Spellbinding Short Stories Webercise

How to Write a Short Story

https://jerryjenkins.com/how-to-write-short-stories/
1. What is the “germ?”
2. List some tips given when writing characters.
3. Explain what “germ” you will consider writing about.
4. According to Dean Kootz, what is the first step when structuring a short story?
5. What is a great first step to writing a short story? (see step 1)
6. After reading step 1, read any short story of your choosing and discuss two things that
make their main character’s interesting.
7. Navigate to step 2, choose one theme from this step (or create your own) and explain how
you will explore this theme within your short story.
8. Under step 6, what does the author say about long paragraphs of detail?
9. Towards the end of the article, you are given a list of short stories. Choose one of these
stories, and define the “germ” or main themes of the story.

Important Terms
http://faculty.wiu.edu/M-Cole/Terminology.pdf
10 Define protagonist.
11. Discuss who your protagonist will be in your short story?
12. Discuss which point of view you will take in your short story. Will you have a first person
point of view, second, or third?
13. Will you have other characters within your story? Why or why not?
14. Consider the two possible plots, open and closed, in your opinion, what are the benefits
of each of these types of plots?

15. Read through each of these literary terms, select two and provide examples of how you
will show the two terms within your short story.
Analyzing Short Stories
https://www.vaniercollege.qc.ca/tlc/files/2016/08/Analyzing-Short-Stories.pdf
16. Using this website as a key for your own short story, pick two bullet points under “plot”
that you will answer using your short story (e.g. Bullet point 1: What is your story about?
My story is about the zombie apocalypse and how my main character survives.)
17. Using the questions under “setting” create a descriptive paragraph that describes the
setting you grew up in.
18. Define the term characterization. Using this definition, list the protagonist and antagonist
of your short story and explain how they will interact with each other. Will they always be
fighting? Will they have a passive relationship? Be sure to explain in detail, as if you were
writing the first scene they are meeting each other! Get creative!
19. Under “Point of View” what does it say about narrator and author?

20. Under “Tone,” explore the questions about tone; what will be the tone of your story?
Explain.
21. Consider why you chose the topic of your short story; what are the themes in your story?

Explore these websites:

http://udleditions.cast.org/craft_intro.html
https://prolifiko.com/how-to-write-a-short-story-8-expert-tips/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8b2myOwEHz0
List 5 things from each site/video that you found helpful/interesting.