KNOWING WHEN TO PULL THE PLUG
IF you’re like most writers, some of your writing projects don’t go so well. Be it story, novel, or nonfiction book, the project seems to have some insurmountable problems. Maybe the writing sounds dull or amateurish, the work half-baked, the structure wobbly. You’re at a loss on what to do about it. What should you do?
That’s question No. 1.
But let’s say your work is in great shape. The craft is there (or at least you think it is) and trusted readers have assured you of its excellence. Yet when you submit it – and continue to submit it – what happens? A trainload of rejections. If you’re lucky, very lucky, you receive a few helpful suggestions for change. But so often, it’s a vague reply like: “Not right for us.” Enough of these, and your confidence in your project deflates like a balloon, with the air whistling right out of it. What should you do about that thorny issue of publication, which Robert Gottlieb, author and editor, has termed “a crapshoot?”
That’s question No. 2.
For answers to both questions, we’ve turned to the pros.
We’ll start with the short story, where most fiction writers start.
FOR SHORT STORY WRITERS
The craft – on a small scale
The craft of a short story is much the same as that of a novel, except that a short story means a much smaller world. It requires a difficult balance between compression (limiting the scope of the story in terms of character, plot, and setting) and expansion (suggesting more than what is immediately at hand). As any short story writer knows, the rigorous demands of this form make it open to a host of possible problems – and perhaps a fatal flaw or two. What should you do when a story struggles?
“Set it aside for a bit and go on to a different story,” states Robert Garner McBrearty, author of several story collections and winner of the Sherwood Anderson Foundation Fiction Award.
Then, when you do return to this problematic story, experiment with different story elements, including point of view: “Tell the story through a different character’s eyes. If you’re writing in the first person, try the third person, or vice versa.”
Also, be sure to rethink the story’s structure, says McBrearty. “Take a good look at the beginning. Maybe the story is starting in the wrong place, with too much backstory. Start closer to where the real story begins. Start with the first line that sounds interesting to you, and write with a sense of forward momentum. You can always go back and provide backstory as needed.”
Third, try some stylistic changes, recommends McBrearty, though these need not be substantive: “One thing I’ve found helpful is to go over the story with a very close eye, line by line, cutting words that aren’t necessary, especially if I’ve used too many adjectives or adverbs.”
For Walter Cummins, you should expect craft problems.
Cummins is former editor of , co-publisher of Serving House
