Write a Short Story in 10 Easy Steps

With most short stories ranging from 1,500 to 3,000 words, it’s an ideal way for beginners to start writing fiction. All you need to get going is one or two main characters and an idea.

1/ Know the Elements – There are four elements that make up most short stories: character, plot, setting and tension. The most effective feature strong emotions eg: love, redemption, acceptance, justice, fear, freedom, sacrifice, and triumph over adversity etc. Read as many short stories by other authors as you can to see the way they incorporate and use these elements and emotions to grip readers.

2/ Trawl Your Memory – A lot of fiction starts with a memory – a person, a problem, an event, heartache, loss etc – that resonates with the reader. Something or someone you remember, or an emotion that you recall feeling can often become the basis or inspiration for your short story.

3/ Brainstorm – Jot down anything and everything you want your story to include: the main character, their personality traits, what they look like, what they want, what they’ve done, what you want the outcome to be for them, obstacles they face, where and when your story is set, who the other characters are … anything and everything that comes to mind when you think about what you want to say with your short story and what you want it to be about. These notes can be useful to refer to when actually writing and you want to convey an image or personality.

4/ Outline – write a brief outline or basic plot: what or who the story is about, where the plot begins, where it ends, what happens to get from beginning to end. Remember this is just an outline. There’s no rule that says you have to start your short story at the beginning, or apply a beginning, middle and end structure in that order (see step 7).

Having an outline down on paper will help you stay focused and stop the story going off in unnecessary directions (vital when you’ve only got a limited amount of words).   

5/ Get Writing – Once you have your characters and outline, get on with it. Write a first draft to simply get the basics of the story down. Don’t worry about grammar, clichés, length, or anything but the actual plot.

6/ Write a Second Draft – This is where you can start shaping and crafting your story. Make sure every word and sentence counts – if it isn’t important and doesn’t add to the mood, get rid of it. If you’re not sure, try taking it out and if the sentence or paragraph still works without it, lose it.

Avoid long blocks of description; rather, write just enough to trigger the reader’s imagination eg: instead of wasting a paragraph describing a winter morning, have your character “pulling her coat tighter against the icy wind”.

Omit needless words. For example: She shrugged her shoulders. He blinked his eyes. Jim walked in through the open door and sat down in a chair.

7/ Work on That Opening Hook – You can start your story at any stage of the plot. The only thing that matters is that the first few sentences hook the reader and makes them want to read on. With short fiction it’s always good to immediately introduce the main character or narrator. Let the reader see something about that character that will make them want to get to know them better.

A good way to do this is with an intriguing sentence. For example, in Mrs Dalloway (originally a short story), Virginia Woolf opens with the line, ‘Mrs Dalloway said she would buy the flowers herself.’ The reader then wonders who is Mrs Dalloway, why is she buying flowers, and is it unusual that she would do so herself? These questions arouse interest and prompt you to read on.

Another good hook is starting in the middle of the action (the discovery of a body; a breakup with an unsatisfactory lover) or with a strong statement, question or quote by a character or narrator. This puts the reader in the middle of a scene rather than build up to it. You could even begin by revealing the end outcome.

Don’t worry if you get lost as you then continue writing, you can always rework or change things around later. The purpose of drafting is just to get words down on the page. Draft as many versions as you like until you’re happy. The start of your story is so important it’s worth experimenting with several beginnings to see what works best.

8/ Finish With a Bang – Nothing is more disappointing in any form of writing than a weak ending. If you’re struggling, go back and review the story up to the penultimate scene, right before everything resolves. Then ask: how would a reader want this story to end? The answer to this involves a combination of what would realistically happen to the characters and what is most impactful.

Try using dialogue or a strong statement to finish, or reveal a twist in the last sentence, leaving the reader reeling. Or you could finish back at the beginning – circular ending is a good way to round up your story and make the readers feel like the circle is closing and the journey has come to an end. By reintroducing some elements from the beginning of the story, you evoke the sense of completion and leave your readers satisfied.

9/ Edit! Edit! Edit! – Read through your final draft at least three times. Think about the flow of the words, the strength of your key emotion and the consistency of your plot and characters. Make a note of any inconsistencies you find, no matter how small – something extremely minor can throw the whole narrative out of sync – and spend time amending them.

Enlist a fresh pair of eyes – ask someone you trust, or even a few people, to read and proof your work. There’s nothing like a fresh pair of eyes to spot things you may have missed.

10/ Come up With a Title – Put effort into what you call your short story. If you submit it for publication, it might get changed by editors, but it must grab their attention first. They’ll want it to stand out to readers among a wide range of competing stories, and so do you.