How to write a short story

First: the study of creative skills. This is a very important angle. Some beginners' short story writers are also most concerned about this issue, that is, "how to write short stories" and "how to write short stories well". In this regard, Liu Haitao, Xing Ke and others have made outstanding efforts. Recently, Mr. Hou Deyun's short story class in Selected Short Stories has some such colors. Their research makes the study of short story skills, especially that of Professor Liu Haitao, very neat and systematic. His short story pattern, structural skills and writing rules are unprecedented, and he has great research skills and contributions. Xue Di, who is proud of her heart, has made statistics on the critical works of short stories in recent years. Among the more than 30 works he listed, most of the research belongs to this direction. Personally, I attach great importance to the study of skills and technology, because "if a worker wants to do a good job, he must sharpen his tools first." Only by mastering skills can he be handy. How much scenery there is in the "skill" is still worthy of in-depth exploration by interested and capable commentators. Hou Deyun holds his own concept of "skill". He writes short stories with his own tools (terminology). Therefore, in his "short story class", the discussion about skills or how to use some skills is also very "self-centered" with a strong personal imprint. This is the concrete embodiment of "unlimited skills". I have "invented" some writing skills myself, but I feel that those "terms" don't really cut into short stories, with strong imitation or tentative color. Of course, I personally have a few other questions to ask: How did you acquire skills? Can an author fundamentally solve "how to write a good short story" just by looking at "skill research"? In fact, for short story writers, there are more important tasks after getting started. At this time, the study of "skills" is too static for short stories. A good short story is influenced by many factors, such as skills, creative atmosphere, personal experience, depth of thought and so on. It is not objective to ignore the existence of skills, but if one-sided emphasis on "skills", it also belongs to "seeing the trees but not the forest"

Second, the study of short story events. There are many events in the world of short stories. What is the significance of these events? To what extent have they promoted or influenced the development of short stories, both individually and as a whole? Although this is a little far from the specific works, it is not without influence on the works. The study of events includes both "big events" with universal significance and many "small events" with private significance. Usually, through various events, we are likely to discover more secrets hidden in short stories. For example, Zou Liyang, the editor-in-chief of Tianchi magazine, who was not well-known a few years ago, resigned to make another living; Some short story writers change their tune, or go or go back; The local propaganda and cultural department suddenly discovered that there was a well-known young novelist in the jurisdiction, so it issued some documents to support or reward young writers ... These events are not boring and meaningless, but may have some profound connection with the development of short stories. I believe that these events will be of great significance for us to examine our short stories after our research. Unfortunately, there are not many people who study this in depth at present, and even the world is still blank-those prose-style grief and indignation are not a science.

Third, the study of the phenomenon of short stories. The reason why I put forward the angle of "short story phenomenon research" is because I personally have a certain degree of preference for this issue. "Phenomenon" is not "event". "Phenomenon" is bigger and more macroscopic than "event", with the color of trend and tide. The research from this angle can be divided into such "sub" questions: Why did short stories suddenly rise in China in the 1980s? What makes this rise still strong today? On the basis of consolidating its position, it has created a good collection and distribution, entertained people, trained authors and expanded its position? What are the inspirations of short stories to the development of China's cultural industry? What is the future direction of short stories? Is it the inevitable choice of history or the pure wisdom of individuals or small groups? Does short stories inspire other styles in terms of prosperity and promotion of style construction? If so, what is it? Reporter Liu Meng made a comprehensive report on this issue in the form of news. Some time ago, at the first short story festival, the Chinese Writers Association finally noticed this situation. Gidemaga's recognition of Selected Short Stories is of great significance for the reform of the cultural system. I look forward to someone's "in-depth research" after Gidemaga to fill this gap. This will contribute to the development of cultural industries and even cultural undertakings in China.

If this problem can be called "the study of short story inevitability", then "the study of short story events" can also be called "the study of short story contingency".

Fourthly, the study of short story criticism. Short story criticism can't just look at others-that is, as the saying goes: the crow falls on the pig-seeing that others are black, but not seeing that they are black-and this work is lagging behind. There are two reasons: first, there are too few comments in the early stage, which is not the climate of concern; Secondly, few people think that this is also a problem. According to my personal information, Xuedi seems to be an earlier person involved in this field, but he reminds us that there is another angle-I think Xuedi has shown great professionalism in this regard. Over the years, there have been many comments on short stories. So, what are the methods of these comments? What are the characteristics of these comments? What are the objectivity and shortcomings of the method itself? I think that if the research on short story criticism increases, short story criticism has entered a truly mature stage. At that time, perhaps no one would say that we were "too short of short story reviews". Because "referees" also have referees.

Fifth, the study of short stories. Needless to say, a large number of short story reviews almost all choose this angle. Some critics' introductory comments are also "works research". You dare to tell me what to do without carefully studying the works and reading enough works-I can only marvel at the "great courage" of such a critic.

Sixth, the study of short story writers. Of course, the study of writers can not be separated from works. But the two are not completely consistent. The study of writers is a comprehensive study of writers' thoughts, feelings, growth experiences and knowledge except their works. This kind of research is a study of the essence of "works" and the foundation of works. Nowadays, the study of writers is very popular. Earlier, Hou Deyun wrote a lot of Short Stories XX, studying the characteristics, theme trend and writer's temperament of the works. Then, Ma Xinting wrote "XX with a hundred schools of thought contending" and so on. These efforts are meaningful, which will make us pay more attention to the writer and the deeper things in the works-its influence will exceed the study of "skills".

These six angles are only superficial angles, and there may be more angles for us to cut into short stories. If we really find such an angle, the study of short stories and the criticism of short stories will definitely have a different world-the Short Stories Hundred Flowers Garden that we have been talking about. Perhaps, on the day when a new research angle is born, when we say this sentence again, our hearts will not be weak, but we will really feel "strong and brave".