The short story is a unique literary form that allows authors to be concise yet impactful. Mastering the craft requires understanding key elements like plot structure, character development, themes, and more. This guide will break down the essentials of good short story writing.
Getting Started Writing Short Stories
Before putting pen to paper, consider what makes short stories different than longer forms of fiction. Short stories are meant to be read in one sitting; therefore, staying focused is crucial. Limit yourself to a specific theme or message you want to convey rather than attempting an epic tale with subplots and dozens of characters.
Short stories also move quickly without excessive backstory or elongated descriptions. Every sentence should serve a purpose in advancing the narrative or revealing something important about a character. Resist tangents or pages of inner monologue that meanders.
With those principles in mind, the first step is generating ideas. Study your life for meaningful experiences that left an emotional impact. Turn nostalgic memories or a lesson learned into a plotline. Observe people around situations rife with conflict or drama. Extract the inspiration and transform it into fiction.
Speculative fiction writers create “what if” scenarios built on imagination rather than experience. The premise itself will drive the story forward, but remember to infuse symbols, imagery and other creative elements to add depth.
Start by asking yourself questions:
- What if a person had an unusual psychological condition that affected their behavior?
- How would society react to a dystopian world where robots outnumber people?
- What happens when a natural disaster tears a family apart?
Let your original ideas percolate before rushing to draft a full storyline.
Elements of a Short Story
Though short in length, short stories should engage readers immediately and leave a lasting impression. Several key elements contribute to a gripping narrative.
Plot Structure
Since short stories are brief, every scene matters. Most effective short stories follow a classic plot structure: exposition, rising action, climax, falling action and resolution.
The exposition provides quick context about the main characters and their circumstances. Details about the setting may be sparse so readers can instantly orient themselves.
Rising action builds narrative momentum toward the climax, which marks the height of conflict, either between characters or within a character’s psyche. This crisis moment will make or break your protagonists.
Falling action shows the aftermath and impact of the climax. The resolution wraps up loose ends but leaves readers wondering about what happens next. An open-ended finale implies life goes on for your characters beyond the last page.
When mapping out your plot, choose a few events that propel the arc without overcomplicating things. Every scene should logically lead into the next for seamless flow.
Characters
For short fiction, limit your main characters since there’s little room for full biographies. Reveal personalities indirectly through dialogue and body language instead of explaining every little detail up front. Unfold quirks when it serves the story rather than cramming backstories at the start.
Your protagonist should experience an evolution of sorts, even if the story timeline only spans hours or days. Begin by showcasing their ordinary world, then throw obstacles in their path. Push them out of their comfort zone into uncharted territory. This shifts their perspective by the climax so previous assumptions get challenged.
The antagonist plays the opposite role by preventing the protagonist from achieving their goal. Rather than a Snidely Whiplash caricature, craft “bad guys” with redeeming qualities that make them multi-dimensional. Give valid motivations for their actions rather than making them evil for no reason.
Supporting characters influence the direction of the plot and main characters’ emotional states. Use them strategically to obstruct or assist the protagonist at key moments.
Setting
Fleshing out a clearly defined, vivid setting immediately grounds readers in the story world. Describe the weather, landscape, architecture and other visual details. Cue all five senses to transport audiences into each scene as an immersed participant.
Settings often parallel a main character’s internal landscape. For example, a gloomy, fog-filled alleyway mirrors the gloom enveloping a character’s state of mind after receiving bad news. Story locations evolve alongside the emotional arc of the characters.
Depending on your genre, the setting may require substantial world-building to construct believable societies, customs, governments, etc, that differ from reality. Even literary fiction requires reasonable establishment of contexts & boundaries within imaginary tale worlds.
Theme
Resonant short stories convey themes exploring timeless topics like love, death, childhood, aging, trauma, and redemption. Great fiction attempts to make sense of universal human experiences. Consider what wisdom you want readers to derive or emotions you aim to conjure based on your own worldview.
Themes often manifest through symbolism and metaphorical imagery woven seamlessly into storylines. A decaying mansion represents fading memories of childhood. Weather patterns echo fluctuations in a relationship. Studies your world for reflective motifs.
Above all, avoid overt messaging or preachy overtones by letting your characters’ choices speak for themselves. Allow readers to interpret themes based on an unresolved climax rather than spelling things out didactically. Stay subtle.
Description & Imagery
Unlike novels, short stories require economical descriptions using every word purposefully. Balance concise, crisp sentences with brief flourishes of sensory details when needed. Passages of scenic description or meal preparation drag the pace unless they reveal motives and advance the action.
When describing characters, identify one or two standout physical traits reflective of personalities. For example, a rigid posture exposes an uptight boss. Fidgety hands signal anxiety. Unusual fashion choices suggest Bohemian tendencies.
Figures of speech, like metaphors and symbols, densify descriptions too. A broken watch represents the concept of time running out. Democratic ideals shine sunlight through the gloomy dictatorship. Want less complexity? Opt for similes using “like” or “as.”
Show, don’t tell by allowing actions and dialog to demonstrate a character’s temperament or emotional subtext. Scenes packed with subtext and dramatic irony heighten suspense far better than explanatory passages.
Pacing
Alternating longer paragraphs with quick, punchy dialogue prevents dense text walls syndrome. Break things up. Insert chapter or section divisions to punctuate major plot movements even if the total word count is under 5,000 words.
Vary sentence lengths, too, for good rhythm and flow. Back-to-back short, choppy sentences build tension, whereas meandering, run-on sentences mimic racing thoughts.
Cliffhangers make excellent chapter stops to tempt readers onto the next page. Sprinkle in plot twists that shock like surprising revelations, stakes raised unexpectedly higher, and deaths of key players. Conflict drives stories forward, so ensure plenty of obstacles for your characters.
Endings
Wrapping up a short story skillfully is an art in itself. Tie up enough loose ends to satisfy readers while allowing some mystery about the futures of characters to linger. Avoid overly contrived happy endings unless they align with your theme. For darker tales, embrace ambiguous finales, which can simply end on an ellipsis…
Revise and Edit
After completing an entire draft, step away and then revisit it with fresh eyes before making revisions. Scrutinize whether scenes logically build in intensity to the climactic peak. Check that dialogue and descriptions consistently match the main character’s perspective.
Pay attention to repetition. Do the same adjectives pop up constantly? Are settings redundant? Vary descriptors.
Kill your darlings aka cut unnecessary passages you love simply for decorative purposes like extensive backstories or tangent plotlines throwing focus off track. If a gorgeous paragraph, clever quip or scene does not advance character or story, slash it regardless.
Read aloud to catch awkward phrasing. Tighten sentences for simplification. Eliminate filler words like “just,” “very,” or “really,” diluting power.
Refine until you pinpoint precise words evoking maximum reactions using subtle yet strong language. Then reward yourself as a successfully crafted short story awaits its soon-to-be dedicated fans.
Writing Short Stories – Advanced Tips
Once confident with the fundamentals, short story writers can further enhance their work with advanced literary techniques:
- Unreliable or shifting narrative perspective. How might the tale differ if told through the villain’s eyes? An outside observer?
- Non-linear timeline. Experiment with backward storytelling or flashbacks disrupting chronological order.
- Cliffhangers mid-chapter to exponentially boost suspense.
- Foreshadowing and subtle red herrings hint at a shocking finale.
- Contrasting parallel storylines that eventually connect. Think ensemble casts à la Robert Altman.
- Prose styled as prose poems or mini song lyrics for heightened emotional effect.
Seeking Inspiration for Writing Short Stories
Immerse yourself in beloved short fiction to intuitively absorb more winning formulas. Anthologies provide mini MFAs covering multiple eras and artistic approaches. Devour classics by masters like Anton Chekov, Flannery O’Connor, Edgar Allan Poe, Jorge Louis Borges, Kate Chopin, and Willa Cather.
Study contemporaries pushing boundaries like Ted Chiang, Jennifer Egan, Lauren Groff, Carmen Maria Machado, Kelly Link, Karen Russell, Junot Diaz and Amelia Gray.
Identify admirable techniques, then consciously implement them into your personal aesthetic as you develop an individual voice. Continually testing new methods keeps creativity flowing. Soon your own future fans await!
