MOVING ON

DELLA GALTON

Published by Accent Press Ltd – 2012
ISBN 9781908192424

Copyright © Della Galton 2012

The right of Della Galton to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be copied, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the written permission of the publishers: Accent Press Ltd, The Old School, Upper High Street, Bedlinog, Mid Glamorgan, CF46 6RY

Cover design by Red Dot Design

For Ian Burton, who taught me everything I know about writing, and Nancy Henshaw, a writer I very much admire.

Acknowledgements

As always I’d like to thank all at Accent Press for their amazing support and encouragement. Thank you to the writers who gave me quotes for the Tips from the Experts section at the end. Thank you also to every writer I have ever spoken to for their insight and their wisdom. Being part of a writing fellowship is amazing.

Foreword

The difference between writing a short story and a novel is viewed by some as similar to the difference between a snack and a meal, or a sprint and a marathon. With the shorter work, the end is almost within sight, a target one can almost visualise; with a novel, it allows for greater expansion, a host of characters and plenty of scope for description, plot, dialogue and drama.

Jumping ‘up’ from short fiction to a novel is most often a question of greater scale and stamina; a writer accustomed to creating short fiction, for example, might be disciplined to working to a tight schedule of, say, 2,000 words, where every single word counts. Descriptive narrative in a short story does not always allow the full run of words one might wish to use, and suddenly writing to a much wider scope, with room to expand far more than one is used to, can be a touch of freedom too far.

And some short stories should remain just that: short stories, rather than becoming longer stories in short pants which suddenly run out of wind.

(Conversely, it has to be said, some writers accustomed to working on a very broad canvas, say, 90,000 words, can just as easily find themselves daunted by the severe constraints of working to a 2,000 word maximum, a skill in itself, which probably equals only half a chapter in their normal line of work.)

But it can be done, as many writers have found. And the jump from short story writer to novelist shouldn’t stop anybody trying. The main advice for someone wishing to make the transition between the two might be to proceed with careful planning, and an understanding of what is required.

Della Galton’s Moving On – Short Story To Novel will help you do that. Packed with examples, this step-by-step guide will demonstrate the approaches to writing long fiction versus short; the differences between short-story ideas and novel ideas; of developing plot, character and setting in the two entirely different mediums; of introducing a character in a short story compared with a novel; of the scope of dialogue in the two mediums … not to mention a host of other things which you probably hadn’t even thought about.

A must for writers wanting to make the transition from short fiction to novels, this guide is also useful to novelists wishing to embark on short story writing.

Written in Della’s usual down-to-earth, informal manner, this book demonstrates that, above all, size does matter!

Adrian Magson
Crime/spy thriller author and writer
www.adrianmagson.com

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

Chapter One

What’s the difference between writing a short story and a novel?

Chapter Two – The Idea

What’s the difference between a short story idea and a novel idea?

Do I have a big enough idea?

Examples of short story ideas/novel ideas

Is my idea original?

Does my idea have staying power?

Does my idea fit a genre or market?

How do I know if my idea is marketable?

Summary of differences

Chapter Three – Organising Your Writing Time

Space and time to write

Do I need larger chunks of time to write a novel than a short story?

Time saving tips

Writing frequency

Motivation

It’s a numbers game – short stories

It’s a numbers game – novels

Another good way of keeping motivated

Working practices and equipment

Summary of differences

Chapter Four – Idea to Plot

What’s the difference between a novel plot and a short story plot?

A universal premise

The Prize – the short story

The Prize – the novel

The characters and premise

Setting

Conflict/theme

Motivation

What is a subplot?

Example of a subplot in a short story

Example of a subplot in a novel

Plotting a short story

Plotting a novel

Summary of differences

Chapter Five – Creating Great Characters

What is the main difference between characters in a short story and characters in a novel?

Introducing a character in a short story

Introducing a character in a novel

Physical description in short stories and novels – what’s the difference?

Using physical description in a short story

Using physical description in a novel

Parents, friends and history

One viewpoint or several – short stories

One viewpoint or several – novels

Have I chosen the right viewpoint character?

Which characters have which scenes?

Summary of differences

Chapter Six – Viewpoint and Tense

Single viewpoint short stories

Single viewpoint novels

No viewpoint or several in a short story

Using a narrator in a short story

No viewpoint or several in a novel

Using a narrator in a novel

Unreliable narrators

Advantages of first and third person in the short story

Advantages of first and third person in the novel

Should I use present tense or past?

Summary of differences

Chapter Seven – Dialogue

How does dialogue in a novel differ from that in a short story?

Does it matter if all my characters speak with the same voice?

How do I stop them all sounding like me?

How do I handle dialect and rhythms of speech?

Characterisation through dialogue

How do I check my dialogue is working?

How do I check my narrative is working?

Summary of differences

Chapter Eight – Showing and Telling

What’s the difference?

How do you write scenically?

Telling – an example

Showing – an example

Summary of differences

Chapter Nine – Pace – The Beginning

How does pace differ in short and long fiction?

What should be on the first page of a novel?

The first page of a novel – example

The first page of a short story – example

Summary of differences

Chapter Ten – Pace – The Middle

What is the difference between the middle of a short story and the middle of a novel?

New strands

Complications

Cliffhangers

What do I mean by a massive cliffhanger?

Creating suspense without cliffhangers

Summary of differences

Chapter Eleven – Pace – The End

Twist endings

Surprise endings

Straight endings

Epilogues

Poignant endings

Open endings

Cliffhanger endings

The last page

Summary of differences

Chapter Twelve – Structure and Flashback

Using flashback

Handling flashback in the short story

Handling flashback in the novel

Using chapters to introduce flashback

When should I introduce flashback?

Handling backstory

Sowing seeds

What are the pitfalls of using flashback and back story?

How does short story structure and novel structure differ?

Types of structure

Summary of differences

Chapter Thirteen – Using a Theme

What is a theme?

Using a theme in a short story

Using a theme in a novel

Is it necessary to have a theme in what I’m writing?

How can a theme help?

Can I use the same theme for a novel and a short story?

Summary of differences

Chapter Fourteen – Editing and Revision.

Editing a short story

Editing a novel

Have I inadvertently changed a character’s name or eye colour?

Using a chapter overview

Cutting without losing continuity

Cooling-off periods

Final edits

Proof reading

Summary of differences

Chapter Fifteen – Finding the Best Title

Titles – what’s the main difference between titles for novels and titles for short stories?

Think theme

Be specific and be unusual

Be provocative

Finding titles for a series

Test your title

Summary of differences

Chapter Sixteen – The Synopsis and the Blurb

Writing a synopsis for a novel

Why do publishers need one?

What length should it be?

How should I present it?

Do I have to give away the end?

What else should be included?

An example of a novel synopsis

Writing a synopsis for a short story

An example of a short story synopsis

Another example of a short story synopsis

Writing a blurb for a novel

What should be in a blurb?

An example of a blurb for a novel

Writing a blurb for a short story

Examples of short story blurbs

Summary of differences

Chapter Seventeen – Feedback – Critique Services and Writing Classes

Should I use a professional critique service?

How do I find a good one?

How do they work?

Book doctors

Critique services who are writers

How do I know my novel is ready for a critique service?

Costs of critique services

How to get the best value from a critique service

Free critique services

Drawbacks of free critique services

Writing classes

Courses

Retreats

Summer schools and conferences

Literary festivals

Summary of differences

Chapter Eighteen – Competitions

Is it worth entering writing competitions?

Entering novel/or partial novel competitions.

Motivation for entering competitions

How do I know they are reputable?

Is it worth it?

What if someone steals my idea?

Summary of differences

Chapter Nineteen – Research

Research for short stories

Research for novels

Authenticity

Timings

Journey times

Plotting

Characters – real or fictional

Using the internet

Summary of differences

Chapter Twenty – Setting

Setting in the short story

Introducing setting in the short story – example

Setting in the novel

Should I use a real place to set my novel?

Changing names

Creating maps

Introducing setting in a novel – example

Summary of differences

Chapter Twenty-one – Finding an Agent or Publisher

Which is best – agent or publisher?

What will a good agent do for me?

Can I approach a publisher direct?

Smaller publishers versus bigger publishers

Direct publishing (electronically)

Self-publishing

Short stories and epublishing

The submission package

Writing a biography

Ebooks and print on demand

Summary of differences

Chapter Twenty-two – Marketing and Publicity

How do I organise a book launch?

Giving talks

Doing signings

Websites, blogs, and other marketing via the internet

Other types of publicity

Summary of differences

Chapter Twenty-three – How to Deal with Rejection

Coping with rejection

Reasons for rejection

Lessening the pain

Preventative measures

Chasing up manuscripts

Multi submissions

Rewrites

Short story rejections

Novel rejections

Summary of differences

Chapter Twenty-four – Tips from the experts