{"sf1_id":1654118,"sf2_id":"dmBNBAKm","title":" 10 Second Tip: STUCK on a Short Story?","author":"Ookami Kasumi","words":422,"posted_at":"2020-11-26T00:33:00.000Z","tags":["Tutorial","WritingTips"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/1654118-10-second-tip-stuck-on-a-short-story","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/s/dmBNBAKm","image_url":"https://cdn.sofurryfiles.com/submissions/thumbnails/0d/56/0d560477-343a-415f-a79c-2e9e62682a51","description":"#2 of Writing Tips\n\nStuck on what to put in your short story? This is the list of things I check off when I create a short story:","content":"### _10 Second Tip_:\n\n### STUCK on a Short Story?\n\nStuck on what to put in your short story? This is the list of things I check off when I create a short story:\n\n**Do you have a Setting in mind?**\n\n- Sci-fi\n\n- Historical\n\n- Modern day\n\n- Fantasy\n\n- Steam Punk\n\n- Other\n\n**Do you have ONE big main event for the story to focus on?**\n\n- A battle\n\n- An escape\n\n- A love scene\n\n- An act of revenge\n\n- A sacrifice\n\n- A treasure to claim\n\n- A magic spell\n\n- A transformation\n\n**Do you know what you want to SAY with your story?**\n\n- Love sucks.\n\n- Friendship is forever.\n\n- No good deed goes unpunished.\n\n- A snake can only ever be a snake.\n\n- Sometimes you have to take chances.\n\n- Magic makes things worse, not better.\n\n**Do you know where you want to END your story?**\n\n- A wedding?\n\n- A funeral?\n\n- A bloody battlefield?\n\n- An empty street?\n\n- The bottom of an ocean?\n\n**Do you have your Three\u0026nbsp;Central Characters ready?**\n\nJust to make things interesting, _any_ one of these three could be the Hero, the Villain, or the Ally.\n\n- A main character that personifies what your story is trying to say?   \n - A main character that personifies an opposing opinion of the same topic?   \n - A buddy / friend/ love interest of one or both to personify Joe Normal stuck in the Middle?\n\n**Why did I mention Characters _last_?**\n\nInstead of making a story for my characters, I do the opposite. I make characters _for my story_.\n\nSome people can come up with a cool character and then build a story around them. Sadly, I am not one of those. I can build a back-story just fine, but my back-stories are never good enough to be the Main Story. A back-story is how a character GOT his Issues. The main story is how they FIXED those Issues. See the difference?\u0026nbsp;\n\nAnyway... When I'm stuck on a story, I try thinking on these questions and often, they'll jog something loose.\n\nEnjoy!\n\n~~~~~~~~~~  \nPosted as a submission by popular request! (All two of you.)\n\n**DISCLAIMER:** _As with all advice, take what you can use and throw out the rest. As a multi-published author, I have been taught some fairly rigid rules on what is publishable and what is not. If my rather straight-laced (and occasionally snotty,) advice does not suit your creative style, by all means, IGNORE IT._  \n~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  \n**Ookami Kasumi**\n\n  \n  \n\n","series":{"name":"Writing Tips","previous":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/1653688-the-secret-to-proper-paragraphing-and-dialogue.json","next":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/1654312-characters-tailor-made-for-the-plot.json"}}