Getting the balance right - tips for writing Short Stories

By Gillian Hamer

Short stories are where my love of writing began. I’d sneak my gran’s Woman’s Weekly or People’s Friend into my bedroom, and lose myself in tales of romance, dark secrets or intrigue. Shorts were my first introduction to worlds and emotions I could barely imagine as an inquisitive, yet introverted child.

One day I thought … you know what, I reckon I can do that. And so began the tale of a beagle named Goliath and his adventures on an island called Geronimo. Goliath became a companion for many years. I used to draw his droopy ears and sad eyes, endlessly practising his signature. And so, several years later when I won my first writing accolade, age eleven (– a Blue Peter Badge for writing an episode of Grange Hill, I don’t think ever got screened.) … it was Goliath and his adventures I thanked.

Short stories are wonderful. If they’re done right. And that’s a BIG if. Getting the content balance right is crucial. Getting the POV to gel is difficult. And introducing characters your readers connect with in the space of a few thousand (or hundred) words is nigh on impossible.

I’ve read many books over the years bursting with practical advice. I've studied many How-To guides. And I’ve written many, many rubbish shorts. But it's a craft I have worked hard to succeed in. For me, balance is key. In almost every aspect of a strong, gripping short story it must be spot on. Here are some of my suggestions for achieving that perfect balance.

1. Read widely. As with novel writing, read lots of different short story styles by lots of different authors, from classic to contemporary. Study winning entries of important short story competitions (Bridport, for example) See what constitutes a prize-winning story and how you can make your own idea equally as compelling.

2. Simple plots and complex characters. Remember the famous tip from V.S Pritchett : 'A short story should capture a character at bursting point." Character is everything in a short story, you don't have time or space for complex, meandering plots so you must rely on killer characters to drive the narrative.

3. Content. Because of word constraints you need to compress content to the basics. This is easier if you plan before you start. Know where you want your story to end, and work at achieving the story arc in as succinct, yet fulfilling, way as possible.

4. Conflict and Change. These are the drivers of your storyline, Make sure you contain equal levels of both. Without conflict you have no story. If you have no story your characters fail to grow or change, and the story stagnates and dies. Getting this balance right is crucial.

5. What, when, where, who. Tick as many boxes as you can in your planning before you start to write. Who is telling your story? What is your theme? When and where are you setting it?

6. Pace. With fewer words to play with, you need to perfect your pace. Too fast and the story will lack depth; too slow and you'll bore the reader and lose drive. Learn to be succinct. Learn the power of suggestion. Allow your reader to use their own imagination and never, ever, over write.

7. Dialogue. Let your characters have their own voice, keep authorial input to a minimum. Allow dialogue to establish character, progress the story. Believable dialogue is vital and can turn an average short into a prize winner.

8. POV. Getting your choice of POV right is one of the most important decisions when planning. I tend to write most short stories in first person, present tense. Not usually a conscious decision, maybe that it feels more direct and immediate. Instinctively, POV often chooses itself, and it's no bad advice to go with your gut instinct.

9. Strong opening, stronger close. It is vital you hit the ground running and grab the reader's attention from line one. You do not have the luxury of easing the reader into a short story. It has to be instant. And a good closing punch line should stay with the reader. The closing line of a short story should be the BEST line.

10. Try something different. Break the mould. Drop the clichés. Experiment with your short story. A unique, unexpected voice can be compelling, so try something new. Write crime novels? Then try erotic shorts. Always write historical? Give sci-fi a chance. Short story writing offers a whole new world of experiences to a writer.

Selling direct? The EU VAT laws lowdown

Guest post by Julie Relf of Applause Accountancy Services

Do you sell ebooks direct to consumers or non VAT registered entities?

Are any of these consumers outside the UK but within Europe?

If you answer Yes to the above, you need to be aware of changes in EU VAT legislation coming into effect on 1 January 2015.

To help guide you through the changes we have compiled a list of commonly asked questions we have been receiving:

What is changing?

Legislation comes into force which changes the “place of supply” of these services. Currently this is listed where the selling business is situated (so if you are a business in the UK the place of supply for all your sales is the UK), however from 1 January 2015 for digital services to consumers this changes to where the consumer is based. This means that the VAT applied to these services will be determined by which country the customer is based in.

For example

A non VAT registered individual in Spain downloads an eBook from your website. From 1 January 2015 you will need to charge this customer VAT at the rate applicable in Spain, report this on a Spanish VAT return and pay the VAT across to the Spanish authorities.

What types of service are included?

A full definition of the services included can be found here

But I’m only a small business and below the UK VAT threshold, will this affect me?

Unfortunately yes it will, there is no minimum threshold for these EU VAT requirements, every sale no matter how small needs to be charged the correct amount of VAT and reported in the correct country. Your first sale to a European country after 1 January 2015 will trigger the start of your reporting requirements for EU VAT. This legislation covers the whole of Europe and some countries do not have a VAT registration threshold so limits have been set to nil to comply across the board.

What information do I need to collect?

You will need to review your system to ensure you are collecting the following information:

1. Customer location

You will need to identify the location of each customer and maintain a record of this information. To do this you need to collect two of the following (and ensure they both confirm the same location):
customer address
bank details
IP address
SIM card country code
any other appropriate information confirming address

2. EU VAT registration number

For all EU customers, you will need to identify if they are VAT registered in their country by obtaining their VAT registration number. Any EU VAT registered customers are outside the scope of these requirements and will not need EU VAT adding or reporting. UK VAT registered customers would continue to report these on their EC sales lists.

If you cannot obtain a EU VAT number then the sale will need VAT adding at the rate applicable in the customer’s country and the sale will need reporting and VAT paying to the local authorities in that country.

Do I need to supply these customers with VAT receipts and if so what information do I need to include?

Reporting requirements differ between countries but it is expected that a “simplified” VAT invoice, showing the VAT charged and your VAT registration number will be required. This is not currently confirmed.

I offer training over webinar/Skype, is this included?

No, if the service is live with a presenter it is treated as a supply of training/education and so excluded from these rules.

However if the training is recorded or automated with no live presenter then it would be classed as a digital service under these EU VAT rules.

I sell apps via an app store, will I be affected?

VAT is due by reference to who your customer is, so in this case you will need to review the terms of the contract with each platform you use to check if you are selling to the app store or the end consumer.

If it is the case that you sell your app to the app store, who in turn sells the app onto the consumer, your part of the sale would be business to business, you would need to collect their VAT registration number and the transaction would be outside of these requirements. In this situation it would be the app store who would be required to report the EU VAT on sales to consumers.

A lot of the app stores are moving along these lines, Apple trade this way and Google Play have updated their terms inline as shown here

However some platforms act as agents taking a commission from the app sales, in this situation you would need to account for the VAT to the EU customers.

I sell eBooks via Amazon will I be affected?

The present situation is that Amazon deals with the end customers and deals with the VAT reporting.
[Triskele edit: Here you can find the detail of how the changes will be implemented at Amazon, the conversion of prices from VAT-exclusive to VAT-inclusive, the effect of pricing and royalty calculations, and how to check these changes to ensure your royalty rates.]

If you use other platforms you will need to refer to your agreements and the guidance from the platform provider.

How and where do I report?

You need to account for VAT in the country the customer is located, using the VAT rates applicable to that country. A list of these rates can be found here

This can be reported in two ways:

1. Registering for VAT in each applicable country and filing VAT returns in line with their legislation;
or

2. UK VAT registered businesses have the option to file returns via HMRC using the “Mini One Stop Shop” – MOSS

The MOSS service will allow you to enter the sales per country, calculate the applicable VAT due, send the reports to the required authorities and collect the payment from you for distribution.

Agent will be able to file EU VAT returns on your behalf using the MOSS system, however the registration for MOSS needs to be done by you. You need to register separately for MOSS: it is not included in your UK VAT registration.

The return are due for the quarters ended March, June, September and December.

Returns and payments are due 20 days after the end of a quarter.

To use MOSS you need to be registered for VAT in the UK and so will need to charge VAT on all UK sales. If you are not registered at present you will need to assess whether this will be beneficial for your business, an accountant will be able to talk you through the pros and cons. Update on this! HMRC have indicated that businesses may be able to “split” their sales separating out the EU digital services for the purposes of this VAT registration. The details are still being outlined but it would mean that the registration would apply to only the EU set of sales and UK sales would be remain outside of UK VAT. This would allow small businesses to use MOSS and only require them to register the business for UK VAT when the UK VAT threshold is met. When firm guidance is available we will update this matter.
 
How long will I need to maintain all the information?

You will need to keep the records for 10 years to comply with EU regulation. This is taken as 10 years from 31 December of the year during which the transaction took place.

This all sounds very complicated and costly for the amount of EU sales I have, can I avoid it?

The only way to remove yourself from these requirements is to stop all digital service sales to EU customers. You will need to assess whether the amount of sales (or potential sales) is worth the additional reporting requirements.

How do you do this? Well I’m not a tech expert by any means but Paypal and developers for Plugins for sites such as WordPress are coming up with solutions. It may be the case that EU digital baskets can be rejected at checkouts (and potentially offered a postal service). But it is a case of keeping your eyes out for a wave of solutions on the market.

So I’m definitely going to be inside these requirements, where do I start?

To get yourself prepared for the 1 January 2015 start date you need to review your systems and make the necessary changes to ensure:

1 You are recording the location of each customer;

2. You are recording (where applicable) customers’ EU VAT numbers;

3. You have made a list of the applicable countries and their VAT rates;

4. You have either a) registered for VAT in each applicable country and made a note of the reporting deadlines or b) you have registered with HMRC for MOSS (this can be done here);

5. If you are using an agent(s) to file EU or MOSS VAT returns on your behalf you have the appropriate engagements in place in advance of filing deadlines.

Full guidance on the changes and EU requirements can be found here and results from a HMRC Q&A session can be found here

Professional bodies across the UK have been appealing for the simplification of these requirements for small businesses for some time, however it looks increasingly unlikely that this is going to happen before 1 January 2015. It adds an increasing amount of administration on small businesses, going against the tax simplification policy the UK authorities have been striving to achieve. We will of course continue to monitor the situation and if the requirements do change we will be reporting back.

If you have any questions on the above or any other areas of accounting or tax, or would like assistance in this area please contact us at hello@applauseaccountancy.co.uk

Applause Accountancy Services Limited takes every care in preparing material to ensure that the content is accurate and up to date. However, no responsibility for loss for anyone acting from or refraining from acting as a result of this information can be accepted by Applause Accountancy Services Limited. http://www.applauseaccountancy.co.uk/

You've come a long way

As writers, we learn but sometimes forget how little we knew when we were starting out and how hard some concepts can be at first. – Sheila Bugler

This week, some writers gathered in a coffee shop. The conversation ranged across perspective, transmedia, ultimate audience, validation, voice, and whether or not the barista was a Jedi. During a fascinating discussion about aims and inspirations, I had a moment of ooh.

As always, I participated in the conversation as if I knew what I was talking about. Then, as the clouds of steam parted, I realised I actually did. Ooh. How did that happen?

It happened because I learnt from others. Due to the steady, informal bettering of my writing comprehension, I don’t even realise how much I’ve learnt. So I went back through critiques of my work, notes on workshops, advice I’ve adopted and all those Post-It Notes of the Mind, which gradually assimilated into know-how. And I asked the other Triskelites to do the same.

Here we collate a selection of precious personal nuggets and Triskele treasures to share with you. It reassures us of how far we’ve come, and reminds us how far there is yet to go.



Read. You’ve got to read to write. If you’re a writer who claims not to be an avid reader, then I’ve got a very special word for you, and it’s not a good out loud one. Dan Abnett

What to write. If there's a book that you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it. – Toni Morrison

Lose inhibition. To make a silk purse out of a sow's ear, first you need a sow's ear. – David Michael Kaplan

Write. First drafts are to fill the reservoir, which I then go fishing in. – David Mitchell

Who to write for. The reader. Literature is a gift, so I write for the most intelligent, sensitive, enquiring, open-minded reader there is. – Christos Tsiolkas

Observe. Fiction is an accumulation of detail which yields meaning. Life is a series of details and is born of who you are. Get out there, get out of yourself. A cornerstone of writing is empathy. – Bret Lott

Move in. The author needs to inhabit the character rather than writing from on high. That individual’s actions in order to achieve his/her desire must make sense for that person. Many writers make the mistake of lobbing obstacles at the protagonist. Real pity is aroused by seeing the character as undeserving of suffering. – Sam North

Point of view ... like perspective in a realistic painting – it changes the size and shape, the nature and identity, of characters, objects and events in accordance with their proximity to the viewer … an audience member needs to be told whom to attend to and empathise with. – Jane Smiley

Develop your style. Style is diction; style is cadence; style is syntax; style is word choice and the spectrum of a writer’s vocabulary; style is length of sentences and the careful placement of different length sentences into a paragraph in the way a master stonemason would set stones into an unmortared wall meant to last for centuries; style is repetition and knowing when not to repeat; style is omission; style is misdirection and subliminal suggestion; style is specificity set into deliberate vagueness; style is crafty vagueness set amidst a forest of specificity; style is the motion of the mind at work; style is the pulse and heartbeat of the narrative sensibility; style is balance; style is the projective will of the writer creating a portal of access to the receptive will of the discerning reader; style is the sound our words make on paper. Style is goddamned hard. – Dan Simmons

Listen. Write with the door closed, rewrite with the door open. Stephen King

Work your words. You are an excellent wordsmith, however, why use twenty words when two will do? When I read your writing it's like it's covered in a veil, a fine mist and it makes me want to scream. If you could erase that mist, polish those words until they shine, your writing would sparkle like a diamond. – Critique Circle

Rewrite. Ensure every scene, every line, every word earns its place. Check that every line, paragraph and chapter ends with the strongest word. – Janet Skeslien Charles

Subtext and imagery. In skilful hands it’s poetic. The small boy stealing a carved acorn from The Hundreds in The Little Stranger, the young lass with dextrous hands sewing fake pelts onto dogs in Fingersmith. The curtains and layers of disguise in Tipping the Velvet. The work of Sarah Waters

Use the reader. This may be the first book you’ve written, but it’s unlikely it’s the first book your reader has ever read. Use your reader as a resource. Use their expectations – meet them or subvert them. Use their imaginations by describing sensory, sensual experiences. Patricia Duncker

When to stop. Every work of art is a solution to a problem. How to say a thing. A work of art is never finished. It’s just abandoned. John Banville.

Distil your story. Story elements are character, situation, objective, opponent, disaster. Write the story question: TWO sentences – one statement which establishes character, situation and objective. One closed question which nails opponent and disaster.

When humans start growing to twelve-foot high, John Storm wants to find out why. But can he defeat traitors in high places who would kill him and fake an extra-terrestrial plot? Dwight V. Swain

Know yourself. If you can write just badly enough, you can make a lot of money. Flannery O’Connor

Collaboration. More fun, less lonely but also more frustrating. This to me is like the question: are you more yourself when you’re alone or talking to a friend? You’re always yourself, but different kinds of self at different moments? I’m always working, but differently, not better or worse. Naomi Alderman

Know your market. There’s confusion between literary merit and saleability. You may be rejected because your agent/publisher can’t see how to sell your work. Define your bottom line as a writer. Do you want your book to find an audience? That’s always possible. The old models are no longer working, so it’s time to create ones. For most books, there is a readership. You just need to find it. David Applefield

Protect yourself. While writers’ platforms are essential, “protect the instrument”. Make a conscious choice to switch off and use your writing mind. You are a writer. Spend three days away from the internet. Protect yourself from that intrusiveness and the anxiety it creates. Colin Harrison, Simon & Schuster



Feel free to share your best writing tips – we’re all still learning ...