Short Stories and Contests by Nancy M Bell

Second book in the Longview Romance series. Calgary Stampede is canceled this year, so why not take a visit in the pages of Come Hell or High Water? Click on the cover to find out more about my books and where to get your copy of Come Hell or High Water.

I thought I'd share a workshop I did for the Airdrie Public Library on short stories and how to get them ready to enter a contest.

Short Stories and Contests

What is a short story?
A short story is usually narrative prose. It typically focuses on a single self-contained incident and includes a small cast of named characters. The short story makes use of plot and other components used in the longer novel, just to a lesser degree.

Types of short stories are determined by word count or topic. For the purpose of short story contests there is usually a minimum and maximum word count which needs to be strictly adhered to.
Short Story Lengths in words:
Traditional: 1,500 to 5,000
Flash Fiction: 500 to 1,000
Micro Fiction: 5-350
It is most common to sell a story that is 1,500 to 3,000 words long.

Short Story Contests.
Should you enter? YES! Of course, you should. Even if you don’t win or get short listed, often you will receive valuable feedback from the judges.
How to decide which contests to enter? First decide what market you are writing for. Fiction or Nonfiction. Then look at what is open for submission and what is coming open in the future. Read the guidelines carefully, paying close attention to the rules and guidelines. Generally, these will include topics or focus of the contest, minimum and maximum length of the entry, entry deadline and method of delivering the entry. Generally, this is by electronic means these days including the use of the Submittable website, although some still ask for hard copy entries. Also pay attention to the entry fee asked for and decide if the cost is within your budget and if you feel it is worth the cost of entry. There is a list of 2020 short story contests online, the Writers Guild of Alberta also lists contests in their newsletter.

Crafting the Short Story.
Now, you need a plan. Again, this is going to be different for everyone. There are two basic ways of going about The Plan. This is what is referred to in author speak as Plotting or Pantsing.
There is no right or wrong way, just what works best for you. What is Plotting and Pantsing?
Plotting is just what is sounds like. The author plots out their story using what ever method works best for them. The plot plan will include, in some form, the following elements:
The Beginning of the Story/The Exposition
Rising Action
Climax or Turning Point
Falling Action
The End of the Story/The Resolution

So, now to start:
Generate the core idea. Ideas are all around us, you just need to learn to recognize them. This often starts from a memory, a fear, a problem, or an incident that resonates with you, stays with you and keeps nudging you to share it.

Write it down. Get it out of your head and onto paper. Rough first drafts are always just that rough. Write everything and anything that comes to mind, don’t worry about word count at this point.
Create the characters from people you know, or sometimes the characters just present themselves to you. Go with whatever feels natural to you. If you’re having trouble, it is easiest to base your character on people you are familiar with and grow them from there.
Trust yourself, believe in yourself. We are all writers and creators.

Now you have the basis, you need to add some structure and start to put things together.
Basic story structure is outlined below:
The Opening
Incident that changes things, sets things in motion
Series of crisis or events that builds tension
The Climax
The End

There are various examples of story structure: The Hero Journey, The Three Act Structure, The 7 Point Story Structure. You can look at these online if you want to delve deeper into them.
The structure should assist you in sorting out your conflict, climax and resolution.
In short: The Hero Journey
Call to Adventure
Challenges and Temptations
Revelation- death/rebirth
Transformation/Atonement
Return

In short: The Three Act Structure
Set Up- establish characters and setting
The Confrontation- appears simple with underlying complexity
The Resolution- a good ending contains high stakes, growth and transformation and a solution

In short: The Seven Point Story Structure
Hook the starting point
Plot Turn 1 conflict that moves the story to the midpoint
Pinch Point 1 pressure on the your protagonist- stumbling blocks in the pursuit of the goal
Mid-Point character responds to conflict with action
Pinch Point 2 more pressure and stumbling blocks between protagonist and the goal
Plot Turn 2 moves story from midpoint to resolution
Resolution where everything up to this point has been heading. Goal achieved and loose ends tied up.


Some other forms of Short Stories.
Anecdote: This is a short account that tells a story about a real person or actual incident. It can be amusing or interesting or both depending on the subject. Anecdotes are often used to support a point in larger work, for example an essay or article.

Drabble: This is a very short work of fiction, generally exactly 100 words not counting the title. This form is used to demonstrate a writer’s ability to express something meaningful in a confined number of words. It is an exercise in brevity.

Fable: This form uses anthropomorphic creatures to illustrate a story with a mora. These may include animals, plants, inanimate object, forces of nature etc) Burgess Thonton’s work in the early 20th century is a prime example, as well as Asesop’s Fables. The moral is usually spelled out for the reader at the end of the story.

Flash Fiction: This is short literary work. No widely accepted word count but usually between 300 and 1,000 words. Generally I have seen then around 500 words in contest rules. Pay close attention to the guidelines of the contests you wish to enter.

Frame Piece: this is not generally used now but has been used in the past. In Walter Farley’s the Blood Bay Colt one of the characters is bed-ridden and reads a book whose contents are shared within the context of the larger story.
It is also useful for introducing the main narrative or setting the reader up for a series of short stories that follow. Flashbacks- the dreaded and should be seldom used flashback- is also an example of this form.

Mini-Saga is a short story of exactly 50 words. A good exercise to learn to remove all but the most pertinent parts of the story or scene.

Story Sequence: this isn’t a novel, but rather a series of short stories within an over all timeframe that together tell a larger story while still remained complete stories in their own right. This is sometimes referred to as a composite novel.

Vignette: this focuses on a single character, setting or scene. No emphasis on conventional structure or story development. Can be stand alone or part of a bigger work.

We can go deeper here and look at three distinct types of short stories. The Epical Story, The Lyrical Story and The Artifice Story.

The Epical Story: realist short fiction. Commonly withholding a part of the narrative. Generally, the best of this type are the ones where in spite of the obvious clues within the narrative, the reveal of the missing part is unexpected from the reader’s POV. The revelation must serve to highlight what came before it, shining light onto what was just latent beforehand and locking with it seamlessly and showing it in a new way. The big reveal is always at the end, the quality depend on the unexpectedness of the discovery, the twist.
indefinite range of things, if not everything.

The Lyrical Story puts the emphasis on a central recurring image or symbol that the narrative revolves around, rather than focusing on the plot. The ending is considered to be ‘open’ as the focus doesn’t insist on one meaning but is open to many depending on the readers’ perspective. This form needs an external plot (often of the epical form) which flows alongside the development of the image. The central focus fills in where an expression is wanted but didn’t show up. There is a need to express what the protagonist won’t or can’t, to cry, or express joy, or grief.
The Artifice Story is the weaving together of two apparently non-compatible things. This can be two story lines, realities or perspectives. This can be used as an over-arching metaphoric device or it can be an abruptly introduced incongruity. This is inserted into the otherwise conventional narrative at the beginning, the larger meaning comes directly from the unexpected symbiosis between the deliberately inserted incongruity and the conventional plot.

Until next month Stay well, stay happy. YOu can also find me at http://www.nancymbell.ca

Glad to be human?

find my books here!

A good, galloping plot, beautifully written, peopled by compelling characters: my idea of a novel.  In these perilous days, reading a good novel also my go-to escape pod!  Fiction is a great place to enter into other times, other lives and explore the or the "why's," when well-researched facts are not enough.

But at times like these, I also give thanks for poets, those distillers of essences. They find grace in moments, vibrancy in a smile, joy through the senses. My friend Irene O'Garden is a poet. In her latest collection Glad to Be Human she answers those of us who sometime put a question mark at the end of that affirmation. Here's some of her wisdom, distilled:

There's always time if you do it now

Imagine a way in rather than out

Meaning appears in response to our attempt to grasp it

Art supplies

What makes me glad to be human?  Living in a world that has people like Irene in it.

E-Biking Though the Pandemic

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COVID-19 prompted my husband Will and me to buy e-bikes. Our thinking was that with most of our usual activities likely to be gone or restricted this summer, it would be good to expand the ones we'd be able to do. This included cycling. We'd always enjoyed getting out on our twenty-five-year-old bikes and hoped electric bicycles would let us ride longer and farther and handle steeper hills.

I didn't quite know what an e-bike was before I bought one. Since then, I've learned they have motors that provide pedal-assist. You still pedal the same as with a regular bike, but get more for your effort. E-bikes can go up to 32 kilometres per hour (20 mph) to be classified as bicycles, not mopeds. After each use, you plug them in to recharge the battery.

The motor makes e-bikes heavier than regular bicycles. Usually the battery is attached to the frame. We chose models with built-in batteries. They aren't much heavier than our old regular bikes. This will make them easier to load in our car for outings and easier to ride if the battery ever runs out. I'm especially glad we got the lighter bikes after hearing about a friend's holiday in Paris. During her first day of renting a heavy e-bike, it toppled onto her and broke her leg.
 

I chose an upright cruiser style, with a comfortable seat and handy front basket.  

Will and I bought our bikes at a local bicycle store, which has been doing a steady business this spring. Some companies are thriving during the pandemic and I see lineups outside of every bike shop in Calgary, where I live. We walked to the store to pick up our e-bikes, rode them home, and tried them out on our quiet, flat neighbourhood streets. The next day, we went for a longer ride on a city bike path, with a hill I previously couldn't ride all the way up. Half way, I'd have to get off and walk my old bike. On the e-bike, I cruised to the top, passing a group of fit-looking riders in their twenties. What a thrill for a senior citizen! 

Will chose a racier model. We'll enjoy the lunch box on the back for picnics. On a ride to downtown, we had our first look at Calgary's kayak course on the Bow River. 

Calgary enjoyed a couple of weeks of fine weather after we bought our bikes. Will and I took them out every day or two. We conquered numerous hills we'd have struggled with or walked up before. I could still feel the cardio exercise as I pedalled to the crest. We could also do longer rides, to parts of the city we hadn't previously biked to from our home. I returned feeling less tired than I used to from my regular bike rides, although my sore muscles suggested I'd had a workout. 

I'm still cautious about riding a more powerful bike. Wind from the higher speed makes me cooler when I ride. I've had to wear more layers of clothing this spring, but this might make biking on hot summer days more comfortable. My e-bike has nine gears, which are easy to change with the paddles on the handle. The power level button on the frame is trickier to use. I still haven't got the knack of pressing the button 1,2 or 3 times to shift the power up or down while riding. 

Colourful, layered clothing in the cool wind.

E-bikes aren't cheap. Ours were in the lower price range and each one cost more than Will's first car. But with this spring, summer and probably fall of non travel, e-bikes turn staying at home into a vacation. When Calgary's weather warms up again, we plan to load our e-bikes into the van and ride in the rolling countryside, tackling hills with ease. Not much beats coasting to the top, leaving those twenty-somethings in our dust.