Writing a Good Short Story

Here are some tips I picked up at a conference I attended. I don't follow all of these tips but they are good to keep in mind. The first few things (which I often break) is that the story should stand on its own. It is about a person with a problem who takes an action to solve the problem. It should have a beginning, a middle, and an end. Now this may seem pretty obvious but especially when it comes to flash fiction this can be easy to forget.

For these particular stories this is just a basic outline which can be adjusted as you want. During the beginning the character realizes there is a problem and takes ownership of the problem. The middle is where the character attempts to solve the problem but in the course of trying they realize it is bigger than first anticipated. Every attempt that fails is part of the middle of the story. The end is when there is a solution to the problem or there can be no more attempts for any reason.

Short stories don't always have to revolve around characters but they can be about setting or an idea. Wherever you decide the focus is that is where you start your story. This is where the in late out early comes in handy. With a novel you have to know what to put in. With a short story you have to know what to leave out. Stories need to have a setting and when it is a short story that should come fairly early so as not to lose the audience. The last thing to remember is that you don't just have one hook in the novel it should happen throughout to keep the readers interested. Use emotion to keep up the level of tension.