Just a trim? Or a completely new ’do?
As the resident short story writer on the panel here—one who’s never written published a novel—I don’t usually think in terms of chapters but of scenes. But when has lack of experience ever kept someone from chiming in with advice, right? Seriously, though, when I saw the first part of this week’s question—"How do you know where one chapter ends and another begins?"—two things jumped to mind, and I hope they’ll be useful for folks thinking about craft. Years ago, when I was a student in the MFA program at George Mason University, I came across a bit of half-joking advice about shaping short stories—and it’s one that I always pass along to my own students now that I’m teaching workshops at Mason: Once you’ve finished your draft, go back and delete the last paragraph. And while you're at it, cut the first one too. Certainly that advice shouldn’t always be taken too literally , but the idea behind it has time and again proven sound guidance. Too often, an opening par...