by Jeanne Takenaka, @JeanneTakenaka

Have you ever attempted to write a short story?

Many of you have. Awesome for you!

I recently told a group of writing friends I found it easier to write a novel than a short story. The whole concept of creating a short story loomed like fog in my mind. How does one develop the plot? What to include? How long should the story be? And on my questions went.

After talking through my fear of this task with writing friends, I now have a clearer understanding of how to write short stories. 

Here’s the process for writing short stories that I learned:

Determine who the characters are

First, my friends asked questions to begin developing elements for my short story.

Questions asked:

• Who’s the current full-length book about?
• What’s the genre?
• What secondary characters do you especially like/Who from this book can you write a short story about?
• What story can we share about said character?

In my most recent novel, my heroine inherited a bookshop from her grandmother. In this series, the grandmother leaves a gift for each of her granddaughters. As we talked, the grandmother became my heroine. We decided on some possible elements to incorporate that hinted about these gifts.

Coming up with a topic

My novel is a contemporary romance set in a fictional small Colorado town. I wanted to write the grandmother’s story, but, wow, that could be an entire novel. How would I narrow the focus?

Questions asked:

• What’s your favorite part of a love story (or of another genre’s story arc)?
• What kind of tension can you add?

Deciding on a specific event for the story

I love proposal scenes. We brainstormed events that could lead to a proposal going right . . . or wrong.

Talking through the grandmother’s past helped us to develop her backstory. This created some delicious tension for the proposal scene.

To write a compelling short story, we must know our characters. This allows us to use opposing motivations. One character wants one thing; the other wants the opposite. 

Questions asked:

• When does the story take place?
• What do we know about that time?
• What successes or failures can happen for the character?
• What can go wrong? 

The heroine in my story would have fallen in love in the early 1970s. We discussed some events of that time. I also researched what might be feasible for her story. 

Details to consider to write a short story

• A short story will be as short or long as we make it. Anything up to twenty-thirty pages can be considered a short story.
• Think through the scenes that will lead up to the desired event (the proposal!). My story contains four scenes that build story world, show tension, has a climax, and the proposal.
• Consider each scene as an abbreviated version of what happens in each act of the Three Act story structure—Scene one = Act One. Scene two = Act Two. Scene three = Act Three. 

Finally, you’ll want to include:

Include these things:

• Focus on one POV.
• Dialogue—don’t let the main character spend most of the story in his or her head.
• Bring in other characters. My story has the heroine, her hero, a best friend, and the heroine’s daughter.
• Five senses and five W’s in each scene 
• Include a bit of stakes in each scene (emotional, physical, or spiritual).
• Make sure the character has a story goal. 
• If necessary, do just enough research to make the story authentic, but don’t get lost. 

Asking good questions prepares us to write a short story that draws readers in. 

I’ve now written one short story. And I’ve decided it’s much easier than writing a novel. 

Tell me, how do you come up with short stories?

 

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Award-winning, aspiring novelist and blogger Jeanne Takenaka writes contemporary fiction that highlights how faith and grace hold hands in relationships with people and with God. She, her husband, and two boy-men call Colorado home. She loves being a God-seeker, hanging out with friends, and savoring oat milk lattés. When she’s not writing, you can find her, camera in hand, searching for #alittlebitofpretty. She’s a member of ACFW and Novel Academy.