how do u write a short story?

I've always loved Geoffrey Archer's short works... Also check out the short stories of Orson Scott Card.

take an idea and start writing. fill it with twists and turns as it flows and keep checking the word count after every paragraph or so. keep it within 2000 words and deliver a surprise ending when the word count shows 1950 words! that's the formula for writing a great short story.

Hi, Sorry for barging in on your conversation. I have a question relating to this topic. I saw a show on ABC about Roald Dahl (HE'S GREAT) and he had some really good tips on writing a good short story and how her keeps the reader reading. I've looked everywhere to try and fing those tips but now i can't find them. I'm just wondering if anyone could tell me....(or tell me if they have some tips).

Hi, Sorry for barging in on your conversation. I have a question relating to this topic. I saw a show on ABC about Roald Dahl (HE'S GREAT) and he had some really good tips on writing a good short story and how he keeps the reader reading. I've looked everywhere to try and find those tips but now i can't find them. I'm just wondering if anyone could tell me....(or tell me if they have some tips).

I don't think that you have to plan a short story all the way through, but you need to have some idea of a plot, I usually find. The thing is, a short story isn't just something that is much shorter than a novel or novella. It's a short story for a reason, usually that it deals with a finite event, therefore it has a setting, characters, a plot, and some sort of resolution. It might help to think about the reasons why a certain idea will or won't work as a short story and then act accordingly. The best bit of advice, though, is to read short stories. That's how you work out how it is possible to write and effective short story.

any suggestions on what short stories to read?

Start with the cherry picked ones on here! I also love Somerset Maugham and those of Damon Runyan. They seem to me to be the best around but others are bound to disagree!

Magaret Attwood, Annie Proulx, Rose Tremain..... crikey, they're all women...... Richard Russo.... that'll keep you going for a while.

quite amazed you don't like Neighbours by Ray Carver. It's not his best, but it is close to being a perfect short story (if those seemingly contradictory statements make sense - I prefer the ones that are less perfect) - there's not a single wasted word in the whole piece, it is tight, contained, dreamy yet real and hard.

... Ray Bradbury's The Illustrated Man, Raymond Carver, the Oxford Book of French Short Stories ...

edit and edit some more...

Short stories are the best, I think. I think this is because you can imagine whatever you want, but it doesn't have to be incredibly long. Here's what you do: 1. Think of a topic. Anything, fiction or non-fiction. Non-Fiction is usually better for beginners, I guess. That's why you write so much non-fiction in kindergarten and first grade and such. It's easy. 2. Develop. Make a web chart or an outline about your topic. Example: I. My Dog a. What he looks like a1. brown as a brownie a2. furry as a caterpillar b. Tricks he knows b1. Fetch b2. Play dead. and so on. I'm not the best with outlines, but they're easy. 3. Start writing, and take after your outline/graphic organizer. 4. Edit, of course... 5. And there you go. A short story. I hope this helps. -brianna

i need help on writing a short story nothing comes out of my miend and i need help and i was woundering if you can help me please siencerly Maricela Ramirez

I wish i had a miend....what is meant to come out of a miend anyway ..........perhaps a surgeon or an expert on anatomy might be able to help.

Published short stories seem hard to come by. Authors I've found I like include: Wendy Perriam Nalo Hopkinson ( a Canadian afro-caribbean) Ruth Rendell (she's famous for the Wexford mysteries but she's come up with many deliciously dark short stories) Frederick Forsyth - he might be politically dodgy but his research and sense of location are excellent Dear old Roald Dahl

The Short Story Carver wrote Neighbours? I really didn't like that. It was a short story about two people who look after their neighbours' house while they're away and they then fiddle with stuff inside the house. The man starts to go there without the wife. our uni lecturer thought it was great. I beg to differ finding him slightly slow. Try Ernest Hemingway Edgar Allen Poe- If you're into horror suspense and mystery. John Updike- leaves- We read this story but i'm not keen. Raymond's run-author's name escapes me. Albert Camus Franz Kafka's Metamorphosis, paranoia, isolation, fear. Chekov-The Lady with the toy dog. It depends on what you like reading but definately try Kafka and Poe. Try looking at anthologies in the big book stores. Writing a short story is difficult because you only have a short space within which to write it. I don't think you should plan it all out but write a synopsis(short description) of what your story is about, imagine you were selling it to a publisher. A synopsis should be around 100-200 wrds. Ideally unlike the person at the top of this thread says you should know your story and it's ending otherwise you may go off at major tangents A short story can be however long but most writing comps ask for 3000 wrds, i'd say anything up to 5000 is good. 10,000-15,000 is approaching a novella. All short stories are concerned with a moment in time like a snapshot so a whole short story could take place in one room amongst one family. They rarely have alot of characters in them because this takes up space and time. The characters ideally need to go on a journey (mental or physical, both if you wish.) and your story doesn't need a definite ending. Never try to write a short story without some kind of plan.

I would only disagree with the last sentence. I think you can let it write itself to some extent, although it may need major reworking afterwards. However, the fact that you do not have an ending in mind when you begin, should not hold you back. I think this often prevents people writing...the characters can start speaking for themselves if you truly relax. What's the worst that can happen? You can always trim and edit afterwards.... Kafka and Poe are achingly brilliant, as is Gogol. Angela Carter is quite a daunting writer to read, simply because she has such mastery of the language. One writer I discovered recently is the author of The Reader....Bernard S....(I forget his surname, which is German). His narrative voice is simple but powerful; there are no convoluted images or lengthy words...he gets straight to the gut.... Dino the very best advice is to read until your eyes bleed...admire the shapes and rhythms of truly masterful short story writers. A good story should leave a resonance.....

At University level you are expected to explain your story to your peers and give some kind of definite end to the tale. It can restrict some people but it's a useful method of writing for those who find it hard to stop themselves waffling as Dino suggested he/she does. Anyway it's up to the individual and how they feel they write best.

I strongly recommend you get a copy of "Fast Fiction: Creating Fiction in Five Minutes." It is a 1997 Story Press publication by Roberta Allen. ISBN 1-884910-27-0 Amazon has copies - dirt cheap too if you buy a used copy. Basically, what Roberta teaches is a method of forcing yourself to write a story within a five-minute time frame. Use a timer. Set it at five minutes. Then write a story ... about a lie ... about envy ... about sisters ... about sunbathing, etcetera Oh, you dont't have an idea? Or a plot? Use the 9-word, 3 x 3 formula. Here is one: Boy gets girl Boy loses girl Boy gets girl You want an example? Prince finds Cinderella Prince loses Cinderella Prince finds Cinderella Positive, negative, positive. That is the simple construction of any story. Remember, giving your self five minutes leaves you no room for doubt or procrastination. Just do it. Cheers, Mike [%sig%]

If you want to write a (good) short story then you must read a better one. As somebody remarked before me read some of the stories on this site. I'm a writer just starting to get the breaks. Plsan your work. Organise using a mind map. It helps to focus every detail of your story. Use a mind map when you read a story. It the reverse of when you write one. Mind mapping is a technique written about by Tony Buzan. Check with you local lending library. Best wishes

yup!... you should read "brownies" by z.z. packer really funny and great story [%sig%]

i say they are gay wUZzuPpPpp

To write a short story one tip that an author told me was not to over indulge in the discriptive elements, if you do that then its a novel. One of my short stories was 12,000 words long and some of the sentences didn't gel properly. That story wan't very good. While one of approx 3,000 is a good lengh and the story worked well. Hope this helps. Si.

how do u wright a novel? im working on 1. im callin it. silent as the grave. how should i write it? if u have any information @ all send me an e-mail. [%sig%]

Read stuff from Roald Dahl Saki

I recommend Patricia Highsmith's short stories, and one of my last favourites: Mia Couto "The Birds of God". [%sig%]

i have NO CLUE but i'd like to know! :D SCHOOL SUCKS!

Having just finished a short story I find Simon Murphy's post above the most relevant. This latest one I've written was just under 3,000 words and I knew how it would start and how it would end, the rest was relatively easy, if you keep the unity of time, place and action and make sure you get the details right. I attempted another short story a while back which went over 3,000 words and had a lot of depth and descriptive stuff. My friends tell me it reads more like part of a novel, and doen't work as a short story. I am not sure yet, though, whether the idea is worth expanding. The hardest part of a short story, I think, is the idea.

When I write short stories, becuase I am currently experimenting genres ( http://www.nicestories.com/unreg/s/author.php?id=1920 - they're not my best work), I use different techniques. I never do paperwork (except the story) unless it's a novella. I just carry a notepad round and write down ideas, then later incorporate them into stories. If it's a proper whodunnit, which is my usual style, I think it all out. If it's something like "Sleepe after Toyle" - Follow the above link - it just comes to me as I go along. Perhaps that shows. What do you think of that story. I need to know. Authors - Ruth Rendell, Ian Rankin are good short story writers. Agatha Christie also wrote some stories of the supernatural and dramas - in "The Hound of Death" and "The Listerdale Mystery". Yuo've all given good advice I never thought of before. Do any of you have any short stories published (not on here)? [%sig%]

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Rotosoft provides software solutions,seo solutions,web development,3D Animations. Please visit : http://www.rotosoft.com For Further Details. Best, Jay Dean [%sig%]

make it short.

i was saying on another post, try and write 12-13 short scenes although obviousley dont write it in a film script format. Its easier to imagine and concentrate on short parts of the chapter rather than say the whole chapter or even the book, which probably most writers inevitably end up doing. it works, maybe more scenes for a longer chapter 'ahnolie'

its kind of funy the in which we struggle to write. many people just don't let their brains ake over. don't stress the mind or you will allways draw a blank. just a few suggestions. Anton Chekhov- why it isn't here yet, i don't know Franz Kafka- dark Poe- dark Hemingway- his earlier works hope i help

I'm astonished that so many suggested authors are dead ones! If you want to be published in today's market, read as much CONTEMPORARY work as you can. Ali Smith, Helen Dunmore, Alice Munro, Margaret Atwood, Annie Proux and Deborah Moggach spring to mind, but a regular browse through the weekend papers' art reviews will give you lots more leads. Good luck! :-))