Questions

It has started as a story about a dentist who is repulsed by people’s simple, minor flaws (like crooked or discolored teeth). I don’t know if I should leave it as a description of a lonely man or put in a conflict, climax, resolution etc. any ideas or things that might help me come up with ideas?
- j j

How many of us have made the big mistake of adding too many characters and too many plots in a short story? Well, I actually did. That was way back in my college days and I was tasked to make a short story but I ended up making too many characters that in the end, I did not submit it. Sometimes, our strong imagination can overcome our logic and we begin to pour all of our ideas and that often is the number one mistake for aspiring short story writers.

A short story is, well, a brief fictional or non-fictional piece of literature. This is why it is very important to limit the size and content of the piece. How? Here are some important pointers for short story beginners in order to save you from the frustration that I have felt.

First rule is to set a number of characters. A short story should only have a few characters. This is not an epic play where you deal with 20 characters and side-characters. By having a small number of players in this literary piece, the conversation, plot and the entire story is made brief and this is the basic foundation for a good short story.

The next thing you need to understand is the simple plot. Of course, we all love a good mystery and sometimes we cannot help but place intricate and skillfully designed plots in order to raise the level of surprise in a story. The only problem with this is that you also lengthen the story itself and this is not a good sign. The plot should be simplified, allowing the story to reach the climax in a short span of time.

These are the basics when it comes to writing a short story. For most beginners, keeping the content ” short, but sweet ” is a sound advice. Just because the story is brief doesn’t mean you have to take away the quality of the piece. If you want to be double-sure, try using an English writing checker or have the short story checked by a pro. Besides, writing short stories are meant to be fun, not a chore.

There you have it, my ideas on how to become a great short story writer. With more practice, you might become a master in writing them and you can earn a lot because of your talents. However, keep on learning them for now so that you will learn a lot.

These are the basics when it comes to writing a short story. For most beginners, keeping the content ” short, but sweet ” is a sound advice. Just because the story is brief doesn’t mean you have to take away the quality of the piece. If you want to be double-sure, try using an English writing checker or have the short story checked by a pro. Besides, writing short stories are meant to be fun, not a chore.

Want more story writing tips? Then I suggest you wait for the next articles that I will be writing with regards to short story writing. These will indeed help you in becoming a professional writer in the future! Who knows? You might become very famous and very rich because of your stories. Happy writing!


- Mary Simmers

I am writing a short story for my english class and I want to make it interesting but I have no idea on what to write about!
I want it to be funny but not stupid! I really need to know. =]
- Kasie I

When writing romance, put aside any cynical thoughts and focus instead on innocent dreams and memories from your youth because capturing that all important innocent essence is vital when trying to portray that spark of attraction between two of your characters. Writing romance can add sparkle to a scene or indeed, depth to a character and as it can encompass different layers for your characters, it provides glimpses of the person you are trying to create. Writing romance scenes can be fun for the writer too and it can help the story or novel to sell, because romantic fiction is hugely popular in these stricken financial times.

We all like escapism. Readers may want a story which has a semblance of gritty realism but they also want stories of hope, laughter and romance. Fiction needs to have aspects of true life so that readers can relate to it and interlacing romantic moments can produce feel - good factors throughout. When writing romance just remember that it does not all have to be hearts and flowers and over the top romantic gestures to make it work, in fact, depending on the type of fiction that you are planning to write, it can have variations of romance which either carry or support the story as it unfolds.

Romance can also add much needed obstacles to the story and these add weight to any storyline and draw the reader in. Obstacles work in a variety of ways because they add depth to the characters and to the storyline but they also take the reader on a voyage of discovery and leaves them wanting to know whether the obstacles were finally overcome. Using obstacles to prevent the romantic liaisons from progressing also works incredibly well and the actions of the characters involved then start to reveal a great deal about their personalities going forward.

Of course, if writing a short story, word count is going to be limited greatly and so the writer must know exactly what the story is about and also how much romantic content it will contain. Finding the relevant starting point is also important and writing a compelling opening paragraph essential. All readers secretly want a happy ending in some shape or form, it doesn’t have to be that the romance works as long as there is some hope that it has worked out for the best or perhaps within those final paragraphs, there are hints of a better alternative as the story closes. Sometimes leaving out some information and avoiding finalising the story down to the very last detail can have the reader’s imagination soaring as they being to perceive those characters as three dimensional entities and start to think about the plot, how it progresses and ultimately ends.

Romantic interludes work well. The writer does not need to write intense or heavily erotic scenes if they feel uncomfortable with that, instead they can suggest a positive intensity between their characters by well-crafted dialogue and descriptive scenes. When writing romance, it is essential to provide dark and light elements to vital scenes and allow the reader to convey the subtle influences within the text.


- Annette Young

When writing romance, put aside any cynical thoughts and focus instead on innocent dreams and memories from your youth because capturing that all important innocent essence is vital when trying to portray that spark of attraction between two of your characters. Writing romance can add sparkle to a scene or indeed, depth to a character and as it can encompass different layers for your characters, it provides glimpses of the person you are trying to create. Writing romance scenes can be fun for the writer too and it can help the story or novel to sell, because romantic fiction is hugely popular in these stricken financial times.

We all like escapism. Readers may want a story which has a semblance of gritty realism but they also want stories of hope, laughter and romance. Fiction needs to have aspects of true life so that readers can relate to it and interlacing romantic moments can produce feel - good factors throughout. When writing romance just remember that it does not all have to be hearts and flowers and over the top romantic gestures to make it work, in fact, depending on the type of fiction that you are planning to write, it can have variations of romance which either carry or support the story as it unfolds.

Romance can also add much needed obstacles to the story and these add weight to any storyline and draw the reader in. Obstacles work in a variety of ways because they add depth to the characters and to the storyline but they also take the reader on a voyage of discovery and leaves them wanting to know whether the obstacles were finally overcome. Using obstacles to prevent the romantic liaisons from progressing also works incredibly well and the actions of the characters involved then start to reveal a great deal about their personalities going forward.

Of course, if writing a short story, word count is going to be limited greatly and so the writer must know exactly what the story is about and also how much romantic content it will contain. Finding the relevant starting point is also important and writing a compelling opening paragraph essential. All readers secretly want a happy ending in some shape or form, it doesn’t have to be that the romance works as long as there is some hope that it has worked out for the best or perhaps within those final paragraphs, there are hints of a better alternative as the story closes. Sometimes leaving out some information and avoiding finalising the story down to the very last detail can have the reader’s imagination soaring as they being to perceive those characters as three dimensional entities and start to think about the plot, how it progresses and ultimately ends.

Romantic interludes work well. The writer does not need to write intense or heavily erotic scenes if they feel uncomfortable with that, instead they can suggest a positive intensity between their characters by well-crafted dialogue and descriptive scenes. When writing romance, it is essential to provide dark and light elements to vital scenes and allow the reader to convey the subtle influences within the text.


- Annette Young

I am wanting to start writing, but want to start off slow. Is it good to start off writing a short story, or am I just being lazy. should I just jump into an attempt at a novel? Please help, I have great Ideas, and people tell me I’m a great story teller, but I want to take it to another level. I just don’t know much about the ‘next level’.
- jeremy h

I’m writing a short story about the conversation between a warrior and a tavernmistress. I need some names that are fantasy like, but are still kinda modern.
- andy_lawson2007

I am writing a short story for english class. I pretty much got the background, ***?tting and characters ****? i just need a conflict that would end up in learning a moral lesson.
- jayjay0014

For my contemporary American Literature class I have to write a short story about 2-4 pages long.
- Harry

I’m writing a short story for my ninth grade english class and it was going pretty well.. but now I’m having some writers block. I was wondering if anyone can give me ideas on how to adjust the story and add more detail to it.

The story is about a 21 year old mime who promised his cousin who was 16 at the time to continue making people laugh by becoming a mime himself. The story idea may not sound good but trust me the story is really interesting. Well anyway, his cousin died and the mime, who’s name is Brendan Radke, believes he died because the clowns had kicked them out of the fair. Now 12 years later Brendan went back to the fair to show the clowns they can’t pick on him and he could stay and make people laugh with his humor for his cousin. When he gets there he sees people being entertained by the clown and he needs to steal the spotlight.. any ideas on how to???????

i was thinking maybe Brendan storms up to the clown and then surprisingly the clown turns the spotlight over to him and Brendan realizes he can forgive the clowns after all these years because they didn’t kill his cousin after all…. but i feel like that’s too plain..

any help?
- perkins97