Finding answers to these questions, let’s dive in already!
Follow these 10 simple steps as an ultimate guide to construct your first short story!
STEP-1: Build Your Character
The better you know your character, the better your readers would be able to relate with them. Try to be as expressive as possible in building the character’s persona. Try to share just enough graphic details when it becomes possible for the readers to visualize the character literally. Talk in great detail about their physical appearance (complexion, height, weight, the colour of the eyes, hair, etc.) and their emotionality (if the character is fun-loving, empathetic, short-tempered, a mess, kind, introvert, extrovert, etc.).
STEP-2: Construct A Layout
If you were thinking there’s no outline required while framing a short story, you are wrong! No matter if it’s a short story, novella, novel or even a manuscript for that matter, planning out the layout can never be a waste of your efforts.
Yes, it goes through many changes through the writing process but clarifies how your first short story should be ordered.
STEP-3: Start With An Out-Of-The-Box Opening
As a reader, what entices you to go on reading a book? Isn’t it the beginning of the few sentences in a story? That’s precisely what everyone wants! If your short story has a fundamental and typical face, readers might consider it as “oh wow, one more love story with a love triangle!”
However, even if your story happens to be sweet and simple, try putting your thinking hats on and convert it into a beginning, which urges your readers to read further. Readers should say to themselves, “okay, that’s odd, let’s read further here”!
STEP-4: Keep Your First Draft Ready Well In Advance
Why? To have a proper roadmap from start to finish handy. Now, it does not have to be your final draft. It might suck and not be perfect, which is natural! But, you can always make it subtle and polished throughout your writing process. The primary intention is to be ready with your story and know how your very first short story would be indexed once finalized.
STEP-5: Edit, Edit and Edit!
As discussed, the first draft won’t need to be your final draft. Go ahead and edit it; take all the time in the world to do so. Question yourself, “If you would have been a reader, would you get enticed to read it further or not” if not, go on edit it numerous times, make it more descriptive, see how you can get the story’s full potential and repeat the process if needed.
STEP-6: Think About The Most Suitable Title
Keep into consideration your storyline, the plot, the character descriptions, the theme, the emotional turmoils, basically everything that your story comprises. And then decide on more than one title to finally narrow it down to the best one and use.
STEP-7: Focus On The Core Message Of Your Short Story
Ever heard a story without a message? I bet not! Shouldn’t you be following a similar practice for your story too? As long as you do not know what you intend to convey out of your story, it will make no sense to the readers. So be crisp and clear about why you are writing this story and what message you want your readers to absorb from it.
STEP-8: Have An Ending Which Your Readers Will Remember
Like the beginning, where your readers decide if they want to invest their time in this story or not, they should feel the time they invested was worth it! Have an ending that stays with your readers for long. If possible, make your closure close-ended; however, if you do not wish to do so and keep it open-ended, make sure you have answered enough questions of the character’s conflict in the story.
STEP-9: Never Miss Out On The Feedbacks
Circulate soft copies with your reader friends and ask for their honest advice and opinions. Ask them what they think of the plot, how you can improve it, what’s lacking and so on. Always take the feedback to fuel yourself to work even harder and produce the best output.
STEP-10: Proofread And Edit (If Necessary) Once In For All
Do the final check about any grammatical errors, misspelled words, errors in typography etc. Once everything spot on, go ahead and finalize the draft!
So here you go! You have the tools, get started with the construction now! Produce the story, which has been held aside for ages now!
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Originally published at https://www.fuzia.com.