"It's none of their business that you have to learn to write. Let them think you were born that way." ~Ernest Hemingway
SHORT STORY WRITING TIPS
For writers of all ages...
Topics Include
- Writers don't just express feelings; they generate them.
- Developing your characters.
- Non-standard English words.
- Capture your readers’ attention in the first paragraph.
- Writing dialogue.
- How to use punctuation effectively.
Writers Don't Express Feelings - They Generate Them
A good short story doesn’t talk about what is happening. It takes the reader on the journey for them to see and experience what is happening. A writer is an artist of sorts who uses words to paint pictures on their reader’s imagination.
Example A: Timmy was a bully.
What creative way can you use to show that Timmy was a bully?
Timmy slid into the empty chair next to Todd. It was almost lunchtime, and his stomach was growling. Todd avoided looking in his direction. Timmy had already tormented him for the last half hour of the class by blowing icky spitballs on his neck through a straw he snatched from Philip during recess. Now his tormentor wanted his lunch money.
Example B: It was a hot day.
How can you use your words to describe the heat of the day?
It was a few minutes past noon, the sun beat on Sherry’s head as she walked home without her straw hat. Beads of sweat rolled down her sun-scorched cheeks as she made her way to rest under the tamarind tree.
Capturing Readers’ Attention
To captivate your reader's attention the minute they begin to read your story, you must ensure that your first paragraph is descriptive, has action, and leaves them wanting more. If you begin with a dry start, there's no incentive for your readers to want to continue reading.
Example A: Mr. Major had a pig. Her name was Rosie, but the children called her Christmas Dinner.
How could you add a bit more excitement to these opening sentences?
Grandpa Major’s big pink pig Rosie grunted as she rolled over in a puddle of mud in front of the pen to cool herself off. His grandchildren Rusty, Clarence, and Josiah sat straddled on the wooden fence in their torn faded jeans and wrinkled tee shirts, eyeing her with their mouths almost drooling. For the past few months, the only meat they had came from a can, so the prospect of getting their teeth into a juicy pork rib dripping with Nana's sweet barbeque sauce was just about all they could talk about. It would be Christmas in a few days, and Rosie was going down, and for a good cause. Excited about the fresh meat, the boys happily helped their grandfather feed his animals, especially Rosie, whom they had taken to calling, Christmas Dinner.
Developing Characters
When writing a short story, your character is more than a name. Typically, as a writer, you need to know more about the character(s) than you can use in the story. It’s not enough to say a person’s name and skin color. Your readers want to know more about the characters. Consider developing your character by asking yourself a few questions. Here are a few questions you may want to ask to weave into your story.
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Example:
Arthur was an old man who sat gazing at the sea from his rocking chair.
How can you help your readers to form a better picture of your character?
Arthur sat alone on the old wooden porch in his rickety faded blue rocking chair with his old pipe in hand. His tattered clothing no longer neatly washed and pressed as his wife did when she was alive. Emily glanced at her grandpa through the window as she tidied his room. He seemed to be focused on the ebb and flow of the tide as it washed on the rocky shore. She noticed that his once thick dark brown hair was thin and as white as the jelly coconut he had just eaten with his remaining four teeth. Despite the passage of time and the harshness of life as a fisherman, at 94, Grandpa Arthur, as she called him, was still the handsome brown-skinned man she remembered growing up despite the deep wrinkles that followed a course from his head to toe.
Writing Dialogue
Dialogue is when at least two characters are talking to each other in a conversational format. There are two types of dialogue when we examine literature. These are outer and inner dialogues. Outer dialogue is the common type we think about when we think about dialogue: outer dialogue is a conversation between two different people. When you talk to your friends about a new movie you saw, or when you talk to your teacher about an assignment, you are engaging in outer dialogue. Inner dialogue is the second type of dialogue we tend to forget about or ignore.
An inner dialogue is a conversation between someone and themselves. Authors usually use inner dialogue to reveal the thoughts of a character to an audience, or they use this type of dialogue to more readily reveal a personality trait of a character. A monologue is one way to construct an inner dialogue. Shakespeare often uses monologues to reveal evil plots of characters in his plays or to show the growing madness of his character.
Dialogue is usually indicated through quotation marks around what is being said. Sometimes the speaker is indicated around the dialogue with a tag.
Courtesy of: KidsKonnect.com
A helpful tip in writing dialogues is to read them out loud. You want your conversations to sound and flow realistically. You will find that reading aloud can sound quite different from reading it in your mind.
Avoid small talk. It can be considered annoying and a waste of your reader’s time. With this in mind, you want to keep your dialogue brief yet impactful. While your short story’s body should be in standard English, inserting dialect in moderation is fine; it should be consistent and understandable by your readers.
When writing dialogues, each speaker gets a new paragraph. Quotation marks “d" frame what is being said. The punctuation for what is being said is also placed within the quotation marks.
For example: “What a lovely sunset!” is correct. “What a lovely sunset”! is incorrect.
Read Aesop's Fable below to get an idea of how you can add dialogue to your short story.
Aesop's Fables
The Wolf And The Crane
A Wolf had been feasting too greedily, and a bone had stuck crosswise in his throat. He could get it neither up nor down, and of course he could not eat a thing. Naturally that was an awful state of affairs for a greedy Wolf. So away he hurried to the Crane. He was sure that she, with her long neck and bill, would easily be able to reach the bone and pull it out.
"I will reward you very handsomely," said the Wolf, "if you pull that bone out for me."
The Crane, as you can imagine, was very uneasy about putting her head in a Wolf's throat. But she was grasping in nature, so she did what the Wolf asked her to do. When the Wolf felt that the bone was gone, he started to walk away.
"But what about my reward!" called the Crane anxiously.
"What!" snarled the Wolf, whirling around. "Haven't you got it? Isn't it enough that I let you take your head out of my mouth without snapping it off?"
Moral: Expect no reward for serving the wicked.
Non-standard English words.
While using non-standard English words is generally accepted in casual conversations, among your friends, it is important for writers to know how to write for standard English speakers to understand and appreciate what is being said. Most countries in the West Indies have a dialect that should be celebrated as their own; however, for students studying abroad, working in a professional environment, or communicating on an international level with foreigners who do not understand our dialect, we must have full command of the English language. This is not to say that dialect does not have its place in our writings. When writing drama, short stories, and the like, the dialect can be introduced where appropriate. An entire story, however, should not be written in dialect.
We have celebrated Bahamian authors such as Dr. Susan J. Wallace, who has written books and plays celebrating our Bahamian dialect. Dr. Wallace is also known for speaking standard English as a conference speaker, College lecturer, teacher, and author. Her ability to write and speak in standard English has opened doors for her to travel to many nations of the world.
Here are a few frequently used non-standard (Bahamian dialect) words and their standard English counterparts.
| Bahamian Dialect | Standard English |
| I'ne, I ean | I'm not |
| Am | I am |
| Gern, gwine | Going |
| Mussy, mussee | Must be |
| Terlet, turlet | Toilet |
| He ean, He'ne | He isn't |
| She ean, She'ne | She isn't |
| Dat | That |
| Dis | This |
| Scrate | Straight |
| Tief, teaf | Thief |
| Tiefin | Stealing |
| Tings | Things |
| Yasef | Yourself |
| Perm | Poem |
| Burl | Boil |
| Perzin | Poison |
| Sheme | Shame |
| Mizarebel | Miserable |
| Chirren, Chillun | Children |
| Oagly | Ugly |
| Aftadavid | Affidavit |
| Gal | Girl |
| Fishnin | Fishing |
| Erryting | Everything |
| Furl paper | Foil paper |
| Tanks | Thanks |
| Wex | Vex |
| Tink | Think |
How to use punctuation effectively.
A wise man once explained punctuation in sentences as signposts or instructions. On a busy street, you may see a stop sign at the intersection. It is a signpost giving you instructions on what you should do for a smooth and safe journey. The wise person stops before continuing further. Punctuation marks, like signs, guide readers through the sentence for a clearer understanding. They will indicate whether they should pause, stop, ask questions, or present a strong emotion. Sentences without proper punctuation lead to chaos and confusion for the reader. Without proper punctuation, the writer has missed an opportunity to guide the reader through their writing effectively.
It is important to note that there are no spaces in front of a punctuation mark. Look at the examples below.
- Friday night is family night. (Correct. You see, there is no space before the period.)
- Friday night is family night . (Incorrect. There is a space before the period.)
- Mom, where is my green shirt? (Correct. Again there is no space before the question mark.)
- Mom , where is my green shirt ? (Incorrect. There is a space before the comma and the question mark.)
So, what do these signposts mean?
A period, or, as it is often referred to, a full stop, tells you that the sentence is complete. Have a look at the example below.
- The wind blew the coconuts from the tree. I'll help my dad pick them up later.
There is another punctuation mark that ends a sentence yet it also stirs emotion. This emotion can be joy, anger, excitement, or even nervousness. The mark used here is called an exclamation mark. Notice that only one exclamation mark is used. Using more than one in standard English is incorrect.
- I love the beautiful colors in the sunset! (Correct)
- I love the beautiful colors in the sunset!!!!! (Incorrect)
When a question is being asked, you will use a question mark at the end of a sentence.
- Do you like climbing mango trees? (Correct)
- Do you like climbing mango trees ? (This is Incorrect—there are no spaces between the last word and the punctuation mark.)
While a period indicates the end of a sentence, a comma is useful in making a list. It also lets us know when we need to pause or take a breath. A comma can also connect two thoughts or sentences.
- Tonight I'm going to bake a cake. I'll need flour, eggs, milk, baking powder, sugar, and butter.
- My little brother loves to ride his bicycle, and so does his friend Mike.
When writing, readers need to know when someone is talking. That's where quotation marks are used. Keep your punctuation within the quotation marks.
- "Mom said it was your time to do the dishes, Sally!" Mary reminded her sister.
A colon is a punctuation mark that lets the reader know more information is coming. It links two independent clauses. It generally comes before an explanation, description, definition, or list.
- Never dive in shallow water: The impact may damage your spine.
A semicolon can be combined with a transition, like “but,” to connect two related sentences.
- Barney thought raccoons were cute to look at; but he didn't like how they ate his papayas and watermelons.
These punctuation marks will help your reader understand what you are saying while allowing you to express the appropriate emotions.