I wrote a short story a while ago named TBD (yes that’s the actual name). TBD examines the role of words in capturing experience, and the limitations that are still present with language. It follows the story of a journalist fired from his prestigious job and a chance encounter he has with a retired musician. The journalist then relentlessly pursues getting an interview out of this musician.
I got many kudos for the story, particularly for the theme and how I showed complex concepts.
Today, I want to show you how to write a story like that. I suggest you read my short story first (OVER HERE). I will reference the short story throughout this post as a guide for writing the best short story.
Planning a short story is VERY IMPORTANT. This article will go through the main ideas of the planning process.
Here is my 5 step process to planning powerful short stories:
1. Start with the Ideas
Before writing TBD, I stayed up a couple nights earlier brainstorming the idea. I started off with the idea of words and how our vocabulary limits us.
Then I hit a heavy brainstorming period followed by a…. roadblock.
I had several relational ideas brainstormed to my original idea. My mind felt amazing and empowered with all these ideas, but I quickly realized I do not know what to do with them.
But hey, that’s all you need to start.
If you’re struggling to come up with any clever ideas to explore for your story, here’s a hint: Carry a notebook around wherever you go. I didn’t sit down one day and just let the ideas flow in an hour, that brainstorming period was a week. I recorded all my ideas throughout the week and didn’t force myself to brainstorm it all in one sitting.
That’s the key to getting the best ideas.
2. What’s the Moral? How Do You Represent It?
Ok, so you have the ideas. But, what does it all mean?
If you need help to develop a moral, think about the exigency first. You need a reason for this story to exist. Why are the ideas you developed important for people to know? How can it change their lives?
If your focus is to write a powerful story, your morals must be powerful. Take the time to focus on your moral, or morals.
TBD is a story of multiple themes, but one base moral. You don’t have to state the moral upfront, but you should suggest it to the reader. Let the reader find out for themselves what is important.
3. Write Memorable Characters, but Place the Focus on a Couple Particular Traits
When people see characters in novels, they know a lot of their traits, such as hobbies, favorite words/dialogue. There’s so much effort you can apply into developing a character in a novel, particularly because of the length.
But short stories are not long. You don’t have the liberty to focus on developing a character extensively, so what should you focus on?
Remember that the character has to be memorable and relatable. The best way to do that is to focus on just 1-2 traits, not developing a character extensively.
For example, in TBD, I represented Matt as a blunt and entitled character. And for Frane, I wanted him to be distant. You get little else out of these two characters, but these simple focus traits inform how the characters respond to dialogue and act in each scene.
A larger focus of my story was the dynamic of these characters. I wanted both of them to change to further inform the moral of my story. How I did that was by slowly bringing out the opposite of these select traits in the characters. It becomes harder to create dynamic characters when you focus on giving them too many traits.
If you’re struggling to develop a character or find focus traits, try this Character Personality Generator! This generator uses the ideas of MBTI, enneagram, and archetype to determine a couple focus traits for your character and hobbies.
4. Background- Set up ONLY What You Need for the Scene
A short story represents a lot, but in a short form writing piece. This means you can’t pack the story with too much description or exposition.
Your story must be TO THE POINT. Description and exposition is fine but only if it directly adds to what you want to say.
You shouldn’t be setting up a whole cinematic universe. Only describe what applies to the story.
In TBD, Matt’s character loses his job. That is the background necessary for the story. I intentionally kept it short so his background serves as a simple reference for his choice of words/actions.
5. First Person, Second Person, or Third Person POV?
Yes, it matters.
Each type lets you say things that another type may not particularly allow. For example, first person POV lets you tap into ONE character’s thoughts and views on how the scenes play out. Third person POV gives you the liberty to comment on ALL that is observed in a scene, but you don’t gain insight into character thoughts (unless it’s third person omniscient).
It ultimately depends on what you want your story to represent. I wrote TBD in first person focusing on the main character’s thoughts. This is because my moral at the end was to be represented through the main character’s perspective, and the first person POV was most supplemental to my goal.
Conclusion
Thanks for reading! If you are still struggling to plan or write your story, you’re in luck! I created a free short story workbook to plan and write your short story! Check it out here.
If you liked this post, check out these other posts to supplement your writing: