Suggestions for Responding to Short Stories

1. Pick one positive thing to begin your discussion. What was it about this story that kept you reading, that made you want to know more? Were there particular lines you enjoyed? Did the writer handle some aspect of the story particularly well – dialog, plotting, setting?

2. Talk about what you think the story is trying to do and how far it went in accomplishing this. Is it a plot-driven action adventure? A portrait of a character? A slice of life? A moral tale? A comic piece?

3. Talk about characters. How do each of the characters in the story come across? Which are the best drawn and which need more development?

4. Talk about point of view. From whose point of view is the story told? Is this consistent throughout? What kind of narrator do we have, and what distance is the narrator from the characters and the emotional heart of the story?

5. Talk about the setting. What do you know about the setting from the clues you are given in the story? Where and how do you think more or less setting is needed?

6. Talk about theme and message. What does this story say? What point is it trying to make? Is it too preachy, too obscure or contradictory?

7. Talk about plot structure and form of the story. Where does tension build and recede? What shape does the story take? Is the sequence a successful one? Are there any elements, such as flashbacks, that cause problems in following the plot?

8. As you were reading, where did the pace pick up and where did it slow down? Are there any places where you got lost or confused?

9. Talk about voice, dialog, word choice in terms of its effectiveness in creating a narrative voice or that of the characters. Look at the language up close. How do the choices here help or hurt the story? Does the story read well out loud? Are the rhythms of the sentences and phrases working to further the tone and mood and pacing of the story?

10. Talk about the ways metaphor, simile and other figurative language is used in the story. Where is it effective and where not?

11. End on a positive note. Reaffirm what you like about this story. Be sure it is something you really do like about the story, not something that sounds phony. The writer will be able to tell the difference. If you look hard enough, you can find something to like in any story.

12. General Rule: Talk on fewer points rather than trying to name everything that is wrong with a story. Talk about the biggest problem rather than the little ones – plot is more important than punctuation.

13. Writers love praise. You can never give to much of it, but be specific. Don’t just say “It’s great. I laughed, I cried, it’s better than CATS.” Why is it great? “I loved your story because a, b, and c.”