The outlining and research has to end at some point. The resulting character will be an amalgam of those. Create characters from people you know.Ĭharacters come from people you’ve or have known all your life (relatives).īrainstorming interesting, quirky, inspiring, influential people and mix and match their looks, ages, genders, traits, voices, tics, habits, characteristics. Write your first draft to simply get the basics of the story down without worrying about grammar, cliches, redundancy or anything but the plot.

That’s the germ of an idea that can become your story. Much fiction starts with a memory-a person, a problem, tension, fear, conflict that resonates with you and grows in your mind. I recommend these strategies to generate story ideas: 1.

Then you can write with confidence and enjoy the process. Short story ideas are all around you, and you can learn to recognize them. Writing fiction i s not about rules or techniques or someone else’s ideas. Or is your list so long you don’t know where to start? How to Come Up with Great Short Story Ideasĭo you struggle coming up with short story ideas? Which is why I created this complete guide. Writing a short story is an art, despite that they are so much more concise than novels. That implied a vast backstory and deep emotion. The most famous was Ernest Hemingway’s response to a bet that he couldn’t write fiction that short. They are really more gimmicks, but they exist. Some publications and contests accept entries that long, but it’s easier and more common to sell a short story in the 1,500- to 3,000-word range.Īnd on the other end of the spectrum, you may wonder if I’m serious about short stories of fewer than 10 words (Micro Fiction). Is there really a market for a short story of 5,000 words (roughly 20 double-spaced manuscript pages)? And short stories come varying shapes and sizes: In the publishing world, short story always refers to fiction. What Is a Short Story?ĭon’t make the mistake of referring to short nonfiction articles as short stories. Need help fine-tuning your writing? Click here to download my FREE self-editing checklist.

Short stories to write about for school