Little

Well, the weekend has almost arrived. Hang in one more day, and you'll be good to go. I promise.


But for today, we have another element of short stories to discuss.

Smaller Characters

Again, it's something that not everyone would think of as a pro, but I have to admit that it is, in some cases. As you know, I'm both novelist and short story writer, so I know how it is to write either one.

1. Smaller in Number

This is one of the biggest things, one of the things I like best about short stories. There are only ever a few characters, because it's impossible to fit a plethora of characters into so small a number of pages. But it's something that's very nice with short stories, because it means that there's less work for us to do with them. We only have to make a small number of character profiles, only have to determine a limited number of backstories, and only have to fill our heads with a few instead of a great many new minds.

2. Smaller in Story

Of course, this is also a large reason why I enjoy short stories. The characters are small in story, or rather, they only have a small amount that they want to do. Characters in novels never seem to grow tired of doing things, of having things that they want to seek out and perform. But short story characters only really want to do a few things, and the vast majority of those things will be carried out within the short story.

That means we, the writers, have a great deal less to focus on and sort through when it comes to writing them. It's not often that I have to fight with the characters of a short story, because I already know what they want to do and I'm only here to help them do it.


What do you guys think? What are some of your favorite things about short stories?

[love]

{Rani Divine}