tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208627029605402728.post5491901195757377092..comments2024-02-17T17:59:25.010+10:00Comments on Christian Writers Downunder: Short Story Writing - for fun! Jeanette O'Haganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11057798704247611224noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208627029605402728.post-23323115217730326692015-04-29T08:52:24.467+10:002015-04-29T08:52:24.467+10:00Thanks Rita! Thanks Rita! Catriona McKeownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01755816934717121501noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208627029605402728.post-88085278314839358492015-04-29T08:49:02.323+10:002015-04-29T08:49:02.323+10:00Thanks for the encouragement, Adele. Finding time ...Thanks for the encouragement, Adele. Finding time is the enemy, hey! All the best with your writing - if you get to write that short story, I'd love to read it. Catriona McKeownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01755816934717121501noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208627029605402728.post-71446204759558187612015-04-28T11:00:11.428+10:002015-04-28T11:00:11.428+10:00A fun blog, thanks Cate! I love the challenge of s...A fun blog, thanks Cate! I love the challenge of short story versus novels writing. It really does force you to tighten, prune and adopt a more succinct and powerfully engaging mode of writing. Definitely a great skill to take into novel writing! Love the details of your approach. You've got me all enthusiastic now to tap out some thoughts! (Just need to find some time to go with it! LOL!)Adele Joneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15413445554710215786noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208627029605402728.post-49108138457055866772015-04-27T17:34:03.414+10:002015-04-27T17:34:03.414+10:00Hi Cate - I think 15,000 or even 20,000 words is c...Hi Cate - I think 15,000 or even 20,000 words is considered the minimum for a novella (up to 35,000-40,000). Sci-Fi/Fantasy short story comps often have a maximum of 10,000. And yes, it's good we are all different. It makes life interesting - in a good way :)Jeanette O'Haganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11057798704247611224noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208627029605402728.post-22156947084499448982015-04-27T17:03:36.147+10:002015-04-27T17:03:36.147+10:00I've never tried writing a short story, Cate. ...I've never tried writing a short story, Cate. I like the way you approach it. That is placing your characters in certain situations and then getting right to the point you want to make. <br />I usually write long stories then proceed to cut them down to size. It's similar to the way some writers get down all their protagonists' characteristics even before writing a novel. I reckon you could even turn your stories into full length novels. Then again you mightn't enjoy doing that. We sure are all different the way we tackle our craft!Rita Galiehhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14586506137798711397noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208627029605402728.post-41393716329607575052015-04-27T15:57:31.114+10:002015-04-27T15:57:31.114+10:00It must take great discipline to write a blog, Jo-...It must take great discipline to write a blog, Jo-Anne.<br />I am similar to you, in that after I had my first novel appraised I realised I needed to hone my writing and make it tighter. Writing short stories was part of the process for me, and it was then that I remembered how much I love this kind of writing.<br />Thanks for commenting and all the best with your endeavours. <br />Catriona McKeownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01755816934717121501noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208627029605402728.post-1890170905150763472015-04-27T15:51:47.597+10:002015-04-27T15:51:47.597+10:00Is 8000 words a Novella, Jeanette, or is it still ...Is 8000 words a Novella, Jeanette, or is it still a short story? It's amazing how we all have different styles and skills, even in our writing. Thanks for commenting; all the best with both your long, and short, stories. Catriona McKeownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01755816934717121501noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208627029605402728.post-18494078699645857452015-04-27T15:49:25.577+10:002015-04-27T15:49:25.577+10:00Thank you Anusha. That sounds like a terrific goal...Thank you Anusha. That sounds like a terrific goal! All the best with it.Catriona McKeownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01755816934717121501noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208627029605402728.post-25908878335104397042015-04-27T15:48:02.978+10:002015-04-27T15:48:02.978+10:00Very much so, Nola! I find short story writing gre...Very much so, Nola! I find short story writing great for forcing me to tighten my writing - which then in turn teaches me how to tighten my writing in my novels. So it's great practise for me.Catriona McKeownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01755816934717121501noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208627029605402728.post-40469889126566938712015-04-27T14:29:37.153+10:002015-04-27T14:29:37.153+10:00Thanks for sharing that Cate. You've given so...Thanks for sharing that Cate. You've given some great suggestions for getting the short story juices percolating. I've had a few short stories published and I enjoy writing them, but they take a lot of effort. Writing a 2000-word short story is much more difficult than writing 2000 words of your novel because you have to have a whole story arc happening in a small space and have it work. When I first started out, I had way too many ideas and eventually realised I was thinking of novella-length works rather than short stories. Getting the scope right is important. As Jo said, it's a great skill to help with other types of writing. Just because you have more words in a novel, it doesn't mean you can rave on :) Good luck with your short stories.Nola Passmorehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08425394685430146759noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208627029605402728.post-81739088061633786112015-04-27T12:12:52.689+10:002015-04-27T12:12:52.689+10:00Thanks Cate. I enjoy writing short stories too. I ...Thanks Cate. I enjoy writing short stories too. I am mainly a non fiction writer so writing short stories is different to what I mostly do. I have it on the cards to write a book of modern day parables (through short stories) and perhaps this is the year I should embark on it. Many thanks for your interesting post.Anusha Atukoralahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00859837228901127984noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208627029605402728.post-39175076846648124972015-04-27T09:00:53.438+10:002015-04-27T09:00:53.438+10:00Hi Cate, thanks for sharing your process in writin...Hi Cate, thanks for sharing your process in writing short stories. This last year I've written a few and am enjoying the process though I've decided that I'm better at either writing flash fiction (a single scene, 1000 words) or 8000 words. Writing novels comes more naturally. But it is a great way of honing my craft and results in a finished work much quicker. Thanks for your post.Jeanette O'Haganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11057798704247611224noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208627029605402728.post-65328483815619476742015-04-27T08:28:32.118+10:002015-04-27T08:28:32.118+10:00Thanks, Catriona. I love your description of the p...Thanks, Catriona. I love your description of the process you go through in creating your short stories--a true glimpse into a writer's mind! To some degree at least, I think writing my weekly blog works for me rather like your short stories work for you. A few years ago, while waiting for a publisher for my first two novels, I set my mind to creating short stories simply to fine hone my writing skills and discipline myself to write only 1500 or 2000 words or whatever. I think this helped me cut out extraneous words and really think about what I wanted to achieve with my story, which then helped me with my subsequent novels.Jo-Anne Berthelsenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09775045057529728396noreply@blogger.com