Author Dawn Jackson talks about Quickies

Today’s guest blogger is author Dawn Jackson. She’s here to talk about quickies…..Oh not those types of quickies…Oh don’t worry , my mind went to the gutter as well…LOL

The quickies she’s talking about are short stories or aka quickies. You might think quickies are not for you but once you read on your mind will change.

Dawn, thank you for coming over today and blogging. I’m so happy to have you. You are such a fantastic and talented author.

Savannah

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The quickie.  Hot and fast.  Let’s talk about shorts.

There’s a lot to be said about writing shorts.  For one, a lot of people bypass the anthologies and short stories for the novel or novella thinking they won’t get as much from a short as a longer story.  But don’t be fooled.  You can get a lot from a short.  You can read it on your lunch hour.  Download it to your cell phone.  It’s cheaper than a novel and the electronic version will save trees and shelf space for your hard cover treasures.

When a friend first challenged me to write a short, I snorted and laughed.  Me?  A short?  Come on.  I pounded out 100k novels for breakfast.  I’d have the sucker done in fifteen minutes, I told her.

Yeah, lesson learned.  That pathetic 700 word story was one of the hardest stories I’ve ever tackeled.  It’s easy to get detail, plot and weave in tension into a 100k, but try to do it in 5k.  It’s not the same

Can it be done?

Youbetcha!  But you have to be a word miser.  You have to pick the most important element in the story and focus on it.  No side trails, no subplots, no lengthy, eloquent descriptions of the countryside or the heroine’s dress.  You have to hit, hard, fast and take no prisoners.

In my short, Cloaks, Daggers and Diapers for the Hot Dads Anthology with Ravenous Romance, I wrote in first person from my male character’s point of view.  I left his physical description up to the reader.  There’s a chase scene, but it’s brief.  The main thing I focused on—the tension between the main characters.  

In Speakeasy, a story that touches on the roots of NASCAR and the men and women who started it, it’s all about Leah’s voice. 

 “I don’t know what all the fuss is about.  It’s only milk and eggs.”

“I have to inspect all suspicious cargo.”

I placed one hand on my hip and pouted.  “So, are you saying I look like a criminal, one of those unsavory people?”

“No Miss, I’m not.”

“Leah,” I said again.  Up close, Max smelled even better.  I dropped my clutch into the dirt.

Leah’s an outlaw who runs liquor to the speakeasies in New Orleans.  Max is a prohibition agent.  In a classic clash of opposites,  a life-long love affair sparks.

In Why’d it Have to be Shorts?, my story in the Ravenous Romance anthology Men in Shorts, Cecilia is a student, hoping for an easy credit.  Here again, you have no clue what she looks like, but you’ve got a damn good idea what the teacher looks like from her reaction to him.  The attraction between two is light at the start but slowly snowballs into something hotter.

“Why’d you really take my class, Cecilia?”

Cecilia hopes Anthropology will be an easy credit.  She quickly learns it’s anything but.  The teacher is beyond hot and soon becomes the subject of her every wet dream and a distraction that’s sure to make her fail.  Focus is what she needs.  She strengthens her resolve and is determined to keep her attention off his ass and on the class. 

Easier said than done.

When Cecilia discovers she’s to be Professor Garner’s personal assistant for a two week dig, focusing on the study of humanity and not just the male beside the podium becomes impossible. Their destination further complicates the situation with a few surprises of its own—a prehistoric cave full of ancient stone, fertility statues.  Cecilia tries hard to keep her mind on her research until she hears the professor chuckling.

“You are aware you’re sitting on a penis?”

 

The main focus in this story—tension.    

The thing is, a short may not be novel length, but oh yeah, it’s got something you might not expect.  A lot of bang in a little package.

So what are you waiting for?  Grab a quickie.  You won’t be sorry. 

 

Dawn.

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Comments (14)

[…] Author Dawn Jackson talks about Quickies […]

Inara/DanaMay 15th, 2009 at 5:48 pm

I so agree with you, Dawn; writing a good short is SO much more difficult for me than a full length novel or even an novella!

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Savannah ChaseMay 15th, 2009 at 5:53 pm

You have to put in so much and convey a ton in so little words….

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Elle AmeryMay 15th, 2009 at 7:10 pm

Great post. Yes, just because there are fewer words in a short story doesn’t make it any easier to write. Setting, emotion, character development all still need to be conveyed. Years ago, one of my favorite professors gave us a great two-word sentence I always fall back on: “Write pithy.” I enjoyed your character of Cecilia, BTW. She made me laugh on more than one occasion..

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Jacques GerardMay 15th, 2009 at 10:05 pm

I love writing short stories. I use them for practice ideas for love scenes. They help me to keep the intensity hot. Sometimes I write them in first person.

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Savannah ChaseMay 15th, 2009 at 11:30 pm

Shorts are great…I have done more shorts than full length….

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C. Margery KempeMay 15th, 2009 at 11:36 pm

I love to write shorts as well. Sometimes when you’re working on a long project, it feels good to FINISH something and feel that sense of satisfaction. But it’s difficult to get it all in there. I made my grad students this semester write Twitter stories — 140 characters. They all moaned about it not being possible, but they did it in the end (mostly) and managed to create tiny stories that paid off.

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DawnMay 16th, 2009 at 12:23 am

Thanks for having me, Savannah.

I think shorts and novels both have their challenges. With novels, you have a lot more that can go wrong and the plot can spring leaks that can take you forever to plug. But the nice thing about a novel is that you have plenty of room to add details and really weave a complicated story, but it also leaves plenty of room to mess it up. LOL Which I’ve done a time or two or three.

With shorts, it’s condensing it down and keeping the reader’s attention. You’ve got a lot of story to tell in very few words. You can’t have multiple plot threads and you have to keep it basic and really chose what it is you want to focus on. What I really like about ‘quickies’ is the instant gratification. They’re something I can read on my lunch hour and know how it’s going to end and I’ll not be wondering the rest of the afternoon what comes next.

Same with writing them. Faster. You see a finished result much quicker and there’s less re-write. *groans*
We won’t go there. LOL.
Dawn

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DawnMay 16th, 2009 at 12:32 am

Thanks, Elle. Why’d it Have to be Shorts was a lot of fun to write. I liked taking the classic-luv struck struck student/professor story and seeing if I could give it a unique twist. I think the cave did that nicely. This story will be offered as a stand-alone soon.

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Laurie GreenMay 16th, 2009 at 12:55 am

Fun article, Dawn. 🙂 I also struggle with writing shorts. It takes finesse to pack conflict, character development, plot and setting into a small package, but so worth the effort when done well like your stories.

It takes so long to write, edit and polish a novel, you’ve inspired me to try writing shorts as mini-vacations from my bigger projects.

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DawnMay 16th, 2009 at 1:19 am

Thanks, Laurie.
Sometimes when I’m working through a block, shorts help me to get the gears in my head turning again. A great way to step away from a frustrating WIP and reactivate the muse.

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Lisa LaneMay 16th, 2009 at 1:40 am

It is so true that a well crafted short story is not as simple as some would think. “Shorter” definitely does not mean “easier to write.” Short stories are very much their own art form.

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barbara elsborgMay 16th, 2009 at 8:53 am

Very interesting. You always have lots to say on everything, Dawn!! You’re right – shorter is not easier. I have a short in mind now- I wonder if it will end up as a novel.

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