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Short
Story Tips
Why
do some stories truly ring in the mind while others
leave you with the feeling of 'what was the point?'.
To make your short stories more effective, try to keep
in mind these following points while writing:
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1.
Have a clear theme. What is the story about?
That doesn't mean what is the plot line, the sequence
of events or the character's actions, it means what
is the underlying message or statement behind the
words. Get this right and your story will have more
resonance in the minds of your readers.
2. An effective short story covers a very short
time span. It may be one single event that proves
pivotal in the life of the character, and that event
will illustrate the theme.
3. Don't have too many characters. Each new
character will bring a new dimension to the story,
and for an effective short story too many diverse
dimensions (or directions) will dilute the theme.
Have only enough characters to effectively illustrate
the theme.
4. Make every word count. There is no room
for unnecessary expansion in a short story. If each
word is not working towards putting across the theme,
delete it.
5. Focus. The best stories are the ones that
follow a narrow subject line. What is the point of
your story? Its point is its theme. It's tempting
to digress, but in a 'short' you have to follow the
straight and narrow otherwise you end up with either
a novel beginning or a hodgepodge of ideas that add
up to nothing.
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