{"id":5579,"date":"2017-10-25T17:00:48","date_gmt":"2017-10-26T00:00:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kibin.com\/blog\/?post_type=essay-writing-blog&p=5579"},"modified":"2019-02-17T12:41:00","modified_gmt":"2019-02-17T20:41:00","slug":"write-short-story-analysis-smart-way","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kibin.com\/essay-writing-blog\/write-short-story-analysis-smart-way\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Write a Short Story Analysis the Smart Way"},"content":{"rendered":"

If literature isn\u2019t your thing and you\u2019ve been reading long, boring novels all semester, the chance to read and write about a short story might be just what you need to get interested in literature again.<\/p>\n

After all, everyone loves a good story, and a short one (especially when it comes to reading something you\u2019re not so thrilled about) is even better.<\/p>\n

So if you\u2019ve found yourself in that seemingly never-ending battle of how to do a short story analysis, here\u2019s what you need to know.<\/p>\n

Differences Between a Short Story and a Novel\u2014And Why It\u2019s Important to Your Short Story Analysis<\/h2>\n

Whether you\u2019re writing a literary analysis<\/a> about a short story, novel, play, or other type of literature, each genre will include some of the same elements, such as rising and falling action, conflict, and resolution.<\/p>\n

Before you begin writing, though, it\u2019s important to understand three key differences between a short story and a novel.<\/p>\n

1. Length and detail<\/h3>\n

It\u2019s obvious that a short story is shorter than a novel. (That\u2019s why it\u2019s called a short<\/i> story!) What\u2019s important to remember about the length of a short story, however, is that, because a short story is just that\u2014short\u2014it can only include so much detail.<\/p>\n

A novel allows the author hundreds of pages to meander and eventually reach a point. A short story writer only has a few pages to accomplish the same goal.<\/p>\n

Think of short stories like poems. Poems have a small space to pack in a lot of meaning. Thus, poets choose their words carefully. No words are wasted. The same is true for short stories. Writers need to be precise with their word choices and make every word count.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
\n
Writers need to be precise with their word choices and make every word count.<\/a><\/div>\n

Click To Tweet<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

By the way, you should make every word count in your writing too. To learn more, read Why Eliminating Wordiness Is So Important for Your Essay<\/a>.<\/p>\n

2. Character development<\/h3>\n

Remember, short stories have limited space, so characters might not be as fully developed as they would be in a novel. Short stories are likely to have fewer characters than novels too.<\/p>\n

This means that, as a reader, you\u2019ll need to do a lot of inferring and careful analysis to get inside the characters\u2019 heads.<\/p>\n

Want to know about character analysis? Check out How to Write a Character Analysis That Works<\/a>.<\/p>\n\t

\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t
Stuck on Your Analytical Essay?<\/div>\n\t\t\t
Check Out These Example Analytical Essays<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tYes! Show me examples.<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n

3. Time frame<\/h3>\n

The short length of short stories also means that they usually take place in a short time frame. Take \u201cThe Story of an Hour\u201d by Kate Chopin, for instance. The entire plot unfolds in the space of\u2014yep, you guessed it\u2014about an hour.<\/p>\n

This limited time frame of short stories means that writers don\u2019t have a lot of space to develop varying plot lines, and they will focus all of their details in just a few scenes.<\/p>\n

So as a reader, you need to pay attention to everything <\/i>that\u2019s going on. If you miss a line or two, you might miss the whole point of the story.<\/p>\n

With the differences of short stories and novels in mind, it\u2019s time to plan your battle strategy before you actually start reading.<\/p>\n

Before You Start Reading a Short Story<\/h2>\n