Writing Short Stories: A Writers' and Artists' Companion

by Courttia Newland (Editor), Tania Hershman (Editor)

Writing Short Stories: A Writers' and Artists' Companion is an essential guide to writing short fiction successfully.

PART 1 explores the nature and history of the form, personal reflections by the editors, and help getting started with ideas, planning and research.

PART 2 includes tips by leading short story writers, including: Alison Moore, Jane Rogers, Edith Pearlman, David Vann, Anthony Doerr, Vanessa Gebbie, Alexander MacLeod, Adam Thorpe and Elspeth Sandys.

PART 3 contains practical advice - from shaping plots and exploring your characters to beating writers' block, rewriting and publishing your stories.

Genres: Writing, Nonfiction, How To, Reference

304 pages, Paperback

First published February 5, 2014

About the author

Courttia Newland is a British writer of Jamaican and Bajan heritage.

Reviews

[Aimee 2mee_no · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, the book’s advice is pretty run of the mill. I learned a little bit about the history of fiction, but it didn’t give me the ah-ha moments I was hoping it would. It may be useful for new beginners, but it doesn’t offer deeper insights. I found myself skimming over a lot of sections. It did have some good online resources about the publishing industry mentioned around the end, so I appreciate that.
Not a bad book, but there are better ones out there.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

A fantastically written book for aspiring short story writers everywhere!

The book is split into three sections: one documenting the history of the short story, the second focusing on tips from other short story writers and the third on practical publishing advice. I found that the first and third sections of the book were the best and the most helpful for upcoming authors.

Newland and Hershman offer sooo many tips on what makes a good reader, writer, short story, and give helpful advice on revising and editing their work. They also provide links to short story magazines looking for new stories, advice on how to hone your plot, the quality of your story, your narrators, characters, voice and, most importantly, the structure.

It is written in a lovely and accessible way and provides further reading to authors and short stories which influenced them and their work.

A simply beautiful book which provided me with a profound insight into the short story world.

All that's left for me to do now is to grab a pen, some paper and a collection of short stories, and see where my new found inspiration takes me!

[Maria Stallmann · Rating 4 out of 5]

despite the irony of a book on writing (and editing!) having quite a few typos and spelling errors, this was an excellent read. finally a book on writing that gave practical advice! many important points which i will most definitely keep in mind for my own writing.

[Angela Watt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every now and again I do like to read a book that will help my development. As with all these types of books there are parts that have not had any real impact and other parts that I was like “wow that’s really interesting and will help me develop my work.”

I found the initial opening chapters dry. Frankly I’m not interested in the history of short stories but it was fine as I could imagine some people might have been.

I loved the chapters where both authors dissected one of their own stories and I also took a lot from the chapter on plot versus story which I hadn’t contemplated before and which was written in such a way that it all fell into place.

The authors have shared lots of information and so if you’re wanting to write short stories or if you already are, I think you’d find some helpful tips and guidance.

I’m sure this is a book I’ll return to to review my highlighted areas and it has made me want to read some of the other in the writers and artists companion series.

[Margot · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm giving it 4 stars mostly for a few pieces of gold that I've picked up from it and what they have done for my writing. On the whole the adivce is a mix of basic stuff and some interesting explorations. I appreciate the examples from various stories. The first part about the history etc. seemed a bit irrelevant and I admit I've only skimmed it.
The most significant takeaway for me is a sense of permission - stressing the importance of allowing yourself to experiment; suggesting a few non-conventional approaches; encouraging you to test everything, not treating any suggestion or 'traditional' way of writing as a rule set in stone. Really - you can write in many ways, do things that run counter the conventional wisdom - if you know why you're doing it, if you're aiming at a certain effect. And then also - enouragement to become the kind of writer you want to be - not simply 'a good writer,' which may set you on a track of chasing illusory perfection and never fully owning your voice / allowing yourself to stand out and do things your way (my reflection). There are things that have worked for others - do they work for you? Have the courage to ask ;-)

[Krisz · Rating 1 out of 5]

Firstly:
- I give 1 star to this book because of the typeset. Whoever decided on this font for the book, I'd take him to the backyard and bash him on the head with a shovel until he moves. This was awful to read, the worst sans serif type I have ever seen, and the most important parts of the book have grey background too. I can't even begin to think what this guy had in mind when he designed the book? Didn't he get this salary from the company for the past 6 months? Did the acquisition manager sleep with the typesetter's wife? OR WHAT?
Otherwise:
- In the beginning I merely disliked this book for the uninteresting intros, chapter upon chapter with stuff that was presented in a really non appealing way. I actually put the book down for a year :(
- Then slowly, slowly it started to sound like a book, when it put the things aside that the writers thought they have to start the book with and now they can really write what they really want to say.
- It had some really good points, for example introducing the reader into how each author developed a story idea and worked out the text.
All in all:
- It's a good book! But DON'T BUY IT IN PRINT.

[Bridgitte Rodguez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Had a short story idea and went looking for a craft book on short stories! Amazingly I couldn’t find a gazillion. Most were craft books about writing in general. Which a lot does of course apply, but I wanted to learn about the specifics. Then I came across this book. It was exactly what I was looking for. It provided tons of information about how-to, process, publishing, examples, etc. etc. Of course the big take away, as with any book about writing— you can do whatever you want.

But I enjoyed this format. Definitely some good nuggets/takeaways about the short story structure/format and what to think about when writing one. So I do definitely recommend, if this is something you are looking into.

[Katia M. Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting read. A little different than I anticipated but still full of good information. It is more of a collection of ways the chosen writers write and analysis of various stories than a straight up 'how to' book. It made for entertaining reading although there were a few bland entries. There are plenty of tips and exercises through the book to help reinforce the methods discussed. I recommend to anyone who wants to improve their short story writing. It also reminded me why I think Janet Frame is awesome.

[Louise · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fab guide to short stories, and storytelling. It's friendly and it tells it like it is, leaving you to make up your own mind how you want to write - which is how I like it.

[Jacqueline Morris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Comprehensive, interesting, useful

Writers I admire talking about short form fiction and how to write it. Valuable for a reader and a writer both.

[Brenda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Helpful, written with a friendly voice. Some tips within that I hadn't seen before in books similar. I enjoyed the deconstruction of the short story near the end of the book - that part was interesting and very helpful.

[Siân Devine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was unbelievably useful - I've learnt so much and I am now enthralled by the short story genre and industry. I borrowed this copy from the university library so I'm definitely going to have to buy my own copy now! Highly recommend to all.