Definition of a Short Story
A prose narrative shorter than a novel, dealing with a few characters, aiming at unity of effect and concentrating on the creation of mood rather than plot. Source: Merriam-Webster
Short Story Lengths
Micro-Fiction: up to 100 words
Flash Fiction: under 500 words
Short Story: 500-7,500 words
Basics of Plotting a Short Story
- Beginning
- Start with a Hook that grabs the reader’s attention right away
- Introduce the main character
- Briefly establish his appearance, how he responds to life and problems, his speech, and his internal thoughts
- Establish the setting, mood and time of the story
- Give only enough details to make it clear to the reader, without weighing down the pace
- Establish the Point Of View
- Establish the character’s goal
- Make the goal strong enough that it isn’t easily reached
- Establish the conflict, whether external or internal
- Establish a ticking clock for when the goal needs to be reached
- Middle
- Escalate the rising action, the character’s struggle
- The clock ticks faster
- Show the difficulties the character faces trying to reach the goal
- Show reevaluating the original goal, consider compromises
- Intensify the problems until reaching the goal seems almost impossible
- Escalate the rising action, the character’s struggle
- End the story
- Show the character dealing with the final turning point in his path toward the original goal
- Show that minor issues are resolved first
- Show the character’s compromises, how the goal changes
- Show the character’s growth by accepting those changes
- Show the character dealing with the final turning point in his path toward the original goal