Dr Carolyn Lewis: Short Story Workshop December 2023

Article: Shane Anderson, photo credit: Angela Grunsell

Writing a short story is character building… is perhaps the best way to summarise the main thrust of Dr Carolyn Lewis’ Hay Writers’ Circle Short Story Workshop on Monday 4th December, 2023.

From the outset she emphasized how understanding your characters’ wants and needs, their backgrounds, even the minutiae of their lives off the page brings a vitality and authenticity to their lives on the page that can be sorely lacking otherwise.

In one of the afternoon’s first tasks Dr Lewis demonstrated how considering something as simple as a character’s name and their relationship to it, can have its impact.

To many the above approach may not seem to differ a great deal from that of writing a novel and this, perhaps, is her point: the short story shares not just much of its craft but all of its need for diligence and application with its longer form sibling.

However, Dr Lewis was also at pains to outline the short form’s specific demands: there is little room for indulgences or literary flourishes; it requires precision and economy – every word matters; banish adverbs (and exclamation marks); keep the writing descriptive yet simple and direct. The reader’s attention must be seized by the first words and held by all those that follow without reliance upon the large cast nor the plethora of subplots a novel can afford. It should be remembered that, typically, a short story employs a maximum of three characters with its story woven around a single central thread.

Throughout the afternoon, imaginative and creative responses flowed from the attendees as they explored the various aspects mentioned above. At times other elements were also added into the mix. The essential skill, “show not tell”*, vital for drawing your reader into the emotional landscape of your piece, was touched upon. As was the role dialogue can play not only in character development but the pacing of your piece. Here again the advice was to be simple and direct particularly when it comes to dialogue tags (he said/she said, etc.).
One of the last exercises of a very enjoyable and educative afternoon was based around endings and how difficult they can be but also how the best ones can leave the reader wanting more…
It is certainly how Dr Lewis left us.

Dr Carolyn Lewis is a novelist, prize-winning short story writer and a creative writing tutor. Her new book, Some Sort of Twilight, published by Watermark Press is a collection of short stories, nearly all of which have won a prize or have been published in anthologies.
https://www.watermarkpress.co.uk/shop/carolyn-lewis-some-sort-of-twilight

• Show Not Tell example
“Whenever she passed a group of lads in the street, she kept her head down until she walked by. If they made any comment on her freckles or her overlong dresses and old fashioned shoes, she didn’t acknowledge them or make any sign that she’d heard.” (Excerpt from ‘Living over the Shop’ by Carolyn Lewis)
against…
“Whenever she passed a group of lads in the street, she felt self-conscious.”

Short story authors referenced during the afternoon: Alice Munro William Trevor Morley Callaghan Raymond Carver Annie Proulx Claire Keegan
Others that could easily have been mentioned include: Ian McEwan Margaret Atwood Katherine Mansfield Edgar Allan Poe Anton Chekov O. Henry …. The list goes on…

Fiction Competition Reminder!

Don’t forget, there’s still plenty of time after your Christmas dinner to pen an entry for our Fiction Competition 2023 . 500-1500 words on any theme and prizes for 1st, 2nd and 3rd places. Closing date – January 9th 2024!

Download the entry form and full competition details
from our COMPETITIONS page

Our judge, Carolyn Lewis, is looking forward to reading all your entries. Good Luck!

Finally, Hay Writers’ Circle would like to wish you a very Merry Christmas and all good wishes for 2024 – may it be a truly inspirational year!

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