Content

• To step
• Part 1 of 3: Getting ideas
• Part 2 of 3: Making a first draft
• Part 3 of 3: Improving the draft version

For many writers, the short story is the ideal genre. Most people think of writing a novel as an impossible task, but basically anyone can put together a short story and, perhaps most importantly, it can. finish up. Like a well-written novel, a good short story will engage and excite your reader. You too can learn to write a successful short story in no time with some brainstorming, making a setup and finally a good finish.

To step

Part 1 of 3: Getting ideas

1. To begin with, come up with a plot or scenario. Think about what your story will be about and what will happen in the story. Think about what topics you will discuss or describe. Determine what your approach or what the starting point of your story will be.
   • For example, you can start with a simple plot; maybe your main character is surprised by bad news or he or she gets an unwanted visit from a friend or family member.
   • You can also try to come up with a more complicated plot, such as a main character waking up in an alternate reality, or your main character discovering someone's deepest secret.
2. Focus on a complex main character. Most short stories focus on one or two main characters at most. Try to think of a main character that has a clear desire or will, but is also full of contradictions. Don't simply give your main character good or bad character. Give your main character interesting traits and feelings so that he or she feels complex and complete.
   • You can use people from your real life as inspiration for your main character. Or you can observe strangers in public and use their traits for your main character.
   • For example, maybe your main character is a young teenage girl who wants to protect her little brother from bullies at school, while also wanting to be among the other kids at school. It could also be that your main character is an older man who is lonely and therefore develops a close friendship with his neighbor, but then finds out that his neighbor is involved in criminal activities.
3. Create a central conflict for the main character. Every good short story has a conflict that takes center stage, in which the main character has to solve a certain problem or dilemma. Present a conflict for your main character early in the story. Make your main character's life difficult or problematic.
   • For example, your main character may have a certain wish or want something very much, but it takes him or her a lot of effort to fulfill that wish. Or maybe your main character is trapped in a dire or dangerous situation and must do everything they can to stay alive.
4. Choose an interesting background. Another important part of a short story is the background, which is the place where the events of the story take place. You can choose to stick to one central backdrop for your short story and then add details to that backdrop for your different characters. Choose a background that is interesting to you and that you can make interesting for your reader.
   • For example, you might have your story set in a high school in the city where you live. But you may also start your story in a small settlement on Mars.
   • Try not to overload the story with a lot of different backgrounds, because that way you would only confuse your reader. Usually one or two sets is enough for a short story.
5. Try to come up with a specific topic. Many short stories revolve around a particular topic and elaborate on that from the point of view of the narrator or the main character. You can choose a broad theme such as "love", "desire" or "loss" and think about it from your main character's point of view.
   • You can also choose a more specific topic such as "love between siblings", desire for friendship "or" the loss of a parent ".
6. Schedule an emotional climax. Every good short story has a shocking moment when the main character reaches an emotional peak. The climax usually occurs in the last half of the story or near the end. During such a climax in the story, for example, the main character is completely overwhelmed, is trapped somewhere, completely desperate, or has no more control over anything.
   • For example, you can have an emotional climax in which your main character, a lonely elderly man, has to confront his neighbor about his criminal activities. Or you can think of an emotional climax where the main character, a young teenage girl, defends her little brother against a group of bullies at school.
7. Try to come up with an unexpected twist or some other kind of surprise. Try to get ideas for an ending that will surprise, shock, or impress your reader. Avoid a predictable ending, where your reader can guess the ending in advance. Give your reader a false sense of security, thinking they know how the story will turn out, and then direct the reader's attention to another character or an image that will shock the reader.
   • Never end your story in an artificial way, using clichés or known unexpected connections to surprise your reader. Build tension and emotion into your story so that your reader experiences a shock at the end.
8. Read examples of short stories. Learn what makes a short story a success and how a reader can become captivated by a short story by reading examples from experienced writers. Read short stories in a variety of genres, from literary fiction to science fiction and fantasy stories. Notice how the writer uses characters, subject matter, background, and plot to enhance the effects within his or her short story. For example, you can read the following short stories:
   • "Writer" of Heere Heeresma
   • "The Parrot" by Lode Baekelmans
   • "After the movie" by Hugo Claus
   • "The Sound of Thunder" by American writer Ray Bradbury
   • "Tocht" by Leen Raats
   • "Two Cowboys" by the American writer Annie Proulx
   • "A room for myself" by Joost de Vries
   • "Dancing" by Ronald Giphart
   • "Shave a bum" by Rob van Essen
   • "Someone who means it" by Maartje Wortel

Part 2 of 3: Making a first draft

1. Write the outline for your plot. Organize your short story in the form of a five-part plot scheme: the exhibition, a provocative incident, increasing activity, a climax, decreasing activity and a denouement. Use the outline as a guide when writing the story to make sure it has a clear beginning, middle, and end.
   • You can also try the so-called snowflake method. This means that you write a summary of one sentence, a summary of one paragraph and you also make an overview of all the characters in the story and a worksheet (on paper or in Excel) with the different scenes.
2. Write a beginning that piques your reader's interest. Your opening must contain action, conflict, or an unusual image to get your reader's attention. In the first paragraph, introduce your main character and background to your reader. Prepare your reader for the main topics and ideas within the story.
   • For example, an opening line such as "I was lonely that day" does not tell your reader much about the narrator, is not uncommon, and does not attract attention.
   • Instead, try a phrase like, `` The day after my wife left me, I knocked on the neighbor's door to ask if she had some sugar for a cake I wasn't planning to bake. '' This phrase gives the reader a conflict in the past, the woman who left, and tension in the present between the narrator and the neighbor.
3. Stick to one perspective. A short story is usually told from the I perspective and sticks to only one perspective. This gives the story a clear focal point and perspective. You can also try to write a short story from the third person's perspective, but this could create more distance between you and the reader.
   • Some short stories are written from a second person perspective, with the narrator using "you". This is usually only done when the second person is essential to the story being told, such as in the short story 'Story of Your Life' written by the American writer Ted Chiang or that of the American-Dominican author Junot Diaz entitled 'This is How You Lose Her '.
   • Most short stories are written in the past tense, but you can also choose the present tense if you want to involve your reader in the story more directly.
4. Use dialogue to develop characters and develop the plot. The dialogue in your story should always do several things at the same time. Make sure that the dialogue tells your reader something about the character speaking and also adds to the overall denouement of the story. Include so-called dialogue labels in the story that develop character and add more tension or conflict to the different scenes.
   • For example, instead of using a dialogue phrase like, "Hey, how are you?", Try writing in your character's voice. You could write, "Hey lady, how are things?" Or, "Where have you been? I haven't seen you in decades. "
   • Try to use dialogue labels like "she stuttered," "I sputtered," or "he yelled" to add more character to your characters. For example, instead of writing, "Where have you been?" She said, "you could write," Where have you been? "She asked demandingly," or "Where have you been?" they.'
5. Include sensory details about the background. Think about how the environment feels, sounds, tastes, smells and looks to your main characters. Describe your background using your senses in your mind to bring the environment to life for your reader.
   • For example, you could describe your old high school as `` a huge industrial-looking building that smells like gym socks, hairspray, lost dreams and chalk. '' Or you could describe the air at your house as `` a white sheet covered in a thick gray haze caused by the fires that crackled in the nearby forest in the early morning. '
6. End with an awareness or a revelation. The awareness or revelation does not have to be very big or clear. It can also be something subtle, where your characters start to do or see things in a different way. You can end up with a revelation that feels open, or a revelation that feels dissolved and ready.
   • You can also end with an interesting image or with an interesting conversation that reveals a change or sudden change in a character.
   • For example, you could end your story with the moment your main character decides to report his neighbor, even if that means losing him as a friend. Or you could end your story with the image of your main character helping her brother walk home, covered in blood, where they arrive just in time for dinner.

Part 3 of 3: Improving the draft version

1. Read your short story out loud. Try to hear what the sentences sound like, especially the dialogue. Note whether the different paragraphs in the story flow together properly. Make sure there are no strange sentences in the story and underline them so that you can rewrite them later.
   • Determine whether your story follows the structure of your plot and whether there is an obvious conflict for your main character.
   • Reading the story out loud can also help you correct spelling, grammar, or punctuation errors.
2. Review your short story for clarity and fluency. Most short stories are between 1,000 and 7,000 words, or one to ten pages. Be open to omitting certain scenes from your story, or to erase sentences to make your story shorter and more powerful. Make sure to only include details or moments that are absolutely essential to the story you are trying to tell.
   • In general, for short stories, shorter is usually better. Therefore, don't leave a sentence that doesn't say much or a scene that's useless just because you like it. Be merciless in binding your story and make sure it doesn't contain more than necessary.
3. Come up with an interesting title. Most publishers, but also most readers, will first look at the title of a story to determine if they want to continue reading. Choose a title that will engage or interest your reader and encourage him or her to read the actual story. Choose as title a subject, an image or the name of a character from the story itself.
   • For example, the title 'Something I've Been Meaning to Tell You' by Canadian writer Alice Munro is a good example because it is a quote from something a character says in the story and because he is aimed directly at the reader, where the "I" want to share something with the readers.
   • The title "Snow, Apple, Glass" by British author Neil Gaiman is also a good title because it introduces three objects that are interesting in themselves, but become even more interesting when brought together in one story.
4. Have others read your story and then criticize it. Show your short story to friends, family members and, for example, classmates. Ask if they find the story compelling and engaging. Be open to constructive criticism from others as it will only make your story stronger.
   • You can also join a writer's club and offer your short story for a workshop. Or you can set up your own writing group with friends in which you can hold workshops with one of your stories as a theme.
   • After you have received feedback from others, you should revisit your short story until you have created the best possible version of it.