by Bobbie Christmas
Q: I tried writing novels, but I found I was better at writing shorter things. I wrote some short stories, but they all come out as if they are a view into a certain event or something. They don’t really have a beginning, middle, and end. Are they still considered short stories?
A: You probably are writing what is called slice-of-life stories, and some, but not all, markets that accept short stories also accept slice-of-life stories and consider them short stories.
Q: I have a short story, science fiction, that uses fictitious drugs. I know of two science-fiction stories that have done the same. One author put a trademark symbol after the name of the drug he created. One did not. Is using the trademark symbol solely a style thing, or does it offer some type of protection against derivative work?
A: I presume the author used the trademark symbol to give the name an air of authenticity. I doubt any author would go to the trouble to legally trademark a name of a fictitious product, so I doubt that it provides any protection greater than the automatic protection provided by the Sonny Bono copyright law. That law says you automatically own the rights to any material you create.
Most book publishers, and therefore most books that feature collections of short stories, adhere to Chicago style, which does not use trademark symbols. Such symbols are appropriate for advertisers, however, which is why you’ll see them in print ads as well as on product containers. Chicago style simply capitalizes brand names with no need to indicate that they are trademarked names.
Remember that in prose, and especially in fiction, symbols, asterisks, and footnotes distract readers. Strong writing does the opposite. It keeps readers embroiled in the mood and illusion of the story.
Q: I am working on a short story, and in it I mention two televisions shows. TV Guide puts quote marks around the names of shows. I was unsuccessful in finding what The Chicago Manual of Style recommends, but someone told me not to use quote marks in a story. Which is it? For example,
Jay Leno finished his monologue on “The Tonight Show.”
Jay Leno finished his monologue on The Tonight Show.
A: Be careful in assuming that what you see printed in one place will be right for all places. Periodicals usually use Associated Press style, but book publishers use Chicago style, so I’m glad you asked this question.
According to The Chicago Manual of Style, television programs are italicized, but a single episode in a series is set in roman and enclosed in quotation marks. It gives as an example the following: “Casualties,” an episode in The Fortunes of War, a Masterpiece Theater series.
Q: Three people—one fellow writer and two avid readers—read my short story and provided feedback. They all love the story, but all said they didn’t like ending.
I ended it the way I did because it made more sense to me. Even though it wasn’t a happy ending, the protagonist was content with the way things turned out.
I want my stories to entertain and satisfy readers, but I don’t feel right ending a story in a way that I personally think is a cheesy cliché. Should I write something I wouldn’t read myself, just because others like it? Can I even trust the response of such a small sample of readers, even though their independent feedback is resounding and consistent?
A: Examine your motives. If indeed you are writing to sell your work, you have to consider the market. If you write for yourself without hope of selling your work, you can write endings as unpleasing to the public as you wish, because the public will never see those stories.
You are the god who created your story. You can control the outcome, depending on your goals. The endings of many movies have been changed when focus groups did not like the first ending. Some movies have become blockbusters that might have otherwise bombed, if the ending had not changed.
Before revising the story, though, get feedback from a larger group, at least ten people. If the majority still gives negative feedback on the conclusion, it is time to consider a change.
Bobbie Christmas, book editor, author of Write In Style: Use Your Computer to Improve Your Writing, and owner of Zebra Communications, will answer your questions, too. Send them to Bobbie@zebraeditor.com.
