How to Write a Short Story

Climax

We've already discussed the length of the work as being one of the main differences between a short story and a novel.  However, that is not the only difference between the two.  A novel is not simply a series of short stories strung together.  It must have a cumulative effect to the reader and a series of climaxes that all point to the final climax in the book.  The novel must lead a reader down a path, taking them on ups and downs along the way.  Each scene is inevitably tied to the one that follows.  Every climax is written to prepare the reader for what happens next.  It builds tension, curiosity, interest, and anticipation.  While the novel may contain several twists and turns in the plot, every bit of it is written to get us to that final climax where everything we've read comes together and the story ends.

A short story, on the other hand, has a tight plot that leads to only one climax the majority of the time.  Until you have abundant experience writing short stories and your stories are widely published and revered, you shouldn't try anything more.  Every word and every sentence the author writes leads to that point.  If you did this in a novel – created one climax only – your reader would get bored.  Who wants to read through 100 or more pages before they get to the climax – or an exciting part or scene of the book?  Nobody!  But in a short story, you don't have the 100 pages to entertain the reader with multiple climaxes.  To keep the story clear, interesting, and on track you must stick to one climax only. 

Setting

A novel can read like a movie.  Each section or chapter can take place in a different setting.  The story may move from the downtown streets to a country farmhouse, then to a suburban neighborhood.  These settings may be critical to the story or they just may be the settings for different scenes.  Again, this is where a short story differs.  Short stories only employ one setting, for the most part.  Of course, there are always exceptions in literature because it is an art form.  But the rule for high quality short stories is to include only one setting.  Read any number of short stories, and you'll see this is true. 

The reason for this is because short stories cover a very brief period of time.  Your story may take place in one day whereas novels can cover months or years.  Naturally, the reason for this is the word count, length of your piece, and the need for you to tell an interesting, well fleshed out tale.  If you're jumping time periods, even if it's a week or two down the road, chances are your story will be choppy.  Your reader may even think it's not told completely.  Short stories simply are not long enough to employ the tricks, liberties, and style that novels possess.  We can't emphasize enough that short stories are different from novels.  You can be a novelist and write short stories.  But you cannot write as a novelist when you create them.  You have to be a short story writer.

Length

Now that we understand the differences between a novel and a short story, let's examine the elements of the short story as compared to the novel and why each one is important to creating a well-written, higher quality tale. 

In the section above, we defined the plot in a short story to be tight.  What is meant by that is this: in a short story, the plot moves forward from the very first word to the very last.  It does not take detours or side trips.  You cannot "switch up" the plot or give it twists when writing a short story because you do not have the word count (or length) to make that happen.  It's comparable to trying to sprint when you have to make a 90 degree turn every 3 feet.  You don't have the space to do it. 

A lot of amateur writers make the mistake of thinking that they can break the rules and get away with it.  They believe that they can write the story that everyone else says can't be written – and write it well.  Yes, that means there are writers out there right now – maybe even ones who are taking this course – who are thinking to themselves that they can put plot twists into a short story and still have a high quality story.  However, all they do is mark themselves as amateurs, and they never advance into great short story writing. 

If you dare to put plot twists into your short story, one or all of these things will happen:

• You will have an underdeveloped plot.  The plot of your story develops from beginning to end.  If you have a ten page story, build the plot up until page five, then shift it because you're going to change the "obvious" outcome, then you have to propel the plot forward from the shift.  You've taken a new direction, and now you have more story to tell with that new direction.  The only thing is, you don't have the space in a short story.  So, instead, your plot is underdeveloped because you never took the time to develop it completely before changing gears.

• Your story will be dull and boring.  If you shift gears right as the reader becomes interested, then you are more than likely going to lose their attention.

• Your story confuses the reader.  They finish reading your short story and ask themselves "what the heck just happened?" 

• You end up mistaking a plot twist for a climax and all of the above things happen with your story.  A plot twist is a change or shift in the direction of the book that alters the outcome.  A climax is a moment of intensity IN the plot that brings everything to a head and leads to the conclusion. 

This brings us to the climax of a short story.  It may be tempting to any writer to include what we'll call mini-climaxes in the story.  As you write, you're excited.  You're "into" the story as it plays out inside your head and falls onto the paper.  Naturally, you want your reader to be just as excited and to keep them excited along the way.  However, writer be warned! 

Remember what a climax is: a moment of intensity in the plot that brings everything to a head and leads to the conclusion.  The reason you can have several climaxes in a novel is because you can create conflict, then present the resolution within the several hundred pages to keep the reader interested.  Within the confines of a short story, you don't have the length or time it will require to create multiple climaxes (conflict, resolution) and create the main climax of the story. 

In a novel, you have:

• Introduction of setting, situation, and main characters or the exposition
• Introduction of the conflict or complication
• Rising action or crisis
• Climax
• Resolution
• Moral

Because of the length of short stories, most short stories just have an exposition, climax, and an abrupt ending.  Short stories are known for having a "moral of the story" or a practical lesson, although this is not expected or required.  Several even start out in the middle of the action.  Short story writing is an art form; however, the final choice on how to write it is up to you.  We can only discuss the qualities that make most short stories the great tales that they are.