Here’s a popular question about writing short stories: “how do I get ideas for them?”
Although the usual answer is “you can find ideas anywhere”, this isn’t helpful. Of course, ideas are everywhere, but you want ideas which fit the form.
Authors expect that there’s a trick to finding these ideas. As far as I’m aware, there’s no “trick” as such, but there’s a mindset. Unlike novels which contain many ideas, for short fiction it’s useful to focus on a single idea.
I like to think of stories as jokes because there’s only two essentials, the setup, and the punchline.
Short stories: setups and punchlines
Here are some simple examples of joke setups and punchlines:
What do you call a bear with no teeth? A gummy bear.
Among the things that are so simple even a child can operate them are parents.
You’ll always stay young if you live honestly, eat slowly, sleep sufficiently, work industriously, worship faithfully and lie about your age.
In my short story classes, I teach formulas to give authors confidence. They’re training wheels; you won’t need them after you start writing.
Try them.
Easy short story formulas to try
No need to hew to them rigidly. They’re helpful if you’ve found that you write 3,000 words of a project and become confused. (Or if you habitually write three paragraphs, then delete them because you can’t see your way forward.)
Formulas:
Insight + a character or a situation from which the insight arose.
Event + a place and character + insight which developed from it.
Frame + intriguing character or situation + end the frame.
Advice + a major or minor disaster which prompted the advice + the moral of the story.
An example of using a formula
Let’s say that Christmas is on the horizon. You’d like to write a collection of stories with the Christmas period at their center.
You decide to use the formula: Event (Christmas) + a place and character + the insight which developed from the story.
So, what will you write? Nothing immediately springs to mind, so you start with a framework. Retellings provide simple frameworks: a fairy tale retelling, for example.
Alternatively, consider using elements from your life. Start by writing a description of what you need:
I’m writing Christmas short stories. What’s the earliest Christmas I remember? My favorite Christmas presents? Best Christmas meals? Saddest Christmas?
And so on. Just make lists of what you remember. Over a week or two, you’ll have quite a stockpile of memories and anecdotes. A tip: do keep these notes. They’ll spark fresh ideas over time. Add them to your Content Idea Bank.
Read others’ short stories for inspiration
You can read short stories in any genre which appeals to you. I enjoy mysteries, so I have several Agatha Christie collections I enjoy rereading regularly.
Explore your favorite online bookstore. If you dig around in the book lists of your favorite authors, you’ll often find that they’ve written story collections.
Some authors, like Guy de Maupassant and Chekhov, are known for their stories. Although I dislike horror fiction in general, I love M. R. James’s shorts. Check out his Ghost Stories of an Antiquary, it’s free.
Authors sometimes ask me whether they can sell their stories—yes, you can. 😊
Write collections: publish individually, then publish the collection
Why not use stories for marketing? I use them for a couple of my pen names.
I also offer a “promotions” upgrade to my fiction ghostwriting clients. In this upgrade, I add a short story collection to the novel I write for them. The client can use the stories as a collection, published either before or after they publish the novel, or they can use the stories to get traffic to their website so they can build an email list.
It’s relatively easy to write the stories while you’re writing the novel, especially if you focus on single-session fiction. Shut yourself in your office space, turn on some music, and start writing. You should be done in a couple of hours, especially if you dictate some of the material.
You can write them anywhere. One of my students writes/ dictates them in the bath to relax. Another dictates them when he’s on a day hike with his kids.
There you have it: simple formulas you can use to write unlimited short stories, and have fun while you’re at it. Onward. 🤗
