“The purpose of a storyteller is not to tell you how to think but to give you questions to think upon.” – Brandon Sanderson.
A story is a beautiful way to express and write things you imagine. It makes you go beyond your imagination and thinking skills. Storytelling and story writing is indeed a great talent. To tell or write stories, a person needs excellent skills and creativity. A creative mind can think of stories that can attract more than a thousand or a million readers! Great stories are always a big success. Story writing is an art that reveals each character of the story so that it not only fascinates the reader but also helps them imagine the fantasy of the story.
Can I become a story writer? What knowledge and areas of expertise should I have?
Anyone with a creative mind can become a story writer. All you need to ensure is that you have good thinking and writing skills. Your language skills should be up to the mark, and you should have the skill to write a story in such a way that it captures the reader’s interest and attention. To become a famous author or a publisher, one must start by taking small steps that count the most.
Start writing small stories with an exciting summary. Have your characters and the gist of the story ready before you start writing. Make sure you know how to start and end your story. Think of a catchy story title. Remember, always write short stories in the beginning and publish those to see and observe the public’s reaction. If you wish to step into the world of publishers, start looking around for outlets that are open to short story submissions. In this way, you can be well-trained in writing and publishing long stories and even novels. It is a good way of practicing writing stories.
What is easier? Writing short stories or entire novels?
Writing short stories is much more complex than writing novels or long stories. The main reason is that a lot can be written in a book, such as a theme, plot, and characters. However, every word counts in a short story, and the writer has a limited space to write. Several short story publishers are ready to accept fiction short stories from both debut and established authors worldwide.
What research shall I do before writing a short story that I wish to submit to a publisher?
Every writer or author has a different taste while writing a short story. Hence, a writer must first see what the publishers expect from the author. The publishers have specific rules and methodologies to follow as a standard pattern for their stories. Most of the publishers highly recommend the authors first read one of their anthologies to have a clear idea about what the publishers are looking for. Also, authors must know the file format that the story publishing outlet may accept. It can be either in doc, Docx, or any other format that the publishing outlet accepts.
What is the submission fee for submitting a short story for publishing?
There is always a standard fee that the story publishing outlets charge, and it varies from outlet to outlet. You need to contact the outlet you wish to submit your story to and ask them for the basic details about their outlet, such as the fee that charge for publication of a short story, the time they take to publish a story, writing format, and techniques they expect from the authors, etc.
Is there a specific short story formatting that I must be aware of?
There is a proper way of writing a story, a format that must be followed before submitting your story for publication. You must have a checklist ready with the basic formatting techniques that are used across the globe, such as:
- Make sure to write your full name, complete address, email address, and contact number.
- Ensure that you mention the word count of your story at the top of the first page.
- Use the standard font size that is 12 pt.
- Use double-space in your story.
- Have a catchy title included in your story.
- Make sure to indent the paragraphs just like it is done in a book.
- Include page numbers at the bottom right corner.
- Include subtitles and headings in the story.
What makes a good story? What are the key points to remember while writing a story?
There are some rules and key points to be followed while writing a story that makes it interesting for the readers. Remember the following points:
- Theme – A theme is one of the essential points related to story writing. It tells and gives a clear idea about the story.
- Plot – A plot always makes a story interesting. It describes the struggle or conflict faced by the main character of the story.
- Characters – An author must know the characters to be included in the story before writing the story.
- Structure – The story’s structure depends on the success of the story. Make sure that you have an interesting story structure when you decide to write one.
- Tone and Style – Use the correct language, make sure there are no punctuation and grammar errors, use synonyms and phrases to make your story interesting, use direct speeches. Write sentences that sound the best and deliver the precise meaning of the sentence.
- Setting – While writing the story, make sure that your story setting is done so that the reader’s attention is captured throughout the story.
A good story is indeed a great way of imagination.
“Many stories matter. Stories have been used to dispossess and to malign. But stories can also be used to empower and humanize. Stories can break the dignity of a people. But stories can also repair that broken dignity.” – Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie