Beginners Guide to Writing Short Fiction and Valuable Story Writing Tips

Do you want a step-by-step, quick and easy crash course in how to write short stories?

Image Credit: Author — Canva.com Creation

Beginners Guide to Writing Short Fiction and Story Writing Tips

WELCOME READERS and future SHORT STORY WRITERS.

Are you ready to take a quick and easy crash course in how to write short stories? I’m Justiss Goode, and I’m in the learning phase also, so to help me retain what I already know, I created this step-by-step guide.

But this doesn’t just help me. This writing advice can also help other new or aspiring short story writers like you.

I’m actually part way finished with a paid short story course I’m taking online, and this guide is the result of what I’ve learned so far.

Since this story only contains the major highlights of the first four lessons, this step-by-guide will be the first in a two volume set. Without any further fan fare, let’s get right into it.

Photo Credits: ALL images in this story provided by Author via this Canva.com — Linked url address containing images in order of appearance in the story.

Stories: ALL story content is fully available in originally published format by Justiss Goode, by following available reference links at the bottom.

Links: No external links contained in this guide contain any affiliate links, unless indicated, such as in the case of Amazon book links that will be identified if applicable.

Copyright: Justiss Goode, Beka R. March, and Charm Baker are all pen names created and associated with writer and author Charmaine D. Baker, also known by usernames: @justissgoode, @charmdbaker, @charmbaker. As a result, some content, titles, and publications mentioned in volume two of this guide may reference any or all of the above mentioned pseudonyms.

GETTING STARTED

There’s no doubt, there is an endless supply of valuable writing related information that covers fiction and short story writing.

But no matter how much knowledge you consume on the subjects, or who you get your information from; when it comes to creative writing, nothing is really written in stone.

The contents of this step-by-step guide should be viewed that way. This information will help you form a base or foundation on which to build your story writing skills.

But certain situations will dictate that it’s okay to break the rules. In fact, sometimes, rules are not really rules at all, merely suggestions. The more you learn, the more you’ll be able to determine when this applies.

Writing is an art form, and just like any art, there will always be exceptions to the perceived way that an artist is supposed to perform. With that said, any deviation from tried and tested strategies that are known to work, should be the exception and not the rule.

To help us get started, let’s learn about how short story writing differs from writing novels.

I always believed that aside from the various genres, all fiction writing is basically the same, regardless of the length or type of story that it is.

Discovering that I was mistaken about this, was a significant turning point for me. It made me wonder what else did I think I know about short story writing, that wasn’t actually true.

Understanding Differences in Short Stories Versus Novels — LESSON #1

A short story is similar to a novel when it comes to needing a plot, characters and dialogue, however, make no mistake.

Short stories are not merely “mini novels” and you shouldn’t try to write them like they are.

They generally have 50,000 words or more, unlike short stories that typically range from 1000 words on the short end, and up to 20,000 words on the high end, although by then, you’re getting into “novella” territory.

There are various other ways that the short story is generally unlike the novel and should not be viewed that way when you write.

For Instance:

The story in a novel can span over a longer period of time, and also the novel’s length enables the writer to develop more of everything (including the things listed above).

If you take the wrong approach when writing your short story, you will figuratively run out of roadway and be unable to complete your story at a sufficient short story length.

Avoid the problem that many of us new short story writers encounter when we manage to get in our own way.

Before you get started creating a masterful short story with a lot of winding, twisting plots, do yourself a favor and rethink the whole thing, otherwise you’ll end up with a novella.

Short stories need limited characters, settings, and problems. — LESSON #2

In the art of writing short stories, size matters. In this case, it’s better when the size of things is smaller, not bigger. That means

• The less characters
• The less settings
• The less problems
• The less conflicts, the better the short story.

Remember, the reason this is so important is because you simply don’t have the space and time in your short story, to fully develop things properly.

Your characters need to be three dimensional, with well-defined personality traits and physical characteristics, but short stories don’t allow enough time for the writer to flesh out multiple characters.

Taking the short story writing course has taught me to the importance of learning how to leave out anything that doesn’t effectively help advance the plot of your short story.

Think of creative plots, characters and scenes, BUT, figure out how to make things interesting, while at the same time, keeping things simple.

If you try to cram too much good stuff into your short story, you could end up ruining it completely.

This brings to mind something I read by a Medium writer name Sherryl Clark, in her story about “How To Fix Shallow Characters…” She has some splendid advice about creating effective backstories, BUT, her advice is for novel writers.

Notice what she said about characters in a novel:

“…think, too, about the layers of your character, and unpeeling them like an onion. It’s worth spending time on this groundwork — your novel will definitely show the benefits.”

This writing advice is not only fitting, but it is excellent for when you get to use over 50,000 words to paint this kind of backstory. But once again, that is NOT the case with short stories.

One way to help you avoid the snare of injecting too much information, is to try and always keep thing linear. In other words, tell the story from point A, to B, to C, and so forth, and resist the urge to do flashbacks.

Flashbacks have a tendency to make a novel confusing, if you’re not careful, so even more so when writing a short story. Your time frame in a short story should be just like your characters, conflicts, and settings; simple.

Learn what the objective of your opening paragraph should be. LESSON #3

At the risk of being redundant, the very first paragraph of the short story you’re writing should not start off the way you start off a novel.

If you haven’t already gotten that point fixed in your mind, now is definitely the time to do it, because this is where it counts the most! The opening paragraph to your short story is one of the most crucial parts in the entire story.

You can think of it like a runner in an actual race. Runners wouldn’t think of starting a 30-yard dash the same as they would embark on a 3-mile marathon.

Marathon runners have the time to pace themselves and rely on their staying power to help them achieve a win. Sprinters, however, don’t have this luxury.

In a 30-yard dash, a runner has to show what they have quickly, and deliver the goods, straight out the gate, no stalling or hesitation.

Short story writers are sprinters, so the details they convey in the very first paragraph are crucial, and so is the way they convey them.

• The first paragraph must grab the reader’s attention quickly
• The first paragraph must give them a reason to keep reading.
• Your first paragraph, like the rest of your story, should show what’s happening, rather than tell what’s happening.

Medium writer and author Susan Orlean had this to say about writing shorter versus longer stories:

“… You are heading towards the end as soon as you begin…”

Ask yourself these questions about the first paragraph of your short story:

1. Does the paragraph introduce something unusual, unknown, or something unexpected?
2. Does the paragraph introduce some kind of conflict?
3. Does the paragraph create tension or a sense of urgency?
4. Does the paragraph start as close to the conclusion as possible?
5. Does the paragraph cause the reader to wonder or have questions such as who, what, when, where, or why?

Your answers to the above questions should help you be able to determine whether or not you have a winning first paragraph. If you find that you need to make adjustments and modify the paragraph, remember, less is best.

Learn the short story writing lessons about creating engaging characters. LESSON #4

No matter what type of writing you may happen to do, characters and good character development are important to the story, if you want to keep your readers engaged.

Like was already brought out earlier, you don’t want your characters to be shallow, even in a short story. That means, short story writers have to walk a fine line between providing enough depth to make the character believable, and not providing too much backstory, to weigh the story down.

So keep in mind:

• How well you develop specific characteristics can and will, have an influence on how well your story is told.
• Good character development can mean the difference in how long readers connect and stay engaged.
• Readers should be allowed to get to know the character, and any intimate details about them, but only details relevant to the story’s plot.
• Your three-dimensional characters should have quirks, mannerisms, and personality traits that are believable (in harmony with the setting and circumstances).

After fleshing your character out, you as the writer, should become so familiar with that character, that you should be able to determine if an action or reaction by them would be believable, based on the picture you’ve already painted of them.

That is the kind of realism you need to give your short story characters, but do it with minimal words and int a timely fashion in the story.

Necessary Story Elements

There are four main things that readers should always know about your characters. These necessary elements to your story are:

1. Appearance — how they look
2. Action — the way they move
3. Speech — how they speak
4. Thought — the way they think

Just think of how life-like your story characters will appear, when you use the above elements and give them this kind of depth. The personality traits you assign to the characters end up bleeding into the story, in a way that helps advance the plot.

In short story writing, writers must realize that our characters are more than simply a vehicle to get the story told. If we create them correctly, our readers will feel this also.

That wraps it up for VOLUME ONE of this short story writing guide. While you wait for the next volume to be published, do your best to practice implementing what you learned here.

You can even try your new story writing skills out right here, on the Medium writing platform. There are plenty of publications to publish short stories in, including: The Lark publication, which I recommend.

You can expect Volume Two to be available by the end of July, so be sure to follow me and stay tuned.

If you enjoyed this story, please show your appreciation with your feedback.

REFERENCE Stories:

Short Story Writing: Take an Online Course and Discover the Right Tools

Short Story Writing: When is it Okay to Break the Rules?

What is the Difference Between Short Story Writing and Novel Writing?

Writing Short Stories: It’s All About the Length of Things

What Affect Should Your Short Story’s First Paragraph Have on the Reader?

Characters in Your Stories and Personal Essays Can Help Keep Readers Engaged

👉 Use my personal INVITE to JOIN Benable, and start creating your own shareable lists (Affiliate link). Read the related Medium story.