: Re: How to Write a Short Story Collection? I plan on writing a collection of short stories. How should the manuscript be formatted? Can I write new short stories specifically for the collection.

@LarsenBagley300

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I have a simillar problem with my Superhero novels I'm working. Typically I tend to format them like a television show. The main characters are constant and the problem of the chapter is largely introduced and resolved in the course of the "chapter". I used this format after being a fan of the Encyclepedia Brown series, which typically had a predictable format of short mysteries (The first chapter was always solving a case for his police chief father's work load that was stumping the detectives, followed by one introducing the Lemondae-Style Detective Agency Brown ran and his nemesis Bugs Meany, a few unrelated cases (late in the series, the third chapter featured Bugs trying to get revenge (not always related to the previous chapter) by Framing Brown) and a recurring chapter about foiling the local kid conartist.).

I say largely becuase my chapters do have a bit of continuity in them that will influence the last few chapters, but I'm adicted to villains who are playing the long game. To this regard, I think of it as an episodic television series... your setting is the same, but your stories are contained to a chapter a piece. Can't say with publishing as I'm still on the "write it" part, but given that there are products that exist in roughly that format, I can't see a problem.

Would these formats be slice of life (Life on Venus... chapter one deals with government intrique, chapter two deals with a "typical" house wife, and so on) or is there a set plot to all the short stories? Mostly for formatting the correct order.

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