Writing a Short Story

One of the immensely popular genres of writing are short stories. Even people who are not otherwise fond of reading novels or non fiction, like to read short stories. There is something about the construction and flow of a short story that makes it immensely interesting and pleasurable to read. There are many great writers of famous short stories who are master story tellers. To write a short story, you will need to have short story ideas and construct a story that is interesting and which is able to capture the reader's curiosity. It should be fascinating and fun and the narrative can be either slow and languid or a fast paced one. Writing a short story is an art, and to successful write one you need to have an idea that can be converted into a great story. The narrative should have a good flow and it should successfully capture the imagination of the reader, this is especially helpful when you're trying to come up with short story ideas for kids.

Short Story Structure

Before we get into the nitty-gritty of writing a short story, you have to know the structure of a short story. If you read a number of short stories, you will notice that that all short stories follow a pattern, even if the subject of the story is different. A short story is no different from a novel. The only difference is that the story is read in a single sitting and the events of the story is unfolded within a few pages. It is therefore lot harder to write a short story as you have to wind up the story in a few short pages. Given below are the elements of a short story that will help you in writing a short story. Of course there is no hard and fast rule that you have to follow this structure. You are free to experiment and come up with whatever works for you.

• Introduction - The introduction of your short story should be catchy and interesting. It is crucial to capture the interest of the reader with the introduction and use it as a base to introduce your setting and main character. Creating characters in a story is one of the basics of a short story. The introduction should be brief and succinct without too much of meandering and beating about the bush. At the same time, inject a bit of humor or drama in the introduction and don't make it dry and insipid.
• Foundation - After you have successfully introduced your character(s) and laid the foundation for your short story, it is time to write the plot or main action of the story. Build the plot of the story gradually and introduce other minor characters that makes up the plot. Avoid using unnecessary and superfluous description of events, otherwise you will break the flow and structure of the story. But don't forget to build up the story's climax by giving details that lead up to it.
• Climax - Now comes one of the most important steps to write a short story which is the climax. Use your writing skills cleverly to write about the main events of the short story. Don't bore your readers with too many details as this will take the focus away from the climax. Use short sentences and edit the climax carefully, to keep the narrative tight and free-flowing.
• Pre Conclusion - Build up a good pre conclusion, so that any unresolved issues are settled. In case of a thriller story, this is the time to divulge details about the main mastermind. Having a good pre conclusion helps in making the conclusion not abrupt.
• Conclusion - The most important step in writing a short story is the conclusion. Make the conclusion a resolution of the conflict that is depicted in the story. The conclusion can also be dramatic depending upon the plot and style of writing you have. Short story ideas with a twist is also one great way to conclude a story.

This was all about how to write a short story step by step. Writing a short story might seem a daunting task, but with clear thinking, planning and lots of editing, you can write a good short story. Feel free to experiment and come up with novel plots and ideas for fiction writing. There is no dearth of short story ideas for fiction writers. Who knows, you might get it published one day and it might become a bestseller.