What’s a short story writer’s job?

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A short story writer is a person who writes short literature as a profession or a hobby. Short story writers generally work in fiction, although some also tell non-fiction stories in short story form. Short story writers may attempt to publish their work in compilations, journals and magazines, short story volumes, or as online material.

Almost any genre can fit into the framework of a short story. Horror, fantasy, romance and comedy can all be easily written in short literary form. A short story writer must be able to make the story fit the genre; stories usually have a single clear plot that allows them to be told in just a few pages. While there is no exact defining line between short and long stories, generally anything under 60 pages will be considered a short story.

A short story writer may attend school for writing or studies related to writing. Many choose to major in literature, creative writing, journalism, or English. You don’t need a degree to become a story writer, but it can help a writer find and develop their personal voice. Studying the subject in school can also help expose new writers to the best and most renowned story writers in history. By reading and learning about great writers, a newer writer will be able to gain insight into their own work pattern, favorite subjects, and career goals.

Short stories can be written in a matter of hours, but many can take weeks, months or years to complete. Some writers hate doing multiple drafts of a story and feel that, barring spelling or grammatical corrections, a first draft is a work of art and additional drafts can detract from the purity of a work. Other writers must eventually take the material out of their hands to prevent them from making a tenth, twenty, or fifty-fifth.

There are many different sources from which a short story writer can get inspiration and ideas. Some like to write stories about their families, personal lives or experiences that are true, funny and interesting. Others like to create completely fictional worlds and populate them with unusual characters. Still others like to take existing material, such as fairy tales, and put a new spin on them in a short story. Stories can be entertaining, but many have a moral, ethical, religious, political, or philosophical point hidden between the words.

A short story writer who wants a professional career in the field will often need to secure a literary agent. Sometimes this is done through winning contests, the success of self-published material, submitting work to agencies with an open policy, or simply the right personal connection. Literary agents can help writers get deals to publish their work on the open market and can be a huge asset to a writer’s career.

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