ABC, K for Kurzgeschichte (short story)

I know, I still owe you the J ... I'm working on it and as soon as I'm finished you'll be the first to know!

What the hack did I think to set this rule not to collide with my other series? That post here would have been so much easier, but ... says the logical side in me ... then you would also have some repeating! *sigh*

So, if you like to read some more, here are my other choices for the letter K:

• K for Konflikt (conflict): WE-01: Plot Fireworks
• K for Kreativitaet (creativity): WE-05: Clustering
• K for Kultur (culture): WQ-13. Favorite Culture

In addition, some of you have already done some great post to exactly those topics on the letter C! Thank God, there are more German K-words than English ones.


ISS - Keep It Short and Simple.
Kurzgeschichte/Short Story is that one should be able to read it in one sitting. (by Wikipedia)




One sitting then ... I can remember quite a few books, where I've started on a Saturday early noon and ended late at night or even in the next morning hours, just because I HAD TO know, how the story continues or ends! Strictly speaking, this was also only one sitting ... but those 400-700 pages books can't hardly be called short stories!

I was thinking hard, what I could tell you about short stories, but I came to the result, that there are the same rules like for any other story, too:

1. Get Started
2. Write a catchy first paragraph
3. Develop your Characters
4. Choose a point of view
5. Write meaningful dialogue
6. Use setting and context
7. Set up the plot
8. Create conflict and tension
9. Build to a crisis or a climax
10. Deliver a resolution

With the only difference, that your length in telling the whole story is more compact.

I love to write short stories, but also to read. Before this post here becomes a total loss, I want to share a short story with you. There is a book series by the German writer Norbert Lechleitner with translated titles 'Sun for the soul', 'Vitamins for the soul', 'Oasis for the soul', etc. This story is taken from 'Wings for the soul' and suits perfectly to another K-word, Klatsch (gossip):

Once upon a time in a village lived a woman, who couldn't keep her mouth shut. She tattled and gossiped about all and everything. One day she'd gotten another woman in big trouble. She was now sorry about that, she regretted, that again she couldn't keep her mouth shut. She confessed her sin and asked, what her penance would be.
»Go tomorrow on the market and buy two chicken«, said the priest. »And to keep you busy on your way home, you pull out the feathers of those two chicken. Then come back here and inform me.«
The woman followed the instructions, went through the village to the market, bought two chicken und pulled out all the feathers while she was going home. Then she went to the priest and reported, that she done everything exactly like he'd told her to do.
»Well done«, said the priest. »There's only one thing left to make your penance complete: Go through the village and every single feather, you've spread, pick them up again.«