How To Write A Good Short Story

Don’t Waste Time/Space

Use the time of a total stranger in such a way he or she will not feel the time was wasted. Make sure that when you write it is something that you would sit down and take the time to read. If you feel bored or dissatisfied with your own story then maybe you should do some rewriting.

Love ‘Em or Hate ‘Em

Give the reader at least one character he or she can root for. Create a protagonist and antagonist. Some people may relate to the good, and some may relate to the bad.

Purpose

Every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water. Make the character have a purpose. Give them a reason to be there. No one likes a useless character.

Boredom

Every sentence must do one of two things–reveal character or advance the action. If the reader becomes bored because nothing is keeping them reading, they will put it down or continue reading to give it a bad review.

Sadist

No matter how sweet and innocent your leading characters, make awful things happen to them–so the reader may see what they are made of. Create obstacles for the character to overcome, or not overcome, whichever you feel is better for the story to be great. Dialogue, setting, and characterization are all areas that will benefit from an unexpected twist.

Information More or Less

Give your readers as much information as possible as soon as possible. To heck with suspense. Readers should have such complete understanding of what is going on, where and why, that they could finish the story themselves, should cockroaches eat the last few pages. There are cases where you can create suspense and suspicion where the reader can use their own imagination to what could have happened. Or possibly create an alternate ending to your story.

Identify The Heart Of Your Story

Explore your motivations, determine what you want your story to do, then stick to your core message. If you over-stuff your plot by including too many distractions, your story will feel overloaded and underdeveloped.

See Things Differently

Experiment with your short story’s viewpoint. A unique, unexpected voice can provide the most compelling, focused experience of the main story. Just don’t make that character nonessential to the story, because it can become confusing, and readers will ask themselves why the character was there in the first place.

A Strong Title

This can be one of the most difficult—but one of the most important—parts of writing your story. How do you find inspiration for a great title? Have friends read your story and note which words or phrases strike them or stand out. Try to stay away from one- or two-word titles, which can seem to editors as taking the easy way out.

Shorter Is Sweeter

Resist the urge to go on and on. It is called a short story for a reason. You don’t have to have a complete ending to officially end your story. Get creative and find a way for the reader to have fun at the end.