S27E1 - How Do I Write a Good Short Story?

Short stories are a wonderful way to practice all kinds of writing techniques. Writers can use short stories to explore ideas, work on weaknesses, and try new techniques. You'll also find that most awards are given based on short story competitions. That doesn't mean that short stories are easier. They are still a challenge in their own way.

Writers often have big ideas. We want to fill pages and pages with our words. Short stories are the opposite. We need to take a grand idea and condense it into less than ten-thousand words. This means knowing how to cut out the exposition, cut out the unnecessary scenes, and jumping into what really matters.

Listen to this episode for a breakdown of how and why to write short stories.

First aired December 2, 2021.