Short Story Writing by Rosamunde Pilcher

Short Story Writing by Rosamunde Pilcher

3 years ago

I really cut my literary teeth writing short stories at a time when they were a major source of imaginative entertainment, before mass broadcasting on radio and television. They have since, rather sadly, fallen victim to the modern-day strategies of publishing, and I am only too delighted that Shortbread Stories are spearheading their revival in such an innovative way. It is a genre of writing that so many first-time writers are comfortable with, and also can provide a wonderfully interesting change of discipline for published authors. It is many years since I wrote short stories, but my recollections of that particular science is still very much with me. I hope the following observations might in some way act as a guide – or even a stimulus – to those who want to give it a go!

Rosamunde Pilcher

Writing a short story is a bit like catching a butterfly. The butterfly appears, hovers, disappears, emerges again. If you grab it, it will disintegrate. It has to be coaxed, gently, into a butterfly net.

A short story is like a very rough sketch for a painting. The background – an urban skyscape, a mountain, a cove, a house – is drawn with a few lines. In the foreground are the figures, three possibly, no more. These have been drawn in more detail, but are still simply sketched. A short story is improved by not being worked on too much. I used to get it down on paper quickly, while the butterfly was still fluttering, and then put the manuscript in a drawer for a couple of days.

Then with re-reading, judicious editing, a little polish, and it was ready for a fair copy and a letter addressed to the publisher, usually a magazine. The characters in a short story do not need to be over-developed nor presented in great detail. The reader has not got the time for such descriptions, but the writer must know everything about his ‘dramatis personae’, so that in dialogue and action, they come out as real and believable people. A short story – no matter how short – must have a beginning, a middle and an end. The twist in the tail is the lure that draws the reader on.

In about 3000 words, the writer presents a situation and then twists it slightly, so that the reader is, in a way, surprised – and yet says, “Yes, that is exactly what would happen.” Although the background is roughly drawn, there must still be flashes of atmosphere – a wet day, a bright summer day, a black fog. These set the tone and atmosphere. It helps to keep the time schedule of a short story down to one day. An incident in the lives of… If you’re hoping to have your story produced in audio form, try to use dialogue to drive your story forward. It gives the narrator much better scope in being able to change accents and pitch of voice. But above all, remember the butterfly. A short story is an ephemeral thing. A flash of imagination that needs to be put down on paper.