Help with length

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Stori
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Mon Dec 01, 2008 3:41 am
Stori says... · Mon Dec 01, 2008 3:41 am
I'm trying to keep my work, "Blind," as a short story. But I have so much to tell, it feels more like writing a novel. Help?
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Rosendorn
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Mon Dec 01, 2008 3:10 pm
Rosendorn says... · Mon Dec 01, 2008 3:10 pm
Option1- Let it go into a novel! See where that takes you.

Option 2- In a short story you can't put everything; you can only put the bare minimum that's needed to have the story make sense. I'd take a look at books that tell you how to write short stories. My recommendation: Beginnings, Middles and Ends by Nancy Kress. I've read it, and it helps you work out the kinks in scene structure.
A writer is a world trapped in a person— Victor Hugo

Ink is blood. Paper is bandages. The wounded press books to their heart to know they're not alone.
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Francis Michael Buck
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Mon Dec 01, 2008 7:11 pm
Francis Michael Buck says... · Mon Dec 01, 2008 7:11 pm
Maybe try shooting for a novella? Or just write it as a novel. If you're really intent on it being a short story though, then I'd suggest going through your work with a fine-toothed comb and choose what's most important to the story, then cut out all of the excess. You don't need to tell/describe everything that happens, whether it's physical actions, dialog, internal thoughts, etc. Sometimes a lot of feeling and emotion can be be derived from what you DON'T say, rather than what you do.
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