It's nice to hear from our writers who have moved away. We received this from Suzy who seems to be busying herself down in Cornwall with organising readings of short stories at her local library. She tells us she went to a talk by Linda Cracknell re writing short stories - her collection 'The Searching Glance' and says:
In case it's of interest .......
Linda said: Writing a short story combines a "curious mixture of crafting and intuition".
"Start late" (after something significant to the plot has happened) and "end early" (so the reader has to work out for themself what happens).
To increase empathy with a character: reveal their 'back story'.
When change happens: use a lot of sensory detail.
Every word must contribute to the point of the story.
She begins by writing the plot as a haiku (19 syllables?). If she can't do that, she knows the plot needs more work.
A good way to publish short stories is to have them printed individually. (There used to be a short story provided in every cabin on the sleeper from London to Edinburgh. (Mairéad had/has a short story printed singly - using ribbon! Hey, that's an idea - have really interesting covers made out of stuff other than paper. ???)
BBC has annual short story competition 2,000 words. Short stories, inc the winner, Radio 4 Tues Wed Thurs 3.30
