Welcome to the first post on short stories/flash fiction. What is the difference? Word count. That being said, we start our first post with an important lesson in your writing.?
Word Economy.?
I will assume that you know the rules of writing. There are many. Or that you are learning the rules and are going to go the distance to put together an excellent story. That said, once you learn the rules, it?s time to know when to break them for the benefit of a tight and trim but well written story.
I am posting the first part of the Romantic Friday Writer?s, Birthday Madness post, I wrote last Friday. This was a challenge of 400 words and the theme was a birthday. To view the entire story read the post after this one.
My first edition, the rough draft, came in at, 552 words.
The second edition, my favorite, came in at, 496 words.
The final edition, which I published on my blog post, came in at, 378 words.
I?m sure that if I?d had some editorial help, I might have been able to shave even more off. I did find out there were some spelling errors which I corrected. This proves that your best still needs that extra set of eyes.
Here are the samples:
?Libra!?? Amaia said.
Shika drew the wagon to a stop in the center of the Gypsy camp. Men, women and children converged eagerly on the produce and meat she had brought with her. An older man with gray hair and a large gold earring in one lobe helped her down.?
?Thank you, Dunixi,? Shika said, as her feet touched the ground.
?Libra,? Amaia said.
?I?m sorry, Amaia. What do you mean??
?You.?
Amaia often spoke in riddles. Shika waited, admiring the middle aged woman?s long silken black locks that curled tight against the bonds of the colorful woven scarf she wore. While the crowd dispatched the groceries Shika had brought for them, the two women went to the table that served Amaia in her future sight predictions.?
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Shika drew the wagon to a stop in the center of the Gypsy camp. Men, women and children converged on the produce and meat she had brought. An older man with gray hair and a gold earring in one lobe helped her down.?
?Thank you, Dunixi,? Shika said.?
?Libra,? a middle aged woman said.
?I?m sorry, Amaia. What do you mean??
?You.?
Shika admired Amaia?s long black locks that curled tight against the colorful scarf she wore and followed her to a table.
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Shika drew the wagon filled with produce to a stop in the center of the Gypsy camp and stepped carefully down.
?Libra.? A middle aged woman greeted her.
?I?m sorry, Amaia, what do you mean?? Shika admired Amaia?s long black locks that curled tight against the colorful scarf she wore and followed her to a table.
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The first version is unnecessarily long. The second has details that I didn?t want to cut, such as the older man with a gold earring and the eagerness of the gypsy families to receive the food Shika had brought. But something had to go for the challenge of 400 words.?
The final version is what I posted. This is flash fiction. I am turning this into a short story and putting back a lot that I had to cut. Short stories can run anywhere from 2,000 words up to around 10,000. Any longer and you have written a novella. Who knows, Shika?s story may turn into a novella, but at this time I?m planning a short story.
So let?s take a closer look at the first full paragraph:
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Shika drew the wagon to a stop in the center of the Gypsy camp. Men, women and children converged eagerly on the produce and meat she had brought with her. An older man with gray hair and a large gold earring in one lobe helped her down.
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Shika drew the wagon filled with produce to a stop in the center of the Gypsy camp and stepped carefully down.