A questions for short story writers

[ksmith]

...especially if you write novels as well...

Do you sit down and start that first paragraph, that first scene, is your approach different depending on whether it's part of a novel or a shorter work?

I'm about 4-5 pages into Incident, and I find myself weighing every word and trying to fit every hint and shade into the first few paragraphs. This is going to be a longer short work, 10K or more, so I have a little room to maneuver. And I want to allude to Jani's backstory and meanwhile, the plot itself is happening.

Just wondering.

Comments

[alfreda89.livejournal.com]

I usually start with a plot device, or a theme with a few details, and I wait until I hear the character's voice before I start -- even if the voice is not the protagonist, but is a supporting/observer character.

I expect to have to go over the story several times, polishing out the scratches and crevices, pruning (if I may mix metaphors) until only the short piece shines through.

But I think I'm writing them differently since I got sick -- the mind is approaching things differently.

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

I'm writing in layers in ways I never did before. Write dialogue, then some business. More dialogue, then more business. I don;t feel as though I'm getting anything done, but the pages still emerge eventually.

[alfreda89.livejournal.com]

I don;t feel as though I'm getting anything done, but the pages still emerge eventually.

I am *so* with you there.