The Short Story: Getting it Right
Writing Article #1 415 words
Winona Rasheed
January 23, 2007
I have always been a short story writer, writing fairytales for children, all because I like to spark the imagination in the reader. And, not only that, I believe there is an inner child in all of us; causing us to partake in a little fantasy once in a while.
However, rather you are writing a short story, a picture book, an early chapter book, or a novel; whoever your intended audience may be, young or old, your story must have structure. Your story content must fall into place and flow smoothly from beginning to end, without showing any pesky little flaws.
How and where do you begin? First, you must present a problem for your protagonist, (your main character) to solve. The targeted age of your audience will determine the complexity of the pending situation. Second, show the problem developing and how it is affecting the protagonist. How is he or she coping with it? Third, show how the protagonist solves his or her problem, what steps are taken? These are the three simple ingredients you must have to structure your story. This is just the beginning.
You must also throw in a little flavor called "theme", because you story must have a meaning. A story with no main idea or message is like mashed potatoes without the gravy. It becomes dull and boring, and so very wrong.
You must grab your reader's attention with the first paragraph of your story to keep them wanting to read more. This is called the "hook" because this is what you are doing, reeling the reader in and causing them to read further, sparking their interest.
While developing your storyline, remember that the time span of events occur in a short time period. You cannot let your protagonist take forever, not even a month, weeks, or days to come to the full resolve of the pending situation. Everything is limited in writing a short story, more limited in writing something for children.
In writing short stories, your scenes are limited; your number of characters is limited. Too much of anything in a short story would just be over powering and a big mistake to an editor's sharp eye.
So, if you love to write short stories, know how to write them correctly, using all the right ingredients to have a perfect manuscript, the perfect short story.