Writing a Short Story
English 102
Ms. Floyd
Spring 2007
It is generally known that we learn by doing. People learn more about the craft of writing a short story and appreciate the time and talent it takes to write a good one when they themselves write this form of fiction. Your assignment is to write a short story of five to seven pages. This story should include a character in conflict; however, first drafts of the short story may or may not have elements of plot such as crisis, climax, and so on; so don't worry about that at the beginning.
Think about the short stories that you have read for this course. Think about the techniques that professional writers use to tell their stories. Think about aspects of the short stories that appealed to you, about aspects that didn't. Try some of the techniques that professional writers use. Experiment with form (font, illustrations, maps, and so on). Take risks.
Consider carefully the point of view with which you tell your story, remembering that point of view determines what the reader does and doesn't know.
Main characters should be round, not flat. Human beings are complex; take advantage of that complexity. Create characters who are memorable.
Pay attention to characters' clothes, education, speech patterns. Make dialogue count. Pay attention to what your characters do not say. Pay attention to their body language.
Consider carefully names of people and places.
Think about the setting and the roles that setting can play in a narrative. Include details that show time and place. Research places and historic events if necessary.
Does your short story have a message? If yes, good; however, avoid stating it at the end. If your short story doesn't have a message, don't worry about it as you draft. As you live with the short story, you may see a message emerge. Your readers may see a message even if you don't.
Think about irony. Is it in your short story?
Have you used symbols?
Allusions?
Stream of consciousness?
Interior monologue?
Metaphors?
Similes?You may want to include an epigraph (a quotation at the beginning of a text), which will hint at the meaning of the work.
See your vignette assignment handout for other strategies for writing fiction.
Keep ideas for your short story in a writer's notebook. Look in newspapers and on news broadcasts for ideas. Describe several characters. Put those characters in conflict with each other, with nature, with society, with the supernatural, with fate, with themselves. Describe possible settings. Get out into the world and look at the world with the writer's eye. Find the exact words to describe what you see, hear, taste, touch, and feel. Record these experiences in your writer's notebook. Also, record how you got ideas. Also, record problems you encountered and how you solved those problems.
Write a skeleton of the action and then flesh out the skeleton with details.
Remember: Have fun!