Short Story Idea Generators

Read several short stories

Tips for short stories

In recognition of "Pink Shirt Day 2012" ...

Add a jerk to your story.

Here are some suggestions ...

Jerks are mean - have the jerk get our attention by saying or doing things to your protagonist that are upsetting

Jerks ignore us - have your jerk ignore the protagonist but pay attention to someone else. Have the Jerk only pretend to listen and act like your protagonist doesn't even exist

Jerks make us feel stupid - have your jerk make comments about what your protagonist says that makes him/her feel stupid

Jerks are sneaky - have your jerk act all nice to others or around teachers or adults and then have the jerk do something that only the protagonist sees when no one else is looking

Jerks lie - have your jerk try and make someone look bad to make themselves look better by lying

From Michelle Garcia Winner’s Blog

Tips for writing a narrative essay:

1. Select an experience that had a strong impact on you and that you want to communicate.

2. Concentrate on engaging and entertaining your reader. Use detail and description to communicate your experience clearly and vividly. Remember, the narrative essayist is a keen observer, one on whom "nothing is lost."

3. Let the experience speak for itself. The reader should be enlightened, moved, or persuaded through the force of the narrative. If you wish to state your thesis explicitly, keep it brief. Avoid editorializing, offering asides to the reader, concluding with a paragraph that spells out what it all meant, or telling the reader how to feel.

4. Work your narrative toward a climax or "moment of truth" which crystallizes the experiences for both you and your reader. Remember that essentially you are telling a story and stories work best when they leave the reader feeling emotionally satisfied.

5. Polish, polish, polish. The narrative essayist reveals himself or herself not only through the telling of the experience, but also through the way in which it is told. Your voice should shine through the strength of your style and presentation. In the end, it is a picture of the world as you see it and live it that you are presenting to your reader.

http://iblog.stjschool.org/snowflake/tag/short-story

David Huebert: "How I won the 2016 CBC short story prize"