Q

Do you have any advice for writing one-shots? I’m always going over the word limit and hacking parts of my story off when I edit.

A

The easiest way to stick to a word count, other than avoiding wordiness and complicated sentences, is to outline your story before you write it. Flying by the seat of your pants can work for long stories, but it’s counterproductive with one-shots.

Remember that short stories aren’t condensed long stories. With long stories, you can focus on the big picture and follow a character’s journey as they struggle to reach their goal, but with a short story, you need to focus on a smaller part of the bigger picture.

For your outline, decide who your character is and what they want. What goal will they reach or not reach by the end of the story and why is that goal important to them? 

The next element is conflict. Conflict is the driving force of any story, other than “slice of life” pieces, and it comes in a lot of shapes and sizes. The main categories of conflict are: 

• Man against man.
• Man against nature.
• Man against self.
• Man against society. 

Choose ONE category and find something that will get in your character’s way. As long it presents itself as an obstacle that can’t be ignored by the main character, it qualifies as conflict.

Do NOT make the conflict overly complex. Remember that you have to resolve it. The more complicated it is, the more words it will take. It’s preferable not to finish one-shots with cliffhangers unless you plan on picking the story back up. Conflict has to be resolved. 

The third element of your outline is the ending.

Knowing how your one-shot ends before you start writing it, is important. It will give your writing direction. Ending your story with a twist will be more satisfying to readers than a predictable resolution, but twists should never feel random. JK Rowling has her shortcomings, but one thing she did well was foreshadowing.

Make sure that there’s some character development by the end of your story. You don’t have the words to spare for a big character arc, but let there be some sort of evolution. If there’s no change, you need to revisit the character’s conflict.

Start your story where the action begins. Don’t waste words on exposition. If there’s a sentence or two that needs to be said before you get into the story, make them quick.

If you need to, you’re allowed to tell rather than show some parts of your story because telling takes fewer words than showing. Don’t do this too often. A story that is told is not pleasant to read. 

A one-shot can include beautiful descriptions, insightful characterisation, and a wonderful storyline. If you’re struggling to fit all that into your one-shot, go back to your outline. Maybe your character’s goal is too lofty for 3,000 words, or the conflict is too complex. Whichever it is, fix it, simplify it, and try again.

A short story must have a single mood and every sentence must build towards it.

EDGAR ALLAN POE