Why Can't I Get My Short Story Published?

    Short Story Fiction

Part I

After having run a short story contest and read dozens of short story entries through the years, I keep seeing the same mistakes being made over and over. I decided to do a series of articles pointing out the big things that keep people from developing as a writer of short stories and share tips on what a good short story should and should not include.

I shared the dais with Ed Hock (well-known writer for Ellery Queen Magazine) on a short story panel at Left Coast Crime a few years back, won several short story contests and been published in short story anthologies. I certainly don’t think of myself as an expert, but after reading so many short story contest entries, I thought I could share some tips that might help you be more successful.

Whether you are trying to win a contest, or get your short story published, these will up your odds greatly. There is always the subjective element to contest judging and what a publisher leans toward for their platform, but if you have met all the guidelines and your theme is what is asked for, these will up your chances that you will be published or place in the top tier of a contest.

There are no quick to-do’s to accomplish success. But if you are serious about your writing and want to learn to write a good short story, follow these tips for success.

A.     One thing to remember above all else: STORY IS KING. Concentrate on being a good storyteller. It is the premier ability—not how cleverly you write, your beautiful prose or if you have all the commas in the right place (I know I'm going to catch some flak for that one). STORY is what people want to read. They want to be transported and enchanted, not preached at or bogged down by your beautiful or clever words.

B.     Don’t fall in love with your own cleverness.

This is a continuation of A. above. Fancy wording or phrasing is an intrusion into the story and often distracts, if it does not outright kill it. Beautiful prose is a good thing, but not if it interferes with the STORY.

“If it sounds like writing, I re-write it.” Elmore Leonard

Watch the cutesy ideas - some people love to be clever, they come up with cute scenarios or characters or dialogue to the detriment of STORY. They can be too clever for their own good—or the good of the story. Don’t get caught up in trying to be clever and have it come off silly. That is best left to the comedians, not the story tellers (unless you are a comedic storyteller). Though some pull it off, you probably won’t. So make sure the images you are painting are cogent and not silly.

C.    Keep your eye on the ball

When writing a fictional short story you should have only one idea. Don’t include more than the story needs. Don’t ruin your story with a political or social agenda that preaches. It can be spice but should not be a main ingredient. Write a non-fiction essay if that subject is important to you. Just like too much back story, it kills the momentum.

“You do not have to explain every single drop of water contained in a rain barrel. You have to explain one drop—H₂O. The reader will get it.”
—George Singleton

So often when I start reading a short story, I almost immediately get hit with a back story info dump. When you want to fill in the reader with a bit of interesting past that you think the reader will be as fascinated with as you are, STOP. If not intrinsic to the story, don’t put it in. It should be directly related to the telling of the story and be integrated artfully, not dumped.

Again—as a reader, I ask, “Do I want to wade through this to read on?” If this information interrupts the flow of the story, I may decide it is not worth it. I want a story, not a history lesson or details of a character's past that I don't need to know. Only layer in what is necessary, when it is necessary.

The reader decides how much patience they have to wait for you to get back into the story. Sometimes the story picks up again relatively quickly and I continue, but sometimes not and I don’t read on. Don’t get lost along the yellow brick road, wandering around pointing out all the interesting things; being distracted by the flying monkeys.

D.    Be sequential  - Don't get your shorts in a bunch.

Keep things in order. Keep your feet moving forward while walking on the earth.

Some writers who are good with prose, stringing together events or ideas in what they think is a nice flow, but they are not sequential in how things happen in space and time. This throws the reader off, taking him out of the moment. Lay out the phrases in a sequential order. Don’t jump back and forth with information. 

Example of distracting structure: (D) Jane tentatively entered the room (B) after suffocating in the closet (A) all afternoon (C) waiting for the intruders to leave. 

Try instead: (A) All afternoon Jane had (B) suffocated in that damn closet (C) waiting for the intruders to leave before she grew brave enough to (D) open the door and ease out. 

Easier to follow when laid out in the order it happened. (A,B,C,D)

If the reader ends up having to re-read your last sentence or two—or five, to get clear on what you just said--to get back on the path you have distracted him off of, he may give up. Remember, one foot in front of the other along the yellow brick road.

And it is better and more interesting to have a variety of sentence lengths to keep the interest going, rather than lo-o-o-ng phrases strung together so we forget what the beginning of that sentence was about. Distracting!

Writing is changing. Structures that may have worked in years past are quickly becoming stagnant. Readers want to read faster, to the point, without a lot of unnecessary words. If you are writing a short story, especially a short short, say it and move on. 

Unlike writing a novel, short stories should be concise and to the point.

Any questions? Maybe you disagree. Put them in the comments and let's discuss it.

More to chew on next post--including writing for mystery/suspense contests.