So, I have been hanging out at the critters critiquing site and I've just had my first ever short story critiqued. At the same time I've been reading Orson Scott Card's book on writing Science Fiction and Fantasy.
Here is my question: some people argue that there is a structure which stories must have. A character must encounter a problem, seek to solve it, be thwarted, resist whatever's thwarting him/ her and, finally, come to a resolution (or something along those lines).
Can this really be true? Say it's not so.
I've been reading some short stories, trying to identify this structure within them, and in general the ones I've read don't seem to have it. But then perhaps I'm being thick.
So are there rules that govern the structure of short stories?
Edited to say: this isn't (just) me being precious about criticism of my story. It does need the injection of a comprehensible structure. What worries me, though, is whether there is an understood formula for writing short stories that I appear to find difficult to recognise when I read them. And I'd like to know the rules. I am also much more inclined towards OSC's approach which (I think -given I read the book in chunks, and not always in order) says that there are various different stories (ideas, character, milieu etc) and the important thing is to let your readers know what to expect or the ending is likely to fail to satisfy them.
Here is my question: some people argue that there is a structure which stories must have. A character must encounter a problem, seek to solve it, be thwarted, resist whatever's thwarting him/ her and, finally, come to a resolution (or something along those lines).
Can this really be true? Say it's not so.
I've been reading some short stories, trying to identify this structure within them, and in general the ones I've read don't seem to have it. But then perhaps I'm being thick.
So are there rules that govern the structure of short stories?
Edited to say: this isn't (just) me being precious about criticism of my story. It does need the injection of a comprehensible structure. What worries me, though, is whether there is an understood formula for writing short stories that I appear to find difficult to recognise when I read them. And I'd like to know the rules. I am also much more inclined towards OSC's approach which (I think -given I read the book in chunks, and not always in order) says that there are various different stories (ideas, character, milieu etc) and the important thing is to let your readers know what to expect or the ending is likely to fail to satisfy them.