How do I write a short story?

by David Castanho
9th May 2015

Hi Everyone,

I have recently landed myself a place on a course for Medical Administration and during my spare time when I'm not studying I'm thinking about writing short stories. This would be a great way for me to practise my craft before tackling something big like a novel. But how do I write a short story? Any tips?

Replies

Gonna echo some of the sentiments above. Read loads and loads of short stories in the genre you're looking to write in and just practice till you're happy with it. Be prepared to write some not fantastic prose to start out with. You'll need to do a lot of editing to get it how you want it to be.

Beware of having too many characters. You've got a few thousand words at most to tell the story, so don't try to do too much. Be willing to cut anything that isn't absolutely vital.

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Trent
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Trent Cannon
12/05/2015

You should read short stories by Anton Chekhov, Katherine Mansfield, Nathaniel Hawthorne and Elizabeth Taylor (not the actress). I could name more but they are amongst the finest short story writers.

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Adrian Sroka
09/05/2015

Thanks Lorraine it sounds simple and not a mind puzzler, anyway I'm only using it as a exercise to improve my writing so I shouldn't let it stress me out to much. Thanks again Lorraine and Joe for the comments and hope your writing is going well 😊

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