Short Story Writing Tips

Read these tips on writing your 2012 short story by competition judge and author Ann Burnett

Warming up

So you’re sitting there with a blank piece of paper or a blank screen and nothing is coming. You need to warm up. Set your phone or oven timer to five minutes, open a book or newspaper, pick a word at random and write whatever comes into your head about that word. Stop when the timer goes. Here are some to get you started: bubbles, school children, jug, crystal. Get writing!

Tension

Your story must have tension. A story isn’t interesting if it doesn’t have tension. Tension comes from wondering what is going to happen next. It can involve fear, puzzlement, excitement, romance, surprise, anger. The reader has to want to turn the page to find out what happens next.

Sympathetic characters

The reader has to like the main character. But they have to be real. They can’t be absolutely perfect. That’s boring. Nobody’s perfect. We all have our flaws and that’s what makes us interesting. So make your characters true to life, not clichés or stereotypes.

Involvement

The reader should engage with your story. They must be working out for themselves what is going on and what the characters are like. Don’t tell them that your character is feeling down. Show the reader by their actions and dialogue that they are depressed.

Dialogue

What your character says should replicate real speech - but not exactly. We um and er and repeat ourselves, leave sentences dangling and use repetitive phrases like you know, every few words. This is boring to read and slows down the story. Cut it out. Similarly, when giving your character an accent or a dialect, use it sparingly to hint at it, rather than rendering all their speech into it.

How to set out your manuscript

• Use 12pt type, eg Times New Roman, and plain white A4 paper.
• Type on one side of the paper only, using double spacing.
• Indent the first line of each paragraph rather than leaving an extra line space between paragraphs.
• Leave good margins all round (at least an inch)
• On each page, type the title, your pseudonym, and a page number. (Footers can be used for this.)
• Complete the entry form giving your name, address and other details including word count. Please do not put your name on the story itself; only your pseudonym.
• For postal copies, please use a paperclip, not a staple.
  

For added inspiration why not read the winning stories of 2011.