This story was a conceptual gem. Late seventies to early eighties. You know concept stories — years later they’re still grabbing you, but you’ve forgotten the author. The story was about some ants from another planet (there is space-travel now) who can be bought and had as pets. You put them in your living room in a giant ant-farm terrarium and the ants, who are large, begin making glubular bricks and building an enormous statue of you, very life-like, which they commence to bow down to and bring ceremonial gifts to every day.
The protagonist mistreats his ants, and slowly, over time, his statue gets less and less flattering, and finally turns ugly or something.
- beingagood1

I read this hilarious short story in 1978, and it was in a used school text ****?k… so it was probably written in the 60s. The ***.e may have been “So You Think You’ve Got Problems.” Jewish humor / ***?turistic / science fiction. Protagonist says “Feh!” The plot centers on the ability to swap bodies (or swap consciousness), and the hilarious problems that arise.

It’s probably in a volume of collected science fiction short stories. I’ve had no luck looking on Amazon / Half. ***?eking author / ISBN / ***.e. Would love to buy
- Niner

My husband and I just purchased our first home, and we are so excited about finally “putting down roots.” We came upon the house when it was still just a skeleton; and we watched as they slowly added the ceiling and walls, plumbing, electricity, flooring, windows, and doors. We had the opportunity to select the color of paint for the walls, the style of countertops, and the tile and carpeting for our floors. What a different look for our home when we added on to the foundation and filled in the skeleton!

Writing a story, whether it is a short story or a novel, is just like building a house. You must first start with a foundation. This is, of course, the idea stage. What story do you want to tell? If you are experiencing writer’s block, try to write about what you know. If you have never been to Spain, then don’t try to write a story about Spain unless you plan to do extensive research on the country.

Once you have set up your foundation, you will need to build a skeleton. Jot down your thoughts and ideas in an outline and build on them. This stage is an excellent time to create your characters for your story and to develop their attributes. Are they tall? Do they have brown hair? What is their position in your story? As you create your outline, you should also be thinking about the setting of your story and how you characters fit into that setting.

Now it is finally time to start adding your walls and ceiling. Begin to put your characters and settings together to tell your story. A good story usually includes a protagonist and an antagonist meeting in a controversial moment. Think of your story like a roller coaster ride. Start rolling your story uphill to the climactic event, and then fly downhill to end your story.

Once you have created your story, you can start painting the walls and choosing the type of carpet you want. Read your story again and add extra meat to your characters or to the theme. Consider creating more dialogue or changing the ending. Ask for someone you trust to read your story and offer constructive criticism.

Now that you have built your story, start selling to prospective buyers. Send your manuscript out to a wide variety of publishers, remembering to not be discouraged by the number of rejection notices you will receive. There is someone out there looking for your story if you will be consistent in your search. Remember to follow these tips, and you are well on your way to becoming a writing success!


- Katie Smith

I signed up for NaNoWriMo this year and I have this really vivid plot idea in my head but I just can’t think of a title or how to start the story. Here’s the basic overview:

Samantha (the protagonist) has a pretty normal life for a sixteen year old, but one day she runs into the slightly perverted Ayden (I need help on how they meet). He knows too much about her and her life, to the point where he’s begun to subtly hint what goes on in her dreams. He’s not human, that much she knows especially when he appears out of no where, disappears randomly and can make flames appear in his hand, but it’s not until he begins to question her about God and the afterlife that she worries. He’s far too fascinated in what she believes will happen when she dies and fears begin to form, meanwhile Ayden is trying his hardest to win her over. He’s perverted constantly, always attempting to “touch her up”. About a third way into the story, Ayden meets Samantha’s best friend (let’s call him X for now) and Ayden discovers that he is not who he seems and is intent on seperating the two of them, especially when X recognises who Ayden is and suddenly ups the ante and tells Samantha he loves her. Lots of other stuff happen, but the basic outcome is that the Earth was created by four Gods, four elements. Ayden is the Fire, Nerina is the Water, Anil is the Air and finally, Samantha (or as Ayden knows her: Horina) is the Earth. Samantha’s best friend is another God but he’s taken the wrong path. (For the next part, you need to imagine that a world exists in which these Gods live, and there are many and they entertain themselves by creating other worlds) In the world of the Gods, Ayden and Samantha grew up together along with Nerina, Anil and X. Ayden and Samantha were extremely close to one another and X was jealous. When they finish “God School”, Ayden, Samantha, Nerina and Anil created the Earth, but as Ayden and Samantha grew close and X grew more evil, troubles arose causing Ayden to send Samantha down to the Earth as a human until it was safe. She’s been there for five thousand years. Everytime she dies, she reincarnates herself (The God part of her mind knowing Ayden is right to do this) and is reborn as a new human. Eventually, X disappears and Ayden plans to bring Samantha back but a new problem arises when X turns half-human and befriends Samantha (her human mind not knowing of the risk) and Ayden, with the help of Nerina and Anil, must save her. Yaddah, yaddah. As I said, a brief overview. Sorry if it’s long-winded. So yeah, I need help with how Samantha and Ayden first meet, it needs to be dramatic and an instant clue that Ayden isn’t quite human, and I need a title to use for it. Suggestions?
- Lou

May Charlotte Tober . . .

She is the protagonist in an action/fantasy genre book. Tell me what kind of character she is based solely on her name.
- Klee

My protagonist is an aspiring race car driver and I would like to make some comments about Nascar, some of the drivers and possibly their car numbers or sponsors. What is allowed without permission? I would like to publish it when I’m done.
- periwinkleme

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

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