Writing Short Stories

Which of the following is not punctuated correctly?

"Do you think we should postpone the party," Phil asked?

resolution

How do things finally turn out?

Revising Your Overall Structure Once you have drafted your short story, revise it to make it more effective. Start by looking at its overall structure. Then, make sure that each paragraph and every sentence works the way you want it to. Finally, reread your story carefully to see whether your word choices support your purpose. Build Suspense—Consider altering the structure of your short story to build suspense. For example, if your story has a very long exposition in which the setting and characters are introduced, you could eliminate some descriptive detail to more fully develop the story's conflict.

Adding Details to Create Foreshadowing One way to create reader interest is to add details to create foreshadowing, a writer's use of clues to hint at story events that might happen next. Be sure to write this definition in your notes. Write It! Look at your own story. Would it benefit from foreshadowing? If so, add the necessary details to make it interesting and suspenseful. Think About It Can you think of a story you have read that used foreshadowing?

Revising Your Paragraphs It is time to revise your paragraphs. Start the revising process by creating functional paragraphs. Functional paragraphs are short paragraphs written for effect. They can arouse or sustain interest, emphasize a point, indicate dialogue, and make transitions. Functional paragraphs can reveal who is speaking and give additional information about a character. Writers often use functional paragraphs to draw attention to important details in a story. Reread your own story and see whether there are any sections that would be clearer if they were divided into shorter functional paragraphs.

Creating Functional Paragraphs to Set Off Dialogue Review your draft, and begin a new paragraph each time a new character begins speaking. You could give just the words of the dialogue or add a description about how the character felt, behaved, or spoke. Take look at these examples: This functional paragraph reveals a character's words. "Well, I guess you'll be taking your dog home now," Brittany said. When the speaker changes, start a new paragraph. "Sure. I guess I will." The paragraph does not break after the description of Brittany's voice because she continues speaking. "Goodbye, Goldie." Brittany's voice was very small. "Be good."

Which sentence is punctuated correctly?

Jeffrey said, "It's time for us to speak."

Drafting: Shaping Your Writing Now you are ready to organize your ideas and details into a draft. Stories can take various shapes—they sometimes begin in the middle of the action, they sometimes contain stories within stories, and they sometimes contain flashbacks that interrupt the narrative to tell of events that happened earlier in time. Most stories, however, conform to a traditional plot structure, which never grows stale and enables the writer to fulfill and satisfy the expectations of the reader.

Make a Plot Diagram A plot diagram helps shape your plot. It contains the following elements: an exposition, which introduces the characters and setting; rising action, which introduces the conflict and builds gradually in intensity; and the climax, during which the conflict reaches its peak. The falling action refers to the events that immediately follow the climax and lead to the resolution, in which any unfinished issues within the story are resolved.

Which sentence best represents a story's resolution?

Maura and her mother pull themselves out onto the riverbank.

Adding Partial Sentences, Contractions, and Slang Most people use some degree of informality when they speak. Review the passages of dialogue in your short story. Then, consider adding the following elements to any passages that seem stilted or overly formal. Partial Sentences "Sure, enough . . ." Contractions "I can't find the clicker." Slang "You're kidding me, right?"

Peer Review Another way to evaluate the dialogue in your story is to hear it read aloud. Ask a small group of peers to read your story aloud, assigning each character to a different reader. Listen closely as your characters speak, to make sure they're using the words that suit their personalities. Ask your readers for feedback, too. When you've finished working with your peers, revise your dialogue based on their responses.

What is the benefit of peer reviews?

Peers have a different perspective on your work and may notice issues in your story that you missed.

Writing Short Stories Have you heard the phrase "great things come in small packages?" This could be said about short stories. Short stories usually focus on one key incident. The goal of the short story writer is to engage the reader with a story from start to finish, in one sitting. Individuals from all over the world have tackled the craft of writing short stories. Here is a list of some well-known short story authors: Kate Chopin, Anton Chekov, Edgar Allan Poe, Flannery O'Connor, and Raymond Carver. Consider reading the work of one of these authors to inspire you before or after you apply the techniques in his lesson to write your own short story.

Prewriting: Choosing Your Topic In this video, you will learn some valuable writing tips from professional writer Anita Desai. You will learn that she writes every day and, consequently, she has a large amount of notes to draw from if she needs inspiration for a story. Most of us do not have this option, so choosing a topic for a short story can be difficult. It is important that you select a topic that will reach your audience, making them laugh, think, feel, or see things in a new way. Luckily, there are several strategies available to make this process a little easier.

Prewriting: Considering Your Audience and Purpose The next step is to determine your audience and your purpose. First, how do you want your short story to affect your audience? For example, do you want them to laugh, cry, or learn something important? If you want your audience to laugh, have your characters say witty things, put your characters into absurd situations, or give the narrator a dry, humorous tone. If you want your audience to cry, show your characters' pain so that the audience can feel it too, and make your characters likeable and understandable. If you want your audience to see things in a new way, create a character who learns an important lesson. Or set up events so that your audience expects one thing, and then show why something quite different must happen. Next, identify your purpose for writing and create a plan to achieve that purpose. Your plan can include identifying what details will use to help you achieve your purpose.

Prewriting: Gathering Details To gather your details, choose ones that will make your short story come alive. Vivid, specific details help make plot events more believable and characters more interesting. Pay particular attention to capturing details about characters and setting. Following are some strategies for gathering details about character and setting: Tape-Record Your Ideas—Talk about the story's characters and its settings. You could base your ideas on reality or let your imagination run free. Just talking aloud about your story will help you identify important details. Sketch Your Characters and Settings—Sometimes, you can crystallize your ideas about characters and settings by sketching them. As you work, let one idea lead to another, until you have a completed vision to draw from as you draft. Fill in a Character "History"—Create a history for your main character(s). Start by giving details about his or her family and background. Then, get more creative, and jot down your character's likes, dislikes, habits, and eccentricities. Refer to this "history" as you draft your short story.

Author James Berry bases the elements of his narratives on his life experiences. His Caribbean childhood and life in England provide rich inspirations for colorful settings, interesting characters, and compelling plots. To gather and develop his ideas, Berry jots down his thoughts in a notebook: "I have over the years had dozens and dozens of notebooks. . . . When I read something, when I see something, [when] somebody has said something to me or when I overhear a conversation, [or] I see something in the newspaper or on television—I want to write my own story about that particular thing."

Prewriting: Narrowing Your Topic Once you've chosen a topic, focus your story. Use the technique known as CASPAR to help you identify important elements you'll need for your story. Take a look at the chart to get a better understanding of CASPAR. It will be easier to narrow your topic if you carefully consider all of the elements listed here.

Publishing and Presenting: Building Your Portfolio Part of the fun of writing a short story is sharing it with others. Consider these ideas for publishing and presenting: Record Your Story—Alone or with a group of classmates, read your story aloud, speaking the dialogue as your characters might speak it. Tape-record your reading, and make the recording available for others to borrow. Enter a Literary Contest—Many magazines for young people or adults sponsor short-story contests. Find out the rules, submit your work, and see what happens!

Publishing and Presenting: Reflecting on Your Writing In this video, Anita Desai shares her experiences as a writer. She describes the fulfillment that comes from reading the work of others and in losing herself in her own work. After you have watched this video, think about your own experience writing a story. Do any of the things she says apply to you? Then answer the following questions and record your responses in your notebook. As you created your story, what did you learn about yourself? If a friend were writing a story and wanted your advice, what would you suggest?

Editing and Proofreading: Focusing on Punctuation Errors in your short story can distract your audience and reduce the impact of your story. To make your writing error-free, fix all errors in spelling, punctuation, and grammar. Carefully review the punctuation in your story. Be especially sure you have punctuated your dialogue correctly. Review the rules for punctuating direct quotations, paying particular attention to which punctuation marks go inside quotation marks and which appear outside them.

Punctuating Direct Quotations and Dialogue Use the following guidelines to help you punctuate your dialogue correctly. Rule Only direct quotations are enclosed in quotation marks. Example "Please help me clean up," said Brian. Rule Enclose the actual words spoken by a character in quotation marks. Note, however, that only the beginning of each sentence is capitalized, not the beginning of every quotation. Example "Please be quiet," she said, "so I can think." Rule Use a comma or colon after an introductory expression. Example The boy said, "I hate to see you so upset." Rule Use a comma, question mark, or exclamation point after a quotation followed by a concluding expression. Example "I'll never be happy again!" shouted Brittany.

Prewriting: Strategies for Generating Topics You may recall that the first step in any writing process is the prewriting process. When writing short stories, there are certain strategies you can use to help get you started. Choosing a Story Type—Select a type of story to tell. For example, you may want to write a mystery, a western, or a fable or folk tale. Then, write a sentence or two telling about the story: where it takes place, who is involved, what the conflict is, and what happens at the story's end. Use these ideas as the basis for your short story. Naming Characters—Jot down the names of characters that you might like to write about. Then, write a few phrases about each character you've named. Choose the character that most interests you as the central character of your short story. Drawing a Setting—Interesting settings can sometimes trigger story ideas. Start by sketching a setting. It can be an actual setting, like a schoolroom; a historical setting, like a mining camp in the Old West; or a fantasy setting, like an undiscovered planet. Then, look at your drawing, and think of a conflict that may occur in the scene and the characters who might be in the conflict. Use these ideas to build your short story. Notebook Write these strategies in your notebook.

Using Real Life—Some short stories are loosely based on real life. Think of a real-life incident that had an impact on you, and adapt it into a short story. Make a chart like the one below to help you adapt elements from real life into fiction. Take a look at this illustration to see how real life experiences can become fiction.

Old Phyllis had a mouth on her. When she was a waitress at the diner, people would go there not so much to eat as to hear Phyllis tell stories. Her stories were about good things that happened to people in town. (I still hear the story about the time Tommy Dillers was chosen for the state all-star baseball team and hit a home run against Florida.)

Using the SEE method as your yardstick, which sentence or sentences act as the extension in the passage? A) When she was a waitress at the diner, people would go there not so much to eat as to hear Phyllis tell stories.

Revising Your Sentences Now revise your sentences. Vary your sentences to develop a rhythm, to achieve an effect, or to emphasize the connections between ideas. Including sentences of varying length and structure can make your stories more interesting and enjoyable. Work with the sentences in your story to be sure they flow together and convey your intended meaning. Let's take a closer look at how to vary your sentences effectively.

Varying Sentences If many sentences in your story begin the same way and are of the same approximate length, vary them to liven up your story. To do this, you might throw in a long question or a short exclamation. Start a few sentences with an introductory word or phrase, or add emphasis by inverting the word order. Repetitive Sentences Tryson walked into the room. He looked around. He saw his long-lost baseball glove. It was on the shelf, next to the trophy. Varied Sentences As soon as Tryson walked into the room, he looked around for his long-lost baseball glove. Would it be there? Yes! There it was, on the shelf, next to the trophy.

actions or plot

What does your character do to get what he or she wants? What happens as a result?

problem or conflict

What does your character want? What is preventing him or her from getting it?

adjectives to describe character

What type of person is your main character of the story?

setting

Where and when does your story take place?

Revising Your Word Choice Next, revise for word choice. To make your story more realistic, consider revising your words to suit your characters. As you revise your characters' dialogue, make sure they use the words that fit their age, background, and personality, as well as the time and place in which they live and their relationships with the other characters. Here are examples of the three basic types of speech, which might help you identify your characters' distinct voices: Formal People who are in business situations, unfamiliar situations, or simply proper in their manner tend to use formal speech. Their word choice is precise and carefully considered. "The story you wrote is superb, Ms. Lopez." Informal Many people use informal speech when they speak with acquaintances or peers. "Your short story is pretty amazing, Marisol." Casual People may use nicknames and slang when they speak with family members and close friends. "Mari! That was an amazing story!"

Which statement is an example of formal speech? A) "Mr. Lee, your presentation was both informative and enjoyable."

character

Who is your story about? What does he or she want?

elaboration

contains details and dialogue that define the character and develop the plot

audience and purpose

contains details that create tone to engage the audience

Writers use foreshadowing to _____.

hint at story events that might happen next

organization

presents events that create a clear, interesting narrative with one point of view

What is the part of a plot in which the conflict builds gradually in intensity?

rising action

use of language

uses word choice and tone that reveal theme and is error free

Characters Phoenix Jackson and people she encounters Adjectives Old, fragile, determined, weak Old, fragile, determined, weak Setting Rural South, bumpy forest path, small town Rural South, bumpy forest path, small town Problem Phoenix needs to travel into town to get medicine for her grandson. Phoenix needs to travel into town to get medicine for her grandson. Action hike, struggle, survive, fight hike, struggle, survive, fight Resolution Phoenix gets to town and gets medicine. Phoenix gets to town and gets medicine.

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Drafting: Providing Elaboration As you draft, use the SEE method to help you develop incidents in your plot or to flesh out descriptions of characters, events, and settings. SEE: Statement, Extension, Elaboration—This method, also known as "layering," can help you add depth to your writing. Each layer should help you understand more about the subject of your original statement. S Write a statement that conveys a basic idea. E Next, write an extension of that statement. An extension should take the basic thought and "go a little further" toward explaining it or defining it. E Finally, elaborate on your original statement by giving more information about it.

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Short Stories I In this section, we have learned the following: Generate a topic by choosing a story type, naming characters, drawing a setting, and using real life. Use the CASPAR technique to identify important elements. Identify your purpose and create a plan to achieve that purpose. Capture details about characters and setting. Make a plot diagram to shape your plot. Use layering to add depth to your writing. Short Stories II In this section, we have learned the following: Revise the overall structure of your story to build suspense. Create functional paragraphs for effect. Vary your sentences to liven up your story. Revise words to suit the characters. Evaluate dialogue by reading text aloud. Make sure you have punctuated your dialogue correctly. Build your portfolio by recording your story and entering it into a literary contest.

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The final step of the writing process is self-assessment. How well do you think you did with this assignment? Do you feel confident that your short story fulfills all of the needed requirements?

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