Use This Formula to Write a Cracking Short Story

Where to begin, how to think about your story, and where to end it

We writers could fill a dump truck with all the lofty advice we see about writing. Most of it is useful, of course. We all want to hone our craft and be better creators. But often what we read doesn’t lay the careful brickwork of how to create a story.

Some of you may understand this process intuitively, especially if you’re an avid reader or a skilled raconteur. But if you’re like me, you may read like a ravenous beast and still struggle with the nuts and bolts of what makes a good story.

Fortunately, there’s a simple way to approach every story. You can call it a formula, you can call it a schematic or a magic spell, if you wish, but ultimately it’s a simple guideline that will point your shoes in the right direction.

1. Harness Your Idea

This might seem like a no-brainer, but you must start with a core idea. It may just be a sweeping topic, like “the long-term effects of too much pumpkin spice,” or maybe you have an image in your head of a raven whispering portents of doom to a grief-stricken curmudgeon (I’m looking at you, Poe). Either way, this core idea is your launching point.

Once you have your idea, you must decide how to harness it. What do you want your reader to take away from it? Every story has a purpose beyond the action.

For example, you might have an idea about an inventor who creates a device that allows people to relive their happiest memories. That’s a good core concept to launch from. But what do you want to say about it? You could consider how to convey the importance of living in the present, and that becoming mired in the past is a bumpy train ride to sadness. Or maybe you want to show how we’re each empowered to constantly create good things in our lives. The point is to decide what kind of meaning you want to build beneath your idea.

2. Populate Your Cast

Now that you have a nice corral built around your core idea, it’s time to fill it with characters. Consider what kind of tone you want to strike. If you want to write a quirky story, fill your corral with a cast of weirdos. If you have a drama on your hands, your characters might be the sort who pine over something lost. If it’s a mystery or thriller, maybe you’ve got a host of sketchy people who will raise the hackles on your reader’s neck.

Once you know the kind of characters you want, decide who your main character is going to be. This should be someone who is relatable enough to be readable. They should also have needs that are in direct conflict with your story’s plot, otherwise you’ll have a hard time driving the action.

For example, maybe your story is about an old bookshop that receives a book with the power to alter reality. In this scenario, the bookshop owner would have tremendous power. Let’s call him Fred. If Fred is reclusive and this power draws unwanted attention, it could have an adverse affect on him. Now we’ve got some conflict to work with.

3. Find Your Entry and Exit

The most important parts of your story are where you plop your audience into it, and where you pull them out. The climax of your story is important, too, but first you have to draw your reader into the plot. If you don’t hook them, they’ll bail before they reach your super cool climactic moment. Likewise, no matter how great the beginning of your story is, ending it in the wrong place will leave your reader with a sour taste in their mouth.

Your entry point is where the story begins. Too many new authors do a lot of raspy throat-clearing in their prose before they get to the point. If you spend too much time setting the stage and decorating it with flowers, your audience will start checking their watches. If you drop your reader in media res, which is fancy Latin for “smack-dab in the action,” they’ll get swept into the story before they realize it.

Your exit point is where the story has resolved enough that the reader has something to take away. If you end it too soon, they’ll scratch their heads and shrug and feel like they’ve wasted their time. If you ramble on and on after you’ve already satisfied the story, they’ll start thinking unpleasant things like, “Lordy, when is this over?”

A good ending should resolve the emotional arc of the story. Obviously the plot should come to some sort of conclusion as well, but if your character needs to learn the lesson “there’s no place like home,” you can end the story pretty quickly after they say it and tap their sparkly heels together.

4. Build the Bones

Now that you have your idea, your theme, your characters, and your beginning and ending figured out, it’s time to settle the details. Outlining your work is the easiest way to do this. Write a quick summary of each scene until you have the entire story sketched. Then go back and revise it, tighten it, and add some lemon zest and eye of newt. Do it again.

Once your outline is complete and you know the shape of your story, it’s time to write!

5. Create Scene Beats

As you’re writing, consider the point of each scene. You should write a series of small or large conflicts that carry each part to a logical conclusion. It should also nicely tee-up the next scene.

If your story is about a blind haberdasher, a scene might consist of a stranger trying to steal a button, and your hero’s senses being heightened enough that he knows about it. When he confronts the stranger, he is drawn into their world. This establishes conflict and character, and it tugs at our curiosity enough to make us keep reading.

Write Away

Now that you have the formula, give it a whirl. You may need to practice these steps a few times before you can create something workable, and you may even discover a process that works better for you. But these points are nice stepping stones across the muddy waters of story craft.

Now get out there and get scribbling.

For more information on story craft, check out this article: