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Tapply Hancock, New Hampshire September 2003 Introduction When I began writing my first mystery novel, I thought I had a crackerjack idea. I had invented characters who intrigued me, I had thought up dramatic scenes and tense conflicts, and I had in mind some vivid settings. I knew where my story would start, I could foresee the direction it would take, and I knew how it would end. I had done enough nonfiction writing to feel confident that I could string the words together. I had even sold a few articles.

Your hero or heroine, your villain, and your other central characters deserve fully developed biographies. Include family histories, birthplaces, schooling, marriages, personal triumphs and tragedies. Think of what your characters like to read and eat and the music they enjoy. What are their politics and their opinions on current issues? How do they like to spend their leisure time? What do they worry about? What do they believe in? Visualize them. How old are they? What do they look like? What kinds of clothes do they wear?

In other words, nothing is wasted in the short story, which typically runs from 1,500 to 5,000 words—twenty or more times shorter than an average novel. Regardless of the story’s length, the writer must strive to make every paragraph, every sentence, every word serve a purpose. Rarely can the short story accommodate extended descriptive passages or flashbacks, rambling dialogue, extraneous secondary characters, or subplots. Short stories can be difficult and time-consuming to write, but they are meant to be read in a single uninterrupted sitting.