My current frustrations...

Alright, this is me officially pleading on my knees for advice and encouragement.

Problem 1 (Ideas): I guess I've always struggled with this problem. I don't have a problem with finding ideas. However, I'm an extremely visual person and the story usually plays out as sort of a movie in my head, very vividly. That part I can get excited about and that's when I know my idea is good. When I get it down on paper, it's so dull and lifeless that I can't imagine anyone seeing it the way I do at all. I'm not sure that it's one specific thing, like a lack of adjectives, description, or too much telling and not showing, but it's frustrating. Does anyone else ever feel this way?

Problem 2 (The Short Story): I don't typically write short stories, and I don't usually like writing them because I like to go much more in depth. I naturally gravitate towards novels, but occasionally I come across an idea that would make a good short story. Just a few weeks ago this happened to me, and even though I'm generally a slow writer, I wrote most of the story in one sitting. Weeks and drafts later, I still like the idea and the story itself isn't terrible. But I'm starting to feel that it needs more back story and that the reader would feel more emotion (it's a sad story with a sad ending) if I fleshed out the story into a novel form. I'm not sure I'd be willing to do that because I feel it would be lacking in some areas. On top of that, I do this with just about every short story I write. I've tried to find some tips which suggest whether a short story would work better if you expanded it into a novel form (with more added, obviously), but most of it has to do with where/how you want to get published or if/how much you want to get paid, which doesn't really make a difference to me because I just really like this idea. Does anybody have suggestions for this problem?

Sorry, my problems take a bit of explaining, but if anyone could give me any advice or encouragement I'd be forever grateful. ^_^

Hey Anijumper!

Let's see if I can help at all...

1) Less is always more. Even if a reader doesn't see the story exactly the way you did, they will be most comfortable in the way they themselves see it. Give enough detail to structure the story and allow the reader to have a base for using their own imaginations, but never bog down the narrative with unnecessary information. If you say, for example, that the your MC is in a park in the spring, the reader will likely infer that the trees are green. Other details can be added for feel and pacing, but don't overwhelm with junk information. Your writing will be stronger for it.

2) I have so much trouble with short stories because, like you, I much prefer the novel. If you honestly feel that a story needs to be a novel, then go for it because the story dictates all. If you really need to get a short story written, however, then stick to the basics and just provide one driving plot. A novel is really just a lot of tightly woven short stories. I find that language is much more important in short work then long, be it a poem, a short story, or flash fiction, so I tend to use short stories as practice for overall writing. It can be really hard to figure out what demands to be a short story, and what demands to be a novel, but eventually you'll get a better sense of the two. The best way is to force yourself to write some short stories that you're happy with, or to read some really excellent short stories. Once you really appreciate the merit of short fiction, writing it becomes a little bit easier.