How Do You Write a Short Story?

Getting started on creative writing with a short story.
Put Centered Writing Practice™ to work.

The first time I attempted to write a short story, I was intimidated before I started. Exactly how did one go about creative writing anyway? Like others, I thought the word "creative" referred to some particular genetic characteristic I lacked. But, finally I understood that "creative" simply means to draw on the imagination without preconceived notions of what the outcome will be. What a relief! This means almost everyone can engage in creative writing and write fiction or creative nonfiction.

To write a short story, here's how to begin-

1. Start with a character. Use Centered Writing Practice™ to let her reveal herself to you-her physical characteristics, background, etc. If she is too much like you or someone you know very well, change a significant trait or attribute.

2. Put the character in a setting. Setting is not an accident. The character interacts with the setting as much as with another character. You should know where she is, what the climate might be, and how the place might affect her.

3. Give the character a dilemma (or let her tell you what it is). This can be external or internal, but there must be a conflict. If the conflict involves a second character, free write about this character as you did the main character.

4. If the dilemma is more internal, there should still be something or someone external that the character 's conflict hits against: the small town confining her, a friend he tries out his new idea on, the weather. The character must be SHOWN interacting with something or someone other than her own mind, even if it's in flashback.

5. A shift must occur in the main character. Some change should occur, either outer or inner.

6. Once the shift has occurred there is quick resolution to the dilemma. This does not need to be spelled out. You can allow the reader to imagine what happens, but you should give enough information so the reader is not left hanging.

This format is also the format of a chapter in a novel, which is made up of a series of scenes and may involve more characters. In a novel, however, the chapter ends always with the question What Next? So although one issue may be resolved, we're aware of another one lurking; or the chapter ends with the seeming resolution being dashed to pieces and the dilemma rising even larger. See Janet Burroway's analysis of Cinderella in Writing Fiction (New York: HarperCollins,1992.)

Memoir follows similar rules. For a life story to be gripping, we must see the series of obstacles presented. A memoir is not an autobiography; a memoir is a group of memories selected because they focus on a specific dilemma: How did the author as a young woman resolve her mental illness issues within the mental health system? How did the author as an adolescent overcome the obstacles of poverty to join the Olympic swim team? How did a woman find inner resources to survive the death of a beloved life partner?