what to write about for a short story

Writing short stories can help tremendously in the process of condign a successful writer.

Remember that condign a successful writer is a journey, many commencement with curt stories, blogging, or even poetry before going on to writing a book.

You probably don't think short stories are very difficult to write.

In fact, y'all might be the type who assumes short stories are even easier because, well…they're brusque .

Merely that's just not the case (there's an art to writing an amazing brusk story)—and I'll tell y'all why in simply a minute.

Short stories, and getting good at writing them, can actually prepare yous up for success in other writing ventures likewise. That's why we're showcasing the almost of import steps for writing a brusque story.

They may be difficult to become skillful at, only we're breaking downwards how to make them much easier, and what makes for a expert one to brainstorm with. Want to learn how to write a short story, and get ameliorate at this style of writing?

Be certain to check out our post on publishing short stories once you've mastered the writing part.

If you want to acquire how to write a short story or be a improve brusk story writer, you'll have to go through these master steps:

Generate your idea
Know your graphic symbol
Outline your short story
Offset with something out of the ordinary
Go your draft done every bit soon as possible
Edit your brusque story
Championship your short story
Get feedback about information technology
Practice often
How to write a brusque story every day
Define your cadre bulletin
Write a satisfying ending

Once you get through the steps for writing a short story, make certain to take a look at the short story ideas, tips for writing them, and common questions with answers all almost curt stories (including how long a short story is).

How to Write a Brusque Story in 12 Full, Concrete Steps

If you're fix to tackle this avenue of creative writing or you just want to learn how to write a short story to strengthen the overall quality of your book, here'south how you can do that.

#ane – Come upward with a stiff short story idea

You can pull ideas from curt stories from everywhere.

Former short story editor and at present-published brusk story author (with two collections), Hannah Lee Kidder says, "The best short story ideas will e'er come from you yourself. Those are the ideas that y'all'll care the nearly about and be able to bring to life the easiest."

That said, we know it can take a trigger to come up with brusque story ideas that make you want to craft great writing effectually. Ultimately, you'll have the all-time results past tweaking whatever idea you have of your own, but we also wanted to provide some short story ideas to assistance you get started.

Hither are 20 short story ideas to accept your writing to the next level:

Your character opens the mailbox to find their biggest fearfulness inside.
After a devastating fall, your character is learning the hardships of healing afterwards an blow.
Character accidentally insults their company'due south CEO – right earlier a big promotion.
The character lost a child years agone but lives equally if information technology just happened the solar day before.
Your graphic symbol'south village wise woman tells the story of how magic was lost due to abuse.
Your character lives in a space pod traveling space, and they're besides claustrophobic.
Ash floated from the mountaintop and awoke your grapheme from their night's slumber.
Your graphic symbol hasn't eaten in days and stumbles uponreal berries, and and then does a starving bear.
When your character'due south eye is cleaved, they must find a way to heal it – whatsoever way.
Your grapheme is an orphaned 7-twelvemonth-old who hears voices.
Your character only found out they accept a rare disease…that hasn't been detected anywhere in centuries.
After a fight with their ex, your character decides to keep a trip to the neighboring boondocks that hosts very…unusual tales.
Your character accidentally runs into the incorrect person on the street…and now they tin can't sleep at night.
When your character moves schools, they didn't expect to find a hole-and-corner lurking throughout the school…that all the teachers know about.
It's your grapheme's turn in their civilization's ritual of fighting a lion barehanded. They've never been good in fights.
After extreme weather conditions plague your character's town, they finally leave home to find everybody has gone missing.
Your graphic symbol is in the back of an ambulance, trying badly to revive someone who's apparently dead…so why are they still away and breathing?
Later on a curt stint at a hospital equally a nurse, your character decides to have their skills to the mountains as a wilderness medical professional. They merely didn't expect to find odd and interesting injuries among campers.
An apple appears at your character'south front door every morning and they tin't figure out who's putting it there.
When an avalanche quakes the mountains in your character's boondocks, information technology unveils something that'southward been hidden for…millenia.

Sometimes short story ideas are enough but if y'all desire to utilize them effectively, keep these tips in mind:

Keep it elementary and focus on a single portion of a character'due south life
Brand sure the reader has a clear picture of your primary graphic symbol correct away
Focus on the theme and message you're trying to get across
Let the short story thought create a life of its own
Exist unique and think of many possible endings to the story before outlining

#two – Focus on Character Evolution

In order for a short story to be impactful, you take to know your grapheme well. Having good graphic symbol development is essential in short stories since your primary characters often bulldoze the story.

You only have a certain amount of time to bear witness your readers who that person is and you can't practice that if you don't even know who they are.

Think about information technology.

If y'all write a short story most your best friend, whom you lot've known for many years, versus writing i about someone you just met yesterday, you'll be able to arts and crafts a much stronger story nigh your best friend because you lot know them so well. Creative writing techniques can assist you bring out the best or most compelling things about your characters.

The same goes for your fictional characters.

Just when writing a short story, you won't take the same type of graphic symbol arc as you would when writing a full-length novel.

You don't have to spend a ton of time on your principal grapheme, but know their history, age, personality, family life, friend life, love life, and other details that shape the way someone sees the earth.

Keep in mind that since your short story is, well, shorter than a novel, y'all may remove a few steps. Knowing the overall graphic symbol journey, however, can be helpful for your main character development inside short stories.

Spend plenty time on character development when you're learning how to write a curt story or improving your creative writing skills will pay off by introducing your readers to memorable characters.

#3 – Outline

Thankfully, the outlining procedure for short stories is much easier than a full novel, simply I exercise still suggest creating 1 in lodge to have a cohesive flow throughout the story.

This is definitely useful for those of y'all who prefer outlining versus just writing past the seat of your pants.

The point of view you'll employ
How y'all'll start the story
How you'll get from the beginning to the chief result
What happens at the "climax" (yeah, even short stories accept i!)
Resolution of the primary outcome
The very end

Keep in mind that the art of how to write a brusque story can close with something that ends very abruptly or you tin flesh it out until at that place's a satisfying catastrophe.

This is really up to you as an author to decide. Practicing this for short stories can help you create an outline for your book, likewise.

#4 – Starting time with something out of the ordinary

In gild to hook readers from the outset of your story, you should write an opening scene that'll grab someone'southward attention right off the bat.

Accept Hannah Lee Kidder'southward example from this video above . One of the brusk stories in her anthology, Little Birds , opens with a woman collecting roadkill.

Here'southward what that looks similar at the kickoff of the short story:

Short Story Opening Case:

Odd? Yes. Attending-grabbing? Y'all bet! This is how to write a short story with an opening that gets readers engaged, invested in your character, and motivated to read the entire story.

Because we're automatically intrigued by the fact that people don't normally get around collecting roadkill. It's another place artistic writing skills can really assistance you draw in your readers in a brusk story.

At present, you don't have to start your short story with something as foreign every bit that but you do want to requite your readers a sense of who your character is by depicting something different right away that also has to practise with the core focus of your short story.

Take this short story chosen The Gift of the Magi past O. Henry, for example. This writer starts with a very depression money amount and then hits yous with the fact that it'due south Christmas the very side by side day.

This is out of the ordinary considering many readers understand that having such little coin (scraped upwards money, at that) correct before Christmas isn't typical. Information technology's odd – and also hits their emotions correct away.

If you desire to learn how to write a short story, read the opening paragraphs of short stories. And pay attention to the many different ways writers hook readers.

#five – Become the draft done ASAP

Washed is better than perfect. That's the best mode to approach the process of writing a short story or anything else. Nosotros've all heard or read these words time and time again – and that'south because they're of import; they're true.

This is especially the case when it comes to short stories. One time you have your outline and know how to commencement writing, drafting the short story in full comes adjacent.

Don't worry nearly editing or polishing the story upwards in whatsoever way correct now. After all, you can't peradventure brand good edits until y'all know what the story looks similar in full. When yous're learning how to write a short story, resist the urge to get information technology perfect.

That would be like matching your earrings to your pants without first having the total outfit put together. You don't know if those earrings work well with it until you lot see what else you lot'll be wearing.

It's the aforementioned for writing. Focus on getting your draft washed so yous can motility on to the next step.

The process of how to write a short story is rarely one-and-done but usually takes writing, rewriting, and editing to create your best work.

#half-dozen – Edit your short story

Editing is where the existent magic happens when you lot're learning how to write a short story. Nosotros all take this idea in our minds that we'll get it perfect the kickoff time and that's merely not how writing works.

Almost of the fourth dimension, your first draft is merely the bare bones of what's to come up but through line editing, developmental edits, and proofreading, it will transform into something better.

Retrieve of the bodily writing every bit the wooden structure of a house and the editing as the drywall, paint, windows, lite fixtures, doors, and anything else that'll make the business firm complete.

These are a few things to keep an middle out for when editing your short story. The elements of story structure to look for include:

Betoken of view consistency
Tense consistency
Consistency with the setting of your story
Weak verbs (supersede them with our list of strong verbs establish right hither!)
Showing versus telling (readers need you to show more!)
Stronger imagery
Spelling/grammar/dialogue

If you want to learn how to write a short story, editing is a necessary office of the process. So what's that expect like? The editing process for brusque stories is pretty much the aforementioned for novels.

The just divergence is that short stories tend to focus more on imagery and exposition than they exercise full graphic symbol and plot development.

#vii – Title it!

This can be ane of the most difficult things for whatever book, let lonely a story that'due south only a few hundred to a few g words.

The good news? Short story titles are a fiddling less of import than titles for novels. They can also be very abstract.

What you want to think of when titling your short story is this:

What's the overarching theme?
Something unique almost the story?
Sounds intriguing but not explanatory?
What makes sense after reading the brusque story?
What could be mysterious enough to be intriguing?

These questions volition assist yous develop a title that not only makes sense merely is also intriguing enough to pull readers in while staying true to what the story is about.

It's also peachy practice to help you lot come upward with titles when you write and publish your volume.

Learning how to write a short story includes learning how to write a great title or headline. And let'due south face it, a nifty title or headline gets readers to pay attention. Put your creative writing skills to work hither. Come up upward with a bunch of unlike titles, and ask our writing partners or target audition for feedback.

#8 – Get feedback

No matter how experienced (or inexperienced) you lot are as a writer, y'all need feedback.

To create your best work, it's just part of the process when you're learning how to write a brusk story. I know…it tin can feel scary. Only feedback from the right people volition help you lot brand your short story better.

In society to acquire and ameliorate and ensure your message is coming beyond as desired, you demand someone else's fresh eyes on it.

Google Docs is a bang-up option to write your short story and go feedback from others all in i place.

We need this aid because the simple fact is, we're too shut to our writing.

It'south impossible to read your story with a critical eye when y'all're the one who came up with and wrote it in the first place. That's just we're wired when we're learning how to write a short story or anything else. Nosotros need feedback to improve.

Allowing others to read your work and offer feedback is i of the best ways to improve and make sure your story is exactly how you lot want it. This is why writing partners and even beta readers are so important.

#9 – Do by writing brusk stories often

The number one best way to larn how to write adept brusque stories is by writing them often.

When y'all're writing regularly, your encephalon falls into the habit of being creative and thinking in terms of brusque stories.

If y'all want to learn how to write a brusk story and get good at it…practice. The more you do it, the easier it will get and the more you'll improve. Then focus on writing a certain number of short stories per week and stick to that – even if they aren't your favorite.

#10 – Write one short story every day for 30 days

This is separate from writing short stories frequently. If yous really want to kickstart your progress and get actually good quickly, then create a challenge for yourself.

Want to acquire how to write a short story, become expert at it, and write faster? Do this…

Write one short story, whether information technology'south 500 or 1,000 words, per solar day for an entire calendar month.

When you're done, you'll have thirty full short stories to review, edit, and improve upon. Doing this not merely builds a habit, but it also gives you a lot of feel quickly.

After those 30 days, you lot'll know more about how you lot similar to write brusque stories, which mean more to yous, and how to write them to exist good. If y'all desire to learn how to write a curt story, give this challenge a endeavor. Seriously, it's simply 30 days.

#eleven – Focus on a single message to share

Short stories are known for being impactful even though they're not novel-length.

Learning how to write a short story forces you to remember of ways to take your reader on a journeying in a much shorter space than a book.

And that means they have to have a core theme or message you want to become across. This tin be anything from loving yourself to ignoring societal expectations.

In order to exercise this, retrieve nearly what you want people to walk abroad from your story feeling.

What is the desired outcome?

If y'all just desire people to bask the story, that's great. All the same, what makes a story impactful and enjoyable is what readers have away from it.

Brainstorm some themes that are of import to you and piece of work your short story around them. When you understand how to write a short story this way, it will non only make you lot intendance most your story more (which ways it'll exist written better), but it'll too make information technology more satisfying for readers.

#12 – Tie information technology upwards with a satisfying catastrophe

Nobody likes a story that ends on a major cliffhanger.

It's okay for your curt story to take an unresolved ending. In fact, that'll probable be the example simply considering the story is…well, brusk.

But you lot do want to necktie your story up in a way that leaves the reader feeling satisfied even if they didn't get all the answers.

Many times, this means circling dorsum to an idea or chemical element presented in the beginning. It'due south i storytelling strategy of how to write a short story and wrap everything up.

This story structure frequently allows readers to experience as though they've read a consummate story versus just a snippet of a larger one.

Need help wrapping things upward? Check out this VIDEO: How to Stop a Short Story and other valid concerns.

Why All Writers Should Learn How to Write a Short Story

In that location'south a lot more to writing short stories than you may think. Every bit a brusque story author, keep in heed that just because they're shorter in length doesn't mean it takes any less skill to execute a good one.

Short story writers go this…Being able to tell a full story in such a curt amount of time arguably takes more skill than writing a total-length novel or nonfiction volume.

That beingness said, why is it beneficial for all writers to acquire how to write a short story?

#1 – You acquire the skill of showing

Short story writers have a claiming that requires some patience to overcome, but it'due south worth it. When you merely have a few pages to claw readers, paint a clear moving-picture show of the master character, and tell a story, you lot end up mastering the skill of showing instead of telling.

The reason for this is considering, in order to accomplish a successful and practiced short story, showing is a major part of that.

It's far too difficult to write a great short story without showing the details and using strong verbs to pigment a clear image of your main character'due south life. Neat short story writers sympathize the "show don't tell" concept.
If yous want to learn how to write a short story, getting articulate on this will save y'all a lot of time.

Those skills will transfer into anything you write, automatically making information technology that much amend. One more reason is that learning how to write a brusque story will help with other writing projects.

#two – You'll strengthen private chapters

No matter if yous're a fiction writer, brusk story writer, or if y'all prefer nonfiction, the idea here is the same.

A chapter is basically a short story that'southward a function of a bigger whole. The aforementioned skills you apply to write a great curt story will also help yous write stronger capacity.

Each part of your volume should exist polished, strong, and enticing for your readers. Using short story writing methods will assistance y'all accomplish that within your chapters.

Why is writing skilful chapters important if there's a whole book bachelor for someone to read?

Because it hooks readers and keeps them turning that page.

And when readers await back on an entire book filled with incredible capacity, the entire book as a whole will be seen as being that much better. Spending time learning how to write a short story sets y'all up for success when you write your book or pursue other writing projects.

How-do-you-do, 5-star reviews!

#three – It makes the story sections of your nonfiction book more than captivating

Every nonfiction volume has portions where stories must be told in order to go the point across.

This is what allows people to relate to you as an author, which pulls them in deeper and makes the cadre message of your book resonate with them more. It'due south another office "how to write a short story" skills will aid you connect with readers.

But if those stories are weak, not well-written, and lackluster, it'due south unlikely someone will enjoy them as much.

Information technology's also likely that your message will become lost because the book doesn't carry the same impact.

Keeping readers engaged from start to finish can feel like a tall order. But when you learn how to write a curt story with a beginning, middle, end, and a message readers will honey you for it.

How long are short stories?

Curt stories should remain beneath vii,000 words in guild to exist considered a "short story." They can be as brusque as merely one sentence, as this is known equally flash fiction.

You already know that short stories are… shorter than your boilerplate novel just exercise they have any other differences?

Here's a nautical chart detailing the main differences in how many words are in short stories, novels, novellas, and nonfiction works.

Type of writing	Word count	Pages in a typical book	Instance
Brusk story	100 – 15,000	1 – 24 pages	"The Souvenir of the Magi" past O. Henry
Novella	30,000 – threescore,000	100 – 200 pages	"A Clockwork Orange" past Anthony Burgess
Novel	60,000 – 100,000	200 – 350 pages	"Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone": by JK Rowling
Ballsy Novel	120,00 – 220,000+	400 – 750+ pages	"Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin

As you can run into, the main difference is length, but that's non all. When you understand how to write a short story, you're just writing a very impactful snippet of your main character's otherwise full life.

You don't have to unpack your entire character'due south life story in a few hundred words in guild to write a not bad brusk story.

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