The plot thickens...

 
I thought I would share a little  tip today which I still use regularly myself when writing and also editing short  fiction.

 When I first started penning stories professionally, I inevitably had my share of rejections (who doesn’t!). Over the years I have thankfully managed to minimise those dreaded “no, thank  you”  responses  and  even when they do pop into the inbox (oops), I can normally “fix” a story quite  quickly these days to ensure I sell it on somewhere  else.
 How?
 At a recent short story workshop, I  told my students to carefully drill the “basics” at the story planning stage.   You need, above all, a strong  character and a strong theme. Avoid clichéd situations and try to think of  something original. Then check that your character has learned something or  changed significantly by the end of the story. This is the clincher. It may   be that your character has  realised something internally. It may be some external change.  But  it must be significant.

 A story can’t just be a moment in  time  that goes nowhere ( ie has no plot) – however brilliantly you write  it.

 “Not enough plot” is a regular  reason for rejection in the magazine market. So check that your story has  layers.  Plot can be woven in as  back story…but it must be there.   The reader needs to understand why your character has a problem. Where  that problem came from. And how the character might move forward from  it.

Ipso facto. The plot must thicken!

Happy writing!

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