1. The Title: Many writers often undermine a great story by a prosaic or uninteresting title. Look at the titles of the stories in various anthologies. Admittedly, not all of them may be novel or striking, but in a book collection it is necessary to vary the titles a bit. However, when submitting a short story in a Contest, remember that the title is the first thing a judge sees. Try to think of a title that is clever, original and relevant.
2. Length: Many writers don't know when to stop writing. Avoid unnecessary anti-climaxes. A short story must be concise. On the other hand, it is not necessarily short. But even if your maximum limit is 8,000 or 10,000 words, to sustain reader interest in a story of this length, your entry must be strongly plotted and vividly characterized.
3. Cutting: It was formerly said that a writer's best tool was a blue pencil. But now it is the delete key on your computer. Put every word under the microscope. Is that particular word absolutely necessary? Does your story read as well without it? Does it help make your sentences sing? Are you growing two or three words where even one would be superfluous?
4. First Lines and First Paragraph. So important, because they are the first words the judge and your readers will see. Do they grab attention? Look at the first lines (and first paragraphs) in some published stories. What do you notice about them?
5. Dialog: Is it natural? Is it in character? Can you identify the speaker without the author telling you who is speaking? What functions does dialog perform? For instance, does it advance the plot, impart necessary background information, reveal character traits, conjure up atmosphere?
6. Vocabulary: Unless you have already developed a distinctive, individual style, avoid long words. Especially words derived from Latin or Greek. Use Anglo-Saxon equivalents, unless you want to be funny or wry or ironic. Is a writer's vocabulary an essential feature of style?
7. Action: This does not necessarily mean violent, physical action. Your story must have a sense of movement, it must seem to be flowing rapidly towards some emotionally satisfying or terrifying or unexpected Niagara, not eddying around in circles, going nowhere.
8. Tied in with action are the so-called "Greek Unities" of time, place and theme. Is it essential that a story have a single, continuous time span? Or be set in just one location? Must a successful story have just one main theme? Is there room for subsidiary themes?
9. Characterization is a field in which many promising writers get lost. You should aim for recognizable yet offbeat, colorful yet natural, out-of-the-rut yet interesting, fully rounded yet fascinating, seemingly real-life characters. Some winning stories contain an unusually large number of characters. How are these characters individualized? Are they all important for the development and atmosphere of the story?
10. Conflict is an essential ingredient. Your characters must face and overcome conflicts with other people in your story, with themselves and with their circumstances. How many conflicts can you find in previous prize-winning stories? Also notice that sometimes a winning story will break a rule, for example there may be more characters than are strictly necessary or perhaps there's even a story within the story. Why? When is it safe, and even commendable, to break the usual rules?
11. Theme: Try to make the subject of your story some issue or topic that people currently consider important.
12. Entertainment: Most people read stories not for enlightenment, but for pleasure. Of course, there's no reason why an author cannot provide both.
photo credit: bark
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