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Writing a short story may seem like a daunting task, but with the right techniques and guidance, anyone can create a captivating and memorable piece of fiction. Whether you are an aspiring writer, a student working on an assignment, or simply someone wanting to explore the art of storytelling, this guide will provide you with the necessary tools to craft a compelling short story. From developing characters and constructing a cohesive plot to mastering the art of narration, this introduction will outline essential steps to help you embark on a rewarding journey of writing a short story. So, let’s dive in and discover the secrets to crafting a captivating tale through the power of words.
This article was co-written by Lucy V. Hay. Lucy V. Hay is an author, script editor and blogger who helps other authors through seminars, writing courses and her blog Bang2Write. Lucy is a producer on two horror movies and her debut crime novel, The Other Twin, is being adapted for the screen by Sky’s Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Agatha Raisin (Free@Last TV).
There are 7 references cited in this article that you can view at the bottom of the page.
This article has been viewed 75,821 times.
Short stories are a favorite genre of many people. Unlike writing a novel, which is supposed to be hard work, almost anyone can sketch, and most importantly, complete a short story. Like novels, a good short story will make the reader feel and enjoy. With the steps of brainstorming, drafting, and sharpening your manuscript, you’ll soon learn how to write a successful short story.
Steps
Find ideas
- For example, you might start with a simple plot, such as the protagonist having to deal with bad news, or having to receive an unexpected guest.
- You can also try creating a more complicated storyline, such as the protagonist waking up to find themselves in a parallel world, or they uncovering someone’s dark secret.
Create impressive characters:
Find inspiration: Characters are all around you. Spend time observing people in public places, such as shopping malls or on the sidewalk. Pay attention to the interesting people you come across and think of ways to include them in your story. You can also borrow some traits from people you know.
Outline the past story: Dig into your characters’ past experiences to find out their motives. What will the lonely old man’s childhood be like? Where did the scar on your hand come from? Even if you don’t include those details in the story, understanding the characters deeply will help you create characters like real life.
Characters who make up the plot: Create a character that can make your story more interesting and complex. For example, if your character is a young girl who always cares about her family, it is understandable to protect her little brother from bullies. However, if she fights with her brother and often plays with bullies, her inner conflict will make your story even more interesting.
- For example,
Your protagonist has a desire or desire that they have to go through a lot of trouble to achieve, or the protagonist falls into a predicament and struggles to survive.
Contextual tips:
Come up with descriptive passages: Write the name of the setting, for example “small colony on Mars” or “high school football field.” Visualize each location as vividly as possible and record every detail that comes to mind. Put your characters in the background and imagine what they could do there.
Consider the plot: Given the characters and plot, where does your story need to take place? Context must occupy an important part of the story that the reader cannot imagine anywhere else. For example, if your protagonist is a man in a car accident, the winter setting in a small town would make a good reason for the accident (black ice), plus added trouble (now he’s stuck in the cold with his broken car).
Don’t put too much context into the story. Using across multiple contexts will confuse the reader and make it difficult to follow the story. One or two settings are usually suitable for a short story.
- You can also focus on a more specific topic like “sibling love”, “wish for a friendship” or “lose a parent”.
- For example, the climax of your story might be a scene where the main character, a lonely old man, is forced to confront his neighbor’s delinquent behavior. You can also create an emotional climax when she stands up for her brother against bullies at school.
Create a satisfying ending:
Experiment with several types of endings. Outline a few different endings you can use. Imagine each alternative and see which ending seems more natural, more surprising, or more satisfying. That’s okay if you can’t find a happy ending right away – this is one of the hardest parts of a short story to write!
How do you want your readers to feel when they finish reading your story? The ending is the final impression you leave on the reader. How do they feel when the characters succeed, fail or hover in the middle? For example, if your main character decides to stand up to her younger brother’s bullies but is scared at the end, the reader will get the impression that she has a lot to go through.
Avoid cliches. Stay away from cliché endings, that is, relying on common reversals to surprise the reader. If your ending seems too familiar, even boring, challenge yourself to make it more difficult for your character.
You can read:
- “The Lady with the Dog” by Anton Chekhov [7] X Research Source
- “Something I’ve Been Meaning to Tell You” by Alice Munro
- “For Esmé-With Love and Misery” (“For Esme-With Love and Squalor”) by JD Salinger [8] X Research Source
- “A Sound of Thunder” by Ray Bradbury [9] X Research Source
- “Snow, Crystal, Apples” (“Snow, Glass, Apples”) by Neil Gaiman
- “Brokeback Mountain” by Annie Proulx [10] X Research Source
- “The Claims” (“Wants”) by Grace Paley
- “Applo” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
- “This is How You Lose Her” by Junot Diaz
- “Number Seven” (“Seven”) by Edwidge Danticat
Write the first draft
- You can also try the snowflake method, where you’ll create a summary sentence, a summary paragraph, a page summary of all the characters in the story, and a storyboard.
- For example, an opening line like, “I was very lonely that day” won’t tell the reader much about the narrator and isn’t strange or interesting.
- Instead, try opening it like this: “The day after my wife left, I knocked on my neighbor’s door and asked for some sugar to make a cake that I wouldn’t make.” This verse reveals the past conflict, the wife leaving, the current tension between the narrator and the neighbours.
- Some short stories are written in the second person, when the narrator uses “you/you”. Second person is usually used only when this is imperative for the narrator, such as in Ted Chiang’s short story “The Story of a Child’s Life,” or “How You Lost Her” by Junot Diaz.
- Most short stories are written in the past tense, although you can use the present tense if you want the story to seem more relatable.
Tips for writing dialogue:
Create a tone for each character. Your characters are not the same, so their words are also a bit different. You can experiment and see which tone suits which character. For example, one character might greet a friend with “Hi honey, how are you?”, while another character might say “Where have you been these days? I haven’t seen you in a long time.”
Use conversational quotes – but not too much. Use descriptive quotes like “stammering” or “screaming” throughout the story, but don’t overdo it. You can continue to use the word “speak” in some situations and choose a more descriptive quote if it is absolutely necessary for the scene.
- For example, you might describe your old high school as “a giant industrial building that smelt of gym socks, hairspray, lost dreams, and chalk pens board”, or described the sky in front of the house as “a white sheet of paper covered with a thick gray smoke of the crackling fires in the nearby woods early in the morning.”
You can end the story with a revelation that feels open or clear and resolved. [16] X Research Source
- Another way to end a story is to use an interesting image or dialogue that reveals a character’s change or transformation.
- For example, you might end the story when the protagonist decides to report a neighbor to the police, even if this means cutting ties with them. In the following example, you could end the story with an image of the main character bringing his brother home, just in time for dinner.
Sharpen the manuscript
- Pay attention to whether your story follows the plot outline, and whether there are obvious conflicts for the main character.
- Reading stories out loud also helps you check for spelling, grammar, or punctuation errors.
Parts to delete:
Unnecessary descriptive sentences: Describe just enough for the reader to imagine the most important features of a place, character or thing, and at the same time contribute to the tone of the story. If you have to cut out a beautiful description, record it and save it – you can use it in another story!
Scenes that don’t help with plot development: If you think a certain scene might not be essential to the plot, try crossing out and re-reading all the scenes before and after the cut. If the story line still flows smoothly and logically, you can delete the scene.
The characters serve no purpose: You may have created a character to make the story seem authentic or to serve as a talking point for the main character, but what if the character doesn’t play an important role? for the plot, you probably need to walk away. Be careful to review characters who are friends or siblings of a character that doesn’t have a lot of dialogue.
Use the theme, image or character name in the story to name the story. [18] X Research Sources
- For example, “I have a story to tell you” (Alice Munro short story) is a good title, because it is a sentence from a character in the story and speaks directly to the reader, where “I” I have something to share with readers.
- Neil Gaiman’s “Snow, Tinh, Apple” is also a good title because it introduces three things that are already interesting and are even more interesting when placed in the same story.
- You can also join a writing group and submit your short stories for discussion. You can also form a composition group with friends so that everyone can discuss each other’s work.
- When you receive feedback, you should read the story again to get the best draft.
This article was co-written by Lucy V. Hay. Lucy V. Hay is an author, script editor and blogger who helps other authors through seminars, writing courses and her blog Bang2Write. Lucy is a producer on two horror movies and her debut crime novel, The Other Twin, is being adapted for the screen by Sky’s Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Agatha Raisin (Free@Last TV).
There are 7 references cited in this article that you can view at the bottom of the page.
This article has been viewed 75,821 times.
Short stories are a favorite genre of many people. Unlike writing a novel, which is supposed to be hard work, almost anyone can sketch, and most importantly, complete a short story. Like novels, a good short story will make the reader feel and enjoy. With the steps of brainstorming, drafting, and sharpening your manuscript, you’ll soon learn how to write a successful short story.
In conclusion, writing a short story can be a rewarding and fulfilling endeavor for any aspiring writer. By following a few key steps, such as effectively outlining the plot, developing the characters, setting the right tone, and creating a captivating ending, one can create a well-crafted short story that engages and entertains readers. Moreover, implementing techniques such as showing rather than telling, utilizing dialogue, and incorporating conflict and resolution can greatly enhance the storytelling experience. While the process may seem challenging at first, practicing and honing one’s skills over time can lead to the mastery of this art form. Ultimately, writing a short story allows for the exploration of creativity, the expression of emotions, and the ability to leave a lasting impact on readers. So, whether it is a tale of love, mystery, or adventure, the power to captivate lies within the writer’s pen.
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