How to Write a Short Story for BEGINNERS 4 Easy Steps

short stories suck or at least they seem like they do until you know how to write them they're so short nail in the ending is so hard there's not enough time to get to know character these are all things thought when first started writing short fiction what if told you writing short story doesn't have to be hard here's my four-step process for writing killer short story short story can be broken down into four basic parts number one character in particular predicament number two event unrolls that disrupt this predicament number three event Peaks and causes number four final Revelation that changes that predicament one character in particular predicament you can't have short story without character I'm focusing on human characters but your character can be an animal or setting or whatever you want it to be short stories occur because of problem or predicament the predicament is the heart of your story it is why your character is telling this story at this time predicaments are conflicts and conflicts can be internal or external AKA your predicament can be character flaw versus situation or vice versa this predicament will be linked by your theme but hold on what is theme theme is the unspoken core idea your story explores it's usually related to the change your character makes at the end of the story so what's an example of character in particular predicament so this is from my short story Jasmine's brows and cuts which you can read for free on the Puritan I'll link it in the description if you don't want to read it before continuing this video here's the log line an eyebrow wax are questions for ideology on beauty standards when bold woman named Sada becomes the first client of her at-home salon so what's Jasmine's predicament well Jasmine lost her job because she lost her job she starts an at-home eyebrow waxing business she does this because she likes making people feel beautiful as she herself struggles with her body image here the predicament is highlighted in yellow the link to the theme on the other hand is blue two event on rolls that disrupts this predicament now that you've identified character and their predicament you need to identify an event that disrupts this predicament this disruption causes the story to actually happen AKA role on the page this disruptive event is also known as the inciting incident so what's an example of disruptive event in this case SATA Confident Woman similar age to Jasmine becomes the first client of her at-home Salon if Santa didn't show up in the story it wouldn't occur at all yeah okay but what's disruptive about sata's presence well she's very confident and social all things Jasmine's been taught not to be most importantly she's Jasmine's age and Jasmine's been taught that women in their 30s can't be confident here's also where leave you with special note disruptive event can be internal but more often than not is an external conflict that exacerbates the internal conflict three event Peaks this is the story's climax it's the moment the character's predicament starts to shift due to the disruptive event think of this like an avalanche everything starts falling apart to create something new at the end of the day the event peaking is the Tipping Point of your short story change whether that's progression in for your character or regression will occur because of this moment so what's an example of an event peaking well sata's confidence increasingly challenges the world view Jasmine's mother taught her about beauty standards Jasmine's confused because Sada in her opinion is everything she's not supposed to be but at the same time sat is still totally successful despite going against what Jasmine's mother taught her about beauty standards this leads to Jasmine asking SATA if she ever feels old four final Revelation changes the predicament this is step lot of newbie short story writers including myself mess up the ending of short story is so important because it recontextualizes everything else that came before it essentially signals to the reader what the story was about this can be very daunting if you don't know where to start but the answer is simple all you need is for your character to make revelation that changes their positioning on their original predicament this revelation will be the direct aftermath of the event Peak finally what's an example of final revelation status flabbergasted response to Jasmine calling herself old really gets Jasmine thinking Jasmine dips into internal reflection and has moment where her previous world view is challenged she returns on the other side changed I'm gonna read the ending of Jasmine's browsing cuts to illustrate this point Jasmine turns for the warmer and quickly pulls up glop of wax on the popsicle stick she turns it around around she'd always thought she'd like to make people beautiful like she does now to SATA she liked the idea of changing someone's face so they'd be surprised by the reflection they'd see in the mirror as She lays the wax down between sata's brows she tries to remember the last time she felt beautiful the last time she felt the type of young her mother wanted her to remain Untouchable maybe it was this morning brushing her teeth in the mirror maybe it was five years ago sitting alone at her New Year's party sporting new lipstick color as she Twirls the wax on the popsicle stick she catches glimpse of her face in her makeup mirror's reflection she can hear her mother now commenting on how she should get some rest try Olay tea bags cold compress every morning but then there's saddest voice coming from the chair know what that's like she says and closes her eyes as Jasmine holds her skin taut but when you get to certain age you've got to make choice it's either you choose you or get eaten by wolves and I'm not big fan of wolves Jasmine looks at herself again something softens on her face or maybe it's just the way the LEDs hit her jaw but for moment slow honeyed moment she's tinged gold if you're at home and you're like don't get it what's the change let me break it down the change in this story is the moment when Jasmine sees her reflection in the mirror and notices she's tinged gold this indicates that for once she looks at herself and isn't seeing her mother's criticism but someone new and glowing full of possibility but Rachel my character isn't supposed to change if this is you listen closely if you're writing short story believing your character doesn't change this might not be as true as you think are you sure the character doesn't change at all or do they actually regress that's another type of change really take moment meant to think of who your character is at the start of the story and what happens over the course of the story that might change them perhaps the events of the story don't change your character positively but negatively at the end of the day short stories are little nuggets of writing that require change there are of course exceptions but if you're just starting out wouldn't recommend starting out with story where character doesn't change at all on the first go if your character isn't changing you might need to revisit your original idea and ensure the events in the story do incur some kind of change whether that's positive or negative so that's it now you know how to write short story honestly wish had this guide when first started writing short fiction short stories are mystery but not anymore what's your favorite short story I'll link list of my favorites that you can read online in the description so go forth and write short story you got this foreign