HOW TO WRITE A GOOD STORY
Humans are and can be
storytellers. But when it comes to writing a good story, you may feel stumped,
even if you have a vivid imagination and a million great ideas. You want to
create something original, not a cliché! To write a good story, you have to get
inspired, develop your content, and then revise your work until you've written
the best story you can write. If you want to write a good short story, just
follow these simple steps.
11.Getting Inspired
1.Pay
attention to the world and what's around you. If you want to be able to write a good,
short story, or even a long one, then you have to keep your eyes and ears open
at all times, and listen to the world and let it inspire you! You will soon
find out what you can write about to make the best story! You may want to ask
other people about their ideas about the world around them, as this story is
going to be for many audiences, so don't base your tale on just your opinions.
You can never put too much time, effort or description into your story. Here
are some great ways to gather details that may lead you to a short story:
·
Read a book.
Experience helps. Reading is good for the brain, it can help educate you on
what a well published book looks like. Of course, there are millions of books
out there, but try going to your local library and searching for books that may
fit your interests. Every book and person is different. Maybe the book will
give you some good sentence starters, inspiration, and the type of text you
want to write. Make sure to read a wide variety to grow your vocabulary. The
next thing you know, you'll have the premise for a terrific tale.
·
Notice interesting
character traits. Maybe you have noticed that your neighbour likes to talk to
his plants or that he takes his cat for a walk every morning. This, again, is
working with the world around you. Is your sister geeky? Maybe have a geeky
character based on her personality. Try thinking about the inner life of this
kind of person and see if a story develops.
·
Pay attention to your
surroundings. Take a walk or spend some time sitting in a park and observing
and see what you can find. Maybe you'll see a bouquet of roses sitting next to
a gutter, or a brand-new pair of sneakers on a park bench. How did they get
there? Ponder, daydream!
·
Listen to people when
they talk. Just one interesting sentence that you hear in passing can inspire
you to write an entire story. Maybe you'll hear someone say, "Nobody gets
me......" or "My dog likes to torture all the men I date..." Is
that enough to start a story? Sure!
2
.." scenario. This
is another great way to start a short story. When you pay attention to the
world, you should also pay attention not only to the realities of the world,
but to the possibilities of the world. When you do pay attention to a story you
hear or an image you see, ask yourself, "But what if it happened like this
instead?" or "What would this person do if..." Following this
line of thinking can lead you to explore the mysteries that are haunting you.
·
You don't have to know
the ending of a story when you start. In fact, not knowing everything about a
story before you start writing it will lead you to explore more creative
possibilities and will make your story stronger.
·
The "what
if" scenario can be practical or completely fantastical. You can ask yourself,
"What if my dog started talking to me?" or, "What if the
neighbor who fawns over my dog too much kidnapped her one day?"
3
Though short
story writing falls under the category of fiction writing, many short stories
are heavily autobiographical. If you're writing about something that actually
happened to you or someone you know, then that's considered non-fiction
writing, but getting inspired by experiences you actually had and then taking
them to a new and fictional level is a great plan for writing a short story,
especially if you feel that you have "nothing to write about."
·
Many people say that
you should "write what you know." One school of thought is that if
you grew up on a farm in Arkansas or if you spent ten years trying to be a
painter in Iceland, you should write about those experiences instead of trying
to guess what it would be like for someone to grow up in a place you've never
been.
·
Some writers say that
you should "write what you don't know about what you know." This
means that you should start off on familiar territory and then start exploring
something that left you feeling curious or that you didn't know much about.
·
If you get too
comfortable with writing about things that actually happened, you won't have
room for creativity. For example, maybe you had a childhood friend who moved
away one day without telling a soul, or maybe you were fascinated by a
Ferris-wheel operator as a kid and always wondered what happened to him.
Explore this world and then make it up.
4
Always be on the
lookout for stories that your friends or family members have told that would
make great fiction. If your mother or grandmother are always telling you
stories about their childhoods, start writing them down. Try to imagine what it
was like to grow up in a different time or place and start writing out the
possibilities. Don't be put off if you don't know everything about that time
period; you can always do your research.
·
When one of your
friends says, "You won't believe what happened to me last week..."
pay attention. You could have the beginning of a short story right there.
·
The story could come
from an unlikely place. Maybe a radio DJ is reminiscing about his childhood in
just a few sentences, and you find yourself suddenly fascinated by what his
life must have been like.
·
Just be warned: if you
get a reputation of a writer who "steals" the stories people tell him
and uses them for fiction, then people may be more hesitant to open up to you.
5Get
inspired by a setting.
A
story can come from a strong sense of place. By this stage you should know what
type of story you are writing. Maybe a sci-fi story could be set in an
underground laboratory, or a horror tale in a dilapidated shack. You don't have
to get inspired by a breathtaking beach or by your amazing vacation to Venice.
Instead, get inspiration from the ordinary. Think about what it was like to
spend every summer on your grandmother's apple orchard as a kid; remember what
it was like to hang out in your best friend's basement back in
high/secondary/grammar school.
·
Writing about the
place can lead you to develop interesting characters and conflicts
6Expand
a writing exercise.
Writing
exercises have helped a lot of writers develop their creativity, find
inspiration in unlikely places, and to force themselves to write when they feel
like they have "no ideas." You can start with a daily warm-up writing
exercise just for 10-15 minutes to get your mind going, or even write for an
hour based on the exercise even if you don't feel inspired at all. Here are
some great writing exercises to get you started:[1]
·
Start a story with the
following opening sentence: "I've never told this to anyone before."
If your story is not told first person, maybe start it with, "She shut the
door. Tears streamed down her face. Had he just deceived her?"
·
Look at a picture of
an ordinary barn in a field. Then, describe it from the point of view of
someone who has just committed murder. Do this again from the point of view of
a girl who has just lost her mother. See how a character's thoughts can
influence how he sees the world. Put yourselves in the characters shoes!
·
Just write for 10-15
minutes. Look back at what you've written to fix mistakes.
·
Pick a person in your
life who you absolutely dislike. Now, try writing a story from that person's
point of view. Try to make the reader sympathize with him as much as possible.
Remember-it's your story!
·
Let a character
surprise you. Write about a character that you seem to know pretty well, and
then let this person do something that completely throws you off guard. See
where this takes you. This makes your story more intriguing.
·
The argument. Have two
characters arguing about something completely mundane, like who is going to
take out the trash, or who will pay for the movie. Make it clear that this
argument is really about something bigger and more serious, such as who is
going to end the relationship, or who has been giving too much and not getting
anything back. Try to let the dialogue do all the work. Don't make it boring
though.
·
Body language. Write
500 words that describe two characters who are sitting next to each other.
Without using dialogue, let the reader see exactly how these two characters
feel about each other.
7Read
other short stories.
If you want to
be able to master the short story, then you should read as many short stories
as you can. You should read both the classics and the contemporary masters, and
use the writing of others to inspire you to write some short stories of your
own. Here are some contemporary and classic short stories that can inspire you
to write more short stories of your own:
·
Chekhov's "The
Lady with the Little Dog"
·
Edgar Allan Poe's
"The Cask of Amontillado"
·
Ernest Hemingway's
"A Clean, Well-Lighted Place"
·
Eudora Welty's "A
Worn Path"
·
Raymond Carver's
"Cathedral"
·
Isaac Asimov's
"The Dead Past"
·
Ray Bradbury's
"The Veldt"
·
Tim O'Brien's
"The Things They Carried"
·
Alice Munro's
"The Beggar Maid"
·
Jamaica Kincaid's
"Girl"
·
Joyce Carol Oates'
"Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?"
·
Jhumpa Lahiri's
"A Temporary Matter"
·
Junot Diaz's "How
to Date a Brown Girl, Black Girl, White Girl, or Halfie"
·
Malorie Blackman's
"Cloud Busting".
·
Franz Kafka's
"The Metamorphosis"
2. IMPROVING YOUR WRITING SKILLS
1Take
writing classes.
Writing classes
are a great way to learn about the skill of writing good books and stories.
Find a class focusing on writing generally or within a field of interest to
you. Writing stories can come in many forms, from kid's books to even articles
in a magazine.
2
Also practice writing out emotions,
feelings and reactions. A good writer knows how to describe all of these in the
most creative ways. Try practicing describing things around you.
·
For example, suppose
you have purple curtains. What do the curtains look like? What do they remind
you of? Where are they located in the room?
·
However, don't be
overly descriptive, as too much description can slow down a story. Just try to
paint a realistic picture in the reader's mind.
·
3 Focus
on how to write a story in a fascinating way.
No one likes to read something that lacks interest or
doesn't spark curiosity. Use unique words. Skim through the dictionary and find
words that catch your eye. Or, listen to your favorite show. Be fun, make the
reader want more of your work. The goal is to catch the reader's eye, and make
them want to read more.
·
4 Be
grammatically correct.
Make
sure the reader can understand what you are writing. Talking "like
dis" may confuse the reader, and when you are writing a proper book, you
want to use more advanced words and avoid the "ye old" typos.
However, if your character talks "like dis", keep it all within
quotation marks and be true to your character's real speaking and thinking voice.
5Write
from the heart.
If writing is a
passion, then share the passion as a genuine storyteller who is immersed in the
tale. Write what you like and what you think is good for your story. Learn to
write through your heart.
·
Listen to constructive
criticism and know when it's helpful to improving your writing skills. Also
know when it's just griping or jealousy. You'll grow to know this with
practice.
3. Developing Your Story
1
Develop
your point-of-view. Most short
stories are written in first, second, or third-person point-of-view. If you're
starting out, you should stick to just one point-of-view. Here are the three
points-of-view and how they are used:
·
The first person. The
first person is told directly from the perspective of a character who uses
"I" to refer to himself. "I've never told anyone this
before," is an example of first-person writing. The first person is great
if you want to stick closely to a character's thoughts and perspective, but it
can be limiting if that character's perspective is too limiting. First-person
may be the easiest perspective to use if you're just starting out.
·
The third person. The
third person is when you write about a character using "he" or
"she" from an outside perspective, such as saying, "He was
tired." In the third person, the author can get close to a character's
thoughts or can be more distant from the character.
·
The second person. The
second person addresses the reader directly as "You." As in,
"You are walking into your office." This can be a great technique for
grabbing the reader, but it can be a bit overdone.
2
Develop
your plot. Every short
story should have a plot that grips the reader, leading him to ask what will
happen next. This doesn't mean that your story should include a high-speed
chase or a murder; your readers can want to know what happens next even if all
that's happening is that two people are talking over coffee. Though every short
story is different, here are some basic elements of a short story:
·
The rising
action/exposition: this typically comes at the beginning of a short story, when
readers are introduced to the main characters, the setting, and the central
conflict. However, some stories start off right in the middle of the action and
make the readers work backward to find out what's really going on.
·
The conflict: the
stakes of the story. There has to be something at stake in every story, or
the reader won't want to keep reading, no matter how beautiful the language may
be. Every story needs conflict or a point of tension; it can be as dramatic as
two men fighting over the same women, or a girl wondering if her friend is
going to invite her to a party. The nature of the conflict isn't important --
what's important is that the readers have to care what happens.
·
The falling action:
the resolution of the story. After the conflict is resolved or discussed, the
story has to wrap up. But most short stories don't have neat happy endings or
even neat endings at that. Many stories end on a word or image that leaves the
reader thinking. If the story is neatly "wrapped up" at the end, then
you've removed some of the mystery and allure.
3
Develop
your characters. Your story has
to have a character or characters that your readers should care about and even
root for, even if the characters aren't upstanding citizens or good-natured
people. You can characterize your characters through a number of different ways
and all of them are valid. Here are a few ways to give your readers a strong
sense of your characters:
·
Describe what they
say. The perfect line of dialogue can shed insight into a character's
intentions -- especially if the dialogue doesn't match what he's thinking.
·
Describe what they do.
Does the character get up at six every morning without an alarm, or does he
spend hours hitting the "snooze" button before he gets up? Every
little action can help build the character, however insignificant it seems at
first.
·
Describe what they
look like. Does the character dress to the nines when he goes to the
supermarket, or smile maniacally during a moment of deep sadness? A character's
physical appearance can shed insight into his mental state.
·
Describe how they
interact with others. Is your character debilitatingly shy, or so bossy that
everyone around him is afraid to open his mouth? Is he nice to waiters because
his mother was a waitress, or is he a jerk to all waitresses because a waitress
once broke his heart, or just because he feels like it? Seeing a character out
in the world can reveal a lot about him.
4
Develop
your dialogue. Dialogue marks
the words that characters say, which are usually placed inside quotation marks.
Dialogue can reveal a lot about a character both from the things that the
character says and the things he chooses to not say. You should find dialogue
that sounds like it can be spoken by real people instead of sounding too fancy
or forced. Read your dialogue aloud to see if it actually sounds like something
a person would say.
·
The dialogue between
two characters can also shed a lot of insight into their dynamic.
·
Pay attention to what
is not said as well. For example, if a little boy is upset that his father
missed his baseball game if he doesn't even bring up the game when they next
see each other and says, "How was work?" instead, that can reveal a
lot about him.
·
Avoid giving your
dialogue obtrusive tags, such as saying, "Mary stated..." instead of
"Mary said..."
5
Develop
your setting. The setting of a
short story can be crucial or it can have very little to do with the events
that unfold. If your story is set in a generic house that has little to do with
the story, then fine. But if a character's mistress breaks into the house that
he shares with his wife, then every little detail is important because it can
shed light onto the character's relationship with his wife -- and what his
mistress thinks about it. Decide how much your setting should matter and
develop it accordingly.
·
Even if the setting
isn't so crucial to the story, avoid confusing the reader and let him know
where the events are taking place, even if it's just a cow town in Illinois or
a non-descript high school in the middle of nowhere.
·
The time period can be
considered part of the setting. If your story is set in the 1960s, give your
reader enough clues, or say it outright, so he doesn't spend half the story
thinking it's taking place in the present.
6
Develop
your voice. In writing, the
voice is the unique way that the words are written that show that they can be
written by only you. Your words should have their own quirks, rhythm, and
cadence, and no one should be able to duplicate them. In the beginning, it's
natural for short story writers to try to imitate their favorite short story
writers. But as you move forward as a short story writer, you should find a
unique way to express your thoughts and ideas.
·
Voice describes the way the author's words
sound, not just the way the words of a character sound. Every word that is put
down in a short story contributes to the voice of the author.
7
Avoid
the pitfalls of short story writing. Though there are a few guidelines, there are no hard and
fast rules about what makes a good short story and what makes a bad short
story. Still, you can improve your chances of writing a successful short story
by avoiding some of the common mistakes made by short story writers. Here are
some things to think about as you move forward with your short story:
·
Avoid "the
information dump." Don't tell your reader everything you think he needsto
know right when the story starts. If you spend three pages describing the
characters and action before anything actually happens, your reader will get
weary.
·
Avoid the trick
ending. No one likes to read a story only to find out that it was all a dream,
or that it was told from the point of view of an alien the whole time. O. Henry
was famous for such endings, but by now it's seen as cliché.
·
Keep it simple. You
may think that using floral, elevated language to write a short story is the
way to go. If you're writing a story about high society life in an ornate
castle, then this may be your best bet, but for most concepts, it's best to
keep it short and simple.
·
Avoid exposition in
dialogue. Narration, non-dialogue, should tell your readers the basic
information about the story. Dialogue should be used to provide more
information about the characters and their struggles and relationships, but not
to give "the facts" of the story. For example, a character should not
say, "Sam, though you are twenty years old and this is your second year at
Harvard..." because this is something that both characters already know.
·
Keep the stakes of the
story clear. Any reader should be able to answer "What's at stake?"
while he's reading your story and after he's done. If a reader finishes the
story and has no idea what was at stake, then the story has failed.
4.Revising Your Story
1
Set
it aside and come back to it. Give your story a break -- even if it's only for a day.
Then, read it with new eyes, and try to see it as a reader instead of as a
writer. As a reader, which sentences would you find unnecessary or confusing?
Which facts would you need to know more about? Which plot points are too
obvious or too complicated? Reading your own work with fresh eyes can give you
a fresh perspective on what needs to be changed.
·
Sometimes just
printing out a story that you've been writing in a Word Document can help you
see it from a new perspective.
·
If you really want to
improve the story but are completely stumped, try setting it aside for a month
or two. You'll be surprised by how much insight you'll gain during this period.
·
Setting your work
aside for a little while is a good move, but don't set it aside for so long
that you lose interest in it.
2
Get
feedback. If you're ready
to take your story out into the world, you can share it with a close friend, a
fellow writer, an English teacher, or even a group of fellow writers. Make sure
you don't ask for an opinion on the story before it's fully formed, or you may feel
stifled by the criticism. Joining a writing workshop with like-minded
individuals who are seriously committed to good writing can help you gain a new
perspective on your own work.
·
For feedback to be
helpful, you have to be receptive to it. If you think you've written the most
perfect story in the world, then you won't actually hear a word anyone says.
·
Make sure you're
giving your story to the right readers. If you're writing science fiction but
have handed your story to your writer friend, who has never actually read
science fiction before, then you may not get the best feedback.
3
Revise
the story using a variety of tricks. There are many different ways to revise a story, and it
all depends on what the first draft of your story looks like and how much work
you may have left to do. Many stories can take ten or more drafts to get right,
so don't get discouraged if you feel like you have to change everything in
your story. As you revise your work, here are some things to think about:
·
The need for a change
in point-of-view. You may have thought your story worked best in the first
person, but on a second read, you may see that the third person would have been
better for the story you wanted to tell.
·
Cutting down on the
wordiness. A good rule of thumb is to cut 250 words from the story (provided
that it's at least ten pages long) after you're convinced you're done. You'd be
surprised by how much unnecessary verbiage you may find.
·
Cut down on the
confusion. Ask yourself if you would completely understand what was going on if
you didn't write the story yourself. Maybe the concepts of the story were
crystal-clear to you, but your readers could be utterly confused.
·
Make sure you include
feelings, sounds, etc. Feelings make a story alive. After all, what's a story
without feelings?
·
Do more research if
necessary. If you're writing a story set in the West Village in New York City
in the 60s and find that you don't actually know as much as you thought you did
about this time period, it'll be time to hit the books to learn enough to write
a convincing story about this era.
·
Be persistent. When
you get frustrated, remind yourself that no first draft of a story is ever very
good -- but that if you write a second, third, and even a fourth draft, that
you have the potential to write an amazing short story.
