Hemingway and Short Stories

“Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead” is one way to begin the writing process. But, Hemingwaywantabes, just as a baseball player with dreams of playing in the major leagues begins his quest in the minors, a bit of seasoning is warranted before you plunge into the world of writing for publication.

This seasoning involves writing short stories, essays, magazine or newspaper articles, or poetry for mainstream publications. Doing so teaches the discipline of writing with space and word constraint to produce good beginnings, middles, and ends to stories. For poets, it is the opportunity to test their mettle in a single poem or two.

Another benefit of writing short-form material is the ability to test linguistic skills and begin developing a personal writing style. The process may also help you decide whether to write fiction, non-fiction, or poetry.

Most important, publication of short stories, essays, newspaper articles or poetry provides a showcase for your talent while earning you a publishing credit. The latter will prove helpful when you seek publication for long-form fiction or non-fiction material.

Many celebrated authors began by writing magazine and newspaper articles, and short stories. Among them was Ernest Hemingway. His talent was recognized while he wrote for publications such as Atlantic Monthly and The Toronto Star.

Several modern-day magazines, including Esquire, GQ, Harper’s, Jane, Playboy, Seventeen, and Zoetrope, print short works of fiction. Publications like Vanity Fair, Atlantic Monthly, and Ladies Home Journal, among others, will consider short works of non-fiction.

One author who gained exposure by writing short stories is Terry McMillan, best selling African-American author of How Stella Got Her Groove Back. She began reading literary works by African-American writers while shelving books at a Port Huron, Michigan library at age sixteen. While majoring in journalism at UC Berkeley, she wrote The End, her first short story. When it was published, it provided a springboard for her long-form efforts.

Mary Higgins Clark, author of several best selling mysteries, jump-started her career by writing short stories. The first sold for $100 to Extension Magazine after six years and more than forty rejection slips. This modest success stimulated Clark, who wrote Aspire To The Heavens, a novel about the life of George Washington. It was a dismal failure, but her second effort, Where Are The Children, proved successful. This book paved the way for such bestsellers as Before I Say Goodbye, Deck The Halls, and The Street Where You Live.

J. K. Rowling, famous for the Harry Potter series, began her career by writing short stories. While attempting to complete two novels, she conceived a “what-if” idea. It focused on a young boy who didn’t realize he was a wizard. The skills she had honed writing short stories enabled her to complete Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. It was published a year later to wide acclaim, catapulting Rowling to international fame.

Charles Dickens garnered experience as a newspaper reporter before turning to long-form writing. He then wrote short texts to accompany a series of humorous sport illustrations. Next came The Pickwick Papers. It led to Oliver Twist, Nicholas Nickleby, the first of Dickens’ successful Christmas stories, A Christmas Carol, A Tale of Two Cities, and David Copperfield.

Poets gain credentials through publication of their poetry in reputable magazines and journals. Publishers scan these publications searching for new talent.

For me, seasoning occurred when I wrote several columns for USA Today during the Mike Tyson trial. The credit led to a publishing commitment for Down For The Count. To those who scanned my manuscript, I wasn’t a novice writer with little credibility, but one who had been published in a national newspaper.

If you decide to write short stories, educate yourself about this form of writing. The easiest way is to return to the bookstores and focus on the classics. Look for anthologies of short stories by a variety of famed authors. These will expose you to several examples of good writing. Pay attention to how the authors formulated the beginning, middle, and end of their stories.

Celebrated author Elmore Leonard stated “Read and study what the writer is doing. Find a writer you have a rapport with and study the paragraphing, study the punctuation, study everything.” William Zinsser, author of On Writing Well, echoes Leonard’s comments. He wrote, “Writing is learned by imitation. If anyone asked me how I learned to write, I’d say I learned by reading the men and women who were doing the kind of writing I wanted to do and trying to figure out how they did it.”

Pretty damn good advice, wouldn’t you say. And I am sure Mr. Hemingway would agree.