The reader is not told what to think, nor how to interpret the outcome, but is left unmolested to experience the subtle internal shifts of the character’s growth and emergence. Original dialogue reveals the resilience and beauty of the human spirit. Under optimal circumstances, the reader encounters mercy, hears truth, witnesses beauty. The language is sparse. And simple. The reader is reacquainted with grace.
I accepted the responsibility of judging this contest, anticipating an easy task. My experience as a sifter reader for contests and as submissions editor at Mad Hatters Review qualified me to find the good stuff. And find it fast! A publishable story says, Read me! The story that will appear on a shortlist sparkles. The winning story radiates loveliness. It glows in the dark.
Quality speaks for itself. The opening sentence commands one to read the first paragraph. By the end of the second paragraph you know you’ll go to the bottom of the page. By then it’s a small matter to stay to the end. The weak story by contrast is so annoying that it casts itself aside after a paragraph. Sometimes the first sentence alone invites rejection.
It was not clear to me until I’d begun the judging process that feedback on the stories was also required. Judging a contest is easy. Giving useful, kind and insightful feedback is not. It is, however, what I have endeavoured to do. My desire to offer constructive suggestions has slowed the judging process significantly. Each story has been read in its entirety. I imagined the author’s intention and desire. I considered the meaning of the narratives, pondered how writers get stuck, and contemplated anew our common desire to tell stories and the significance of sharing our words.
The most pleasing aspect of judging this competition was the high level of “clean” scripts. Most writers submitted their work in Times New Roman 12 pt, 1.5 or double spacing. Almost all were punctuated correctly, obeyed the basics of spelling and grammar, and were edited with care and attention.
Open a story with dialogue. Yes or no? The opening line is your chance to hook your reader. A random bit of conversation by an unknown character doing something arbitrary without any context is not an optimal story opener. No way.
Unless this dialogue has supreme relevance to the core of the story and serves to introduce a key character, who also delivers on the promise inherent in the hook, avoid opening your story with dialogue.
While on the matter of dialogue, avoid the “info dump”. Listen to real conversations. Most people speak in half sentences, interrupting each other. Read your work aloud. This is the fastest way to hear when a character is overstaying his welcome in the conversation. Keep it simple; keep it real.
Adverbs. Sigh. This is the earliest signifier of weak writing. Search and find every instance of “-ly” in your text. Root out every adverb. In almost each case, by scrutinising the verb and selecting a more powerful one, the prose is strengthened and the adverb can be excised. Adverbs inevitably signal to the reader how to perceive the action, rather than permitting the action to speak for itself.
Adjectives, like adverbs, tend to bulk texts. Reduce their use to the essential. Select judicious focus.
Characters must act. Do not permit them to think about acting because it swings the reader’s attention back into the character’s or author’s head, rather than fostering observation of the narrative moment. This links to the injunction, “Show; don’t tell”.
Search for all cognitive words: think, feel, wonder, remember, reflect, consider, ponder, recall, imagine, sense and suppose. Never permit a character to wonder if another will remember, thereby supposing an outcome where s/he senses an opportunity to reflect on the past and simultaneously imagine future. Just don’t.
Keep the attention on the action. Observe. Be. Do.
Examine the purpose of each word. Does it serve the action? Is it filler, adding only drag? Overwriting was the commonest fault, appearing in every story submitted. From the winning story: Winter felt her throat close up with grief even as her heart began to race with curiosity.
Shortened by five words, the following retains the meaning and propels the reader through the action:
Winter’s throat closed with grief even as her heart raced with curiosity.
The short story is not a sermon. It is not the form for reforming the populace. Neither is it the place to press your ideology, your politics, your view on other segments of society and their tribal lore, history, culture, quirks and values. Utilise your private journal to investigate your views on the ills of society, to become aware of your reactions to the status quo, and to raise mindful consciousness of how you’d like to deal with your feelings. Only once you can set aside judgement and preconditioned expectations should you attempt to explore other cultures in fiction.
Fiction fails, no matter how well intentioned, when a writer with an agenda attempts to explain people’s behaviour. My personal take is that we can never be neutral about others’ background, class and race. The taint of prejudice requires profound humility and enormous talent; in my view is seldom overcome. I salute and support the writer who consciously and deliberately frames a narrative from his or her own perspective.
My primary plea to writers is twofold and is inter-related. Firstly, write what you know. Secondly, know thyself. Journal. Meditate. Go to therapy. Find a support group for what ails you. Write your feelings down daily. Subscribe for free to www.750words.com. Talk to wise people who help you reconsider what keeps you stuck and how to get unstuck.
However you do it, find a way to know thyself. Clichéd warts and all. Write from the wart. Set your prejudice, rage and limited vision into a character’s constitution. Do not fear entering the territory of your confusion, your disappointment, your shame. Be honest. Be courageous. Do not pretend to be what you are not. Honour your urge to write. Trust the reader to receive it.
For the record, these are notes to myself, addressing issues that still pop up in my own writing.
The following tips for writers are worth reading and re-reading:
“Ten Rules for Fiction” http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/feb/20/ten-rules-for-writing-fiction-part-one
These articles should be taken with a pinch of salt but are worth contemplation:
“How Not to Write a Story” http://jakonrath.blogspot.com/2009/07/how-not-to-write-story.html
“How NOT to Write a Short Story” http://arcolton.hubpages.com/hub/How-NOT-to-Write-a-Short-Story
Congratulations to the authors of the shortlisted stories. These stories still require some polish, but are very nearly ready for submission to appropriate literary journals:
Congratulations to the winner who gets many things right in her heart-warming short story, Winter’s Words.
