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

i’m curently writing a short story, and want to get it published. what do need to do in order to get it published?
- Joe M

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?
- shhh!, i cnt tell!

I’m writing a short story for school, and we can only use the word said once. Oh and if you have any ideas for my story to be better, go for it. The assignment is for a simple two to three page short story we can’t say the word said too many times, and the beginning is already set for us. I’m with my friends and we hear a sound and go after it. That’s it. I like English I just need to be inspired, just in case you think I’m trying to make you do my homework for me or something.
- Kelly

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

Ok I’m writing a short story on a horrible trip to Niagara falls that tunred out to be a good one in the end.
- Aishwarya

Yeah so I am writing a short story in my english honors class. My story is about a 15/16/17? year old girl who just found out she has an arranged marriage in two weeks. she dosnt want to marry him, but her parents are making her. in the end of the story, she will actually learn taht she has fallen in love with the guy. but i dont know how to build a climax up to that point. what should the big event be?
- hollisterCali

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?
- shhh!, i cnt tell!

I have to do this coursework piece & I have to write s short stories. Any tips or anything I should think about when writing the story?
BTW I am in year 10 if that helps =p
Thanks =D
I mean for writing a short story if that makes sense lol
Awesome help everybody! =)
- Star.