Questions

How many of us have made the big mistake of adding too many characters and too many plots in a short story? Well, I actually did. That was way back in my college days and I was tasked to make a short story but I ended up making too many characters that in the end, I did not submit it. Sometimes, our strong imagination can overcome our logic and we begin to pour all of our ideas and that often is the number one mistake for aspiring short story writers.

A short story is, well, a brief fictional or non-fictional piece of literature. This is why it is very important to limit the size and content of the piece. How? Here are some important pointers for short story beginners in order to save you from the frustration that I have felt.

First rule is to set a number of characters. A short story should only have a few characters. This is not an epic play where you deal with 20 characters and side-characters. By having a small number of players in this literary piece, the conversation, plot and the entire story is made brief and this is the basic foundation for a good short story.

The next thing you need to understand is the simple plot. Of course, we all love a good mystery and sometimes we cannot help but place intricate and skillfully designed plots in order to raise the level of surprise in a story. The only problem with this is that you also lengthen the story itself and this is not a good sign. The plot should be simplified, allowing the story to reach the climax in a short span of time.

These are the basics when it comes to writing a short story. For most beginners, keeping the content ” short, but sweet ” is a sound advice. Just because the story is brief doesn’t mean you have to take away the quality of the piece. If you want to be double-sure, try using an English writing checker or have the short story checked by a pro. Besides, writing short stories are meant to be fun, not a chore.

There you have it, my ideas on how to become a great short story writer. With more practice, you might become a master in writing them and you can earn a lot because of your talents. However, keep on learning them for now so that you will learn a lot.

These are the basics when it comes to writing a short story. For most beginners, keeping the content ” short, but sweet ” is a sound advice. Just because the story is brief doesn’t mean you have to take away the quality of the piece. If you want to be double-sure, try using an English writing checker or have the short story checked by a pro. Besides, writing short stories are meant to be fun, not a chore.

Want more story writing tips? Then I suggest you wait for the next articles that I will be writing with regards to short story writing. These will indeed help you in becoming a professional writer in the future! Who knows? You might become very famous and very rich because of your stories. Happy writing!


- Mary Simmers

Good writer or great, writer’s block is one thing every writer must wade through every now and then. So what really is writer’s block? Nothing special, and entirely unnecessary, if you ***?k me. ****?, sadly enough, it happens. Symptoms when IT strikes are pretty simple: the ****?r writer sits down to write ****? all that comes to mind is either something shockingly irrelevant or a plain, blank *****?en. Think, think and again, think… Nothing. No idea, not a word on paper. Another thing that could happen is that the ****?r being sits down to write and ends up typing some stuff ****? thinks it is worse than gibberish, so off it goes into the trash can. ***?rfect-tragic-tale!

With writer’s block amply defined, let’s now ***?e what exactly can be done to beat it black and blue. If you’ve been hit by writer’s block, try some of these to fight it off:

* Write anything that comes to mind: The idea is to just put your thoughts on paper, irrespective of how relevant they are to what you’ve actually to write about. In a matter of minutes, you’ll start generating a ****?d flow of thought. Now switch to the topic you’ve to write on.

Keep in mind that you’ve not to delete that dummy write up. Save and keep it for a later date when you can possibly sit down and build a ****?d enough piece out of it. Else, use it ***? a quick-start method the next ***?me you’ve writer’s block.

* If you really think you cannot jot down whatever comes to mind, go browse the net or a ****?kshelf and find yourself something you enjoy reading. I often go around reading news updates and ****?k reviews. Another ****?d option- and it really is a lot better than it sounds- is to get a hand on some ball-by-ball cricket commentary texts (that, if you enjoy cricket, or are at least fond of a couple of guys playing the match;) ). These texts are great light reading material and you’ll be done with them in no ***?me.

The logic: you’re basically running short of ideas when having writer’s block, which, very often, could be due to a ***?red brain. What you do here is just treat yourself to some material that is interesting and enjoyable to you along with being not too taxing a read.

* Another ****?d idea could be to go around and have a ‘friendly chat’ with ***?ople around you about something you’ve to write on. Different ***?ople have different views and indulging in some info download will greatly help your cause. Collect relevant and interesting ideas and try put them on paper. Oh, and do remember to go thank the ****?d souls once you’re done with your task. With that, you’ve not just expressed some gratitude you ought to, ****? have also created some fertile ground for the next ***?me you just might need their ***?rvices.

* Whenever you write, make sure you’ve a copy at hand that you can refer to when needed. If possible, rate or categorize your work. This little collection can then be used to provide that power packed ****?st when you ***?em all at ***?a to come up with a decent write up. Read your work and observe the little details that make it the ****?d piece it is. Do a mini round of applause (even if you happen to be the only one doing it). Give yourself a pat on the back and a high five. Yeah, hit right hand on left if that is all that’s available!

Feel better? Now try jotting down some stuff for whatever you’re to write on. Don’t rush though. Make sure you do it only when you feel you’ve all the confidence in the world to come up trumps this ***?me too.

* The best reserved for the last. So here it goes: pack up. Yup, ***? simple ***? that! Just wind up for the day and give yourself a ****?dy-good treat by taking the rest of the day off. Do what you like best- eat, sleep, drink, talk, watch a movie, go out… do anything that lets you calm down, loosen up and chill.

Hey, life’s not all ***?n though. All play and no work will make you a dimwit. Not ***? ****?d ***? the original (in case you’re wondering, here’s the original: all play and no work makes Jack a dull boy), ****? it does manage to convey the meaning. Now what you do after this day of all ***?n and no play is follow it up with a ****?d, productive day at work. With a fresh mind at hand, get down to some ***?rious writing.

Now, now… if you’re sitting there and half-guessing this is all preach-preach and no practice, here’s a ***?ny-winy bit of revelation: each of these ‘methods’ have been put to use to come up with this little gem. So, yeah, they’re all tried and tested; and each comes with a badge of sure-shot-result-guarantee.


- Shaheen Mohiuddin

Good writer or great, writer’s block is one thing every writer must wade through every now and then. So what really is writer’s block? Nothing special, and entirely unnecessary, if you ***?k me. ****?, sadly enough, it happens. Symptoms when IT strikes are pretty simple: the ****?r writer sits down to write ****? all that comes to mind is either something shockingly irrelevant or a plain, blank *****?en. Think, think and again, think… Nothing. No idea, not a word on paper. Another thing that could happen is that the ****?r being sits down to write and ends up typing some stuff ****? thinks it is worse than gibberish, so off it goes into the trash can. ***?rfect-tragic-tale!

With writer’s block amply defined, let’s now ***?e what exactly can be done to beat it black and blue. If you’ve been hit by writer’s block, try some of these to fight it off:

* Write anything that comes to mind: The idea is to just put your thoughts on paper, irrespective of how relevant they are to what you’ve actually to write about. In a matter of minutes, you’ll start generating a ****?d flow of thought. Now switch to the topic you’ve to write on.

Keep in mind that you’ve not to delete that dummy write up. Save and keep it for a later date when you can possibly sit down and build a ****?d enough piece out of it. Else, use it ***? a quick-start method the next ***?me you’ve writer’s block.

* If you really think you cannot jot down whatever comes to mind, go browse the net or a ****?kshelf and find yourself something you enjoy reading. I often go around reading news updates and ****?k reviews. Another ****?d option- and it really is a lot better than it sounds- is to get a hand on some ball-by-ball cricket commentary texts (that, if you enjoy cricket, or are at least fond of a couple of guys playing the match;) ). These texts are great light reading material and you’ll be done with them in no ***?me.

The logic: you’re basically running short of ideas when having writer’s block, which, very often, could be due to a ***?red brain. What you do here is just treat yourself to some material that is interesting and enjoyable to you along with being not too taxing a read.

* Another ****?d idea could be to go around and have a ‘friendly chat’ with ***?ople around you about something you’ve to write on. Different ***?ople have different views and indulging in some info download will greatly help your cause. Collect relevant and interesting ideas and try put them on paper. Oh, and do remember to go thank the ****?d souls once you’re done with your task. With that, you’ve not just expressed some gratitude you ought to, ****? have also created some fertile ground for the next ***?me you just might need their ***?rvices.

* Whenever you write, make sure you’ve a copy at hand that you can refer to when needed. If possible, rate or categorize your work. This little collection can then be used to provide that power packed ****?st when you ***?em all at ***?a to come up with a decent write up. Read your work and observe the little details that make it the ****?d piece it is. Do a mini round of applause (even if you happen to be the only one doing it). Give yourself a pat on the back and a high five. Yeah, hit right hand on left if that is all that’s available!

Feel better? Now try jotting down some stuff for whatever you’re to write on. Don’t rush though. Make sure you do it only when you feel you’ve all the confidence in the world to come up trumps this ***?me too.

* The best reserved for the last. So here it goes: pack up. Yup, ***? simple ***? that! Just wind up for the day and give yourself a ****?dy-good treat by taking the rest of the day off. Do what you like best- eat, sleep, drink, talk, watch a movie, go out… do anything that lets you calm down, loosen up and chill.

Hey, life’s not all ***?n though. All play and no work will make you a dimwit. Not ***? ****?d ***? the original (in case you’re wondering, here’s the original: all play and no work makes Jack a dull boy), ****? it does manage to convey the meaning. Now what you do after this day of all ***?n and no play is follow it up with a ****?d, productive day at work. With a fresh mind at hand, get down to some ***?rious writing.

Now, now… if you’re sitting there and half-guessing this is all preach-preach and no practice, here’s a ***?ny-winy bit of revelation: each of these ‘methods’ have been put to use to come up with this little gem. So, yeah, they’re all tried and tested; and each comes with a badge of sure-shot-result-guarantee.


- Shaheen Mohiuddin

In ***?rrent ***?mes, merely within ten years the discourse has started in Urdu literature up on the philosophy of Postmodernism and Deconstructionism. Undoubtedly, almost all big critics in Urdu literature are involved in this discourse. At the same ***?me it has attracted a lot of creative writers to follow the theme.

Abrar Mujeeb, a fiction writer from the Industrial City of Jamshedpur [India], has written ****?h stories that represent the Philosophy of Deconstructionism. After 1980, the Urdu fiction has turned towards new colorful dimensions. Some new important names have happened to appear up on the ****?izon of Urdu short stories including NayyarMassod, SyedMohammadAshraf, SaajidRasheed, Ghzanfer, MusharrafAlamZaouqi, PaighamAafaqi, ShamuelAhmed, TariqChatari, SamimAfzaQamar, ***?rhatParveen, Qamar Jahan, ZakiyaMashhadi, KhursheedHayat, MahmoodShahid, AzraNaqvi, Shaheera Msroor, and GhiyasurRahman. Abrar Mujeeb is an important name in the equal list.

In his fictions we found the techniques of deconstructionism which has affected other story writers in Urdu to come closer to this. It is ought to understand that the communication techniques in deconstructionism are different than a narrative style of writing. It communicates through an alternative logic and subject next to the real text. Deconstructionism is not directly related to the subject matter of the story rather than it gives emphasis to the meaning of the text which undergoes in between the lines. So a deconstructionist critic or writer always stresses to communicate through the unwritten lines of his text which exist invisibly in his narration. The philosophy of deconstructionism can not be bounded with the text by any means, rather than it can be limited to the unlimited boundaries of the text beyond the text. The ideas presented beyond the text are suppose to be more genuine, authentic, and ***?ctual. So in order to review or form a creative writing the awareness of its ‘further than text expression’ pays vital role in the whole creative scenario.  

Abrar Mujeeb’s story ‘The scenario of night’ is a wonderful story. The habitual changes of day to day life, the look of life and death, the eternal journey of mankind and the universe, the conflict between evil and devil and the psycho-sociological changes of the human societies are ***?ed-up in a single knot. ***? if the human life and the nature were interdependent to each other to unveil themselves. It is a common concept that the occurrence of an incident depends up on the movement of the earth and this is the concept of the ***?rial ***?me which is defined ***? a subordinating cause of beingness. In this fiction Abrar Mujeeb has stated the idea that the occurrence of an incident not only depends up on the ***?me. The nature and the universe are eventful in ****?h incident to take place. In ‘The scenario of night’ he writes while describing the scene of an evening:

                   “… the redness of the evening is looking blackish ***?r in the ****?izon,                                        though it has not spread out like a spot on the blueness of the

                          sky ***? the spots of clotted blood, spreads up on the floor of a

                          slaughter house.”    

At a ***?cond put he writes: 

                             “…there is a bridge up on the chest of the river. At the moment

                             train has not passed over it and possibly all the scenario is

                             waiting for some important ***?me or moment and are vanished

                             in their own”.  

At the last when the story comes to end, the redness of the ****?izon turns into spreaded spots of frozen clotted blood and “at the same ***?me a train passes through the bridge and the whole picture disappears up on the *****?en of the thick fog, ***?rhaps these pictures were waiting for the same ***?me or moment”. Superficially it is just scenery, ****? virtually it is scenery which looks for some or more happenings or incidents to be added in it. And they all inevitably ***?ll together at one point to become the part of a big happening or a scene. In the eyes of the story writer every thing which is happening or going to be happen is the integral part of this universe. The ***?me and the place are inevitably put together along with the happenings to take place. Thus the conclusion comes from all occurrences that they all are predefined to occur. Though the tale of this story is of less worth ****? the whole treatment is excellent.       

Story “The fragrance of own soil” is written up on the philosophy of regional existentialism. In this story the basic identity of an individual and society has been brought to notice. An individual can not be the strength of a society if not he is ready to love and protect his identity. Consequently, the basic identity is ***? urgent for ****?cess in every ***?pects of life. The is the point where the individual and the society comes to strength. The strength and identity of a society depends upon the strength and identity of its individuals. The life then starts moving smoothly. Abrar Mujeeb also tries to strengthen and protect his soil.

Story “The rain” is simple in its expression ****? deep in its meaning. Story “Thrust” is a show of prohibited creativity. Story “The water way of backside” shows the everlasting continuation of ***?me. Besides this his stories “First task” “On the same turn” “Death” “The story of stories” are his best stories.

Summarizing all, we ***?e that the stories of Abrar Mujeeb are the stories of the communication of deconstructionism and prohibited creativity. More to the point, all these stories represents some or more thoughts and ideas of the philosophy of his age. Individuals, Society, characters, feelings, emotions, affairs and thoughts every thing being all together generates a deep taste of life in his stories. He creates a link between the post-modern ***?nsibility and universality. In the backdrop of his feelings and emotions and through his carefulness he teaches us to live with an extended thought of life. We feel that at the artistic level, through locating his own way Abrar Mujeeb passes through a ***?lf evaluating situation. These evaluations act like determiner and make his stories ****?cessful. Small things and small signs are of worth importance for him. The study of life through the mirror of deconstructionism has come closer to his art. He put his first creative step on the road to the life itself and the ***?cond to the universe.

Abrar Mujeeb is an active and ***?nsitive artist. His stories are decent, loving and alive. He is regarded ***? an important short story writer after 1980. Considering his style of writing and thinking he is regarded ***? a short story writer of high repute among the generation of writers in Urdu after 1980.

                                                            ************************************** 


- Dr.Equbal Wajid

In ***?rrent ***?mes, merely within ten years the discourse has started in Urdu literature up on the philosophy of Postmodernism and Deconstructionism. Undoubtedly, almost all big critics in Urdu literature are involved in this discourse. At the same ***?me it has attracted a lot of creative writers to follow the theme.

Abrar Mujeeb, a fiction writer from the Industrial City of Jamshedpur [India], has written ****?h stories that represent the Philosophy of Deconstructionism. After 1980, the Urdu fiction has turned towards new colorful dimensions. Some new important names have happened to appear up on the ****?izon of Urdu short stories including NayyarMassod, SyedMohammadAshraf, SaajidRasheed, Ghzanfer, MusharrafAlamZaouqi, PaighamAafaqi, ShamuelAhmed, TariqChatari, SamimAfzaQamar, ***?rhatParveen, Qamar Jahan, ZakiyaMashhadi, KhursheedHayat, MahmoodShahid, AzraNaqvi, Shaheera Msroor, and GhiyasurRahman. Abrar Mujeeb is an important name in the equal list.

In his fictions we found the techniques of deconstructionism which has affected other story writers in Urdu to come closer to this. It is ought to understand that the communication techniques in deconstructionism are different than a narrative style of writing. It communicates through an alternative logic and subject next to the real text. Deconstructionism is not directly related to the subject matter of the story rather than it gives emphasis to the meaning of the text which undergoes in between the lines. So a deconstructionist critic or writer always stresses to communicate through the unwritten lines of his text which exist invisibly in his narration. The philosophy of deconstructionism can not be bounded with the text by any means, rather than it can be limited to the unlimited boundaries of the text beyond the text. The ideas presented beyond the text are suppose to be more genuine, authentic, and ***?ctual. So in order to review or form a creative writing the awareness of its ‘further than text expression’ pays vital role in the whole creative scenario.  

Abrar Mujeeb’s story ‘The scenario of night’ is a wonderful story. The habitual changes of day to day life, the look of life and death, the eternal journey of mankind and the universe, the conflict between evil and devil and the psycho-sociological changes of the human societies are ***?ed-up in a single knot. ***? if the human life and the nature were interdependent to each other to unveil themselves. It is a common concept that the occurrence of an incident depends up on the movement of the earth and this is the concept of the ***?rial ***?me which is defined ***? a subordinating cause of beingness. In this fiction Abrar Mujeeb has stated the idea that the occurrence of an incident not only depends up on the ***?me. The nature and the universe are eventful in ****?h incident to take place. In ‘The scenario of night’ he writes while describing the scene of an evening:

                   “… the redness of the evening is looking blackish ***?r in the ****?izon,                                        though it has not spread out like a spot on the blueness of the

                          sky ***? the spots of clotted blood, spreads up on the floor of a

                          slaughter house.”    

At a ***?cond put he writes: 

                             “…there is a bridge up on the chest of the river. At the moment

                             train has not passed over it and possibly all the scenario is

                             waiting for some important ***?me or moment and are vanished

                             in their own”.  

At the last when the story comes to end, the redness of the ****?izon turns into spreaded spots of frozen clotted blood and “at the same ***?me a train passes through the bridge and the whole picture disappears up on the *****?en of the thick fog, ***?rhaps these pictures were waiting for the same ***?me or moment”. Superficially it is just scenery, ****? virtually it is scenery which looks for some or more happenings or incidents to be added in it. And they all inevitably ***?ll together at one point to become the part of a big happening or a scene. In the eyes of the story writer every thing which is happening or going to be happen is the integral part of this universe. The ***?me and the place are inevitably put together along with the happenings to take place. Thus the conclusion comes from all occurrences that they all are predefined to occur. Though the tale of this story is of less worth ****? the whole treatment is excellent.       

Story “The fragrance of own soil” is written up on the philosophy of regional existentialism. In this story the basic identity of an individual and society has been brought to notice. An individual can not be the strength of a society if not he is ready to love and protect his identity. Consequently, the basic identity is ***? urgent for ****?cess in every ***?pects of life. The is the point where the individual and the society comes to strength. The strength and identity of a society depends upon the strength and identity of its individuals. The life then starts moving smoothly. Abrar Mujeeb also tries to strengthen and protect his soil.

Story “The rain” is simple in its expression ****? deep in its meaning. Story “Thrust” is a show of prohibited creativity. Story “The water way of backside” shows the everlasting continuation of ***?me. Besides this his stories “First task” “On the same turn” “Death” “The story of stories” are his best stories.

Summarizing all, we ***?e that the stories of Abrar Mujeeb are the stories of the communication of deconstructionism and prohibited creativity. More to the point, all these stories represents some or more thoughts and ideas of the philosophy of his age. Individuals, Society, characters, feelings, emotions, affairs and thoughts every thing being all together generates a deep taste of life in his stories. He creates a link between the post-modern ***?nsibility and universality. In the backdrop of his feelings and emotions and through his carefulness he teaches us to live with an extended thought of life. We feel that at the artistic level, through locating his own way Abrar Mujeeb passes through a ***?lf evaluating situation. These evaluations act like determiner and make his stories ****?cessful. Small things and small signs are of worth importance for him. The study of life through the mirror of deconstructionism has come closer to his art. He put his first creative step on the road to the life itself and the ***?cond to the universe.

Abrar Mujeeb is an active and ***?nsitive artist. His stories are decent, loving and alive. He is regarded ***? an important short story writer after 1980. Considering his style of writing and thinking he is regarded ***? a short story writer of high repute among the generation of writers in Urdu after 1980.

                                                            ************************************** 


- Dr.Equbal Wajid

In other words the truth is more mysterious or stranger than facts. According to this the universe is a mystery and stranger than it’s logical argument. Facts are stranger than friction. Therefore the origins of the universe is stranger rather than logical. What do you guys think bout that? Doesn’t the bible say God works in mysterious ways? Why can’t the universe be made by mystery rather than logic?
- Albert V

Your story, be it novel, short story or novelette, is finished. Or is it? Before you send it to a publisher, check firstly that your story makes sense!

Maybe you read my article about The Final Draft. Well, before you reach that stage there’s this one to go through. It can be hard and you need to be tough with yourself, castings an editor’s eye - not that of a writer - over your work. So what is there to look for when editing and how do you go about it?

The first thing to do is to print your story out onto paper. Don’t ask me why but editing just doesn’t seem to work the same if you do it on your computer or word-processor. Then read your story. You might think this a waste of time - after all, you wrote it! - but I assure you that you’ll find mistakes, typos and a host of other little mistakes.

They’re easy to correct. Mark them in pencil as you go along. When you have finished your read through it’s time to begin editing in earnest. You will have almost certainly noticed plotting errors and the usual howlers present in every first draft (I speak from experience!) but here’s a rundown of vital points to check off during the editing process.

1. Do your characters behave as they should? Remember that, in fiction, people seldom if ever act ‘out of character’ - if your character has changed, this needs attention.

2. Do your characters react to each other as they should? Events in your story may well change the feelings and emotions your characters display towards each other. Do they mention events that have happened to them within the story? Real people would - your characters should follow suit.

3. Will it be obvious to the reader what the characters are doing - and why they are doing it? This needs to be made clear to the reader otherwise the ‘thread’ of the story may be lost altogether, your reader will become confused - and the story, for them, is over.

4. Do your characters react believably to circumstances? Again, this goes back to character action - don’t have a character brush off a situation if their character sheet says they would go berserk with rage at a given event - if this is evident, your plotting needs to be looked at. Don’t change your character’s reactions to paper over cracks in the plot!

5. Does your story timeline run true? It’s very easy to have someone in two places at once if you’re not in control of this critical thread. If you have a sub-plot, or, worse still, several sub-plots running, this can rapidly spiral out of control. Use a timeline record to help you control event timing, i.e. ‘10 pm Monday - Jake and Sally at Harry’s bar. Big Mike robbing bank.’ This ensures that Jake and Big Mike don’t ‘meet up’ somewhere at that hour!

Checking the above points will take time, effort and dedication. However, if you do not ensure that your story makes sense according to the points above, the only time you waste will be your own. Why? Simple. Editors today do not expect - and indeed will not tolerate - stories that simply don’t ‘hang together’. The days of droves of sub-editors making good your sloppy work are well and truly gone.

So - edit and re-edit. Be brutal. Be honest with yourself and your work and you will be streets ahead of those who do not take the time and effort that you do. Writing fiction is hard work - it’s up to you to make certain your work is the best it can be. I look forward to seeing you in print!


- Steve Dempster

By Robert Goodwin?
His lack of research about and sensitivity towards Native Americans is very offensive. His leaps of pseudo-logic are breath-taking. He has a lot of nerve not marketing this schlock as juvenile fiction. What do you think?
- Owen Newitt’s duck