TIPS IN WRITING SHORT STORY

(Wording the World: The Art of Creative Writing for Senior High School)
CHARACTER
How do you create a Character? How do you bring your characters to life?
a. According to Lagos Eri, the author of The Arts of Dramatic Writing, a writer must
know the three dimensions of fictional characters:
Physical- refers to physical dimensions such as body type, health, clothing
and movement
Sociological- refers to the characters name, biographical details, social
status, economic status, race and ethnicity, family members and
relationships, residence, education, profession, and beliefs
Psychological- refers to personality, speech patterns, attitudes toward self
and others, hobbies and interests, talents,
Likes and dislikes, habits, dreams and ambitions, fears, what makes him
laugh, angry, worried or stressed, his/her attitude toward the opposite sex,
teachers, superiors, friends, competition, etc.
b. Provide details of the characters past.
c. Imagine them like they are real people with emotions and contradictions to make
them believable.
d. Show them in action.
POINT OF VIEW
Whatever point of view you have chosen for your story, keep in mind the following to
help you handle point of view effectively:
1. Stick with your point of view. A shift in the point of view can weaken the
impact of the scene. In other words be consistent.
2. The thoughts of a character and the way he speaks must echo the same
tone, attitude, and vocabulary.
3. Show, dont tell is a general rule that every writer must remember. If your
character is in love with someone, do not say John fell in love with Cathy or
and they fell in love! It is best to write suggestive dialogue or make the
character express his love through action.
PLOT
A. In her book Writing Great Short Stories, Margaret Lucke said that the authors
task is to arrange and present the events in the way they will achieve the
greatest dramatic impact. One important technique is the use of Flashback
which occurs every time you interrupt the forward motion of the narrative to
recount an earlier incident that has a bearing on the story. It involves inserting an
episode that occurred previous to the main flow of the plot. Examples of
flashbacks are those that happened in the town many years ago, or any
memorable incident that occurred in the past that reveals something important
about the character or the present situation. Stephen Minot, in his book Three
Genres mentions the use of multiple flashbacks, which the writer can deploy
when he wants to suggest a complicated set of clues leading to a symbolic or a
literal trial. This approach tends to fragment the story line. Try writing a short
narrative about what you feel about being in Senior High School; then, go back to
your childhood and write about how different it was during your elementary days.
B. Ask three questions to know the conflict your character is facing. What does your
character want to achieve in the course of the story? What is at stake? Who or
what gets in the way?
 C. For an interesting conflict, it is advisable to set up challenging roadblocks and
obstacles, and make sure that your character has a worthy opponent or
antagonist.
D. Whenever your character is in deep trouble, make sure that the consequences of
his or her failure is grim and unsettling. Your character must achieve his or her
goal within a certain time frame because if he fails to do so there would be
serious consequences.

SETTING AS AN ATMOSPHERE
It is important as writers that you must be able to invite your readers to join you in
your fictional world. Please take note of the following techniques so that you would be
able to draw them and keep them inside your world:
Readers must be quickly oriented. As writers, you must be able to make
them create a mental picture of the setting or place that you created.
Provide numerous important details. Make the readers have an I am
there experience. The more specific the details the better. These small
details contribute to creating a particular atmosphere and they make the
setting vivid.
Make the readers see, hear, smell, taste, and feel the various aspects
within their environment.
The details and the mood of the story must complement each other.
Choose details fit for a horror story, a romance, a detective story, a comic
tale, etc.
A major flaw committed by new writers is that they use the same symbols many
other writers have already utilized in their stories; for example a rock to symbolize
strength, a dove to symbolize peace, an owl to symbolize wisdom, or snow to symbolize
death. Many writers have already succeeded in making those things represent some
abstract notions or ideas. Make sure that you do not make the same mistake of using
them again to mean the same abstract concept. Look around you, there are many other
objects or things you can use as symbols. But be careful in your choice because you do
not want readers to see any disconnect between the symbol and what it symbolizes.
Reading a lot also exposes you to what other writers have already done. If in case you
really want to repeat something that has been done before by other writers, make sure
that you are presenting it in a fresh or new light.