This was a fairly straightforward book on the art of writing short fiction. Although it was helpful in some regards, other books have done it better and many of the story examples (apart from Hawthorne's story) were not the greatest to behold. Nevertheless, still a useful book.

3 stars. ( )

This is a very useful basic guide to writing short stories. Most of it I have read or heard elsewhere (e.g. "show, don't tell" - ever heard that one before?), but what I found useful was the examples used to illustrate the lessons.

The examples were good because I've always thought of formulas for writing short stories as, well, a bit formulaic. I wanted to write stories that didn't follow a formula, or stories that deliberately broke with the formula. But what I understood from reading this book is that there is a lot of room within the formula for originality. The formula Sorenson defines is:

Exposition - introduces the characters and setting, establishes point of view, gives background information

Opening - leads the main character to a conflict

Incident - begins the plot

Rising Action - builds the conflict, adds new, more complicated incidents

Climax - raises conflict to greatest intensity, changes the course of events or the way the reader understands the story (may be either an event or an insight)

Falling Action - reduces conflict, prepares reader for resolution (not always used)

Resolution - ends the conflict, leaves the reader satisfied

But "Rising action" doesn't have to be real "action" action - it can be much subtler. "Conflict" doesn't have to be external or explicit. The "resolution" doesn't have to be neat. As I read the examples in this book, I didn't think of them as formulaic at all, even though Sorenson shows afterwards how they fit into the formula.

I've concentrated on plot here, because it's the part where I've always struggled with following a formula and wanted to break away, but there's also good advice here on theme, characters, point of view, setting, dialogue, description and endings. At the end there's a chapter on getting into print - again lots of good advice, although some of it sounded a little outdated in my edition (1998), talking about typewriter typefaces and the bond and rag content of the paper you should use, with no mention of the internet - how much has changed in a short time. Some things are timeless, though, like rejection slips. ( )

How to Write Short Stories by Sharon Sorenson (ISBN 2189862201)

I picked up this book from my shelf because I wanted to reacquaint myself with how others approach the writing of short stories. I remembered that I hadn't finished this book the first time, and I wasn't certain why.

It soon became clear.

While the book has a lot of interesting tidbits and ideas, it is also packed with some of what is, to me, the most boring short story examples I have ever read. This is because the book is obviously aimed at mainstream and litfic and not at a genre writer like me. That may make a huge difference for other people who read it.

I found it painful to try and pick through the material, looking for those helpful pieces. I did find them, though. My reaction to the book is likely partly a response to the type of stories presented. I did think, though, that the writing was sometimes a bit pushy in a 'this is the only way to do stories' sort of way. Having written my share of 'how to write' material, and having spent ten years working with new writers, I know there is no such thing as a single answer to any field of writing.

I wouldn't tell people not to read this book. I think we learn best about writing by expanding our views and purposely reading books about writing that may not suit our styles. You never know what you might learn -- or what you might learn about yourself that you can qualify by seeing something that absolutely does not work for you.

So, while this was not my favorite book on writing, I do think that it has helpful sections and someone who is more attune to the types of stories presented is likely to find this book far more useful than I did. ( )