Study Short Story Writing
- Self Paced
- 20 hours
- Certificate of completion awarded on successful completion
Learn to develop characters and plots and build them up into a short story: fiction or non fiction.
Course Content
This course has six lessons.
LESSON 1 WHAT DO WE MEAN BY SHORT STORIES?
A notebook or two
Short stories defined
The history of short stories
Different types of short stories
Choosing a genre
Useful Terminology
Literary fiction
Children’s literature
Examples of CVC words commonly used in early readers
Short Stories in the Classroom
The increasing popularity of short stories
Lesson 1 additional reading
Types of story openings
Distinctive Voice
Tense
Action or dialogue
Background information
Introduce the main character
Common elements to all stories
Tension
Literary devices
Authorial Voice
What is creative writing
How does creative writing differ
Information and creativity
Types of story openings
Distinctive voice
Tense
Action or dialogue
Background information
Main character
Common story elements
Tension
Literary devices
Authorial voice
LESSON 2 STRUCTURING A SHORT STORY
Strategies for creating story ideas
Remember - Always, always keep a notebook handy to write down your ideas.
Free Writing
Role play
Brainstorming techniques
What if?
Developing Characters
Building characters
How is a character created?
Setting descriptions
Word building
Science fiction
Image boards
Planning a short story
Connecting characters
Using/adapting existing story structures, worlds or characters
LESSON 3 WRITING MICROFICTION AND FLASH FICTION
Writing flash fiction
Chat Fiction
Writing Micro Fiction
Sudden Fiction
Vignette
Plots
Memoir
Biographies
Reflective Stories
Historical
Sense of Place
Opinionated Stories
Dramatic stories
LESSON 4 WRITING FAN FICTION
Fan fiction’s popularity
Tropes
How to plot a fan fiction story
Bob and Ellie’s Story
Constructing timelines
LESSON 5 WRITING SHORT STORIES, NOVELLAS AND NOVELLETTES
Plot Devices
Writing Novellas and novelettes
Advice for writing great stories
Opening Lines
The Unexpected
Engaging readers
Last Lines
LESSON 6 GETTING YOUR WORK PUBLISHED
Editing
Competitions
Social media
Writing platforms
Self-publishing
Anthologies
Consistency
Publisher specifications
Consistency
Final Assessment
What then is a Short Story?
Features that are common to all short stories include:
- A limited length – usually around 7500 words, although they can be both longer and shorter
- A simple plot – subplots are rare as they will complicate the story (and need more words)
- Only a few characters – generally no more than three
- A quick start – lengthy descriptions are unlikely
- Limited settings – one to three locations at most
- Only one point of view – keeping to a single point of view will help to maintain the story’s rhythm and the reader’s connection with the characters
- A clear timeline – events in the story don’t have to be outlined in chronological order but keeping a logical pattern will help strengthen the story
- Tension – there needs to be a purpose, event or conflict that drives the story. This should be introduced early in the story and, ideally, should grow as the story develops. When tension is resolved, the story comes to an end.