How to Write a Powerful Short Story

Writing an effective and engaging short story is one of the great creative challenges. While each great story is memorable for unique reasons, many share common qualities to keep in mind when writing. Read on to learn more.

Instructions

Difficulty: Challenging

Things You’ll Need:

• Computer/pen and paper
• Imagination

1. Establish strong characters from the start. You don't have the length of a novel to develop a character, so know who you're writing about and make them a strong, colorful being.
2. Similarly, establish the conflict early. Too much meandering or unnecessary detail will distract from the real point of your story.
3. Diagram a story arc and follow it, always keeping in mind the ultimate goal of the story. Your characters and their actions should always be moving towards this conclusion.
4. Don't be afraid to employ back-story, flashbacks and jumps in time. Short stories do not always have to be completely set in the present. Just use these sparingly and carefully.
5. Over the course of the story, your main character should, through a series of events or experiences, become a "different" person. They must grow, change, or learn something. We should not leave a character in the same state that we found him.