==== ==== For Writing tips from the experts Check out: http://howtowriteastoryx.

com/ ==== ==== If you're an aspiring writer like I am then you appreciate the skill it takes to write a great or even good story. Stories are one of the most challenging things to write. Many authors spend many years developing their talents. The characters, location, and plot are all intricately woven into something someone will hopefully want to read. Writing short stories can be very valuable to your writing career. Short stories are also very quick ways to put on paper what you're feeling about something. Starting to write short stories can be a tough project but the more you write the better you will get at it. In the next couple of weeks I will be submitting a 10 part series on how to write your short stories. This will be the first edition on writing short stories. Getting Started 1. Write your list without stopping. Figure out your plots, tones and characters. Develop these things from things you know. Use things that make you smile and things that make you angry or sad. Now a story is starting to develop around your ideas. 2.Think about times in your life that were stressful or happy. Pick a few of them and write a paragraph on each one. 3.Choose a word that is going to be the main word of your story. Write it in the middle of the page and then start writing around it. Write any other words that come to mind and just keep writing. When you are sure your done you can circle all the words that you think link together and that you are going to use in your story. 4.Keep everything that you write. It doesn't matter how messy or organized it is just make sure you keep it so you can look back and possibly use some of the material in future writings. 5.It doesn't matter how you feel. You have to sit down and write every day. It can be for ten minutes or 4 hours. That doesn't matter as long as you are writing something every day. 6.Don't be scared to use other people's stories. I don't mean plagiarizing but I mean listening. Just listen to what people are saying. The stories people have can be very interesting and can be great topics for your short stories. 7.Read every day. I don't care how much or what but you should be reading every day. This will give you insight into what other people are writing about plus it will show you different styles of writing. You cannot be successful at writing if you don't read. This is the end of my first article on how to write a short story. I make these tips available because

I think there is an author in everyone. Just because you write doesn't mean you have to get paid for it. You should first and foremost write because you love it and everything will eventually fall into place.

All you really need in order to write a story is a notebook and something to write with. As I am sure you know the construction of a story is one of the most important parts. Your story will collapse without any construction. The importance of this is that a good point of interaction gives you more time to write a story, rather than wasting time trying to learn how to make the software respond to your needs. This can mean the difference between actually writing your story or just giving up in frustration and walking away without writing that story. The importance of this is that a good point of interaction gives you more time to write a story, rather than wasting time trying to learn how to make the software respond to your needs. This can mean the difference between actually writing your story or just giving up in frustration and walking away without writing that story. Almost every aspiring author writes with the expectation of eventually getting published. But to get published these days, a short story writer needs to jump past an almost insurmountable cascade of barriers - from the query letter stage to the submission stage, from literary agents to publishers, and then on to the general reading public, all in the hopes of one day selling your short story and earning an amount of money sufficient to pay down the mortgage. Following are a number of handy tips for short fiction writers to keep in mind when seeking to make money by selling short stories: EVERY STORY HAS A BEGINNING, A MIDDLE, AND AN END This might seem like an elementary observation, yet many novice short story writers fail to plan their tales with a basic three-part structure. Where you begin the beginning of your story depends on what follows later in the middle and end parts. The key here is that you must integrate all three parts of your tale so that each part fits snugly like a puzzle piece with the others. Knowing where to begin depends on where your story is going, and knowing at what point to exactly end it depends on what has gone before. Too many beginners start far too early in their tale or end it far too late. So long as you don't sacrifice the reader's orientation as to what's going on, the best strategy is to start as late as possible in your tale and get into the "meat" of it before your reader's attention lags. And then end it as soon as your basic character, plot, and theme elements have truly played themselves out. Start late, leave early, engage, and don't confuse. Serve those four goals in planning your three-part structure, and you're on steady ground. UNITE ALL YOUR STORY ELEMENTS

Most basic short stories contain elements of plot, character, theme, and setting. Novice short story writers have a habit of randomly dreaming up each element in isolation and then packing all of them together in a kind of forced marriage. The best strategy for your short story is first to settle on which of the elements is the primary driver of your short story. If it's the plot, then make sure the characters, theme, and settings all work together in servicing that plot in the most engaging, sensible manner. If it's character-driven, the plot, setting, and theme must all be chosen to highlight and reveal the kinds of character interactions you want to unveil. And so on with theme and setting. Okay, scratch that last element - you should avoid at all costs writing a short story that's driven by setting, unless your aim is to write an engaging travelogue. SHOW, DON'T TELL Too many amateur writers make the mistake of summarizing a key character reaction or series of events when greater emotional impact demands that a character reaction or event be dramatized. In other words, play them out as full scenes for greater effect. But of course, the key here is to employ this strategy only for unveiling those key character reactions or events that play a crucial role in the unfolding of your (unified) story elements. All of which brings us to... CUT! CUT! CUT! (AND CUT SOME MORE...) If any word, sentence, paragraph, piece of dialogue, or setting and action description does not advance your primary chosen story element(s), then cut, cut, cut them out! Do we really need to read extended descriptions about leaf texture, shoe brands, and the way the sun casts its rays on one's coffee table in a scene where you're advancing the plot or building toward a key character interaction? Extraneous random descriptions will expose you as a card-carrying novice writer whose short story submission will go straight into a literary agent's slush pile. Don't be fooled by all those classic short stories that are filled with wonderfully descriptive asides about leaf texture and suncast highlights. In all likelihood, you're not Charles Dickens or Steinbeck or Chekhov. You're writing in an age of low attention spans, and you're not working to be paid by word length. If you can cut out any and all portions of your short story that do not advance all or most of your story elements (and remember, setting should always be the servant to the other three story elements), then cut, cut, cut them out! START STRONG The sad fact is that the vast, vast majority of readers will make their decision about the quality of your short story inside of one paragraph (two, tops). So, put all the blood, sweat, and tears you can muster into crafting those first two paragraphs that will keep them reading on. In an age where time is money, don't assume that there are masses of readers, literary agents, and publishers willing to stick with you for ten or fifteen more pages as you slowly build your short story to make its grand case. By the time your short story hits its stride after a mundane beginning, your only audience will likely be a chorus of chirping crickets. DON'T COURT A DEATH BY TYPO

There is a reason why publishers are still in business, even in this age of so-called "selfpublishing." The fact is, readers depend on professionals to ensure that well-edited novels and short stories make it on to the book store shelves. That's where literary agents, editors, and publishers come in. Yet novice writers often make the fatal error of assuming that literary agents and publishers will overlook short story submissions littered with typos, bad grammar, and poor spelling - so long as the gatekeepers are blown away by the writer's great storytelling ability (embodied in those story elements mentioned above). But again, in an age where time is money, the gatekeepers employ the rule of thumb that typos are the mark of a sloppy craftsman. No matter how great your short story truly is, you will court a death by typo if you attempt to sell your short story with a poorly edited submission.

CHOOSE AN INTERESTING SUBJECT If you're reading this far into the article, chances are you're truly looking for helpful tips to write short stories that sell. Writing short stories for self-expression is nice therapy, so long as you're sane enough to realize that probably only a very limited audience is interested in reading a short story about the joys of fly-fishing among elderly villagers in Latvia. On the other hand, writing about pistol-packing, death-dealing mamas is not exactly guaranteed to spark reader interest, either. The key is to be interesting and different at the same time. Having your character take out a gun and blow someone away is not all that interesting or different. You need not always fall back on the Dead Body Strategy For Engaging Reader Interest. The key to picking an interesting subject is to find an organically satisfying and engaging unity of all your story elements - a combination of plot, character, theme and setting that comes off as fresh and exciting at the same time. The interest will come from the manner in which you weave these story elements together. Coming back to the joys of fly-fishing among elderly villagers in Latvia, you might very well pull this one off if it is a backdrop for a plot with an unexpected turn - one that unveils fresh character interactions while highlighting a theme that, say, provides us a new thematic perspective on, say, our common mortality fears. Not sure how the Latvian part fits in, though. But that, perhaps, is a lesson for another day.

Stories can serve as vessels for your message, sort of like a Trojan horse. Your audience receives your information in the form of a relatable anecdote that's easier to digest and understand than blatant marketing, and eventually this story will manifest itself in the recipients mind as a belief or call to action. The actual story arc and plot of the episodes keeps them interested and engaged, and as the show finishes there is almost always a lesson to take away from the episode. Kids aren't watching these shows because they want a lesson in ethics and morality, they want to be entertained. However, the writers of these shows use that craving for entertainment to inject positive messages that can subconsciously persuade children to make better choices. The same concept can be utilized for marketing, people don't want to be persuaded to give up their hardearned cash, they crave genuine communication and that's exactly what you should give them, albeit with motives of your own.

The elements of your story are the center of your motives. If you're selling your product and dissuading people from buying a competitor's product, the elements of the story are the two different products. Keep in mind that the elements are not the stars of the story, the characters or events of the story are in the spotlight. Now it's time to come up with some positive and negative anchors to attach to these elements. Anchors are separate entities that carry some sort of strong emotion either positive or negative. When we attach these anchors to our elements, they evoke strong responses from the audience. Good health, entertainment, and convenience are positive anchors. Bad appearance, poor quality, and dishonesty are negative anchors. You need to decide on some of these anchors for each entity involved based on your motives, and think of a way to weave these ideas into a cohesive narrative, perhaps in the form of a testimonial or personal anecdote.

Among the countless reasons people write stories, getting a moral across ranks near the top. Unfortunately, getting a moral across also ranks near the top of reason people write terrible stories. The danger lies in an incorrect balance of moral and other story elements (plot, pace, character development, voice, tension etc.) resulting in a preachy story. Follow these guidelines and you will end up with a story that entertains your readers and effectively communicates your moral and message without being preachy. Story Is King: This is the first and crucial understanding. No matter how important the moral is, no matter how intensely a writer feels about the moral, focusing on story elements always benefits the story (and moral) more than focusing on the moral. When the plot is entertaining and the characters are well developed, when the writing is crisp and eloquent, the reader cares more about the story world and is more likely to consider the moral. Morals Are Output: The desired effect is for a reader to finish your story, consider the story elements and arrive at a conclusion equal or similar to your moral. The moral itself is never an explicit part of the story elements, it is not spoken in dialog nor is it narrated by the narrator. Resist all urges to have one of your characters give a lengthy speech on the moral. Think of your moral as a completed jigsaw puzzle, only when all the pieces are considered does one see the picture. Make Morals Sexy: Readers can spot morals from a hundred pages away because most people are familiar with popular morals and don't want to read several thousand words just to find out something they already know. A writer can infuse morals with new life by using an unfamiliar variation of popular morals or by picking uncommon morals. Even if a moral is as familiar as "children should obey your parents," writers can still excite and surprise the reader by arriving at the moral in an unfamiliar way. Morals Are Your Story Compass:

When a writer knows that the entire story (and not individual elements) leads the reader to the morals, it helps the writer make many decisions about the story elements. To continue our jigsaw puzzle analogy, if a writer knows what the completed jigsaw puzzle looks like, the writer can create the right pieces for the puzzle. Good luck and remember to be subtle.

at his parents call him by the name Daniel in each of his incarnation. Nothing is new, and life holds very little wonder for him. He holds his family at a distance, knowing that regardless of how good or bad the situation is, when he comes back in the next life, things would be different. His only salvation is his love for Lucy. Towards the end of the book, he comes to the realization that what matters most is in the present, and the present is the only moment he has. This point is easy to miss but-if picked up from the story-can be extremely powerful as a life lesson to readers. ==== ==== For Writing tips from the experts Check out: http://howtowriteastoryx.com/ ==== ====