Guest Author - Caroline Coleman
Tips for Creating a Great Short Story Plot
There are fundamental elements present in every captivating short story. Your job as a writer is to identify the ones you need for your particular pieces and to create the plot based on them. This is usually done through a lot of reading and analysis, but you can use some straightforward ideas as well.
Mystery is one of the most powerful tools you have to create an intriguing short story. The more mysterious the beginning is the better. You have to keep this feeling throughout the rest of the plot as well. Simply put, you have to give the details one by one. Always have some tricks that you can pull out of your sleeve to surprise the readers and to keep them reading.
It is best for your conflict to be universal. Universality will automatically give it meaning to the readers. You can readily opt for struggles that we all have to come across in our lives or for ones that are meaningful to large groups of people. The real trick here is to make your story universal, but not trivial. You have to convince your audience that the stakes are high for the protagonist. One of the easiest ways to achieve this effect is to highlight the fear and consequences of the loss of something precious. This can be a person or an object or even a way of life.
The balance between both sides of the conflict is essential for your short story. However, giving them options to choose from will certainly create more tension. This is what will make your story interesting and your characters more realistic and easier to empathize with. This empowerment creates both drama and realism and these are important elements.
In general, you have to put a great focus on the empathy that the readers have to feel for the character as well as for the things happening to them in the plot. They have to identify themselves with the protagonist and the scenarios in his/her life. Your goal as writer is to make the audience feel like the character and imagine they are in his/her place.
Progression is an important element of any literature piece. The trick with the short story is to make it fast. It is essential for you not to move away from the main story line and to change scenes quickly. More importantly, make sure you are intensifying the action rather than keep it on the same level. The obstacles in from of the protagonist have to grow as the story develops.
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