Book About High School Girl Writing a Creative Fiction Book in Art School

Writing short stories tin help tremendously in the process of becoming a successful author.

Call up that condign a successful author is a journey, many offset with brusque stories, blogging, or even poetry before going on to writing a book.

You probably don't call back short stories are very difficult to write.

In fact, you might be the type who assumes short stories are even easier considering, well…they're curt .

But that's just not the instance (there'due south an fine art to writing an astonishing brusque story)—and I'll tell you why in just a minute.

Brusque stories, and getting expert at writing them, tin actually set you upwards for success in other writing ventures as well. That's why we're showcasing the most important steps for writing a brusk story.

They may be hard to get good at, but we're breaking down how to brand them much easier, and what makes for a skilful one to brainstorm with. Want to learn how to write a brusk story, and get meliorate at this mode of writing?

Exist sure to check out our post on publishing short stories once yous've mastered the writing part.

If y'all want to learn how to write a short story or exist a better short story writer, y'all'll take to go through these principal steps:

Generate your thought
Know your character
Outline your short story
Beginning with something out of the ordinary
Become your draft washed equally soon equally possible
Edit your short story
Title your short story
Get feedback about it
Exercise often
How to write a brusque story every day
Define your cadre message
Write a satisfying ending

Once you get through the steps for writing a short story, make sure to take a await at the short story ideas, tips for writing them, and common questions with answers all about curt stories (including how long a curt story is).

How to Write a Short Story in 12 Full, Concrete Steps

If you're gear up to tackle this artery of creative writing or you just want to learn how to write a curt story to strengthen the overall quality of your book, hither's how you lot can do that.

#one – Come up upward with a potent brusk story idea

You tin can pull ideas from curt stories from everywhere.

Former short story editor and at present-published short story author (with 2 collections), Hannah Lee Kidder says, "The all-time brusque story ideas will always come from yous yourself. Those are the ideas that you lot'll care the nigh most and be able to bring to life the easiest."

That said, nosotros know it can take a trigger to come upwardly with brusk story ideas that make y'all want to craft great writing around. Ultimately, you'll have the best results past tweaking any idea you accept of your own, but nosotros besides wanted to provide some short story ideas to assistance you lot get started.

Here are 20 short story ideas to take your writing to the next level:

Your character opens the mailbox to detect their biggest fear within.
After a devastating fall, your character is learning the hardships of healing after an blow.
Character accidentally insults their company's CEO – right before a big promotion.
The character lost a kid years ago but lives as if it only happened the day before.
Your character's village wise adult female tells the story of how magic was lost due to abuse.
Your graphic symbol lives in a space pod traveling infinite, and they're also claustrophobic.
Ash floated from the mountaintop and awoke your character from their nighttime'southward sleep.
Your character hasn't eaten in days and stumbles uponexistent berries, and and then does a starving bear.
When your character's middle is broken, they must find a manner to heal it – whatsoever way.
Your grapheme is an orphaned 7-twelvemonth-old who hears voices.
Your character merely found out they have a rare disease…that hasn't been detected anywhere in centuries.
After a fight with their ex, your character decides to go on a trip to the neighboring town that hosts very…unusual tales.
Your character accidentally runs into the wrong person on the street…and now they can't sleep at night.
When your grapheme moves schools, they didn't expect to find a secret lurking throughout the schoolhouse…that all the teachers know about.
It's your character'due south turn in their culture'due south ritual of fighting a lion barehanded. They've never been good in fights.
Subsequently extreme atmospheric condition conditions plague your graphic symbol's town, they finally leave abode to find everybody has gone missing.
Your character is in the back of an ambulance, trying desperately to revive someone who'south apparently expressionless…so why are they nonetheless away and breathing?
Afterward a curt stint at a hospital every bit a nurse, your character decides to take their skills to the mountains equally a wilderness medical professional. They just didn't expect to find odd and interesting injuries amidst campers.
An apple appears at your graphic symbol's front door every morning and they tin't figure out who's putting it there.
When an avalanche quakes the mountains in your character's town, it unveils something that's been hidden for…millenia.

Sometimes short story ideas are enough merely if you want to utilize them effectively, continue these tips in mind:

Keep information technology uncomplicated and focus on a single portion of a character'due south life
Make sure the reader has a articulate picture of your main character correct abroad
Focus on the theme and bulletin yous're trying to get across
Let the brusk story idea create a life of its own
Be unique and think of many possible endings to the story earlier outlining

#2 – Focus on Character Development

In order for a short story to be impactful, you have to know your character well. Having good character development is essential in curt stories since your main characters ofttimes drive the story.

You only accept a sure amount of time to bear witness your readers who that person is and you can't do that if you don't fifty-fifty know who they are.

Think about it.

If y'all write a brusque story well-nigh your best friend, whom you've known for many years, versus writing one about someone y'all just met yesterday, you lot'll exist able to arts and crafts a much stronger story most your all-time friend because y'all know them so well. Creative writing techniques can help y'all bring out the best or nigh compelling things about your characters.

The same goes for your fictional characters.

But when writing a brusk story, you won't have the same blazon of grapheme arc every bit you lot would when writing a full-length novel.

You don't have to spend a ton of fourth dimension on your main character, simply know their history, age, personality, family life, friend life, love life, and other details that shape the way someone sees the world.

Keep in listen that since your short story is, well, shorter than a novel, you may remove a few steps. Knowing the overall character journey, however, tin be helpful for your main character development within short stories.

Spend plenty time on character evolution when yous're learning how to write a curt story or improving your creative writing skills will pay off by introducing your readers to memorable characters.

#iii – Outline

Thankfully, the outlining process for short stories is much easier than a full novel, just I practise still suggest creating one in society to take a cohesive flow throughout the story.

This is definitely useful for those of you who prefer outlining versus but writing past the seat of your pants.

The signal of view you lot'll use
How you'll start the story
How you lot'll go from the get-go to the main upshot
What happens at the "climax" (yes, even brusque stories have 1!)
Resolution of the main issue
The very finish

Go on in heed that the art of how to write a curt story can shut with something that ends very abruptly or y'all can mankind it out until there's a satisfying ending.

This is actually up to you as an author to decide. Practicing this for short stories can help you lot create an outline for your volume, too.

#iv – Outset with something out of the ordinary

In society to hook readers from the start of your story, you should write an opening scene that'll catch someone's attending right off the bat.

Take Hannah Lee Kidder's example from this video above . One of the brusque stories in her album, Little Birds , opens with a woman collecting roadkill.

Here's what that looks like at the start of the short story:

Short Story Opening Example:

Odd? Yes. Attention-grabbing? You bet! This is how to write a short story with an opening that gets readers engaged, invested in your graphic symbol, and motivated to read the unabridged story.

Because we're automatically intrigued by the fact that people don't normally go around collecting roadkill. It's some other place creative writing skills tin can really help you draw in your readers in a short story.

Now, you don't have to starting time your short story with something as strange as that only you exercise desire to requite your readers a sense of who your character is past depicting something unlike correct away that also has to exercise with the core focus of your short story.

Take this brusk story chosen The Souvenir of the Magi by O. Henry, for instance. This author starts with a very depression money amount and so hits you lot with the fact that it'due south Christmas the very next day.

This is out of the ordinary because many readers understand that having such little coin (scraped up money, at that) correct before Christmas isn't typical. Information technology'due south odd – and likewise hits their emotions correct away.

If you desire to larn how to write a short story, read the opening paragraphs of brusk stories. And pay attention to the many different means writers hook readers.

#5 – Become the draft done ASAP

Done is better than perfect. That'southward the best way to approach the process of writing a brusk story or anything else. We've all heard or read these words time and fourth dimension again – and that'south because they're important; they're true.

This is peculiarly the case when it comes to short stories. One time you accept your outline and know how to showtime writing, drafting the curt story in total comes next.

Don't worry most editing or polishing the story up in whatever way correct at present. After all, you can't possibly make good edits until you know what the story looks similar in full. When you're learning how to write a short story, resist the urge to get it perfect.

That would be like matching your earrings to your pants without commencement having the full outfit put together. You don't know if those earrings work well with it until y'all see what else you'll be wearing.

It's the aforementioned for writing. Focus on getting your draft done and then you tin move on to the adjacent stride.

The procedure of how to write a brusque story is rarely one-and-done merely commonly takes writing, rewriting, and editing to create your best piece of work.

#half-dozen – Edit your curt story

Editing is where the real magic happens when you're learning how to write a short story. We all have this idea in our minds that nosotros'll get it perfect the starting time time and that'due south merely not how writing works.

Most of the time, your first draft is merely the bare bones of what's to come but through line editing, developmental edits, and proofreading, it will transform into something better.

Retrieve of the actual writing as the wooden construction of a house and the editing as the drywall, paint, windows, calorie-free fixtures, doors, and annihilation else that'll brand the firm complete.

These are a few things to continue an eye out for when editing your brusque story. The elements of story structure to look for include:

Indicate of view consistency
Tense consistency
Consistency with the setting of your story
Weak verbs (replace them with our list of potent verbs establish right here!)
Showing versus telling (readers demand you to evidence more!)
Stronger imagery
Spelling/grammer/dialogue

If you want to learn how to write a short story, editing is a necessary part of the process. So what's that look like? The editing process for curt stories is pretty much the same for novels.

The only difference is that curt stories tend to focus more than on imagery and exposition than they practice full character and plot development.

#7 – Title it!

This can exist one of the most hard things for whatsoever volume, permit alone a story that'due south simply a few hundred to a few thousand words.

The expert news? Short story titles are a petty less important than titles for novels. They tin can besides exist very abstract.

What you want to call up of when titling your curt story is this:

What'south the overarching theme?
Something unique about the story?
Sounds intriguing merely not explanatory?
What makes sense after reading the short story?
What could exist mysterious enough to exist intriguing?

These questions will assistance y'all develop a title that non just makes sense but is likewise intriguing enough to pull readers in while staying truthful to what the story is about.

It'due south as well great practice to help you come upward with titles when you lot write and publish your book.

Learning how to write a brusk story includes learning how to write a great championship or headline. And let'southward face it, a nifty title or headline gets readers to pay attention. Put your creative writing skills to piece of work here. Come upward with a bunch of unlike titles, and ask our writing partners or target audition for feedback.

#eight – Go feedback

No matter how experienced (or inexperienced) you are equally a writer, y'all need feedback.

To create your all-time work, it's simply office of the process when you're learning how to write a brusk story. I know…information technology can feel scary. But feedback from the right people will help you make your short story ameliorate.

In order to learn and improve and ensure your message is coming across as desired, you lot need someone else's fresh eyes on it.

Google Docs is a peachy choice to write your short story and go feedback from others all in i place.

We demand this help considering the simple fact is, nosotros're too close to our writing.

It's impossible to read your story with a critical eye when you're the one who came upwardly with and wrote it in the first identify. That'south simply nosotros're wired when we're learning how to write a short story or anything else. We need feedback to improve.

Allowing others to read your work and offer feedback is one of the best ways to meliorate and make sure your story is exactly how you desire it. This is why writing partners and even beta readers are so important.

#9 – Practice by writing short stories often

The number 1 best way to learn how to write good curt stories is by writing them often.

When yous're writing regularly, your brain falls into the habit of beingness creative and thinking in terms of brusque stories.

If you desire to larn how to write a short story and go good at it…practice. The more than yous practice it, the easier it will become and the more than yous'll improve. So focus on writing a certain number of brusk stories per calendar week and stick to that – fifty-fifty if they aren't your favorite.

#10 – Write ane brusk story every day for 30 days

This is divide from writing curt stories oftentimes. If yous really desire to kickstart your progress and get really skilful quickly, then create a challenge for yourself.

Want to learn how to write a short story, get good at information technology, and write faster? Do this…

Write 1 short story, whether it'southward 500 or 1,000 words, per day for an entire calendar month.

When you're done, you'll have xxx full short stories to review, edit, and improve upon. Doing this not but builds a addiction, simply it besides gives you lot a lot of experience chop-chop.

Later those xxx days, yous'll know more virtually how you like to write brusque stories, which mean more to you, and how to write them to be adept. If you want to acquire how to write a brusque story, give this challenge a try. Seriously, information technology's simply 30 days.

#eleven – Focus on a unmarried bulletin to share

Brusk stories are known for being impactful even though they're not novel-length.

Learning how to write a short story forces you to think of means to take your reader on a journey in a much shorter space than a book.

And that means they have to take a cadre theme or message you want to get across. This can exist anything from loving yourself to ignoring societal expectations.

In order to do this, retrieve about what you lot want people to walk away from your story feeling.

What is the desired outcome?

If you lot just desire people to enjoy the story, that's great. However, what makes a story impactful and enjoyable is what readers have away from it.

Brainstorm some themes that are important to yous and piece of work your short story effectually them. When yous understand how to write a brusk story this way, it will non only make you intendance most your story more (which means it'll exist written better), but it'll also make it more than satisfying for readers.

#12 – Necktie information technology upwardly with a satisfying ending

Nobody likes a story that ends on a major cliffhanger.

It's okay for your brusque story to accept an unresolved catastrophe. In fact, that'll likely be the case only because the story is…well, brusk.

But you exercise want to necktie your story up in a way that leaves the reader feeling satisfied even if they didn't get all the answers.

Many times, this means circumvoluted back to an idea or element presented in the beginning. Information technology'south 1 storytelling strategy of how to write a brusque story and wrap everything upward.

This story construction often allows readers to feel every bit though they've read a complete story versus merely a snippet of a larger ane.

Demand aid wrapping things up? Cheque out this VIDEO: How to End a Short Story and other valid concerns.

Why All Writers Should Learn How to Write a Short Story

There's a lot more than to writing short stories than you may think. As a brusk story writer, continue in mind that just considering they're shorter in length doesn't mean it takes any less skill to execute a good one.

Short story writers get this…Being able to tell a full story in such a brusk corporeality of time arguably takes more skill than writing a full-length novel or nonfiction book.

That being said, why is it beneficial for all writers to larn how to write a curt story?

#1 – Yous learn the skill of showing

Short story writers take a challenge that requires some patience to overcome, but it's worth it. When you merely have a few pages to hook readers, paint a clear picture of the main grapheme, and tell a story, you cease upwardly mastering the skill of showing instead of telling.

The reason for this is because, in order to accomplish a successful and proficient brusque story, showing is a major office of that.

Information technology's far too difficult to write a great brusk story without showing the details and using strong verbs to paint a clear paradigm of your chief grapheme'due south life. Great brusk story writers empathize the "show don't tell" concept.
If y'all want to learn how to write a short story, getting clear on this will save y'all a lot of time.

Those skills volition transfer into annihilation you write, automatically making it that much better. One more reason is that learning how to write a short story will help with other writing projects.

#2 – Yous'll strengthen individual capacity

No matter if yous're a fiction writer, short story writer, or if you prefer nonfiction, the thought here is the same.

A chapter is basically a short story that's a part of a bigger whole. The same skills y'all utilise to write a great short story will also help you write stronger chapters.

Each function of your book should exist polished, strong, and enticing for your readers. Using brusque story writing methods will assist you reach that inside your chapters.

Why is writing skilful chapters important if there'due south a whole book available for someone to read?

Considering it hooks readers and keeps them turning that page.

And when readers look back on an entire volume filled with incredible chapters, the entire volume as a whole volition exist seen as being that much amend. Spending time learning how to write a short story sets you upwardly for success when y'all write your volume or pursue other writing projects.

Hello, v-star reviews!

#3 – It makes the story sections of your nonfiction volume more captivating

Every nonfiction book has portions where stories must be told in order to get the point across.

This is what allows people to relate to you every bit an author, which pulls them in deeper and makes the cadre message of your book resonate with them more. It'southward another part "how to write a curt story" skills will assist you connect with readers.

But if those stories are weak, non well-written, and lackluster, it'southward unlikely someone volition enjoy them as much.

It's also likely that your message will get lost because the book doesn't carry the same impact.

Keeping readers engaged from start to stop tin can feel like a alpine order. But when you larn how to write a curt story with a beginning, center, end, and a message readers will dear you for it.

How long are short stories?

Brusk stories should remain beneath seven,000 words in order to be considered a "short story." They tin be as brusque as only one judgement, as this is known as flash fiction.

Yous already know that curt stories are… shorter than your average novel but do they accept any other differences?

Here's a nautical chart detailing the main differences in how many words are in brusque stories, novels, novellas, and nonfiction works.

Blazon of writing	Discussion count	Pages in a typical book	Example
Short story	100 – xv,000	1 – 24 pages	"The Gift of the Magi" past O. Henry
Novella	30,000 – 60,000	100 – 200 pages	"A Clockwork Orange" by Anthony Burgess
Novel	60,000 – 100,000	200 – 350 pages	"Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone": by JK Rowling
Epic Novel	120,00 – 220,000+	400 – 750+ pages	"Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin

As you lot can see, the main difference is length, but that's not all. When you understand how to write a short story, you lot're simply writing a very impactful snippet of your main character's otherwise full life.

You don't have to unpack your entire character'south life story in a few hundred words in order to write a great brusque story.

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