How to Write a Short Story

By eHow Arts & Entertainment Editor

I Did This Rate: (176 Ratings)

The model described here is the pyramid plot: The upward slope establishes setting and characters and builds tension; the tip is the climax; and the downward slope is the resolution.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

Thesauri
Printer Inks
Printers
Desk Lamps
Desks
Wastebaskets
Folders
Printer Paper
Spiral Notebooks
Computers
Word Processors
Word-processing Software

Step1

Choose a narrative point of view. You can write your story as if you were one of the characters (first person), as a detached narrator who presents just one character's thoughts and observations (third-person limited), or as a detached narrator who presents the thoughts and observations of several characters (third-person omniscient). A first-person point of view will refer to the central character as 'I' instead of 'he' or 'she.'

Step2

Create a protagonist, or main character. This should be the most developed and usually the most sympathetic character in your story.

Step3

Create a problem, or conflict, for your protagonist. The conflict of your story should take one of five basic forms: person vs. person, person vs. himself or herself, person vs. nature, person vs. society, or person vs. God or fate. If you choose a person vs. person conflict, create an antagonist to serve as the person your protagonist must contend with.

Step4

Establish believable characters and settings, with vivid descriptions and dialogue, to create a story that your readers will care about.

Step5

Build the story's tension by having the protagonist make several failed attempts to solve or overcome the problem. (You may want to skip this step for shorter stories.)

Step6

Create a crisis that serves as the last chance for the protagonist to solve his or her problem.

Step7

Resolve the tension by having the protagonist succeed through his or her own intelligence, creativity, courage or other positive attributes. This is usually referred to as the story's climax.

Step8

Extend this resolution phase, if you like, by reflecting on the action of the story and its significance to the characters or society.

Tips & Warnings

There are many possible variations of this model, all of which allow for perfectly good short stories.
Keep your diction concise, specific and active. For example, say "Steve ate the apple" instead of "The fruit was eaten by someone."

Comments

Soulsearcher83 said

Flag This Comment

on 10/21/2008 I liked this article. It is a good reminder of the basics that stories stick to and reminds me of how I first learned to write short stories in grade school.

1337ERROR said

Flag This Comment

on 1/15/2007 Before hand try to go back and read some of your favorite stories then figure out what makes them so good and remeberable. Try to include what you find in your own short story.

Anonymous said

Flag This Comment

on 1/9/2008 Construct a plot rich in probability and characters not wanting in interest. Also,the desire to write does not make one a writer, but the difference one thrives to make with the writing makes one a writer.

Anonymous said

Flag This Comment

on 1/18/2007 If you're going to have a weird twist at the end of the story, make sure to leave clues leading up to it. If you don't the reader will feel cheated.

Anonymous said

Flag This Comment

on 8/27/2006 I find it easier to visualize a particular scene and begin building a story around it. For example, you might have a dream about how you learn that you can fly. There might be a part of the dream that sticks in your head where you first try flying and it is the best thing that ever happened to you! If you choose to write a story about this experience, you could always set the rest of the story around this scene!