HOW TO WRITE A SHORT STORY, PART 1

Magazines pay well for good fiction stories, but writing a short story is harder than it looks. Short stories range from 800 to 2000 words in length, which is anywhere from four to ten double-spaced pages. This gives you very little room to create interesting characters, a fascinating plot, and tie it all up at the end. There are some tricks that can help you do this. Let’s take it one step at a time. 

I. A character with a problem 

Within the first one or two paragraphs, you need to convey to the reader who your main character is and present a problem or challenge that he is faced with. This becomes your plot. It can’t just be any problem, it needs to be an interesting one. This means giving your character some conflict. For example, a story about a boy that has to take a test is not an interesting problem. But if the boy needs to get an A on that test or else he will get kicked off the basketball team, then the reader will be interested because you have added conflict. Now there is something at stake for the character. In any story, there always has to be something at stake or the reader will lose interest. 

I like to use a worksheet to brainstorm short story ideas. (You can print out this worksheet by clicking here. There are more worksheets available through the Helps tab above.) Here is my worksheet for part one: 

1. My character is: A basketball player
          a. My character’s problem or challenge is: He needs an A on his math test
          b. This creates conflict for my character because: He will be kicked off the team if he doesn’t get an A on the test
          c. Therefore, my character’s goal is: To get an A on the test 

Here are some more story brainstorming examples:

1. My character is: A girl with a pet lizard
          a. My character’s problem or challenge is: The lizard has outgrown his cage
          b. This creates conflict for my character because: She doesn’t have any money to buy a bigger cage
          c. Therefore, my character’s goal is: Find a way to earn money 

1. My character is: A boy who loves art
          a. My character’s problem or challenge is: His new art friends want to go tagging
          b. This creates conflict for my character because: He thinks tagging is wrong but wants to fit in
          c. Therefore, my character’s goal is: Not to get caught

Remember, all this should happen in the first few paragraphs of your story. Tomorrow we will talk about part two of writing a short story.