Writing a good short story seems so simple. Write 1,000 to 10,000 words of fiction on a particular genre, theme, or subject. The problem? With so few words, every paragraph of a short story needs to shine.

There’s no where to hide, no space for fluff or filler, and a desire to write something truly perfect.

Well, perfection does not exist. I don’t want you to try and write a perfect story, perfection is boring! I want you to write a good short story. Something that is true to you and your creative voice, that captures a reader’s attention, and leaves them wanting more.

If you want to know how to write good short stories, this post will explore:

1. Why Write Short Stories?
   1. The Benefits of Writing Short Stories
2. How To Write a Good Short Story (a step-by-step guide)
   1. Step 1: The Brief
   2. Step 2: The Concept
   3. Step 3: World Building
   4. Step 4: Crafting a Plot
   5. Step 5: Find a Writing Schedule
   6. Step 6: Proofreading

Why Write Short Stories?

Short stories are an often overlooked writing medium. So many of us, myself included, set our sights on larger writing goals like novels, memoirs, or feature-length screenplays. By comparison, short stories seem underwhelming or unnecessary.

I’m here to tell you that they are anything but.

Short stories are an amazing way for experienced and aspiring writers to strengthen their skills and open the doors to new professional writing opportunities.

The Benefits of Writing Short Stories

• Completing a Project: Writing a novel can take months or even years. It’s a huge undertaking with little to no guarantee of success once finished. Finishing a short story, on the other hand, is far more achievable. Depending on the length, an author can write a short story in a matter of hours. Getting that ‘win’ of finishing a project works to increase a writer’s confidence and leaves them with a piece ready to submit.
• It’s Great Practice: Short stories are an amazing opportunity to experiment with structure, story, and plot. When working on a bigger project, a writer must commit to just one way of doing things, with short stories, however, you can try something new every single day. Playing with different ideas, characters, and storytelling methods helps a writer to experiment, find their writing voice, and build the confidence to commit to a longer piece of writing.
• Competitions: Endless Short Story competitions are being run every single week. Some are free to enter and others require a small fee, with all offering some sort of prize from money to publication. Short Story Competitions can help get your name out there as an author, not to mention give you the chance to get feedback directly from industry professionals.

How To Write a Good Short Story (a step-by-step guide)

Yes, finishing a short story might be easier than completing a novel… But writing a good short story is another challenge entirely. This guide will highlight the steps needed to craft a great short story idea, start writing, and commit to finishing your story by a specific deadline.

Although writing a good short story might not be easy, it is achievable. And it is worth the work.

Ready to start?

Step 1: The Brief

Consider what or who you are writing for. Having clarity in your writing intention will immediately streamline the writing process by creating boundaries and a timeline. The idea behind a short story is to write something that you can and will finish. To write something really good, you need to decide exactly what you’re writing, before even starting.

If your intention is to enter this short story into a specific competition or submit it to a particular publication, then this step should be easy. Take a look at the guidelines page and highlight the following information – if you’re writing for yourself try to create your own brief to stick to moving forward:

1. Word Count
2. Submission Deadline
3. Genre
4. Themes
5. Subject Matter

Step 2: The Concept

Focus on your genre, themes, and subject matter. Begin brainstorming as many thoughts and ideas as you can. As soon as a word or image comes to mind in response to the brief, put it down on the page.

Consider your initial reaction. What ideas are sparking the most intrigue or excitement? What are the common threads between them? Use these to start connecting the dots of your concept. A good short story needs a rock-solid concept. Don’t overcomplicate it, instead work to expand your idea into something that could make enough story sense to captivate a reader.

Step 3: World Building

A short story may not be as long as a novel, but it still requires between 1,000 and 10,000 words of well-crafted and captivating words. That’s a lot of sentences to fill.

This is why world-building is so important.

It is the process of world-building is when a writer develops the setting in which your characters live, breathe, and interact, making it as vivid and believable as possible. In a literal sense, world-building refers to a writer creating a different world in which their short story takes place, however, even those stories set in reality require some amount of world-building.

Consider the exact location where your story takes place on a small, medium, and large scale. For example:

Small Scale: A school.

Medium Scale: The city.

Large Scare: The country.

Each of these setting levels will have its own rules, expectations, and social norms. What do people wear? How do they speak? How do they get around? The more answers you have ready, the easier writing is going to be.

Step 4: Crafting a Plot

The easiest way to approach a plot is to think about the beginning, middle, and end. For each phase of the story, you want to consider where the characters are and how you want the reader to feel. Typically, the goal is to have the action/tension slowly increasing throughout your short story to keep a reader hooked with some sort of payoff or resolution at the end for a satisfying finish.

Start simple.

Visualise your protagonist in the opening of the plot. Ask yourself why the story is starting in this exact moment. Is it the most interesting time for an audience to meet them? What is about to happen to launch the plot?

Create the larger plot points such as the character’s conflict, crises, and resolution. Once these are in place, it becomes easier to connect the dots and find paths from one plot point to the next.

Keep experimenting and playing, remembering that everything that happens should be for one of two reasons:

• It moves the story forward.
• It makes the reader think or feel something.

If a plot point doesn’t do the above then you don’t need it in your short story.

Step 5: Find a Writing Schedule

The key to good writing, is consistency. Writing is a practice, that means it is something that must be done regularly to see progress and growth. Without a clear deadline and writing schedule, it becomes extremely easy to fall off the writing path and let this short story become another unfinished project.

Let’s avoid that by committing to a writing schedule that works for you. Follow these tips to create your own:

• Write for at least 1 hour per session to have enough time to make meaningful progress.
• Block out your writing time in your calendar. This means you won’t forget about and will begin to prioritise protecting your writing time.
• Aim for a regularity in your writing practice, whether that’s daily, weekly, or after specific other activities.
• Set a goal at the start of each writing session like a word count or reaching a certain chapter. Even if you do not hit that intention, it helps to motivate you to keep going and push through distraction and blocks.

Step 6: Proofreading

Even the greatest of writers make mistakes. There are going to be things you want to edit and rewrite on reading your short story, these are the changes that will make it great.

It may be tempting to send your short story to someone else to read and edit for you, and whilst this isn’t the worst thing in the world, it is going to limit you as a writer. Reading over our own work is one of the best ways to learn and improve our skills.

By the time you reach the end of writing your short story, you’ll know your characters, plot, and setting so much better. This new knowledge can be poured back into the sections you wrote first, strengthening the piece as a whole and teaching you the art of self editing.

Try to go into any rereading session with an open mind and as little judgement as possible. We will always be our own worst critics, so just keep reminding yourself that writing is hard and finishing a project is even harder. Be proud of yourself, and do your best to be proud of your work.

The first short story I wrote was for a competition at my school, I wrote about a waitress waiting for her boyfriend to come and pick her up from work but he never shows. I won that competition and can still remember the feelings of excitement and pride that surged through me. It encouraged me to keep writing and keep playing with creative writing ideas.

I’m challenging myself to enter one short story competition this summer using the steps above to write my piece. My intention is to have fun, to play with writing, and to simply finish a writing project. I hope you’ll join me on that journey.

For more resources on creative writing and story planning why not check out:

• How to Plan a Novel in 7 Days
• 10 Writing Exercises to Access your Creative Flow
• My Steps to Building Writing Self Confidence

Good luck!