La short literature it has always existed. However, it has not been until these last years when, thanks to social networks, genres such as the micro-story have awakened to a new golden age. Stories summarized in one or two verses that open new doors to literature playing with the reader's imagination. Also with an aesthetic that tries to inspire a certain mystery but, above all, to make an impact. If you also apply these 5 tips for writing a short story, the triumph is assured.
Be brief
As its name suggests, the short story requires a much greater brevity than the story. Although measures of genre have become somewhat subjective over time (with stories spanning several paragraphs), the nature of the micro-story is to tell a great story in as few words as possible.
Relate a situation
The novel is characterized by lengthening an idea and complementing it with other subplots, while the story recreates a specific situation. If the novel tells the long life of a boy who wants to be an astronaut until he reaches the Moon, the story will cover the moment when he arrives, or when he decided to fly to the stars. The micro-story fulfills the same function as the story, but with even fewer words. Is about relate a situation without being so explicit.
Use the ellipsis
Ellipsis is a rhetorical figure that consists of omitting words from a writing that, in themselves, are understood. An essential ally when it comes to condensing a more in-depth story into a few verses. The short story uses subtlety, maintain a certain mystery through a narrative that summarizes the essence of that story, going directly to the climax of it. For example, if two characters have been going back and breaking for a lifetime to finally realize that they love each other, a "After so much tying and untying, the knot grew stronger" will suffice. For example.
Play with words
You may be looking to write a story about the grudge and find it difficult to find the words in that story that summarize it. For that reason, or at least in my case, I can come up with an image, one that inspires the rest of the content on its own: what emotion does that image inspire in you? What history does it contain? Other times, one word may be enough to attract those others through which to build the writing. For example, "light" attracts words like "fireflies", "darkness", "sun" ... Play with all of them, because first of all, the short story always welcomes metaphors.
A good title
Curfew, by Omar Lara
"Stay," I told him.
And I touched her.
Finding the perfect title for our work often took us even longer than writing the micro-story itself. However, many times the title can complement that story by adding more value or, even, finishing the meaning of it. For examples, the wonderful "Curfew."
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