How to write a shorty story?

[Prince of Spires]

I told her I wanted to get ambitious with our third book. Some things you shouldn't say to your plotter. lol She delivered, and then some.

Can I borrow her? That sounds awesome!

What if it's over 300,000 words? I had to turn it into a trilogy.

That's just called "the stormlight archive". Those are over 400k words each. It would be more profitable to split them up (easier to sell, and more to sell). But, in his own words, Brandon Sanderson was in a position where he could refuse a very lucrative offer to split them up and instead follow his artistic vision.

Of course, if you indie-publish, and want to go Amazon exclusive and get your book into KDP select, then 300k words is actually great, since for borrows you get paid per page read.

Hmmm... would be interesting to play a mini-game where points are awarded for the best story in as few words as possible (how you would determine "best" I don't know). 500 words anyone?

500 words is actually still pretty long for flash fiction.

 

[BearBear]

Well I'm not interested in getting paid or releasing my best works. All my work was practice for the opus magnum, the ultimate book. One that will make a difference and earn me neither fame nor recognition nor fortune; however, like a seed to a mighty oak, there's always hope it will grow into something magnificent.

 

[A. E. Lowan]

Can I borrow her? That sounds awesome!

She really is amazing. She understands that the more we prewrite a chapter - with important chunks of dialogue, fight choreography, and stage directions - that I will write faster, harder, and better. It gives me structure for my little autistic brain to glom onto, so I can really take her pre-write, dress it up, and take it dancing.

She also writes awesome flashes and vignettes.

 

[Prince of Spires]

While I'm a team of just 1, I have found the same to be true (though to a less extreme extent). If I know what to write then I write a lot faster. If I go into a chapter with only a vague idea then it usually feels like I'm wresteling the whole chapter. So my chapter outlines have become longer. Especially for chapters where I'm not sure what's actually going to happen. My plan for my next project is to outline more extensively to see if I can create a stronger story structure.

She also writes awesome flashes and vignettes.

She does indeed

 

[Nighty_Knight]

208 pages is still a short story huh? There's still hope for me then.

Keep in mind a Novella is not a short story, but also not a full novel either. Plenty of middle ground.