Short Story Writing
But before we begin, what is a short story? According to Wikipeda short stories are no longer than 20,000 words and no shorter than 1,000. They're usually narrative and works of fiction. The length of the story is only a guideline. Check the submission guidelines if you're trying to get published. Every publisher has their own idea of what the length is and how they want it formatted.
To write a short story, I usually start with a brainstorm to get an idea. If you need to try a few writing exercises to get you going, click here.
If you need more help check out this short story writing article. The introduction can be one of the biggest challenges to short story writing. I like to start my beginning with action. The few workshops I’ve taken have taught me it’s important to engage the reader early on. If you need some story starters to inspire you, click here. When it's time to write the body of your story, remember that every word counts. It's important to include dialogue and scenery in the body. Don’t spend too much time on building suspense, concentrate on your story. Try to stick to your outline. You should be focusing on what the main points are. Build from there.
The conclusion happens when everything in the plot has been wrapped up. All the events have been revealed and explained to the reader. Your conclusion should have your character’s mission solved. Some people even go as far as ending the story with a hook that there is more to come. I love short story writing. It’s easy, it’s creative, and it’s fun. I come up with an idea, create some characters, thrown in a few problems, and fix it, bam! Remember there are no rules, anything goes.
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