{"id":4715,"date":"2020-10-26T09:00:19","date_gmt":"2020-10-26T13:00:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wayneaenglish.com\/WP\/?p=4715"},"modified":"2020-10-26T09:00:19","modified_gmt":"2020-10-26T13:00:19","slug":"short-story-checklist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wayneaenglish.com\/WordPress\/blogging\/short-story-checklist\/","title":{"rendered":"Short Story Checklist"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Remember Show Don\u2019t Tell <\/em>and don’t get tangled up editing when you’re writing or writing when you’re editing.<\/p>\n

Are you having trouble with Writer’s Block? Here’s the ultimate solution.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Conflict<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0If your story has no conflict you have no story. Conflict is required. Make it difficult for
\nyour protagonist to attain the goal. The threat of failing to achieve the goal must be severe
\nenough to drive the protagonist to overcome whatever the antagonist puts in the way.<\/i><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Example conflicts:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u2022\u00a0Loss of reputation; being unjustly accused of a crime or of an injustice at work or home;
\nloss of a job; the stealing of an idea, technology, concept, devise; loss of a loved one; lies
\nresulting in the loss of a loved one; duplicity on the part of the antagonist; etcetera. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u2022\u00a0If you\u2019re using something that has been done before you must do so creatively and
\ndifferently to acquire and <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u2022\u00a0hold reader interest.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Pace<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0This how fast the story moves forward. Don\u2019t do to much in too little text, or take forever to
\ndo anything at all.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Emotion<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n

\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Show loneliness, sadness, happiness, triumph, defeat<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Show what\u2019s it like to be bullied. Show why someone is a bully.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Show that a character is heartbroken.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Show why a character helps a stranger. what kind of a friend a character is. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Show betrayal<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Description<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n

\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Readers want to know what your characters look like.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Include the five plus senses: sight, sound, touch, smell, taste, the sense of space. Include
\ncolor and don\u2019t be afraid to associate colors sounds smells with memories; sights, events. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

What’s At Stake<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n

\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0When the antagonist is the environment, whether the vast ocean or the lunar landscape, the
\nstakes are live itself in a survival situation. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0So, never say your work has no antagonist. the antagonist is whoever or whatever works
\nagainst the protagonist to attain a specific goal.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Protagonist<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0This is the character that the story revolves around. When you have more than one Main
\ncharacters (see below) the Protagonist is the one character that the story can not exist without. It
\nis the character that all else revolves around. Another way to define this character is that he or
\nshe is the good guy.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Antagonist <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0This is the person, place, or thing that acts to thwart the needs, desires, and actions of the
\nprotagonist. The Antagonist need not be a person or even a living thing. It could be survival on
\nthe ocean or on the lunar landscape. Choose your antagonist with care as it must be appropriate to
\nthe setting and the ability of the protagonist to overcome it with effort, intelligence, and effort.
\nDo be careful that your antagonist is so powerful that the protagonist has no chance of
\novercoming it because there\u2019s no story there.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span>Main and Minor Characters<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Characters may be people, animals, vehicles. anyone or anything that the story must have to
\nbe a story. When your characters are inanimate, be they vehicles of computers, you must know
\ntheir technology cold. This is no place to make mistakes.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Main characters <\/i>are required for the story to exist and are named, described and necessary. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Minor characters <\/i>are only needed to fulfill the needs of the main characters and may, but
\nneed not be named. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Here\u2019s an example: a main character asks direction from someone on the street. The
\ncharacter need not be named or even describes as he or she will not appear again in the story. The
\nsame holds true for people who serve meals, pump gasoline. wash dishes, operate ski lifts,
\netcetera. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Be careful not to pay too much attention to minor characters or you will confuse the reader. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Should you develop a minor character into a main character? If you do, that character is a
\nmain character all along.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Dialogue<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0This is what characters say in conversation and how they say it. It is literally the words that
\nthey use. There is no better way to sharpen your dialogue than to listen to how the people you
\nmeet speak and verbalize themselves. Take notes. Yes, take notes. Carry a note book and stand
\noff to the side and write down what people are saying and the words they use to say it.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span>Setting<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0This is where the story takes pace indoors and out doors. What those who write movie
\nscripts would cal interior or exterior. You simply must know the territory and be consistent. this
\nis always important even when the location is on a planet, moon, prison, in a car, bus, truck or
\nanywhere else. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Mistakes To Avoid<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0When writing fiction, especially science fiction, resist the temptation to explain how the
\ntechnology works. The reader doesn\u2019t care how your star ship operates; how it\u2019s engines work.
\nThe reader wants to read story, <\/i>and the story is about characters, about good versus evil, about
\nsomething substantive<\/i>. Your story must matter to the reader.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Remember Show Don\u2019t Tell and don’t get tangled up editing when you’re writing or writing when you’re editing. Are you having trouble with Writer’s Block? Here’s the ultimate solution. Conflict \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0If your…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,36,80,102,104],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4715","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blogging","category-fiction","category-short-story","category-writers-tools","category-writing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wayneaenglish.com\/WordPress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4715","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wayneaenglish.com\/WordPress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wayneaenglish.com\/WordPress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wayneaenglish.com\/WordPress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wayneaenglish.com\/WordPress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4715"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wayneaenglish.com\/WordPress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4715\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wayneaenglish.com\/WordPress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4715"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wayneaenglish.com\/WordPress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4715"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wayneaenglish.com\/WordPress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4715"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}