How To Write A Great Short Story
A literary tour around some tour de force examples
One of my favourite words is serendipity, and that is because it goes a long long way towards explaining so much of what happens in our lives. How did you meet your wife or land that plum job, meet your your business partner or creative muse? In my experience it's all down to chance, but if that chance results in an unexpectedly joyous and fruitful experience, then we call it serendipity.
Sometimes life simply throws people together for no apparent reason. And yet afterwards we tend to say that it was meant to be. It was written in the stars, you could have read it in the tea leaves at the bottom of your cup. We say it was destiny, that it was bound to happen sooner or later. I'm not so sure. All I know is that I am grateful beyond belief that I chanced upon a writer here who not only delights and entertains me, but one who inspires me more than I have ever admitted.
However, before you read any further, allow me to explain that the purpose of this article is to show you by example what a great short story is rather than give you a prescriptive set of rules.
'Going For Broke' is a delightful story which entices you into the situation and keeps hold of you right to the very end where delivered unto you the reader is a killer twist and a salutary lesson in learning to value what you have rather than what you want.
Several of my own short stories would likely never have been written had I not taken the time to read this writer's offerings first. His story 'Going For Broke' inspired me to write a gambling story of my own based upon my own childhood history of having to deal with a gambling addict father. My father was always chasing the ace, not realising that he already had the ace at home in the form of my neglected mother. And the terrible irony of my father's story is that when he did have a very big win on the horses, enough to buy a house, he blew it on chasing an even bigger ace. This was what set me off in Stuart's story, the character of the loser who was a winner all along without knowing it.
'Going For Broke' was such a well written story that I felt duty bound to recommend Stuart to be an editor with us on Illumination. Happily Stuart accepted and I have to say he has been a superb colleague both in and out of the editorial room.
I am really quite proud to tell you that Stuart has made it clear that he too has felt inspired by at least one or two of my own offerings. 'Strange Meeting On A Park Bench On My Birthday' came to me out of the blue as they say. I was quite pleased with it to be honest, even more so when it got a good reaction from Medium readers. But what really made me happy was when Stuart stated that it had inspired him to write 'Count On The Fog', which is about another type of strange meeting.
From this point on it seems Stuart and I have been closely following each other. I put this down to the fact we do seem to have a great deal in common, wired by the same creative electrician. Stuart is a story teller par excellence, and I try my best to keep up with him. He brings out the best in me.
With the next two short stories Stuart and I made an equally good impression with each other. 'An Amazing Medical Discovery' came from me being informed that I had had what is called a silent heart attack. I was shocked and afraid to say the least. Not being comfortable at all with those feelings I wrote this story turning a negative into a positive. Positive? Stuart was blown away with it, comparing it to a Kurt Vonnegut story. I cannot tell you how much I appreciated that comparison.
For sure I was inspired by yet another gem from Stuart, 'Finding Order In The New World.' This is one of Stuarts stories which has a great narrative and could easily be turned into a blockbuster movie. It really does have all the right ingredients.
I'll leave you with yet two more of Stuart's stories which clearly and easily demonstrate his story telling abilities. 'The Relevance of Nowhere, And Rushing To Get There', will keep you guessing right to the very end. There are so many twists and turns that Stuart negotiates, like an expert ski-er on the slalom, you will not be able to put it down until the very end, and then go back and read it all over again, and again, and again....ad infinitum. Absolutely freekin brilliant.
'The Art Of Choice' is a gentle tale, and equally well written story, with more than an air of mystery and mastery. Stuart's command of highly descriptive language is up there with the best of them, it is one of the great many things that draws you into the story and makes you feel like you are actually there. Even better, this story has lots of takeaways for the reader to learn from. And that my friends, is one of the things that go towards defining a great story and exceptional story teller.
I hope you all spend a little time reading Stuart's stories, I can guarantee you will not be disappointed. Each and every one of them are worth far more than the monthly Medium subscription, and then some.
As for Stuart and I, we have an excellent relationship and enjoy a high level of mutual, reciprocal, serendipitous creativity. I like to think along the lines of John Lennon and Paul McCartney, Elton John and Bernie Taupin, Hal David and Burt Bacharach. Stuart Englander and Liam Ireland…tongue very firmly in cheek, that kind of sits well with me. Within each of those pairings, there was more than a spark of each creatively bouncing off one another. McCartney's 'Penny Lane' came directly from Lennon's 'Strawberry Fields'. Elton John is on record for having stated that without Bernie Taupin, the would have been no Elton John. I think, I hope, you get the point. Far be it from me to put Stuart and I on the same achievement level as those giants of popular culture.
I did at one time suggest that perhaps one day Stuart and I ought to co-write a story, but Stuart was too up to his neck in other things to accept. In the meantime I am more than happy to play follow the leader.
Special thanks are due to Dew Langrial and Dr Yildiz for gifting me the idea for this article. Inspiration comes from many quarters and is always deeply appreciated wherever it comes from. They say that a good idea doesn't mind who had it, at the same time, I firmly believe in giving credit where credit is due.