Kurt Vonnegut on Short Story Writing

1. Use the time of a total stranger in such a way that he or she will not feel the time was wasted. 

This is definitely essential. To not do this would be the kiss of death.

2. Give the reader at least one character he or she can root for.

If there's no one to root for then the reader is not going to care about the story. I can think of one of my stories where there is no one to root for. But I think what holds the reader's interest is the curiosity to see what is going to happen to the character. The story is "Victuals." The protagonist, Rooster Fallow, isn't a terribly likable guy. And I think the reader can tell something, probably bad, is going to happen to him after he does what he does in the beginning of the story. 

3. Every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water.

Motivation is so important. In my story "No Good Deed" Buck McDonald is a highly paid professional athlete but he's searching for a reason to live. His success holds no satisfaction for him. He's a man who seemingly has it all. By contrast, the narrator of the story wants what he has. And she's appalled that he's not grateful for what he has while she's struggling. 

 

4. Every sentence must do one of two things—reveal character or advance the action.

This is why I love short stories. The economy of words. I don't believe in writing a lot of detail for detail's sake. I want to tell the tale in the most judicious way possible. 

 

5. Start as close to the end as possible.

I love this advice. I may take it in the future. Some stories I come up with the ending first. Like "Greenlight," "Sewer Rat," "Dignity Tickets" or "Urad 238." I knew exactly where those stories were going. Others, I just started the story and let it unfold for me. "Godshot," "American Roulette" and "Fire-Roasted" are stories that I started and followed to their conclusion. I can't say which method is better because "Dignity Tickets" and "Godshot" are my two favorite tales and they were written completely differently.

 

6. Be a Sadist. No matter how sweet and innocent your leading characters, make awful things happen to them—in order that the reader may see what they are made of.

Definitely. I recall always saying that what I like to do in a story is take a regular person and see how much misfortune I can heap on their shoulders. Stories like "Gravity" come to mind. I'm definitely sadistic in that I like to make my characters squirm. Make 'em sweat. I think it makes the reader squirm.

7. Write to please just one person. If you open a window and make love to the world, so to speak, your story will get pneumonia.

I'll be honest with you. I think Vonnegut was drinking when he said it. I don't really understand what he meaas by this.

 

8. Give your readers as much information as possible as soon as possible. To hell with suspense. Readers should have such complete understanding of what is going on, where and why, that they could finish the story themselves, should cockroaches eat the last few pages.
This would be true if you're writing a conventional short story. A lot of my stories have twist endings so I don't necessarily want the reader to know exactly where I'm going. But if a twist ending is done well all of the clues are right there to determine the ending if you look for them. 

MORSELS VOL 1. available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble and iTunes.

MORSELS VOL 2. available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble and iTunes.