Laurie Stevens shares "Short Story Blogs"

A Killing at the Copa: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Music of Barry Manilow

For more information about Laurie Stevens, you can click here for her website, www.lauriestevensbooks.com, or here for the Blackbird Writers site, read her last post here, and buy her books here.

You’re plowing through your novel, laying out the plot. Maybe you’re working from a carefully constructed outline or counting on your muse to do the heavy lifting as you write by the ‘seat of your pants.’ This is a big operation, writing a novel, so why not take a short story break?

The biggest lesson I learned with short stories was not to assume they must be mini-novels. It’s okay to write about a moment in time and expand on what happens there. Our lives are made of moments, and each one has its story.

Imagine writing about a conversation with an ex-friend you just happen to sit next to on a long plane ride. Now you're stuck together for four hours — where would the conversation go? Think about all the emotions that might surface. Would the flight end in a fight, or would you realize that time has gently healed old wounds? The how, the why, and all the ensuing emotions and revelations are the kinds of elements that make a short story glow.

If you wish to write in the classic story sense, a beginning, middle, and end, keep the plot more direct. Stick to the one main storyline instead of trying to juggle a bunch of subplots like you would with a novel. Start with the who, what, and where, heat things up with rising action, hit a climax (where all that action explodes), and then wrap it up with a satisfying ending – or an unexpected twist.

Short story prompts can be a godsend. When a submission call went out for mystery stories inspired by the songs of Barry Manilow, I had to toss in my hat. What a great prompt. Imagine what you could do with any of his songs.

One of my favorite Manilow songs is “Weekend in New England.” Do you remember that one? Here’s a couple of lyrical reminders: “When will this strong yearning end? And when will I hold you again?”

Of course, my psycho-thriller mind immediately went to STALKER.

I decided to try something offbeat—something I normally wouldn’t risk in a novel. I told the entire story through a series of emails from a single person. Since we’re naturally wary of phishing emails, I thought flooding someone’s inbox might create just the right amount of creepiness I was aiming for. This, to me, is the beauty of short story writing: I get to challenge myself and take risks.

“A Connecticut Stalker” earned me one of the best acceptance emails I’ve ever received.

The anthology, titled “A Killing at the Copa,” was just released in March. Again, prompts do half the work for you because they give you a focus.

Why would writing a short story be a helpful break from writing your novel? I don’t know about you, but I get stuck. Getting that acceptance gave me the affirmation I needed to get moving with my novel again. As well, writing the story gave me a brief and fun literary distraction, kind of like playing Wordle or another type of game. And, the challenge of creating a world in a brief amount of time definitely exercises a different type of writing muscle. Let’s face it: learning to write more concisely can only help when it’s time to tighten up the prose in your bigger project.

Check your Sisters-in-Crime and MWA newsletters for open submission calls. Meanwhile, here's a link for some other submission options: https://thewritelife.com/where-to-submit-short-stories/

If you have other short story resources, please let us all know by commenting!

If you’d like to see how I and other mystery authors interpreted the talented Mr. Manilow’s songs, here’s a link to “A Killing at the Copa.”

Laurie Stevens is the author of the Gabriel McRay psychological suspense series and The Return, a sci-fi/fantasy. The books have won fourteen awards, among them Kirkus Reviews “Best of” and a Random House Editors’ Book of the Month. In regards to writing thrillers, Suspense Magazine says Laurie is “the leader of the pack,” while International Thriller Writers claims she’s “cracked the code” of writing suspense. An active member of Mystery Writers of America, International Thriller Writers, Sisters in Crime, and Science Fiction Writers of America, Laurie lives in the hills outside of Los Angeles with her husband, two snakes, and a cat.