How to write a short story

Everyone knows that writing a story is not easy. Like the drama or the poem, it is imaginative literature that must appeal to the emotions of the readers. Since it communicates the writer’s interpretation of reality, there must be an artistic use of language to signify human experience. But how do we write a great short story? What are the things to keep in mind to come up with a short story that works? Here is a quick guide to get started:

1. read

Reading is essential for anyone who wants to write. In order to write a good story, you must first read other stories. Not only will this give you the motivation and inspiration for your own story, but it will also help you learn how other authors impressed the reader and use their style as a basis for creating your own style and impression.

2. Get inspired

For seasoned professionals, there is no need to get inspired because thoughts flow naturally and they just have to put them into words on paper. But for novice writers, it’s important to have one because it will not only help you get started on your first paragraph, it will also help you keep going. Your inspiration can take the form of an object. a person or an event that you can’t seem to forget.

3. Conceptualize your story

Think of something you want to talk about with your readers. Let’s say you want to tell a story about a couple who fell in love. What about the couple? What do you want your readers to know? Focus on this idea and think of other concepts that you want to associate with this couple. Suppose the girl’s parents broke off their relationship. What about the parents? What did they do to make the two stop loving each other? This could signal a good start to your story. From here, you would have the notion of what to write.

4. Plot the scenes

To keep your writing aligned with the events of your preconceived story, it’s good to briefly outline scenes from your story on a different piece of paper. Write down the possible characters in your story and list the main events in order. You don’t have to put as much detail into them because this only serves as a rough outline of what your story will look like.

5. Choose your point of view

Who tells the story and how it is told is very important for a short story to be effective. Point of view can radically change the feel and tone of the story. Therefore, you should decide carefully before finally deciding on the viewing angle that you will use for your story. But whatever you decide to choose as your point of view, make sure it stays consistent throughout the story for consistency.

6. Design your characters

For a short story, create a maximum of only three main characters. Too many main characters will make your story confusing as each new character will provide a new dimension to the story. Each character must be more than cardboard caricatures. Make your characters speak naturally in proportion to their features. Make them believable yet mysterious.

7. Offer a good introduction

When you have everything planned, start scribbling your first paragraph. Introduce your main characters and set the scene. The scene should be a place you know a lot about so that you can provide the necessary snapshot for a clearly described environment. Make your introduction interesting to keep the reader interested and encourage them to continue reading until the end. It’s also important to hide significant details and most of the action at this point to maintain mystery.

8. Build a great plot

From your introduction, draw out events that will eventually create a problem or conflict for the main character(s). After that, start laying out a series of clues to keep the reader engaged, intrigued, and guessing. Intensify the conflict as the story progresses. Not only will this get your reader excited to read more, but it will also keep them fascinated with your story.

9. Show, don’t tell

The characters should be in charge of expressing the story through their actions and dialogues and not the writer telling the reader what is being expressed. Instead of saying, “Annette was really mad at her best friend Christina for stealing her boyfriend,” say, “Annette felt a pain in her stomach and a sharp pang of betrayal as Christina walked over to her and gave her a sweet smile. She took a breath. deep in the attempt to calm down as she speaks with suppressed anger: “I hope you’re happy now that you’ve proven yourself to be a friend.”

10. Use active verbs

Put as much life into your story as you can. To do this, use active verbs in your story. Instead of saying, “Johanna picked the flower,” say “Johanna picked the flower.”

11. Use some dialogue

Dialogue is important to bring your story to life. Don’t just use it to pad your characters. Use it to convey your characters so that they identify with the reader. Use it in direct quotes like “Go there!” instead of indirect quotes like “She told him to go there”.

12. Have references handy

A good reference, such as a thesaurus or dictionary, is crucial to creating a good story. You can use them to check your spelling and find the words that best fit your description. Instead of using a long sentence or paragraph, you can use one or just a few words to get your point across. Often a strong word has a greater effect than a paragraph full of fancy language.

13. Conclude briefly

Conclusions are a difficult sled. For a good ending, it is advisable to experiment and add a little twist. Make your ending unique but not just a loose end. Make it satisfying without being too predictable. Keep in mind that it should be brief but concise and prolonged so that the reader is left with a sense of resonance. Your conclusion should wrap everything from start to finish.

14. Edit and review

After shaping the last words of your story, it’s time to start the editing cycle. Carefully check your work and correct all your mistakes regarding sentence construction, word usage, and formatting. punctuation marks, diction, spelling, grammar and descriptive analysis. Cross out words, sentences, and even paragraphs that don’t seem to contribute to the basic elements of the story. Once you’re done, let it sit for a while for days and even weeks, then edit it again. Reread your story over and over again on different occasions. This will bring up various things that you might want to change to make your story shine its best.

15. Let others correct

Get your friends to take a look at your work. They may only be able to see errors that you have overlooked. For example, they can be distracted by some words or lines that you love. In this case, you have to decide between changing it or cutting it out completely.

Writing a short story may not be easy, but it can surely be done. With a little knowledge of the basics and a little passion and patience, it’s easy to put together a story with just a few ideas. Just keep in mind that you’re writing not because you have to, but because you want to. Try it now!

© 2005 Rachelle Arlin Creed. All rights reserved.