More than simple words

A successful short story is a sophisticated form of fiction that readers love and publishers respect if it is commercially popular.   

An intriguing character, feelings, ideas and meaningful action in such a limited economy of words! And short stories are currently enjoying even more success with the proliferation of new ways to sell online.

A few students are so inspired by the story they write that they have goals of going onto a novel.   The process of converting your short story to a novel can reveal a great deal about the strengths and weaknesses of the storyline, which is why you never end after a first draft. In some cases, you may need to revise the old story.   

Here are some ideas on how to make it come together.  

Create a new outline
It’s essential to make a plan for the structure of a book, particularly when expanding from a short story to a novel.

An outline provides an opportunity to step back and see where you can flesh out the original incomplete material with more linked events.

Each chapter gives you the opportunity to add and subtract elements, move them around, and to insert more dialogue and visual description at key points.

Remember that outlines are never carved in stone, since they’re usually polished and revised once you start writing again and the book takes on a life of its own.

Conceptualize anew
When you create a longer work from a short story, you’re not just filling in the holes. You’re painting the picture on a larger canvas.

The rhythm of a novel is different, the pacing more ample, so breathe! You have the luxury of spending extended time with the characters so we know more about their history, where they’re coming from, and the deeper complexity of their motivation and actions.

What you thought had to be a brief and sketchy as a back-story may in fact become where the book actually begins and may very well be an opening hook.

Where you once had only one character, now you can have two or even three, each representing various aspects of the same theme with a variety of temperaments and behaviors.

There’s more room to write about the setting, visuals, colors, and the scents.

Deconstruct the original draft
Take apart what you have so far, and look for the holes. Study the characters. Are they alive, three dimensional, speaking and behaving in a credible and compelling manner?

Analyze the sequence of events. How can you expand on the existing scenes so they have more meaning and power?

Consider the novella
Collections of short stories may be organized as a group that can also be read as chapters in an episodic sequence that portrays a common theme, with a focused group of characters in place and time. In this, a collection of short stories may be read as a full-length work which can be greater than its parts.

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Have you wondered about this process?  Or are you assembling a collection of stories that work together in some way? Now you can write more http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwus-6Hu0Kw&feature=related

I’d love to hear about your own ideas and experiences with this process.