles on sententiously about her hardships. Then just sit back and await calls from Radio 4 and Virago. Can't go wrong.
Alfred, really sometimes you have to just zip it up and put it away.
But not always in that order.
Quote: BoomBoomBoom @ 17th December 2013, 8:46 AM GMTBut not always in that order.
Funny!
N.B. if you write a bunch of short stories, periodically some of those freelancing sites I love so much, have people looking for stories.
So if the stories already written, then I guess that's like found money.
Not alot think 3 cents a word, but then you can get lucky and get closer to 10 cents or more.
But like I say if it's already written, found money.