#  10 Second Tip: STUCK on a Short Story?

Author: Ookami Kasumi
Tags: Tutorial, WritingTips

#2 of Writing Tips

Stuck on what to put in your short story? This is the list of things I check off when I create a short story:

### _10 Second Tip_:

### STUCK on a Short Story?

Stuck on what to put in your short story? This is the list of things I check off when I create a short story:

**Do you have a Setting in mind?**

- Sci-fi

- Historical

- Modern day

- Fantasy

- Steam Punk

- Other

**Do you have ONE big main event for the story to focus on?**

- A battle

- An escape

- A love scene

- An act of revenge

- A sacrifice

- A treasure to claim

- A magic spell

- A transformation

**Do you know what you want to SAY with your story?**

- Love sucks.

- Friendship is forever.

- No good deed goes unpunished.

- A snake can only ever be a snake.

- Sometimes you have to take chances.

- Magic makes things worse, not better.

**Do you know where you want to END your story?**

- A wedding?

- A funeral?

- A bloody battlefield?

- An empty street?

- The bottom of an ocean?

**Do you have your Three Central Characters ready?**

Just to make things interesting, _any_ one of these three could be the Hero, the Villain, or the Ally.

- A main character that personifies what your story is trying to say?   
 - A main character that personifies an opposing opinion of the same topic?   
 - A buddy / friend/ love interest of one or both to personify Joe Normal stuck in the Middle?

**Why did I mention Characters _last_?**

Instead of making a story for my characters, I do the opposite. I make characters _for my story_.

Some 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? 

Anyway... When I'm stuck on a story, I try thinking on these questions and often, they'll jog something loose.

Enjoy!

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Posted as a submission by popular request! (All two of you.)

**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._  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
**Ookami Kasumi**

Source: https://sofurry.com/s/dmBNBAKm
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