Good writers often break rules—but
they know they’re doing it! Here
are some good rules to know.
Theme
A theme is something important
the story tries to tell us—something
that might help us in our own
lives. Not every story has a theme,
but it’s best if it does.
Don’t get too preachy. Let the
theme grow out of the story, so
readers feel they’ve learned it for
themselves. You shouldn’t have to
say what the moral is.
Plot
Plot is most often about a conflict
or struggle that the main character
goes through. The conflict can be
with another character, or with
the way things are, or with
something inside the character,
like needs or feelings.
The main character should win or
lose at least partly on their own,
and not just be rescued by someone
or something else. Most often, the
character learns or grows as they
try to solve their problem. What the
character learns is the theme.
The conflict should get more and
more tense or exciting. The tension
should reach a high point or
“climax” near the end of the story,
then ease off.
The basic steps of a plot are:
conflict begins, things go right,
things go WRONG, final victory (or
defeat), and wrap-up. The right-
wrong steps can repeat.
A novel can have several conflicts,
but a short story should have only
one.
Story Structure
At the beginning, jump right into
the action. At the end, wind up the
story quickly.
Decide about writing the story
either in “first person” or in “third
person.” Third-person pronouns are
“he,” “she,” and “it”—so writing in
third person means telling a story
as if it’s all about other people. The
first-person pronoun is “I”—so
writing in first person means
telling a story as if it happened to
you.
Even if you write in third person,
try to tell the story through the
eyes of just one character—most
likely the main character. Don’t
tell anything that the character
wouldn’t know. This is called
“point of view.” If you must tell
something else, create a whole
separate section with the point of
view of another character.
Decide about writing either in
“present tense” or in “past tense.”
Writing in past tense means
writing as if the story already
happened. That is how most stories
are written. Writing in present
tense means writing as if the story
is happening right now. Stick to
one tense or the other!
Characters
Before you start writing, know
your characters well.
Your main character should be
someone readers can feel something
in common with, or at least care
about.
You don’t have to describe a
character completely. It’s enough
to say one or two things about how
a character looks or moves or
speaks.
A main character should have at
least one flaw or weakness. Perfect
characters are not very interesting.
They’re also harder to feel
something in common with or care
about. And they don’t have
anything to learn. In the same way,
there should be at least one thing
good about a “bad guy.”
Setting
Set your story in a place and time
that will be interesting or familiar.
Style and Tone
Use language that feels right for
your story.
Wherever you can, use actions and
speech to let readers know what’s
happening. Show, don’t tell.
Give speech in direct quotes like
“Go away!” instead of indirect
quotes like “She told him to go
away.”
You don’t have to write fancy to
write well. It almost never hurts to
use simple words and simple
sentences. That way, your writing
is easy to read and understand.
Always use the best possible word—
the one that is closest to your
meaning, sounds best, and creates
the clearest image. If you can’t
think of the right one, use a
thesaurus.
Carefully check each word, phrase,
sentence, and paragraph. Is it the
best you can write? Is it in the
right place? Do you need it at all?
If not, take it out! GOOD AFTERNOON GUYS√√
