If you’ve ever sat down to write a short story, you know that it’s not always as easy as it sounds. Sometimes penning the perfect tale with brevity is more difficult than writing a full novel. In the article, I’ll share F. Scott Fitzgerald’s advice on writing a short story in a week.
Most of us are familiar with F. Scott Fitzgerald because of his novel, The Great Gatsby, but he penned many short stories. One you may recall is “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.”
While reading Daily Rituals by Mason Currey, I stumbled upon a quote that made me rethink how I’ve been writing short stories.
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Advice for Writing a Short Story
Concerning short fiction, Fitzgerald said:
“Stories are best written in either one jump or three, according to the lengths. The three-jump story should be done in three successive days then a day or so for revise and off she goes.”
He believed in taking notes about story ideas and creating outlines for his novels, so he may have done the same with his short stories. Either way, this timeline gives us an idea of how we could schedule writing our own stories.
How to Write a Short Story in a Week
For a short story ranging from 1,000 to 3,000 words:
Day 1 — Think about the story, make any notes that come to mind, and outline (if you’d like).
Day 2 — Write.
Day 3 — Revise.
Day 4 — Submit.
For a short story ranging from 3,000–6,000 words:
Day 1 — Think about the story, make any notes that come to mind, and outline (if you’d like).
Day 2 — Write.
Day 3 — Write.
Day 4 — Revise.
Day 5 — Submit.
For a short story ranging from 6,000 words to 10,000 words:
Day 1 — Think about the story, make any notes that come to mind, and outline (if you’d like).
Day 2 — Write.
Day 3 — Write.
Day 4 — Write.
Day 4 — Revise.
Day 5 — Revise.
Day 6 — Submit.
If you’re not actively submitting your short stories to literary journals, you could easily switch the word “submit” with “publish” or “format for publication” (if you’re creating an anthology). This sort of bite-sized approach to story writing really appeals to me. I hope it’s offered some inspiration to you, as well.
I’ve created a Short Story Formula PDF for members of my Facebook writers group. You can join here, if you’re interested.
Good article.