I recently finished a short story, and for the past few weeks, I’ve been reading and rereading it and sending it to my favorite readers for feedback. After minor revisions and edits, I think it’s done. I’m happy with the story now. But I almost ditched it because I’d spent months (on and off) trying to figure out how to write this particular story. As proof, I have multiple handwritten versions in a journal and several other attempts saved on my computer. None of those drafts were salvageable.
I had decided to use present tense and third-person point of view. But I couldn’t find a way into the story — each draft lacked a beating heart. The real problem? My third-person narrator desperately needed a voice, and I couldn’t find one. I kept putting the story aside and working on other writing. And I kept reading: fiction, nonfiction, and short stories.
It would be a short story written by Raymond Carver that gave me an idea.
Although, if you read the Carver story, you might not see its connection to my story because our styles and voices are so different, plus his story uses past tense and first-person point of view. So, what was it about the Carver story that inspired me? Narrative distance. Carver’s first-person narrator tells his story from the distance of years gone by, even though there are some closeups. As I read Carver’s story, I became giddy. A hundred-watt light bulb lit up over my head. I’d found a way to tell my story. I needed to keep my narrator at a distance.
I began my short story anew — on a blank page, without even a glance at the other drafts. I did keep the present tense and third-person point of view, but I created narrative distance. It worked. That distance gave my narrator a voice, which in turn gave my story a heartbeat.
And I’m grateful because something about the story wouldn’t let me go. It kept pleading, “Just give me one more chance.”
Experienced writers tell beginning writers to write, write, write. They also tell beginners to read, read, read. I used to think if I read while I was writing, I would end up writing like the author I was reading. But that just doesn’t happen. Instead, I’m inspired. I pay attention to how an author crafts her story, from sentence to paragraph, from beginning to end. And sometimes (thank you, Raymond Carver), I come across a technique that I can apply to something I’m currently writing.
Writing Near the Lake 
Thank you for this. I need to pay more attention to what the point of view is. The craft of writing.
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I’m glad you enjoyed it. There are so many layers to writing. I believe writers can learn a lot from reading other writers’ work.
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I hear you. I see you. I completely understand. Looking forward to reading it! Your friend in writing solidarity…
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Hi Lynn! I’m going to submit the story to a Wisconsin contest that’s run through Wisconsin People & Ideas. They have an annual contest for fiction and poetry for Wisconsin residents. A couple of years ago I had a story make it to the semi-finalist level. I hope all is well with you and that your writing is going well! It’s always nice to hear from you!
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Glad to hear you found a way into your story!
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Thank you for this reminder and your experience with it.
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Hi Vickie. I had a similar experience recently. I have a few chapters of a story written in third person and could not find the “heartbeat” either. I was stuck. I woke from a night of dreaming and realized that the story needed to be told in first person. That is the opposite of your discovery but it is what the story requires. It enabled me to add the humor of an unreliable narrator. Now my story is moving along again.
I look forward to reading your story.
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I’ve had the same experience after sleeping on something and waking in the dawn light with an idea that might work. There is some brain science that supports the fact that on some level our brain works on the problem while we sleep! Thanks for sharing your story. I like having the sense of community with other writers. Your unreliable, but humorous narrator sounds interesting.
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The story did have a heartbeat in your head/heart Vickie- that’s why it stayed with you. Like you said, the voice needed distance too show wisdom learned, emotion controlled and be connected to the present. Have I read this story, now done?
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Yes, you read the story for me. It’s “Keep the Cake? Keep the Cake?”
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