Writing The Short Story: Description

Unlike in a book or even a long story, when writing the short story there isn't much room for flowery, descriptive, prose. Here are some satisfying and effective ways to handle that.

Think essence rather than complete. I love to write long, flowery, beautiful descriptive sequences in the novels I write. When writing the short story that has to change. In some ways it helps make an author a better (more precise, at least) writer. In writing the short story one must determine what facets will quickly set the proper stage and offer all the important (necessary) features. Here is an example.

“The astonishing beauty of the budding trees, the assortment of colorful flowers, and the still, blue, lake just down the hill from his rustic cabin, quickly dispatched the feelings of melancholy that had led Jerry to seek the solitude offered by the Briar Hill Retreat Center.” That sentence replaces about six pages of description from one of my early novels. From that sentence the reader learns many, story-setting, aspects: time of year, a snapshot of the setting, available sources of beauty, a bit about the character's background, and the effect the setting seemed to be having on him. Actually, all that might be worth a full chapter in a long novel. All of that was accomplished by packing a sentence with information – actual and inferred. 'Packing' must occur with great care not to make a sentence or set of sentences too heavy or complex or rambling. (That one is close to being over-packed, perhaps.) One would probably never pack a sentence that way in a novel – the reader would feel cheated.

When writing the short story, however, the reader will appreciate such a compact laying out of useful but not critical information. It doesn’t mean you have to give up wonderful words and phrases. If anything, they become more precious for the precision they provide (astonishing, beauty, colorful, quickly dispatched, melancholy, rustic, solitude).

There is one danger that must be avoided. When writing the short story make sure you don't overuse those wonderful words. Take the word 'remarkable', for example. In a short story consider it a one-time-use word. Used a second time it will not only lose its punch but it will sound amateurish. Sometimes that holds true in novels as well. Certain great words stand out and make their point once, but more frequently than that they make the piece amateurishly redundant. (See how that just happened when I reused a form of 'amateurish'.)

So, here are three pieces of advice about descriptive passages when writing the short story,. Master the art of packing - and not over-packing - descriptive sentences. Think essence first and completeness second (with care and practice both can often be achieved). Avoid the repetition of extraordinary words as they quickly feel wrong and become awkward distractions.

By: Tom Gnagey

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Tom Gnagey is a successful, long time, writer with more than 100 original books and 350 stories in his personally published bibliography (seven pen names). He has rewritten dozens manuscripts for others. His education includes degrees in psychology, education, and philosophy. Tom is a nationally known speaker and creative writing teacher. For FREE SAMPLES of his stories and information about his Writing Rx services go to www.TomsBookNook.com now.