How to write a short story - by Naomi Kanakia

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My opinion is that a short story should start right away with some kind of desire. Right away, from the very first line. There’s no need to be coy.

My opinion is that a short story should start right away with some kind of desire. Right away, from the very first line. There’s no need to be coy. “Ellie wanted to marry a wealthy man.” Then, as you’re writing the story, you think, What would be an extremely boring way to tell this story? And you don’t tell it the boring way. You subvert the boring-story expectation and do something different instead. For instance, if Ellie was some upper-middle-class girl who’d gotten tired of the career treadmill and decided to go ‘trad’ then that would be extremely boring, so I won’t write it that…

How to write a short story - by Naomi Kanakia

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