Nov
21st
2019
How Does One, One-Shot a Story? · 6:49am Nov 21st, 2019
It's a bit odd for me to say that I always wanted to write a one-shot, but I legitimately don't know how to. The thought of writing 1-5k words is just so alien to me. There's always more I want to write and it just piles on, more and more till it's not even a one-shot anymore. Especially when it comes to my two favorite writing genres SoL and Romance. I'm a fan of those long journeys to the goal but I admire the short, one page, fics.
Golly, how on earth do you make a one-shot?!
Keep the story simple and brief; something self-contained that won't continue into a longer narrative. If you can handle the darker themes, go check out The Taste of Cold Steel to get an idea of what I mean, if you're up for it.
I don't think I ever wrote a one-shot in my life, not even in High School. It's odd to say but I'd like to learn just to make nice little stories without the plot turning into some sort of Light Novel.
Sure I'll give it a read if it helps me out learn a bit, heheh!
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It's just a very dark story; I won't advise reading it unless you're up for that.
It's not easy to do. I find most of my stories go wild and get longer and longer, so a one-shot isn't quite in my power.
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don't worry about suggesting dark things with me, I hang around the Fallout Equestria community and listen to creepypastas a lot, I'm desensitized.
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Different kind of dark.
The same way you write a longer story. Only not.
Which is super unhelpful I know. I've read so many conflicting pieces of advice on the subject that ultimately distilled into the above. I'm not sure how useful they have been to me either, because writing micro/flash fiction is something I struggle with, particularly in terms of the idea bloating into something bigger. But much of that relates to discipline, I think, and the ability to stay focused on what it is you want to tell. With fan-fiction, that can become easier to an extent. You'll see quite a few pieces of work that have become popular that are essentially fluffy scenes with little-to-no conventional narrative structure: here are two ponies snuggling and talking about their day, for example.
In terms of short stories that have a narrative arc, you'll still find yourself needing to fulfill the usual elements that are present in a longer work, only now you'll have to achieve them more efficiently, with greater immediacy, often (but not always) with lower stakes.
I think the latter is a good starting point, at least to begin with. Pick two characters, a location, and a simple plot point or low-stakes incident. Then write that without changing scene. For example, uh, Twilight babysits Flurry Heart and reflects on Cadance's ability to balance duty and family. Or Fluttershy and Sea Swirl disagree over the best way to help a stranded dolphin. Something that allows a small amount of conflict to be resolved, or to highlight some inner growth or progression. Make sure you start your story at the point where things start to happen; with a longer story you've got the space, maybe several chapters or so, to frame the status quo, the inciting incident for change, and the protagonist's desire or need for change. With a piece of flash or micro fiction you've got a few paragraphs.
I hope that's at least some help for a starting point.