Q&A for How to Write a Short Story

A tip is to write your title after writing your story, then choose a sentence or word that relates to the plot in some way, or a play on words with the last or first sentence in your story. It is very important to choose a good title, because it often is the first thing a potential reader sees before deciding to read the whole story.

Yes, of course! "Common" words can sometimes be more effective when writing a story than "rare", unusual words, as they are easier to understand. A short story will only be difficult to read if it is filled words that are rarely used or heard of. Focus on the characters, the setting and the flow of the story, rather than how to embellish it with fancy words.

Each writer is different. Some writers may prefer to type their story, as they can easily delete words, and typing may be faster. Other writers prefer to write their story by hand, as although it can be tiring and more time-consuming, writing in a notebook gives a sense of comfort and enjoyment.

Get your parents to sign you up for KDP, an online website that publishes books, short stories, anything, all for free. It is very simple and only takes five minutes and then you have to wait 24 hours and then it's out. Take your time and don't rush anything because that will mess things up. And if you want print versions, sign up at Createspace.com, which is also free. This will take a week to format etc if you want everything to be perfect. See further How to Publish a Book at a Young Age .

The first draft of a short story can be written in a day, but depending on the length it will take a lot of discipline. If it's a really short story (like the examples) it shouldn't be that hard, but a longer 10,000 word (8-10 page) story will be much more difficult. It's best to set it aside after you finish writing the first draft so you can edit it, but it is really up to you. Remember, don't rush a story. Sometimes it is best to take your time and enjoy the road so you can explore new paths for the story to take you would've never realized before.

Yes, it totally is. Many teenage authors start with writing at school and then progress to more. It is a realistic target and good practice.

Try out the website Wattpad. You can publish your story online and have others read it. They will give you feedback if you ask for it.

It all depends on what your story is about. If it's about a Chosen One, maybe have a mysterious group watching him and talking to each other, never revealing their names until later. Or, it could just be a quick showing of your characters, or something that happened to a character who went missing.

It depends on what the story is about but if you are writing a story for the the first time, aim for about a page. If you have written a story before, try for 8-10 pages.

You do not need to describe everything in the story. Also, try to keep the plot as simple as possible.

There are certain websites where you can input text and have it check the text for grammatical errors. Alternatively you could ask a friend or family member to proofread your story and correct any grammatical errors they find.

The cliff hanger is possibly the best way to add suspense to a short story. Spend the course of the story building up the tension, then end the story in an intense and interesting spot. You could also start the story off with a mysterious character, place, or situation, then slowly reveal new things about it/them throughout the rest of the story.

Most short stories do consist of those, and it is advisable to stick to this format if you are new to it. Paragraphs are very important, as they help the reader to read quickly, and dialogue keeps the story alive.

As long as you have your story planned out in your head, you don't have to actually write an outline. It's a good idea to do a first draft, though, and then revise. Nobody gets it right on the first try.

Try using different dimensions in the story. Perhaps parallel worlds. Or different timelines.

Try getting inspiration from other books!

Read some thriller novels. That will help you generate ideas for your own story. You can start with R.L. Stine's books.

Try something like: "It all began on a rainy Sunday morning." And work from there. It can be difficult to find a starting place. Use a sentence like this to get started, and then you can go back and change it later if it doesn't work anymore after you've written your story.

Sure. Music is a very effective way to get inspired. If you enjoy music, then you can definitely try this method out.

You could add some humor or romance to spice up the story, or maybe if it is a story for more younger readers, add illustrations to catch their attention.

Yes, short stories can be told with pictures.

You should spend as much time on it as you can! You don't want to obsess over it, but you want your story to have proper grammar, correct spelling, and as much description as possible.

This depends on your schedule, discipline, and words per minute. It might be better to ask: how quickly do you *want* to write that story? Set daily goals and give yourself a due date.

Yes, you can make it about whatever you would like it to be about.

Yes, of course! That's called realistic fiction, and people do it all the time.

Check the article! Make sure you have a beginning (where we are introduced to all the characters), a middle (which should have some sort of conflict in it), and an end (where the conflict is resolved).

The best way is to read lots of books. This will give you inspiration. Once you have inspiration, brainstorm ideas and write them down.

Use a grammar checker online or ask an experienced writer to go over your work.

The three parts would be called chapters, and it would be called a short chapter book. You could also be referring to a trilogy.

There is no way to answer this. It depends on how long exactly your story will be, how fast you write, how many rewrites you will do, and your experience in writing stories. But consider this: when you're building a road between two cities, it has to be precisely long enough to get there, so it's going to take exactly that amount of work until it reaches the place where you're going.