[ SECRET POST #4656 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #4656 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

01.



__________________________________________________



02.


__________________________________________________



03.


__________________________________________________



04.


__________________________________________________



05.


__________________________________________________



06.


__________________________________________________



07.











Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 02 pages, 44 secrets from Secret Submission Post #667.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

Re: Writing short stories or fic?

[(Anonymous)]

The following advice only really applies if you’re talking about fanfic. If you’re talking about original fiction, I have no idea.

I think if you’re going to try to tell a story with an actual arc in 5K or less, you need to force yourself to write very sparely. Almost like you’re just writing a detailed synopsis for the story, except make it a very elegantly written synopsis.

If you don’t want to write incredibly sparely, then you may need to forego having an actual arc. Find an event you want to happen to your character, or between your characters, that doesn’t rely on a lot of build up in order to be satisfying.

If you’re the sort of writer who always wants a critical event to happen as the culmination of a gradual build up, maybe you have ideas you sometimes discard because they seem too minor or trivial to make anything out of? Maybe instead of discarding that little fleck of an idea, you can apply yourself to making the most of it, and turn it into a short but satisfying fic?

Or you could just not have a specific event at all, and focus on doing an existential, slice-of-life type thing.

One other thing is that I think the shorter the fic is, the more important the last line is. A really solid last line can absolutely make a short fic. Sometimes when I write a more existential short fic, I’m literally writing to a last line. I have a line that expresses an impactful moment in time, and I write the scenario that brings the character(s) to that moment, and then I leave them there.

I really wouldn’t claim to be a terribly good writer, though, so definitely don’t take my advice too seriously. I’m just spitballing.