Questions

Writing short stories is a genre in its own right and varies a lot from the other styles of writing. Many ***?ople have taken to writing short stories online to express themselves and explore their creativity. Like each specific style of writing, short stories have certain features that need to be kept in mind. Let’s look at these requirements in this article.

While a word count is essential when you write your story online, don’t focus too much on it. It may stunt the story and your natural style of writing. Consider the word count only when you’ve finished the first draft and you are starting to edit it.

When you write short stories online, have only a few characters. Include only those characters that are most relevant to the story. That way, you will be able to do more justice to their characterization. Also, avoid giving too much background information on these characters. Only provide information that is crucial to the development of the story.

When you write your own stories online, you do not have the luxury of using too many descriptive words. What may start ***? a short story may well end up ***? a novella if you are not careful about the amount of description and embellishment that goes into the story.

When you write your story online, you have very little room to deviate from the main plot of the story. Your short story should be crisp and ***?st paced. The events that follow through the course of the story should only include ones that are essential to the progress of the story.

Get straight to the point. Don’t spend too much ***?me to build up the story. That would be a waste of ***?me and words. Since there is a word limit, you need to get rid of the fluff. If you put too many words into the introduction and you have only a few left for the ****?max, it could ruin the effect of the story.


- Mikal Jhonson

Have you ever read a magnificently written short story and said, “Wow, I wish I could write that way!”  You can, and it may not be as difficult a challenge as you think.  Creativity may be an inherited talent but creative writing can be learned.  You don’t need to be a creative genius to pen a good story.  You simply need to learn the construction of a story and then gather the motivation to write it down.  (And the courage not to throw away the paper or delete the file) 

Most experts suggest that you concentrate on writing short stories before you take on full novel-length works.  This is because short stories tend to be less complicated than novels.  Novels can encompass an entire lifetime of a character, or several lifetimes, as well as multiple points of views and numerous perspectives.  This can overwhelm a first-time author.  Thus, if you limit yourself to writing a short story you are focusing on writing one episode in a characters life.  There is no limit to what the term “episode” means—it may be a day in the life of one character or several weeks in which the same subject is discussed among numerous characters.  However, a short story will usually only focus on one incident and have a singular plot or setting. 

You can use more than one character, but the more characters you add the more information you will be cramming into this short episode.  If you have read any information on the structure of creative writing, then you may know by now that most professionally written stories consists of some basic dramatic elements: 

Exposition (introduction to the story where information about setting and situation is conveyed)

Complication (there must be some conflict that causes a strong reaction in the protagonist)

Rising Action & Crisis (suspense builds until the protagonist reaches a pivotal moment)

Climax (the highest point of action results)

Resolution (the conflict is resolved and the moral is made clear)

Now keep in mind that because you are working with a shorter piece you may have to abbreviate some standard patterns in your writing.  If you are writing a short piece then you may not have enough room to include paragraphs of exposition.  You may have to decrease the attention given to appearance, situation or setting. 

In fact, many short stories follow an entirely different structure than a novel.  The introductions are abrupt and use powerful words that capture attention quickly.  The story may not begin “at the beginning” but start in the middle of the action, so as to advance the plot at a faster pace.  However, the most important elements will still be present.  You must make sure that your story has conflict, and that complication builds up to a peak of suspense, which ends in a climactic confrontation.  Resolution then ends the story, giving the reader something to think about. 

If you feel that your story is lacking something, then reanalyze your structure.  What is happening to the protagonist internally or externally?  Who or what is the antagonist, the character or thing that affects the main character?  Think of a short story as a condensed novel, one that only has a few pages to make an all-important point.


- Curtis Foster

Em, I am supposed to write a short story on the theme of Environmental issues and I’ve been thinking on specifically writing about pollution and the use of toxic wastes which can cause birth defects etc.
I would like if you could help me by giving me an idea of how my story-line (plot) can be, What can be the climax of my story?, how can i start?, what can be the resolution? etc.
I’d be very thankful for your help.
- angelz

I really need to figure out what the climax should be…
- Jenna L

Does anybody have any story ideas where I could clearly express the:
Initial incident,
conflict,
protagonist and antagonist
climax
and resolution
- NL8493

i cant think of a conflict n a climax(most important part in the story)
its a fairy princess sorry misspelled
- sodorkiestina