How Short?
- 5 Pages
- Can you write a Story in 5 Pages?
- Do you need 10 pages?
- 10 pages will be maximum to qualify as a Really Short Story.
- How should you write it?
- Just the way you write a Scene or a Chapter.
- A Really Short Story is only a Story on Really Short Scale.
- Can you do it Every day?
- It’s 1 of the best exercises.
- Do it on a daily basis and under a year, you’ll be able to improvise a story at any time.
- When should you do it?
- When is the most comfortable moment for you?
- When is it easy for you to write?
- How long should it take me?
- Can you do it in 1 hour?
- Can you do it in 2 hours?
- Do you need 3 hours?
- Start with the amount of time you’re comfortable.
- Be progressive.
- You can do it in 1 hour on 1 day.
- If you need 3 hours, you may want to spread them on a week (20-30’/day).
Experimentation 1st
- Freedom
- Is there a Story you want to write but can’t?
- Why can’t you?
- Why are you unable to Write it?
- Is it the lack of knowledge in the domain?
- Can you make a Main Character which is Knowledgeable in this Domain?
- Can you give her the Knowledge which is necessary for this Story only?
- Can you write this Character like you want it to be?
- Why can’t you?
- Will the Character act in an Unacceptable way?
- Is her Goal Unacceptable?
- How should you Write this Character?
- How will she define the Story?
- Using the Environment
- Imagine a place.
- Like a Dream or a Nightmare.
- Which exists out of the rest of the World.
- In Isolation.
- A distant place where you can come back.
- A distant place from which you can come back.
- A distant place where you cannot come back.
- A distant place from which you cannot come back.
- Can you describe them all?
- Can you write them All?
- All 4 of them?
- Consistency & Coherence… Later
- Can you Write this Story with considering the others?
- What do you want to Try with this Story?
- What do you want to Implement?
- How will you Experiment?
- What will you Experiment?
- Which kind of Character will you write?
- How will you Write them?
- Is it Unusual for you to write this kind of Character?
- What makes her Unusual?
- Why does she Interest you?
- How should you write her?
- How will you write her?
Together it’s Better
- Multiple Authors
- Being 4-5 to write a story will make it more Diverse & Contrasted.
- Does it mean Multiple Narrators?
- You can have only 1 narrator.
- If you’re beginning it’s the preferred option.
- Each of you can become the Narrator of 1 Part of the Story.
- Each of you can write about 1 Theme.
- And…
- Each of you can take the role of a Character.
- Play the Story
- Sat around a Table.
- Or on a Sofa.
- You’re all around the Computer.
- Or the Paper sheet.
- Choose a Character and start playing the Dialogues.
- What do we do here?
- What are we looking for?
- How can we find it?
- What do we do once we have it?
- Keeping the Interest
- What will you Write about?
- Why choose this Topic?
- What makes it Interesting?
- What makes it Unique?
- Who will it engage the most?
- Which means will you use to keep the Story engaging?
- How much Diversity will you Display?
- How will you Exaggerate?
- What will be the Nature of this Exaggeration?
- How will you create Paradoxes?
- Will you place together in a Scene 2 elements which shouldn’t be?
- Which elements will it be?
- Why are they together?
Need Ideas?
- Rewrite a Favorite Story
- Did you just finish a Book?
- Do you wish you could continue to write more of it?
- Do you have a long-finished Story you’d like to come back to?
- Why do you want to come back?
- Why do you want to Continue?
- Is there a Critical Element the Story was missing?
- Which Element?
- How would you Integrate this Element?
- How would it change the Story?
- How would you rewrite it today?
- How Should I Rewrite it?
- Rewriting a Story is Changing the Parameters.
- What can you Change?
- What Should you Change?
- Will you write it in a Different Setting?
- Will the Characters have Different Roles?
- Will they have Different Relationships?
- Will they have Different Interactions?
- Should you choose a Different Genre?
- Do you already have a Main Project?
- These Short Stories can become your Side Projects.
- You can base them on your Main Project.
- Did you have Ideas that you could not implement in your main Project?
- Did you have Ideas that you forgot to implement in your main Project?
- Here’s the opportunity to create a Story for each of them.
Plan
- Summarize
- Summarize the Whole Story in 1 sentence.
- Summarize the End in 1 sentence.
- Summarize the Introduction in 1 sentence.
- Summarize the Main Crisis in 1 sentence.
- Resolution
- How does it End?
- Where does it End?
- Which Issue occurs?
- Who is involved?
- How can the Issue be solved?
- Can it be Solved?
- How does the Story end for each Character?
- Which New Event occurs?
- Which New Environment is Discovered?
- Which New Character is Introduced?
- Introduction
- Where does the Story Begin?
- What is the Atmosphere?
- Who are the People?
- Where do they Live?
- How do they Live?
- What are their Issues?
- How do they manage them?
- Which Event occurs?
- How is the 1st Environment of the Story?
- Which Character is Introduced?
- Escalation
- How does it Escalate?
- Where does it Happen?
- Which Issue occurs?
- Who is involved?
- How can the Issue be solved?
- What should it lead to?
- What does it lead to?
- Which New Event occurs?
- Which New Environment is Discovered?
- Which New Character is Introduced?
- Crisis
- Which Crisis should the Characters Face?
- Where does it Happen?
- Why does it Happen?
- How does it Happen?
- Which Issue occurs?
- Who is involved?
- How can the Issue be solved?
- What should it lead to?
- What does it lead to?
- Which New Event occurs?
- Which New Environment is Discovered?
- Which New Character is Introduced?