Most writers are articulate. Because they work with the written word on a daily or near daily basis, and because they have a love of language, most writers express themselves well. Just because a writer is articulate, however, doesn’t mean that a character should be articulate. Adjusting your language to suit a character, especially in dialog, is vital to creating a realistic depiction of that character and vital for differentiating that character from others in the story.

Words Reflect Background

When most people think about writing realistic dialog, they think about things such as regional accents and vocal patterns. Those things are important, but it is just as important to adjust your dialog to the specific background of the characters. For example, people know that there is a Boston accent, but most people don’t realize that the Boston accent varies greatly according to where in the city that person lives and what their economic and educational background is. Not everyone from Boston sounds the same. A well-educated Boston lawyer is not going to sound like a poorly educated bartender at a local dive.

Don’t Distract the Reader

Another mistake people make in tailoring dialog is to go too far into an accent and ignore such things as speech rhythms or word choices. J.K. Rowling, for example, uses very exaggerated accents. In the early books, before the story got particularly dark, the exaggerated accents seemed to work reasonably well considering the stories were fantasy and the intended audience was mostly children. By the final books, however, when the story was very dark and the intended audience was much wider, the exaggerated accents seemed much more unsuitable and distracting.

Unique, Not Extreme

The key with dialog, especially with accents, is to make each person’s style differentiated enough that they sound unique and identifiable, but not so extreme that people are paying more attention to the words being said than they are to the intent of the statement. Try to think of what is distinctive about the way each person speaks, and why their word choices make sense for them.

Some Things to Consider

• Is the character concise or long winded?
• Does the character use words they don’t fully understand?
• Does the character have influence from different regions (such as a person from Texas now living in California or vice-versa)?
• Is the character used to public speaking?
• Does the character have any particular patterns or phrases that stand out?
• Is their something about the character’s role (Boss, employee, teacher, parent) that makes a difference in the way that character speaks in different situations?

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10 Ways to Annoy the Hell out of your Writers’ Group

• Attend sporadically. Most writers’ groups have rules about attendance, but once you are there, what are they going to do? Do they seriously have the stones to kick you out? I think not. Writers are usually nice people — exploit that.
• Bring the whole novel. Most writers’ groups try to keep the length of the things they are discussing to a reasonable level. After all, most members have jobs or kids or classes. Some members even want to spend time on their own writing. They can’t be expected to read and critique hundred of pages a week… or can they? After all, the main reason the group exists is to serve your needs.
• Don’t worry about the genre. The science fiction writer’s group is the perfect place to present your nihilistic seventies romance. If anyone makes a fuss, tell them that they’re stifling you.
• Don’t waste a lot of time reading the other member’s work. Try to limit any review to the five minutes before the group meets. Make a show of marking up the paper with red lines or a highlighter. Just pick random passages to mark. There’s always something wrong with everything if you look hard enough.
• Keep an eye out for typos or spelling errors. Some writers think that a writers’ group should focus on character, plot, themes and other esoteric things. Stick to the basics. If you find a spelling error or a grammar error, focus solely on that. Make sure the discussion lasts twenty minutes at least. By discussion I mean you prattling on, interrupting other people whenever they try to take part.
• Keep other criticisms as vague as possible. Look for statements that sound intelligent but mean nothing. String them together for as long as you can. Sample Rant: You need this story to feel more real. It doesn’t speak to me yet. When I read it, it feels like a story. It’s as if someone wrote it down and expected me to read it and come away with some sort of impression. I shouldn’t have to know so much about the characters in order to get them. They should be a part of the page. The whole thing should function holistically and organically.
• Don’t say anything positive. People only attend a writers’ group to hear criticism, especially your criticism. That’s how you bring value to the group. Take as much time as you need to make sure they know just how badly written their work is. If you’re lucky, you just might get to see the moment when a writer’s spirit is crushed. You can usually catch it in their eyes, so be alert.
• Bring your political agenda with you. Everyone should share your views, so share your views with everyone. If you’re reading a story about an African hunting expedition, for example, never miss the opportunity to advocate vegetarianism and declare that hunting is murder. Never move on. Never let it rest. Their story should be your story.
• Don’t ever accept criticism of your own work. When other people point out problems with your story, they’re really just being petty. They can see how much better your writing is than theirs, and the only way they can deal with it is by pointing out minor, imaginary flaws. Anyone who brings these things up clearly has an ax to grind. Argue every point. Make it personal.
• Leave in a huff. Tell the group they’re idiots and you’re never coming back. That will make your appearance the next time mean so much more to them.

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One of the differences between real life and a short story is that in a short story, events happen for a reason. In the ordinary world, there are plenty of events that happen in the day that may seem important for a moment, but in the long run are completely meaningless. The telephone rings, and it isn’t a long lost friend. Your car won’t start so you catch a ride from a friend, but as soon as you get to work the day returns to normal. A stranger who appears to be following you turns out to be heading to the same store, but never even realized they were behind you. In the real world, even during times of turmoil or adventure, some events will remain completely unimportant.

In a short story random events are kept to a minimum, and when they do happen, they matter as the story moves forward. A story may open with an accidental meeting, an odd event or a sudden change in circumstances but as the story progresses it is the actions of the characters that drive the plot and lead people to care about what happens. That is why random events tend to happen early rather than late in a story. If the events of the story aren’t driven by the characters then the story had better be about lack of control, because that will be the dominant theme.

In a novel or a movie, there is more room for the random because there is time for sub-plots and minor characters. Not every idea has to have a significant influence on the central conflict of a story. Even with those longer works, however, you will find that random events are focused more at the beginning than at the end.

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Physical descriptions

• The appearance of characters
• The geography and landscape of the settings
• The general climate and the day’s weather
• Plants and animals in the area
• Descriptions of the buildings, streets and other manmade structures
• Description of decorations and other character-based changes to setting

Cultural / environmental descriptions

• Types of people
• Shared values
• Conflicting values
• Political climate
• Economic status
• Class / social status
• Educational status
• Employment status
• Religion
• Local customs and quirks
• Time of year / seasonal events

Character / psychological descriptions

• Character’s strengths
• Character’s fears
• Character’s faults
• Character’s normal behavior
• Character’s behavior under stress
• Character’s personality / quirks
• Character’s past
• Character’s values

If you can think of any additional ways in which to flesh out the world of your story, please leave a comment.

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So, for my part, the second draft is often about fleshing out the world of the story. I add the details that I left out in the first draft. These details may include

• Physical descriptions
• Cultural / environmental descriptions
• Character / psychological descriptions

In essence, I flesh out the world in which the characters exist. This is, of course, in addition to the general editing duties that come up in a second draft:

• Correcting spelling errors
• Correcting typographical errors
• Correcting grammar errors
• Rewriting sentences for readability
• Eliminating parts of the story that don’t seem to work
• Adding new elements to the story / plot

The key to your second draft is to identify areas for improvement and then make those improvements. You keep editing for as long as it takes to get your story to the point that it says what you want it to say in the way that you want to say it. Once that process is complete, you will be ready to show it to other people and see how they respond to your story.

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• Initial Incident
• Complications
• Crisis
• Climax
• Denouement

An initial incident sets the story in motion. Complications arise, often due to mistakes made by the protagonist. The protagonist faces some sort of crisis that causes them to change in some way. Based on this change they must settle the key conflict of the story in the climax. This leads to the denouement, in which the aftermath of the events is put into perspective.

This basic narrative structure has been used to tell stories as long as there have been stories. It can be used in short stories, and is often used successfully. Short stories, however, can be more experimental. In some cases, there are only one or two brief complications that are dealt with, and the denouement may or may not be made clear. A short story can even revolve around a single incident or argument. A short story can focus on a major crisis or a minor epiphany. The denouement can be made clear or left up to the reader’s interpretation.

Whether you choose to follow a traditional narrative structure or not, you should be aware of it, and of the reader’s expectations. A story without conflict is no story at all. If you leave an ending up to interpretation, don’t be surprised if the interpretations differ wildly from your expectations. If you wander from the traditional structure, you should do so with a plan and a purpose. Otherwise you may find that your reader has been lost along the way.

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Writing the first draft of a short story is about exploration. You start with a plot or character or conflict in mind, and you explore it for as long as it seems interesting or relevant. Once you reach a sufficient conclusion, you stop. This may take you ten pages or thirty pages or more, but it doesn’t stretch out in the way that a novel does. Some people can write the first draft of a short story in a single sitting. That may not be your process, but with a short story it is certainly possible.

The overriding advice that I can give for a first draft of a short story is to relax and let the writing take whatever course it will take. Cleaning up and revising a short story isn’t nearly as complicated as doing the same for a novel. A short story is short enough that you can even throw the whole thing out and start from scratch if you don’t like your initial results. That’s the sort of freedom a short story gives you. Take advantage of it.

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As I stated in an earlier article, one of the great roots of a story is the question, What if? What if a man started receiving post cards in the mail every day that gave him odd advice? What if that man were a newspaper columnist? What if his wife was trying to kill him? What if the post cards were from his estranged father?

The problem with what if? questions is that you still need a germ of an idea in order to get started. For some people this is no problem. Ideas come easily for some people and not so easily for others. One of the great sources for ideas is articles. The world is filled with articles these days. From newspapers to magazines to blogs, people are constantly writing new articles about every topic you can think of. What you need to do is mine these articles for your fictional ideas.

I subscribe to a number of bloggers, from Scott Adams of Dilbert fame to Tim Ferris, author of The Four Hour Work Week to Leo Babauta’s Zen Habits. Just those three blogs alone can yield any number of ideas for a story. Here are the most recent articles from each of those bloggers:

• Beauty as God – Scott Adams
• Beating the Morning Rush: The 3-Minute “Slow-Carb” Breakfast – Tim Ferris
• 20 Money Hacks: Tips and Tricks to Improve Your Finances -Leo Babauta

I didn’t pick the articles because I thought they were especially appropriate, I simply grabbed the most recent articles. From them, I can come up with a number of what-if questions:

• What if a beautiful high school cheerleader found herself in love with a homely science nerd with no interest in her? What if she started stalking him? What if no one would believe him?
• What if a mother became obsessed with filming her young child? What if she started uploading the videos to YouTube? What if the child became famous?
• What if a married couple living an extravagant lifestyle tried to put themselves on a strict financial regimen? What if one of them adhered to it and the other didn’t? What if one of them started to hide their money from the other one?

These are just ideas I thought up on the spur of the moment. Anyone is welcome to use them, but I would bet that my readers could come up with better ideas. Feel free to leave your own what if? thoughts in the comments.

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In my writing, I often base moments in stories on situations in my life, but because I have never chosen to write about an actual person from my life, the events quickly become fictionalized and part of the fabric of the character’s life rather than my own. While there is a bit of me in every character I create, I don’t write about myself. I did attempt once to recreate a real life evening in fiction, but I quickly grew frustrated. It was too difficult for me to capture the essence what happened. I couldn’t recreate the situation accurately enough to satisfy me.

I don’t mean to discount the value of writing about real life people and events. I merely want to point out some of the frustrations involved. Some things to think about when writing about real life events are:

• Will the events make for a good story?
• How closely should you mirror real life?
• Who might end up reading your story?
• What perspective should you use?
• Would this work better with fictional characters?
• Should you change the names to protect the guilty (and yourself)?

I would love to hear about other people’s experiences with stories based on real life. Please leave your own perspectives in a comment.

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Today’s tip may seem obvious to some people, but judging by the number of times I have seen it come up in writer’s groups and writing classes, I think it bears mentioning. A short story should be as long as it needs to be. Your story may take 1,000 words to tell or it may take 5,000 words. Either way, it will take as long as it takes. You may have an expectation of how long a story will be, just because you know what you plan to write, but don’t set out to make the story that length — just write the story.

There may be situations in which length is a factor. If you are in a writing class, for example, and your teacher tells you to write a 10 to 12 page story, you may be stuck with that limitation. I would question that instructor if I were in the class, but if the instructor was adamant; I would do my best to make it work. The first thing I would do, however, is write the story my way, taking as long as I needed. I would worry about editing it to their requirements only after I had first edited it to my satisfaction.

I once took part in a writing workshop in which one of the participants submitted a seven page story that had eight characters and five different settings. It was a whirlwind of events with little or no explanation or reflection. It was, in short, a cluttered mess. In defending her story, the writer said that she had kept it short, “because people keep telling me my stories are too long.” The problem was that this wasn’t a story that could be told in seven pages. At twice the length it would probably have still been too short to include all of the things that were going on. She didn’t really write a seven page story, she wrote a thirty page story in seven pages, and it didn’t work.

The opposite problem can occur as well, though it is generally not as serious an issue. If you had a perfectly good eight page story that you needed to “pad” to ten pages in order to meet a requirement, you might find yourself putting in or leaving in a few details that you would otherwise want to eliminate. My advice in that situation is to look for the most meaningful way to expand your story. You might even manage to improve it. If you don’t, you can always go back to your preferred version once the assignment is finished.

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