Guideline for writing a short story?

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Is there an online pdf or any site you know of, no links please just the name of webpage.

I’m looking for a simple guideline to help me write a story.

I have an idea and am able to write a few pages but then I get stumped and start to lose interest because I don’t know where to go next.

Just want to practice really, thanks:).

✅ Answers

? Favorite Answer

  • ) Only use or characters (no more than ), and tell it in one of the characters perspectives–developing that one character well.

    ) Use literary techniques in terms of metaphors/similes/personification/ imagery/alliteration..and whatever else to more quickly convey underlying themes and points you’re trying to make. They take up less room than a round of dialogue or prose that tries describing things blatantly.

    ) Make sure you start and end with the same theme and that the ending says what you’re saying about that them. Example: if you’re writing about how death can ruin a person’s grasp on reality, then end it with that character losing his grasp on his reality b/c of a death..reinforce your theme.

    ) Limit the adjectives/adverbs/pronouns that modify the verbs and nouns in your sentences. You don’t have the room for flowery or wordy prose.

    ) Only include the most essential scenes that tell the story. Since there’s no room, you will be telling more than showing. But what you do show should be the most powerful scenes in the story to convey the message. In a novel you might start a scene with the man driving to work. In a short story, you start the scene while he’s already at work and facing the conflict at hand.

    ) Keep up the pace. In novels you can switch the pacing back and forth (one minute its action, the next is a momentary relapse to allow readers to calm)..but in short stories you need to set the pacing from the start and stick to it until the end. There’s only so many words in the story so plan it out carefully.

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    ) And as for plot…keep it simple. Again, there’s no room to develop it into something complex. Stick to one theme and one plot line..leave out subplots. So, for instance, instead of writing a mystery with a subplot about a romance that further complicates the mystery…just stick to the mystery. You’ll know what to do in terms of plot once you know what you’re trying to say (your theme). You should ask yourself “what am I saying about this? How can I show this? Which of these situations shows this best? Which ** of these situations should I show in the story and which should I quickly tell in between?” Then you’ll have your plot drawn out.

    The resolution should reinforce whatever you’re saying about your theme. If you’re saying that good guys finish last, then make sure your “good” character does finish last (doesn’t get the girl, gets convicted of a crime despite the fact that he’s innocent, etc).

    Source(s): Quoted from a very reliable source on here.

  • There is no ‘set’ rules; writing is about creativity!

    But a basic guide line would be:

    Beginning, raising action, climax, falling action, and finally the denouement

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