How to Write a Short Story - Writing Tips & Advice

The best advice I can offer is to research your market. I know, all writing resources say the same thing, but that’s because it’s true. If you’re starting out in short story writing and want to win a competition, the best way to begin is by reading the previous winning stories so you can see what style the judges seem to prefer. If there are any comments about the stories the judges have chosen, read them and learn from them.

Also, read and obey the rules.

Aside from that, read a lot and write a lot.

I feel like I’m stating the bleeding obvious here, but sometimes common sense needs to be kept abreast of what’s common and sensible. Below are a few other short story writing tips which, in my humble opinion, can make for a better end result.

• Keep it simple. Don’t crowd a story with too many characters. Loads of different names confuse readers. Yes, I’m a drummer and have the attention span of a tiny fish, so I favour simplicity. But having only 1,000 to 5,000 words (ish – most short story competitions have word count limits between these figures) doesn’t give a lot of room for character development, especially if you’re introducing a reader to an entire football team. One, two or three central characters seem to work best to me.
• Don't confuse readers by using names which sound too similar. If you write a story about Ken, Len and Ben, it's going to be hard to keep track of which character is which. Carter, Bronson and McGregor will be much easier to identify.
• Try and make an opening strong and interesting. Grab the reader’s attention from the off. A good way of doing this is by providing a question the reader will want answered early on. For example:
  I’m tied to a tree, living a nightmare set amongst a panorama of beauty. Over the past week I’ve been dragged up a mountain by my captor, his cruel eyes betraying a desire to which he’s unable to succumb. He needs me as he believes me to be – untouched.
  This is taken from my story, The Treasure No Thief Can Steal which I’m currently entering in competitions. This opening paragraph sets the scene and places questions in the reader’s mind: Why has the narrator been dragged up a mountain? Why must she be untouched? What will her captor do when he finds out she isn’t virginal? My aim is to engage with the reader from the off, (hopefully) making them want to read more.
• Dialogue can develop character and drive the plot forward. Use it to do both. For example:
  ‘I’m sorry to interrupt at such an ungodly hour,’ he says, his voice as deep as hell’s gong. ‘Put the gun away. It is useless to you.’
  I do as he commands, not because I want to, but because I am unable to disobey. There’s a mesmerising quality to his voice which I realise I will have to fight if I want to act of my own free will.
  ‘You are Sergeant Joshua Purvis?’ he says.
  I’m aware that I’m gawping. I try and say, ‘Yes,’ but all that emanates from my mouth is a kind of slurping mumble. I decide to forget talking for a moment and just nod.
  ‘Do you know who I am?’
  ‘Satan?’ I guess, pleased that I manage not to drool as I force the word from my mouth.
  He snorts laughter, smoke spiralling from the holes in his face which I assume must be nostrils. ‘No,’ he says. ‘My name is Colin.’
  I hear myself snigger.
  ‘I’ve taken a human name to seem less threatening,’ Colin continues, in a tone that suggests he is only imparting this information so he won’t find it necessary to tear my head off. ‘Names aside, you must concur, my master has excelled with the physical manifestation conjured for my eternal servitude?’
  This is taken from another one of my stories, Devil’s Crush, which you can read on the site. Joshua, a legless war veteran, has just discovered Colin, a demon, in his kitchen. I’m trying to allow the reader to learn about Colin through his speech, interspersed with the visual hints necessary to maintain the image of a demon in the reader’s mind. At the same time, I’m attempting to push the story forwards, by imparting information in the verbal exchange which builds character and plot. This is an important technique with short stories, as with so few words, you have to make the most of every one. And throughout, I’ve also tried to use laconic humour, keeping the style consistent. Have I succeeded? You tell me :)
• Ensure dialogue sounds convincing. If you’re unsure, read it aloud. Speaking the words can help you determine if the dialogue is working with you or sabotaging your plans with the deployment of excessive commas, adverbs and the use of perfect English even though no one ever says it that way out loud.
• Make the end of the story satisfying. Stories which fail to answer all the questions raised or resolve the situation can be disappointing. I know, this is a matter of taste, but satisfying endings appeal to the majority of readers. No, I’m not a fan of David Lynch :)
• Hopeful endings seem to work well. Again, this is personal taste and not appropriate for every occasion, but I’ve found tales that offer hope deliver a satisfying ending for the reader and have a good success rate in competitions.
• Maintain believability. Don’t make a character act in a certain way to suit your plot. Keep characters in character at all times. Let the character react to the situation as they would react, not as the plot dictates to be necessary. This helps believability and will make your story stronger.
• Show how the situation and the events in the story affect or change the central character. I received this advice when I attended a ‘how to write a synopsis’ course at the Folk House in Bristol (incidentally, it was run by a published writer called Billy Muir and was well worth twenty-five quid). He suggested treating a synopsis like a short story - as you have so few words, use the central character to show how the events of the plot affect and change them. Interesting and sound advice – it works, and helped my short story writing greatly. However, I still can’t write a novel synopsis for sherbet...
• Start writing with an end in mind. I’m not a fan of excessive plotting as I find it kills inspiration. But having an end planned helps you drive the story in the right direction as you write. Without an end goal, the plot can twist into an unsalvageable mess.
• If you’re writing a novel, use the novel’s characters in your short stories. You’ll be so familiar with them, they should be easy to write and add believability to your short tale. Plus, it gives you the opportunity to test them out. Do they work? Do readers relate to them? Did they help you win a competition or get noticed by a magazine editor? If so, that bodes well for your novel. If not, you can catch problems early and fix them. You can also use simplified sections of a novel plot for a short story, again, testing them out. Most novels have sub plots which will often make excellent short stories.
• Give your story title the attention it deserves – if you don’t take the time to come up with an interesting title for your story, why should anyone take the time to read it? Make them enticing and entertaining.
• Avoid the use of cliché – always find a new and interesting way of saying something, rather than going for hackneyed phrases which have been used a gazillion times before. The only time I intentionally make exceptions to this rule is in dialogue, if I feel the character is likely to use clichés, although this is still best used sparingly.
• Read lots of fantastic short stories. There are many magazines (I recommend Scribble and Writers’ Forum) and websites (Brighton COW is good) which can give you access to inventive and inspiring stories. But also consider reading authors like Roald Dahl, Philip K Dick and other renowned short story writers. Why are their stories so successful? What makes them good? You can learn a lot from reading the work of quality authors – generally, they have a large readership for good reason.
• Never give up. If you think a story is worth writing, write it. Don’t listen to anyone else, including the Demon of Doubt which whistles his merry tune inside everyone’s head from time to time. Just do it.
• If you don’t win the first competition you enter, don’t give up. What fails to appeal to one short story competition judge may still appeal to another – you will see that a lot of the stories on this website have been entered into many competitions before winning anything. If you gain any feedback from competition judges or editors, take it on board and see if you can improve your story before entering it in the next competition.

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