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First Step In Publishing Short Stories - Reading
By Vivian Gilbert Zabel, Mon Dec 26th
First Step In Publishing Short Stories - Reading
By Vivian Gilbert Zabel, Mon Dec 26th
When I took composition classes in college, I often becamefrustrated with all the reading I had to do, story after storyafter story, many times thousands of pages per assignment. Yetas we discussed the stories and what made them interesting orwhat didn't, I was learning how to write. Even today, as I readand review, I learn more about what makes a good story and whatdoesn't. I used the reading, discussion, and then writing idea when Itaught, too. I tried to highlight one or two concepts per story,then had the students write something using those concepts andany others we had already covered. First, though came readingand reading and reading. As I read the September, 2005, issue of The Writer, Idiscovered an article by Erika Dreifus titled "Learningshort-story writing by example." She agrees with my universityprofessors and me: "We learn by reading closely and reading aswriters - attending to the ways others employ the elements offiction: setting, plot, character, theme, and so on."
So where can a person find short stories to study, ones thatwill help learn correct story writing? Of course
books of shortstories are found in all book stores. In fact Holly Jahangiriand I have a collection of short stories for sale at Amazon.comor Barnes and Nobles. Plus many bookstores connected to collegeshave anthologies for sale. If someone couldn't afford to buy ananthology or collection, used bookstores or libraries carry them. Web sites can be found that have stories and advice for writers.The Internet is an interesting and impressive source. Somemagazines still publish short stories. Searching in cyber spacewill locate many that do. The best help found in reading, though, is to readwell-written short stories, and read, read, read. **** Sources: 1. Dreifus, Erika, "Learning short-story writing by example,"The Writer, September 2005. 2. Notes and lesson plans byVivian Zabel About the author:Vivian Gilbert Zabel taught English, composition, and creativewriting for twenty-five years, honing her skills as she studiedand taught. She is a author on Creative Writers (http://www.Writing.Com/ ), and her portfolio can be found athttp://www.Writing.Com/authors/vzabel. Her books, Hidden Liesand Other Stories and Walking the Earth: Life'sPerspectives in Poe
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