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8 rules for writing a short story |
Oskar von Reuenthal
Grand Admiral
Joined: April 30, 2007
Posts: 38
From: Olympus Mons, Mars
|  Posted: 2012-10-22 22:07
Kurt Vonnegut's eight rules for writing a short story:
1. Use the time of a total stranger in such a way that he or she will not feel the time was wasted.
2. Give the reader at least one character he or she can root for.
3. Every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water.
4. Every sentence must do one of two things—reveal character or advance the action.
5. Start as close to the end as possible.
6. Be a Sadist. No matter how sweet and innocent your leading characters, make awful things happen to them—in order that the reader may see what they are made of.
7. Write to please just one person. If you open a window and make love to the world, so to speak, your story will get pneumonia.
8. Give your readers as much information as possible as soon as possible. To hell with suspense. Readers should have such complete understanding of what is going on, where and why, that they could finish the story themselves, should cockroaches eat the last few pages.
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gg14155
2nd Rear Admiral
Joined: November 11, 2011
Posts: 13
| Posted: 2012-10-23 01:38
thanks for sharing! useful tips lolz
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Flux Capacitor
Marshal
Joined: July 30, 2010
Posts: 305
From: the place
| Posted: 2012-10-23 06:24
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On 2012-10-22 22:07, UWS Moriwaki Setsuya wrote:
Kurt Vonnegut's eight rules for writing a short story:
1. Use the time of a total stranger in such a way that he or she will not feel the time was wasted.
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stangers are there to be wasted and die!
nice story was good but i didnt get who the leading character was..was it E? or was it...U?
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Bardiche
Chief Marshal
Joined: November 16, 2006
Posts: 1247
| Posted: 2012-10-23 06:34
Quote:
| 6. Be a Sadist. No matter how sweet and innocent your leading characters, make awful things happen to them—in order that the reader may see what they are made of. |
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What, is he from Fanfiction.org?
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Shade Perilous
Vice Admiral
Joined: September 16, 2011
Posts: 35
| Posted: 2012-10-23 16:23
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On 2012-10-23 06:34, Bardiche wrote:
Quote:
| 6. Be a Sadist. No matter how sweet and innocent your leading characters, make awful things happen to them—in order that the reader may see what they are made of. |
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What, is he from Fanfiction.org?
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... Kill it with fire ...
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Coeus
Grand Admiral
Sundered Weimeriners
Joined: March 22, 2006
Posts: 2815
From: Philly
| Posted: 2012-10-23 19:56
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On 2012-10-23 06:34, Bardiche wrote:
Quote:
| 6. Be a Sadist. No matter how sweet and innocent your leading characters, make awful things happen to them—in order that the reader may see what they are made of. |
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What, is he from Fanfiction.org?
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Waaagggghhhh?
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Shade Perilous
Vice Admiral
Joined: September 16, 2011
Posts: 35
| Posted: 2012-10-25 11:51
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On 2012-10-23 19:56, Coeus wrote:
Quote:
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On 2012-10-23 06:34, Bardiche wrote:
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| 6. Be a Sadist. No matter how sweet and innocent your leading characters, make awful things happen to them—in order that the reader may see what they are made of. |
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What, is he from Fanfiction.org?
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Waaagggghhhh?
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... it looks like the list of rules use to make "my immortal" ...
Although that only included the sadist bit and it was directed at the reader rather than the charecters.
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Bardiche
Chief Marshal
Joined: November 16, 2006
Posts: 1247
| Posted: 2012-10-25 14:58
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On 2012-10-23 19:56, Coeus wrote:
Quote:
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On 2012-10-23 06:34, Bardiche wrote:
Quote:
| 6. Be a Sadist. No matter how sweet and innocent your leading characters, make awful things happen to them—in order that the reader may see what they are made of. |
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What, is he from Fanfiction.org?
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Waaagggghhhh?
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Waaagggghhhh exactly. Someone who writes knows that their story must absolutely feature some sort of conflict, whether it be internal or external, dramatic or lame. When you wake up in the morning and can't decide if you'll have coffee first or shower first, that's a conflict! A dilemma! Nothing worth writing a book over, but it's those sort of things that must feature, and preferably the sort of problem we all want to read about.
The problem with Fanfiction is that they write because they idolise a character or show and just want to follow that. The advice to "be a sadist" and "give terrible flaws to characters" is the sort of nonsense people spout about their imaginary Mary Sue archtype when they're trying to hide how little skill they have at writing. Granted, this Vonnegut character may actually be good at writing, but "be a sadist" is pretty lame advice.
Have a conflict in your story and make it a conflict that matters. Someone who thinks he's nice but is actually a big jerk and he comes to this shocking realisation is already conflict enough, so long as he decides to do something with it. That's "showing what you're made of", but it doesn't need sadism.
Yes, I haet
[ This Message was edited by: Bardiche on 2012-10-25 14:59 ]
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