Short Story Writing Tips

We are just under the halfway mark of October, meaning the writing competition is well underway! Some of you have expressed difficulty in keeping to the word count, and I’ve also had numerous conversations with aspiring writers who get a spark of an idea, but don’t know how to properly nurture that spark and let it grow into something bigger.

So, whether you just need help in keeping your short story under the 4000-word count, or you’ve tried writing in the past but fallen short soon after starting - these tips and advice will be perfect for you!

Tip 1: Recognise that a short story is NOT a novel

When writing, many new starters try and run before they can walk. Don’t bite off more than you can chew! Perfect your style on a smaller scale before tackling a big novel-scale plot!

Short stories need to be concise and stay as close to the bones of your plot as possible. Every character needs to have a purpose, every action and every reaction must drive the plot forward to your end goal. There is no room for deviation, you must ensure that your story has a clear message and direction - and stick to it like shit on your shoe!

Instead of fleshing out a whole character’s life, take a moment in time and flesh that out instead. How are they feeling in that moment? What is currently happening around them that’s influencing their actions? Keep your cast of characters manageable, and don’t use filler!

Tip 2: Give us someone to root for!

Whether it’s the protagonist, antagonist or the friendly neighbourhood dog… It’s imperative that you give the reader someone or something they can root for. Since you don’t have time to flesh out an entire character's life, give them a defining characteristic that we can connect with.

• Paul - A young college student who’s struggling to come to terms with his sexuality.
• Jackson - A man lost at sea, with the hope of seeing his children again the only thing keeping him going.
• Antonia - Tired of being belittled and overlooked at work, Antonia works to gain the recognition she deserves.
• Sebastian - His hometown destroyed, Sebastian seeks to avenge his fallen family at the goblin camp.

It can be simple, or it can be complex. Just make sure you know what direction you're going, and let those emotions carry your character.

Tip 3: Lift those knees and keep up the pace!

Downtime? What’s downtime when the world is ending? That’s how you need to treat your plot in a short story. There’s no time to stop and think unless the whole story is about someone who’s stationary and thinking… But that’s the exception!

Your story should start as close to the conflict as possible. Hit the ground running and get in there! There’s no time to build up the conflict… Your character(s) need to be in the thick of it reacting to what’s going on - with a satisfying conclusion just over the hill.

In the past, I read an article that said to start with one of three things:

• Action (immediately establish tension)
• Image (perfectly crafted exposition that lingers in the mind)
• Insight (A hook - or in other words a sentence that urges your reader to read on)

Tip 4: Senses are everything

You only have a short time to bring this pocket world to life, so use everything at your disposal to submerse the reader. People too often fall into the trap of describing something visually or what they sound like, but forget that smells, touch and even taste can also heighten immersion.

Take a seaside town for example. Of course, you can see the sand and ocean waves… You can also hear the chatting of locals and squawking of seagulls. But what else is there?

The taste of sea salt in the ocean air, the smell of freshly baked doughnuts or fried chips (fries) - even how the sand feels under the character's feet. Is it too hot to touch, or do they sink under like covered by a warm blanket?

Use all the sensory tools available to you and you’ll bring more life into your world.

Tip 5: To edit, or not to edit?

Yes, it's incredibly important to edit. But don’t fall into the trap of editing your first draft as you’re writing it. Not only will this stop you from making progress with the draft, but it goes against everything that a first draft should be!

A first draft is never a work of art. It’s messy, stuffy and probably not ideal for human consumption. Get your story drafted and only once you’ve done that should you go back and edit.

You’ll be able to see what parts work, which don’t, and what direction you should be taking your story. You might that some of the best ideas come from throwaway lines in your draft, that you then decide to explore instead of following your original idea.

TLDR: Only edit after your first draft. You’ll thank me later.

Tip 6: How do I edit?

Every writer has their own approach when it comes to editing. Don’t be afraid to try out a few different techniques. For me, I find that reading my draft out loud helps to bring out the tone of the story and characters.

For any sentences that are difficult to wrap your mouth around, highlight them for editing. It might be that they’re too wordy, or your sentence structure needs some work. Read your draft in one go, highlighting and adding comments, but leave the actual editing until after your first read-through.

Make a note of the purpose of each paragraph. This can be a one-word emotion, or a phrase like “makes the reader feel empathy for the antagonist.” If you decide your paragraph doesn’t bring a strong enough purpose to your narrative - it’s likely filler and you reduce it, edit it, or chop it out altogether.

Tip 7: What to avoid?

Clichés and the seven words to avoid!

Joe Bunting wrote a detailed article on how cutting these following words will make you a better writer. This is especially true in a short story format when cutting words is key to keeping down that word count.

“One of, some, thing, very, adverbs that end in -ly, and leading words such as mostly and so.”

So why do we want to avoid clichés? It’s simple really… The reader has heard them before. They’ve probably heard them so many times that they’ve lost their impact and don’t hold meaning anymore.

Think of what the cliché means, and how to weave that into your story without using the specific phrase. “Cold as ice” can be turned into “frozen, glacial, gelid.” Alternatively, “fish out of water” can be turned into “anxious, misfit, (or my personal favourite) a square peg in a round hole.”

Tip 8: Censorship

My final tip is to throw self-censorship out of the window. Your perspective and experiences are unique, and nothing should be off the table when it comes to what YOU want to write. You’ll find that your best work comes when you don’t restrict yourself to certain topics.

Closing Word

Have fun, enjoy the process and remember… If you’re bored after reading your final draft, that’s just because you’ve read it countless times. But if you’re bored after just the first draft - then it’s probably not the story you want to tell.