Exploring the Craft

Writing Successful Short Stories in 2022

Typing - writing short stories.
Photo by T. S. Wulandari on Unsplash

This is not the post about writing short stories I had planned. Several months ago, I thought I had a handle on each type of short story that can be written today and sold in today’s markets. I was sure how writers should approach writing these stories. But I’m less certain about any of it because I don’t write for all potential markets in all the forms.

Short Stories and Short Fiction

The term short stories has been morphing and is being overtaken by the term short fiction. The difference is subtle, and yet significant. Short fiction encompasses more. Yet, aren’t stories the same as fiction? Yes, but here’s what seems to be different. Especially in the realm of self-publishing, novellas and novelettes are being included in short fiction. And often they are described as short stories. Much like what happened with the term blurb, which self-publishing uses to mean a book description, the traditional usage of short story is no longer valid.

Thus, talking about short stories has become more complex. Magazines, ezines, and anthologies have specific guidelines listed for length, payment, and genre. Writers must adhere to them if they hope to have a story accepted. These markets usually also describe the types of stories they seek. Often they are looking for high literary quality, even for speculative fiction.

Also, serial markets, like Vella, Wattpad, Tales, and Radish, have specific rules on length, content, and payment, but only by investigating what’s popular on each platform can a writer decide what type of story to submit.

Likewise, short books (novelettes and novellas) published independently are similarly free of gatekeepers and only need to satisfy the marketplace of readers within a genre. Or, another way to look at it is, the readers are the gatekeepers.

Reader Magnets are entirely up to the writer. Whatever story and whatever length the writer thinks will entice readers to read a full novel, or sign up for a newsletter is what’s required. Only trial, error, and experience can tell a writer what they should do.

The Only Advice for Writing Short Stories

What I can say is, research and understand what a given market (magazine, ezine, anthology, serial, short book, or reader magnet) needs from a story. This isn’t new. There are just more choices. Each has different requirements. It takes more research.

A writer can always sit down and write the stories of their heart, then figure out where to place them. But it is more efficient, for the working writer, to decide which market they intend to place the story in before they write. Ensuring the right elements make it into the story. It means writing to market by understanding which markets are for which stories.

Episode 14: Interview With Jordan Duncan

The Time is Right
The Time is Right
Episode 14: Interview With Jordan Duncan
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Jordan Duncan is a multi-creative writer, poet, editor, blogger, and more. She’s half of the Coffee Book and Candle blog duo. You can find out more about her and her work at Twitter and Linktree, and her poetry here: Quill and Crow Publishing.

Creativity Resources Mentioned:

Dan Koboldt: Putting the Science in Science Fiction

Audacity: free audio editing

Davinci Resolve: video editing

Movavi: audio and video editing

Canva: Image editing

Gimp: photo manipulation

Affinity: photo editing

Photoshop Lightroom (mobile): photo editing

Episode 13: Interview With Multi-Creative Marijah V.

The Time is Right
The Time is Right
Episode 13: Interview With Multi-Creative Marijah V.
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Marijah V. is a writer, poet, editor, photographer, musician, adventurer and all-around creative. Marijah joined us for a conversation about creativity and how her various outlets have grown and changed. She’s a firm believer in putting your creativity out into the world because you will receive more than you give.

You can learn all about her at her website: marijahvwanderlust.com or Instagram or Twitter.

Resources mentioned:

Virtual Reality: Oculus (Now called Meta Quest) with travel apps to explore the world you can’t visit.

Marijah V. Wanderlust photos, volunteering opportunities, and more.

A Field Guide to Getting Lost, by Rebecca Solnit. Essays on finding yourself by allowing us to lose ourselves.

Why I Wake Early by Mary Oliver. Poetry as Essay. She discusses feeding creativity by finding a quiet place that speaks to you and just notice the details.

Episode 11: Interview with Author & Translator Kristin Osani

The Time is Right
The Time is Right
Episode 11: Interview with Author & Translator Kristin Osani
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Kristin Osani is a queer writer who lives in Kyoto, Japan where she works as a freelance Japanese-to-English video game translator when she’s not wordsmithing, working on nerdy cross-stitching, or cuddling her two cats (three if you include her husband).

Her fiction has appeared in FlashPoint SF, the Arcanist, and Ghost Orchid Press’s Beyond the Veil: Supernatural Tales of Queer Love anthology.

Kristin’s website is https://www.kristinosani.com/

Kristin shared her experience with creativity through her work as a video-game translator, her writing, cross-stitching, and drawing.

Kristin’s creative resources:

For writers struggling to create protagonists well: The Protagonist Problem.

Brandon Sanderson’s Creative Writing Lectures on Youtube

Ellen Brock‘s YouTube channel

Writing Excuses Podcast

Save the Cat!, by Blake Snyder

Take Off Your Pants!: Outline Your Books for Faster, Better Writing, by Libbie Hawker

The Emotional Craft of Fiction: How to Write the Story Beneath the Surface, by Donald Maas

Wonderbook: the Illustrated Guide to Creating Fiction, by Jeff VanderMeer

The Nebula Conference is a great place for SFF writers to connect and learn.

John suggested The Listening Book: Discovering Your Own Music, by W. A. Mathieu

Kevin mentioned** the book The Lady from the Black Lagoon, by Mallory O’Meara

**Actually, Kevin mis-titled the book repeatedly in the episode. That’s what happens when you don’t look at your notes. 🙄 Apologies to Mallory O’Meara.