How to Write a Short Story

Fiction writer and professor John Dufresne offers some tips on how to get started writing a short story and how to know when you're on the right track. Dufresne was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2012 for his creative work, with includes four novels and the short story collections "The Way That Water Enters Stone" and "Johnny Too Bad." He has also written two books on the craft of fiction writing: "The Lie That Tells a Truth: a Guide to Writing Fiction" and "Is Life Like This? A Guide to Writing Your First Novel in Six Months." Dufresne teaches creative writing at FIU. Link to Profile: worldsahead.fiu...

[@lauraleelenhoff3785]

i love that quote "the muse comes to the desk"

[@JustASceneToHate]

I love this. So true about the muse, if you aren't at the desk, it doesn't happen. That's been my problem for a long time. I keep thinking my muse will motivate me to write my story, but it doesn't work that way. I have to sit down and make myself write, and then the inspiration flows.

[@Slynell1]

JustASceneToHate completely agree

[@leannewat75]

i know right

[@waynekaleb4247]

I know I am kinda randomly asking but does anybody know a good place to stream newly released tv shows online ?

[@j.tucker45]

I've found that solutions to my stories, new ideas often come when I'm not writing. I might be working out, eating lunch, browsing at Barnes & Noble... even at my day job, ideas shoot all round: titles, character names, and scenes. I've found the little Note app on my phone is a handy way to catch those splices of ideas and thoughts. Many times they don't end up in stories or become anything; other times they turn into full scenes. Guess the point is to keep wondering, thinking about your work.

[@ltrv316]

I used to write ideas in a notebook but then I found out that it wasn't necessary: the good ideas stick into my head even if they first appeared years ago, the bad ideas just vanishes.

[@RichardFeynmanRules]

I love his cat traipsing through just as he talks about something unexpected happening!

[@RichardFeynmanRules]

@Alfonso Ray Thanks for the tip!

[@aaronying4989]

You’re not a writer unless you’ve had cats walking all over you!! At some point 😂😅yes

[@parakidd]

This is one if not the best video on writing tips I have seen. Well, at least for my problems, thoughts and ideas and lack of experience as an aspiring writer.

[@MissVHaven]

Yes! Yes! Yes! I feel validated, especially about where the muse lives and the nobility of moving through the sadness, but not denying it or ignoring it. Give it its proper place and distinction.

[@Lisarata]

I couldn't write until I faced the reality that even great things end in sadness. I couldn't accept that when I was younger, especially coming out of the Mormon Church, where you can seemingly make something beautiful last forever. But the gift of the hard truths that I faced was, now I love the story of it all.

[@Lisarata]

@Nunya Business no I will check that out

[@JonWade]

_The muse comes from the desk._

[@HiddenDriveways]

+Jon Wade The muse comes to the desk. She comes from the heavens. :)

[@TheGrumps666]

I love John Dufresne's writing den. It's an environment I can relate to. Now to follow his advice and get some writing done.

[@guillermoalonso5080]

The muse can also come while you're falling asleep by 3 in the morning and have to wake up early... Very good!

[@charlie5thumbs351]

+Guillermo Alonso True indeed. The muse doesn't just come to you at your desk. She can inspire at any place and any time.

[@aaronying4989]

Yea it’s sometimes frustrating but I often just feel more creative at night.

[@scottlawder7617]

Well said-the nobility is that we face it and go on, we love again.

[@kingfisher9553]

He right about the muse. It's like they see you are a writer and come over and whisper suggestions over your shoulder and before long they sort of press themselves into you and start writing some of the story themselves. But there is something else, somebody else, too. There is another "character" who may not be "the muse" and is more like a good photojournalist who suddenly sees a picture that is a story. Photographers call taking a picture at the right time "the capture." Some people are able to "see" the right time in an instant. Often they say "the camera loved" a certain person or setting. I'm a retired journalist/photojournalist and this happens to me with both writing fiction and taking photos. I'll hear a phrase, read a bit of history, or see a boy ride by my house on his bicycle with a fishing pole and the "camera" in my mind goes "there it is! There is a story in that!" The camera loved it.

[@PrateekT30]

Spotted at 0:46: Screenplay, The Foundations of Screenwriting by Syd Field (in the foreground; a gavel-like object on top of it revealing the cover just barely).

[@adelsayadkooh8870]

It is inspiring and finally i found a talk that is reasonable as well! particularly about romantic muse of writing...

[@doriswhite1348]

Very helpful, thank you. Love the room; all those books.

[@77777aol]

So many great points. Thank you Professor John Dufresne. [This has me wondering who was the first person to write that cliché 'happy ever after'?!]

[@johnsexton4250]

It was King James

[@FlaviaFrossard]

There are two things that help me to write my short stories: 1. Limit of Characters - There is a limited set of characters, one single action and a simple plot (often: exposition, complication, crisis, and contains a sad or happy ending). 2.Place and Time - A short story restricts to only one sitting (fixed place and time, and social surroundings). If you want to read many nice short stories, please look for my name on Widbook.

[@writewithme5018]

damn this is top notch advice, no advice at all except give it a go

[@mariemmattoussi1461]

what he said in under 3 minutes was brilliant but.... why did I volunteer to do a short story for the french teacher damn it! (╥﹏╥) I need to be slapped

[@carrieannebetts9830]

How did that go?

[@dorianwinslow9884]

Love this guy! Such an inspiration.

[@videowilliams]

WOW, that's well put.

[@adqueen2548]

1:35 I've never related to someone that hard as I did in that moment.

[@willtheone9]

Plain and simple advice great

[@TheMorningBallad]

Ah, I appreciate the b-roll but this man was really interesting and you took that away from me. Ah, who am I? Great video, great message, thank you for posting.

[@homerpajares6061]

Even the way he explains stuff amazes me ♥️😅

[@orestecamacho7174]

THANKS YOU FOR YOUR TEACHING

[@carolynscott9007]

At 2:20, what is that? Story on the right and what's on the left? Ideas? Notes? Editing? Excellent video, BTW.

[@rinaagustini9966]

Guys, learn how to write your own novel does not need to be hard (I used to think it did). I'll give you some advice right now. Look for a online coaching known as Novelonax Academy (just google it). Seriously, that online class has has made me learn how to publish my own novel easily.

[@bocabill1907]

Write On!

[@actung74]

A lot of the time the character is the story, who or what your main character is can definitely dictate where the story goes.

[@roberthelfendlaw]

Nice! Thanks for sharing some tips.

[@jayslaton567]

Great stuff indeed.

[@michaelstevenmartin3478]

This guy looks like he could be Richard Lewis' brother. Respect.

[@anonb4632]

Michael Steven Martin Yes I was thinking Lewis too.

[@winnifredcox]

It's so true.

[@ApeWithShoes]

Great stuff! More please!

[@leannewat75]

cheers santa

[@jayslaton567]

Great information!

[@briangamaly1994]

Awesome guy!

[@alfogel3298]

In my top 10: Grace Paley “ Wants” I saw my ex-husband in the street. I was sitting on the steps of the new library. Hello, my life, I said. We had once been married for twenty-seven years, so I felt justified. He said, What? What life? No life of mine. I said, O.K. I don't argue when there's real disagreement. I got up and went into the library to see how much I owed them. The librarian said $32 even and you've owed it for eighteen years. I didn't deny anything. Because I don't understand how time passes. I have had those books. I have often thought of them. The library is only two blocks away. My ex-husband followed me to the Books Returned desk. He interrupted the librarian, who had more to tell. In many ways, he said, as I look back, I attribute the dissolution of our marriage to the fact that you never invited the Bertrams to dinner. That's possible, I said. But really, if you remember: first, my father was sick that Friday, then the children were born, then I had those Tuesday-night meetings, then the war began. Then we didn't seem to know them any more. But you're right. I should have had them to dinner. I gave the librarian a check for $32. Immediately she trusted me, put my past behind her, wiped the record clean, which is just what most other municipal and/or state bureaucracies will not do. I checked out the two Edith Wharton books I had just returned because I'd read them so long ago and they are more apropos now than ever. They were The House of Mirth and The Children, which is about how life in the United States in New York changed in twenty-seven years fifty years ago. A nice thing I do remember is breakfast, my ex-husband said. I was surprised. All we ever had was coffee. Then I remembered there was a hole in the back of the kitchen closet which opened into the apartment next door. There, they always ate sugar-cured smoked bacon. It gave us a very grand feeling about breakfast, but we never got stuffed and sluggish. That was when we were poor, I said. When were we ever rich? he asked. Oh, as time went on, as our responsibilities increased, we didn't go in need. You took adequate financial care, I reminded him. The children went to camp four weeks a year and in decent ponchos with sleeping bags and boots, just like everyone else. They looked very nice. Our place was warm in winter, and we had nice red pillows and things. I wanted a sailboat, he said. But you didn't want anything. Don't be bitter, I said. It's never too late. No, he said with a great deal of bitterness. I may get a sailboat. As a matter of fact I have money down on an eighteen-foot two-rigger. I'm doing well this year and can look forward to better. But as for you, it's too late. You'll always want nothing. He had had a habit throughout the twenty-seven years of making a narrow remark which, like a plumber's snake, could work its way through the ear down the throat, half-way to my heart. He would then disappear, leaving me choking with equipment. What I mean is, I sat down on the library steps and he went away. I looked through The House of Mirth, but lost interest. I felt extremely accused. Now, it's true, I'm short of requests and absolute requirements. But I do want something. I want, for instance, to be a different person. I want to be the woman who brings these two books back in two weeks. I want to be the effective citizen who changes the school system and addresses the Board of Estimate on the troubles of this dear urban center. I had promised my children to end the war before they grew up. I wanted to have been married forever to one person, my ex-husband or my present one. Either has enough character for a whole life, which as it turns out is really not such a long time. You couldn't exhaust either man's qualities or get under the rock of his reasons in one short life. Just this morning I looked out the window to watch the street for a while and saw that the little sycamores the city had dreamily planted a couple of years before the kids were born had come that day to the prime of their lives. Well! I decided to bring those two books back to the library. Which proves that when a person or an event comes along to jolt or appraise me I can take some appropriate action, although I am better known for my hospitable remarks -Grace Paley ( from her 1974 short story collection “ Enormous Changes At The Last Minute” Nominated for the National Book Award For Fiction ).

[@hamzaAitMansour]

wow il like this video very helpful thank you

[@neutrometalnap5559]

A. J. Hoge sent you a huge.

[@smokeymountainfirepl]

Awesone stuff.

[@FlowrsofviLFlowrsofviL]

Aesthetics are eternal...Only words endure and to exist is opium enough for me. - F.P Man is a creation of desire, not a creation of need. The words of the world want to make sentences. Literary imagination is an aesthetic object offered by a writer to a lover of book. - Gaston Bachelard To exist is an artists greatest pride he desires no paradise other than being - O.M

[@rezarajabi6206]

muse comes to the desk, if you're not there, too bad

[@openyourmindandthink7948]

Helpful Information!

[@madisonestes6124]

Eh, I disagree with some things he mentioned at the end. In my personal experience, if I just sit at my desk, I'm not going to get inspired. I get inspired watching movies, reading books, talking to friends, and living life. Once I even got a story idea by talking to a stranger I met while walking my dog. You do have to have the discipline to sit down and write that idea to completion, and discipline is essential, but I disagree with the idea that you can just will yourself to be inspired or that you can summon the muse by sheer determination. That doesn't work for everyone. Also nowadays you don't have to be "at the desk," or even on your laptop. I got a story idea while watching a movie and I starting writing about it in my phone. Without even realizing it, I wrote a 3000 word outline in my phone while lying on the couch and half watching a movie. Multi-tasking can be helpful sometimes. So can stepping away from the literal or metaphorical desk. The only important thing is that you don't give up just because it gets hard. I do like what he said about taking an interesting character and putting them in trouble. That is how my current WIP started.

[@sakeenama3996]

If you watch a movie or talk with your friends or whatever, you're going to get distracted. It is impossible to multitask when you're looking for inspiration. Try again

[@soulsgrave8717]

awesome

[@AhmadCenel99]

Nice video.

[@Artixgrey]

please! traduce this video in spanish!!!! the subtitles

[@filipinolifestyleincali9262]

Brilliant writer plus I love his black cat! adorable.

[@AndrewsPLACE]

Once upon a time an old man told me: "Sit your ass in the chair" And well.... Now Im a very cool guy :v

[@EthanS1481]

brilliant thank u for that

[@pewdiepiefan8548]

4y u never huuuuuuuuuuuuuummmmmm 7

[@EthanS1481]

Amane Azeb huh?

[@ethanthompson3198]

writer Dustin Hoffman?

[@___717.]

I was thinking Richard Lewis and Frank Miller

[@x.vxlkyrie.x]

rar?

[@yellowfiberoptics]

im a writer im a director im a producer

[@lazarstojanovic3796]

Now that is a big cat.

[@valeriepagoada8197]

Yes Yes Yes

[@x.vxlkyrie.x]

im watching you

[@thedarkphantomtdp117]

And everyone died sadly ever after

[@auroradorsey1737]

kenna connor

[@x.vxlkyrie.x]

+shadowpaw 101 hewwo

[@auroradorsey1737]

bron we can see you across the room

[@auroradorsey1737]

hai people of the world

[@cosmic-fortytwo]

I enjoyed this video and am inspired by what he says. However I have to say that I find the way he holds a pen really annoying. Sorry, had to say it. It’s like watching a video of Schrodinger discuss quantum mechanics while in the background there is a juggling clown riding a unicycle, it’s just so distracting.

[@toddboothbee1361]

The Muse is usually a sack of clichés.

[@CarolynEllisQtEllis]

T don't tailgate

[@x.vxlkyrie.x]

arooo

[@Aeghamedic]

Twilight follows the standard rules of rising action, climax, falling action. It just doesn't present itself well. The writing is bland, as if it weren't even edited, and the characters are flat. Just because many people disagree with you does not mean there is a big conspiracy. Lastly, if twilight really is "so hated" then why is it so popular?

[@auroradorsey1737]

connor wanted me to say nothing

[@x.vxlkyrie.x]

Tobehh

[@x.vxlkyrie.x]

areeeeareee

[@abdullahmansoor5444]

I hate exams...

[@LiberalSherwin]

Some fictional writers don't care about entertaining people, and would rather abide by elitist and idiotic writing standards (which have, in large part, been imposed by College Professors who teach English). The fact that the Twilight book series is so hated and hasn't received its due respect shows how dumb this philosophy is. I will continue to make videos here on KZbin defending Twilight and exposing the idiocy of college professor's idiotic standards for fictional writing.

[@x.vxlkyrie.x]

lol

[@dirtycelinefrenchman]

I find the past place to catch the muse is when I’m out hang gliding or on the golf course but then again he’s the one getting published

[@abdullahmansoor5444]

I hate exams...