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/lit/ - Literature

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13566010 No.13566010 [Reply] [Original]

How do I write a short story?

>> No.13566024

>>13566010
Squat down while you're writing.

>> No.13566045

First you must venture to acquire a writing instrument that is pleasant to the eye, and comfortable to the touch.

The second requirement is paper or other similar object or receptacle upon which you wish to inscribe letters.

Then find a place where no one will see you, lest you wish to pretend to be of a lesser kind (i.e. a hipster), in which case you choose a local coffee shop or café. (Remember to dress appropriately.

Once you find your spot, sit and think about the 27 letters of the English alphabet (this includes the ampersand &). Practice writing the letters using the Palmer method of penmanship (or Spencerian method if you fancy it more), because any other writing method is not acceptable.

Then you are ready to begin the writing process.

>> No.13566064

bitch don't need the dog filter

>> No.13566065

>>13566045
continue

>> No.13566085

>>13566010
Sauce?

>> No.13566105
File: 3.62 MB, 1960x2376, Orpheus_Piazza_della_Vittoria_MAR_Palermo_NI2287.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
13566105

Is the sixty pages too much? I seem to just keep adding to what's meant to be short.

>OP removes some fluff of his short little tale.

What even is a short story anyway Babylon Revisited is barely the length of a chapter of another story? While To the Lighthouse is the length of half a book; is it even a short story? What are plays and long poems? This is all so very confusing.

>OP had never written a book before.

Was this even fluff: "her naked soles upon the morning grass tingled her soul. She wakes."? Too purple? Cliched? On the nose? No this won't do.

>OP went on like this for hours, never seeing a plausible end. He failed to see that it's hopeless to revise and write at the same time—let it flow and finish flowing, then scrutinize.

>> No.13566109

>>13566105
you are speaking another language mate, bonus points for orpheus pic

>> No.13566124

>>13566065
Lastly you must contemplate on your life, the situations you faced, what type of people you met, what are your preferences (likes and dislikes), but most importantly what subjects you were drawn to (especially as a small child).

This will help you choose the appropriate genre for your story. It is not bad to use other stories as inspiration however, no matter what you create, it will not have that special essence which is your own experience.

Writing is creative process, but creativity comes from experience. Even the greatest authors always wrote about stuff they saw/observed. Commentaries on life and philosophies are just attempt of people to make sense of the observations about the world around them and their implications.

This is why simple activity as keeping a journal of what you did during the day say:
>browsed lit for 4 hours
>took a dump
>browsed lit for another 4 hours

will still resonate within you more than a treatise on why feminism is bad.

>> No.13566421

>>13566010
You just write them, literally

>> No.13566431

You write a novel and then start deleting the fluff.

>> No.13566447

>>13566010
I'll tell you if you post a gif version of this

>> No.13566552

Can someone help me, everytime I sit down to write I end up either reading (as if I had to study more yet), or writting shitty commentaries about how what I would start writing would be whiny trash. How can I exit this vicious circle?

>> No.13566592

>>13566045
you are gay
have sex

>> No.13566597

>>13566552
The negative thoughts must go because they are not important. Writing should be an enjoyable task and even the shittiest book is still a book from which the author had a sense of accomplishment.

Just ask the basic questions without worrying about the details. The questions vary depending on what you are writing about.

Random example: If you write say fantasy you might want these questions

>What is the story about?
It's about a fictional land XYZ.
>Are there any characters? If yes, how many?
23 out of which 2 are closest friend of MC
> How did the MC end up in fantasy land?
He was born, transported by mistake or purpose.
>Does the main character has family or not? If not, what happened?
>Is there love interest or not? If there is
>What about the rules of the land? Any countries? Political systems?
>What about geography? History? Religion? Physics?
>Does it have a happy ending? Or tragic ending?

The questions always depend on what you want to write about, and are there to simply provide the ground rules for the details.

>> No.13566618
File: 30 KB, 331x499, 51hkQhN5UuL._SX329_BO1,204,203,200_[1].jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
13566618

pic related is one of the better "how do i write" books. Has some good exercises

>> No.13566619

>>13566105
You see that is a good story. Because it is a representation of a man trying to write a short story.

You are one step closer to writing an absurd drama.

>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theatre_of_the_Absurd

>> No.13567064

>>13566024
Kek

>> No.13567254

>>13566010
You write a story by trying to figure out how to write a story. Then by writing it.

>> No.13567349

>>13566010
Just shit it out bruh. If it's so shitty you have to flush it after, that's fine, just keep shitting it out until you have something that can go into second draft.

>> No.13567356

>>13566010

How much do I gotta pay to fuck a girl like that in the face?

>> No.13567424

>>13567356
One gorillion

>> No.13567465

>>13566010
It was a sad and pathethic day. Anon had not gone outside for an entire day, deciding to spend it all in the shade. Probably he was lacking Vitamin D, and didn't even realize it. Slowly, he had grown weak, dreaming of being an author of incredible short stories. But little did he realize, that a fit mind is only found in a fit body, and his route of bad thinking took form. Little did he think about eating healthy or being physically active, only on how to ask the Tunesian Shakshouka Cooking Forum TM he visited for advice and lazy shortcuts in life. It was his escapism, for he did not want to acknowledge how badly he had fucked up in life. So he doubled down, a moderately succesful career as a manager did not get him excited anymore, it's either become the best short story author in the world, or nothing at all. He wanted to shoot from the basement to the moon, but little did he know how hard it would be.

>> No.13567483

>>13566010
Start with a long one, then parts until it's short.

>> No.13567815

So like, write a story like normal, right? But end it sooner.

>> No.13567888
File: 46 KB, 1500x760, cmbrn.png [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
13567888

>>13566010
>>13566085
Don't write at all

>> No.13567913
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13567913

>>13566010
what's special about this image is actually that the tongue isn't dirty.
Almost everyone has a gray bacteria ridden tongue.

>> No.13567918

Start writing, and stop before it gets too long.

>> No.13567926 [DELETED] 

>>13566024
What is that bump on her tongue?

>> No.13567958

>>13567913
Not me, I scrape my tongue every morning when I brush my teeth. Feels superior man